Recently diagnosed after 8 long years...

Hi ktp812...

Welcome to the depression forum. I am glad you joined us, but sorry for the reason... Eight years of untreated depression is tough. I am glad you and the doctor are looking into it.

It can take up to six to eight weeks for antidepressants to reach their full potential. Working on therapy during this time can be helpful. Plus working on your own toolbox of coping skills. It generally takes therapy, medication and the coping skills. These three things work good together.

A lot of the skills require breathing exercises. They help a ton with anxiety levels. Breathing properly can reduce anxiety by slowing down the breathing and the heartbeat. It really comes in handy during high stress situations.

I think it is great you are moving in such a productive direction. I think with the right medications you will feel better sooner than the six to eight weeks. I have found some medications to work rather quickly. But it is a subtle change when it happens. You gradually start to feel better.

I have fibromyalgia and I believe it was accompanied with chronic fatigue syndrome. I have found walking helps to gain energy. I also take Adderall and it gives me some energy. It might be something you would be interested in. It is a stimulant though. Not a lot of people want to take them. I have been taking it for many years. I don't know if I could function without it. I couldn't before. Though it gives me energy to do things which in turn gives me more energy. When I first got fibromyalgia, I had to hang onto furniture just to get around my house. I couldn't function enough to go to appointments. My husband had to drive me everywhere and help with shopping and everything I had to do. Now I can do those things on my own. I was so fatigued that I slept the first two years. I mean everyday and at night too. I was so bad I had restless leg syndrome all the time from not doing anything.

I take three medications for depression. Pristiq, Abilify and Xanax (as needed). The Xanax is the only as needed one. The other two I take everyday.

I don't know how bad yours is. Any fatigue is bad I think. Not being able to do the things that you use to do. Plus in the meantime we are aging. That doesn't help...

I hope that you feel better soon. I am glad you found the resources. There is a lot of good stuff there.

Take care and keep posting as it helps.

Hugs, Karen...

Hi Karen- Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I am lucky in the fact that I had almost always been able to do things physically like walking everyday or chores etc. I have more problems with the mental aspect...like socializing ...shopping...driving..things that are mentally draining.
It got to the point where I had to force myself to go out and walk which is something I had always loved to do. I also take a lot of nature photos which I also loved doing. But it became hard for me to get motivated.

I also feel a lot of my depression is from social isolation. We recently moved to a 55+ community and I am in the “younger” group of people that live here. My husband still works so he isn’t around. I haven’t been able to click with anyone here yet as the few I have met are critical and negative people and we certainly don’t need that!

I am also thinking about not going the medication route. I am going to have to wait till I get the DNA test done and talk with my doctor. I have a terrible time with medications as long ago I tried celexa and lexapro and both were a nightmare. Since my doctor is functional medicine I am going to ask about other supplements.

I already am doing HeartMath training and my positive thoughts training so I am hoping those will help as well.
I know I need to get out socially or look for a part time job as I quit my job of 22 years to move here. That played a huge factor in all this. I am not use to being home all day with nothing to do. I think that played a part in the anxiety too.

I see the doctor in a couple weeks but haven’t even received the test kit yet so no decisions will be made yet.
I just got home from vacation and felt pretty good during it because I was active and had no time to think negative thoughts so that’s a plus.

I can’t go on like I have been for all these years so I have to give this some serious thought....I am really afraid of prescription meds....my brain doesn’t seem to get along well with them.

ktp812,

I am glad you like to walk. And take nature photos. That is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

There are supplements too that can help with depression. I hope you find what works for you.

It is cool you can take a test to see what would work for you. Mine has been all trial and error. But I have been on the same med for about 8 years now. It has kept me feel well.

I have never taken any that made me feel numb but I took Remeron which made me real sleepy. That didn't last long.

I hope you find a job you like. I have been thinking of working again but am dealing with diabetes now and I have to eat every two hours or I get low blood sugar which is no fun at all. So once I get this under control I might start looking for a part time job too.

I hope you have a lovely day. Raining here, darn.... I wanted to go for a walk this morning. Maybe in the afternoon.

Hugs, Karen...

Hi Kim,
Sadly it is still raining. October has been full of rain this time around. I do have a rain coat, but it is also cold. Excuses I know... I am in Michigan so it can get hard to get out in the winter. I use to cross country ski. I don't have the stamina anymore, but I try. If I ski in the winter I feel a lot better. But I am pushing 60 this year and have slowed down a lot with the fibromyalgia. I am going to try to ski this winter though. I use to walk so much when I was younger. I had a way to get out to the woods though and two dogs I took along with me. Now I just walk around the block or a couple blocks.

