I am very disturbed by the wave of Anti-D's being prescribed these days. It's almost like we are turning into a society of numb sheep. People are finding it easier to numb there feeling instead of facing things head on. Now I understand that a person with severe long term depression that is unable to function and might be a danger to themselves or others, should be on some form of medication. But the general person who is depressed because of a life event might want to think real hard at alternatives to AD's especially with all the side effects like sexual disfunction, sleeplessness, etc. There are also alternatives that are proven to help people with mild depression, like excercise, eating healty, minimizing alcohol intake, yoga etc. I mean getting in shape, which can bring about a better self image will do wonders in combating depression.

In my case I didn't want to take AD's because I wanted to think clearly and not be in a self medicated fog. I wanted to make sure my decision to work things out with my FWW was because I wanted to and not because a pill made me numb to the reality of it all. I excercise daily, eat healty and started doing yoga twice a week. I found once I felt good about who I am and how I look the depression I had went away.

I am concerned about this, too. I did get a prescription for ADs a couple of years ago, but never took them. I talked to other people in my profession -- I am a novelist -- and heard too many horror stories about how their creativity was simply turned off by the ADs.

ADs work, in large part, by turning off the pictures in your head so you don't obsess over them. How do novelists work? By conjuring up pictures in our heads. Anyone in an artistic profession may find themselves unable to work if on ADs, and thus feel that much worse.

I can understand that ADs are a blessing for some, but yes, be careful. Look for alternatives. My problem was (and still is) not so much depression but anxiety and panic attacks from the PTSD. I use Kava for that and it works very well -- sometimes a dose of Kava is the only thing that will allow me to curl up on the couch and crank out another chapter on the book that was due six months ago.

(Kava does have some contraindications, especially for females - check it out thoroughly first and use the root, not the stems and leaves.)

I also despise the idea that I should have to be medicated just to tolerate someone's treatment of me.
Mulan

I'm with you. The last time I saw my doctor, I told her everything that was going on with WH. That explained the blood pressure reading. She looked at me expectantly and waited for me to ask for some prescription ADs. I told her, "No thanks, I don't want any ADs. I'll take my depression straight up." She just nodded her head and said "Good for you."

Sometimes, I do think people need a little something to help them cope. Now my WH, he could use some medication...

Do AD's even help normal people struggling with depression due to a traumatic event? I've read up on them because I've have depression since childhood. For the longest time I "self-medicated" myself with booze until I mistakenly took the depression to be just hangovers and sank deeper towards the bottle's bottom.

From what I understand, paxil, wellbutrin, prozac, zoloft and such all basically work the same way, by controlling some kind of synapse "bouncing" error in the depressed mind, so to speak, for lack of tech support or fine print to read from <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> So when a person who is not normally depressed takes such medicine would it even have any effect more so than a placebo on them during traumatic times?

Sorry to not jump on this bandwagon....good for you all to be able to take your depression "straight up", but after not sleeping for 1-2 months...obsessing over the EA and OW. Crying at the drop of a hat in front of my DD's.....I needed the AD's. Depression and Anxiety disorder run in the family.
Could I be doing this without the AD's...sure but right now I need all the help I can get. Funny GG you mention that your WH could use something. Well so could mine but he refuses, says he doesn't need that crap. He is so up and down and all over the place. I need them in order to deal with the crap he refuses to deal with.

Do they make me numb? Absolutely not, the pain is just as real only manageable. Have I lost my creativity? No. Lost my sense of humor? Are you kidding, not a chance.

To each his own. Some choose to go cold turkey, some choose alcohol and other substances, some choose their faith in God. I choose God and my family's love and support, with a chaser of AD.

Shortly after D-day my doctor prescribed Zoloft for me. I took it for two months. I have no idea what it did for me other than the crying stopped. I knew that I didnt want to stay on it, so I took myself off with my doctor's knowledge. I havent detected a big change, although while watching Bruce Almighty the other night, I broke down. The scene that did it was right near the end when Jennifer Anniston's character was praying and telling God that she didnt want to love Bruce anymore. Kind of hit me hard, since I still love my WW and wish at times that I didnt. Other than that, I havent seen a big difference either way. Maybe I wasnt on it long enough. I will say though, that while on it, my creativity (I am in sales and marketing) was completely shot. Zilch! Had none whatsoever. I havent seen it come back though. It may just be a product of where I am at mentally. I really need to get it back. Maybe the resolution of this mess will allow for it's return. I sure hope so.



"the wheels are turning on the last train to Amsterdam"
Ray Wylie Hubbard

Actually, I guess my feelings on this fall somewhere in the middle. I personally dislike taking drugs of any kind if I can avoid them. I, like a lot of you here, would prefer to deal with things myself.