We have always talked about moving to NC. I have some friends down there. They are relatives of my first husband that passed away in 2000. I still keep in contact with them. I understand it is hot in the summer though. I wish I was rich enough, I would go down in the winter and come back here in the summer. Dream on eh?

Yea, I didn't like Remeron at all. I wasn't on it very long.

I liked Wellbutrin, in fact my psychologist says I could add it to the mix if I wanted to. I just can't take a high dose of it as it gave me insomnia. But you don't usually gain any weight on it. And it gives you some energy. I liked that part. Maybe it is something to think about. But I keep forgetting you are going to get that test to see what would be the best fit. That is awesome.

I tried buspar, Zoloft, paxil, and Prozac and they all had side effects. I didn't get them in the beginning as most people do, but about two months after the meds worked good for depression, I got bad side effects that wouldn't go away. That was kind of a crusher to me. As it happened over and over. Finally I tried Effexor and took that for about 15 years. Then when it went generic, I switched to Pristiq. That has been working for a long time. I am at the max dose though.

I would say if you can manage with out the antidepressants, that is the best way to go. But some of us need them too badly. If you get the right one, it is like a miracle.

I take fish oil too. I take a lot of pills and supplements. Vitamin D3 helps me a lot but I am not out in the sun a lot. If I miss a dose I notice it by the end of the day from the way I feel. Magnesium helps a little with muscle pain from the fibromyalgia. Then I take calcium and a multivitamin. I fill my husband and my pill boxes on Saturdays. It is like an all day affair. I have three pill boxes and he has one. I am like a walking pharmacy.

I have to eat right due to diabetes. That gets old fast, but I have lost weight so I am happy in that respect.

I have found the walks to help a lot. Even if I go to Walmart and walk a lot there. Just as long as I keep moving. I am sure you can relate.

I like taking photos and I have a pretty good camera, I just need to sit down and read the book so I know how to use it right. I can zoom in but there is so much more that it does. And of course I forget to carry it when I go out in the woods.

I hope you have a good rest of the day Kim. I hope you get sunshine, we might this afternoon, but it looks pretty dreary today...

Hugs, Karen...

Believe it or not, the sun is trying to come out here. But it isn't being very successful. But things have lightened up a little.

I am hoping you test well for Wellbutrin too. It sounds like it could help you in a lot of ways. I am not positive, but I think Lexapro is weight neutral, but I have heard of people actually losing weight on the Wellbutrin. I took Prozac and gained weight just looking at food. At least that is how it seemed. I hated it.

I just lost about 20 pounds but 10 of it was from my blood sugar going real high and the other 10 I lost with a new diet. No sugar... Even though I haven't been able to walk. And I still feel like I am eating a lot because I have to eat so many times a day. Just small portions.

I am sick of doctors too. I see my family doctor plus diabetes dr. and a foot doctor right now and it seems like every time I turn around I go. Plus my psychologist. I am sick of medications too and checking my blood. But what can we do? I think that the older we get the more things start to wear out or go wrong. Physically I mean. I guess I am in for a whole bunch of stuff in the future. Though I try not to think about that. Living in the now is the best way to go. Keeps me from thinking too much.

Pharmacists know a lot about medications. You are lucky you are married to one. Didn't you say you worked in a pharmacy too? I think you learn a lot from the patients and what they go through. Plus working with medications all day long.

I take Xanax for anxiety. I was pretty much off of them and then started to need them again. I am on the lowest dose and only 1 to 2 a day as needed. I use to take the highest milligram and four times a day. I hope to be off of it again soon as I can.

I hear that you have to take a lot of stuff for lymes. I hear that there are a lot of problems and complications. I hope that they can learn more to make it less stressful and painful. I have not had it. I am surprised because I use to spend a lot of time in the woods. But I am mostly out there in early spring looking for morel mushrooms. We get some ticks as it warms up. But then I stop going. I have never been bit but I have had one on me before. They are hard to kill.

I had acupuncture before. It was strange though. There were wires on all the needles. They would send electricity through them. I don't even know what it was suppose to do so I stopped going because it didn't seem to be helping. I tried physical therapy. It was stressful just going for me.

I hope you had a nice walk. I been cleaning today some. I never get a lot done but I try to do a little everyday. Tomorrow I usually take it easy. I don't know why. I guess because Sunday is a day of rest and I get lazy. Ha...

Take care Kim...
Hugs, Karen...