But...I know that what actually led to a lot of the issues in my M, and a large contributing factor in my wife's EA, was her untreated depression. Once she started treatment, it had a HUGE impact in her ability to work through things, and I truly think that it made a definite positive impact on our ability to reconcile.

In my own case, I didn't take AD's for a LONG time. I refused them during the whole nightmare of d-day, her withdrawl, etc... All of which occurred about a year ago. But I did start taking them about a month ago. I recognized the symptoms of PTSD (I'm ex-military, and have seen it before), and it was getting very tough for me to deal with without making the rest of my family miserable. And the AD's have made a great deal of difference. It's manageable now. I hate the side-affects, but at this point, their worth it considering how much easier it's been to deal with everything else.

HD

I take AD's...I am not in a "numb sleep." I am very active and exercise for my mental health as well as my physical health.

Those who need the assistance are not running from their situations they are getting the help they need to face their problems as you say "head on." They are not medicating themselves into oblivion as perhaps someone might be doing with alcohol, sex or illicet drugs

My situation is biological and not brought about because of circumstances. I suffer no side effects...every thing works the way it is supposed to work.The meds help me to deal with situations that might overwhelm me otherwise. I am nicer and a better person to live with both for others and myself.

When a person is "feeling OK" it is easy to say that the path to health is simple but for those who find themselves trapped in a pit the path out is not always so clear.

AD's do not stop people from "thinking clearly." If they do the person needs to stop taking them, find a new med or change the dosage.
H

I initially did not want to take ADs because of exactly that - I was afraid it would just be covering over dealing with the divorce and such, rather than working through the emotions to get back to a healthy emotional state. My doctor suggested them because every time I came into the office I started crying (I have a couple of health issues, so I was going every month or so at the time.) I told him I didn't want to take them because yes, I was crying, but it was pretty understandable given the circumstances. But I was having trouble getting through the work day, doing everyday things at home, such as bills, etc. So he finally convinced me to try them.

And I can say that they in no way took away the pain I was going through. It's more that they took the edge off, so that I wasn't obsessing about it all to the point of not being able to do anything else. I still had to work through all the emotional issues though, which is a good thing.

And I've been lucky, because I really haven't had any side effects from what I take either. The only thing they've really done is made it possible for me to get on with the normal daily-living stuff. Without that, the situation could have gotten much worse (unpaid bills, unable to do my job, etc. is a recipe for disaster.)

I'm a HUGE advocate of NOT taking AD's.

Every woman in my family has taken AD's. All I hear at family functions is....."I don't know what I'd do without my AD's....blah, blah, blah.

Let me tell you something.

NONE of them have lived a harder life than I have....other than my mother.

Here is a little of my life history.

My mother was 17 when she had me.
My father dumped her as soon as he found out she was pregnant.
Before I was born my mother married and abusive man.
He verbally and physically abused both my mother and I.
I remember during one of the many fights they had, running into the room to tell them to stop and he actually put me in an old army bad and tied the top in a knot and hung me in a closet.
She divorced him when I was around 5 years old.
During her marriage to this man my mother became an alchoholic and avid drug abuser.
My mother would have wild parties with me in attendance.
My mother slept with just about any man that was around.
My mother would leave me with people I didn't know for days at a time.
She would leave me with family members and disappear for weeks at a time.
When I was 10 yrs old I started skipping school.
I failed the 6th grade because I skipped so much.
Also...when I was 10 yrs old....my mother had a warrant out for her arrest for check deception. The deputies came to arrest her and she hid behind a door while they took me instead. They placed me into an adult jell cell for over 24 hours and then placed me in a Juvinile Home.
My mother was eventually arrested and placed in jail.
While in the Juvinile Home I had to walk to school every day and pass the jail....I would see my mother looking out of her cell for almost 2 weeks.
When she got out of jail she took off without telling anyone where she was going.
When I was released from the Juvinile Home, I was placed with an aunt that didn't really want me. Her son and daughter became my brother and sister.
It took us around 8 years to find out that my mother had taken off to Florida....where she could party and do whatever she pleased without a care in the world.
She NEVER contacted anyone in our family to see what had happened to me.
When I was 24 I found out who my father was and met him for the first time. He wasn't worth meeting.
Thanks goodness neither of my parents had anymore children.

I've come to learn in my 32 years that "If it doesn't kill you....it makes you stronger."

I also now have a very good relationship with my mother. Although I cannot forget all the things that she's done.....I can forgive her. She is afterall the ONLY mother I will ever have.

I was told by so many people that I needed to take AD's.....they would make me feel better and so on. I considered it.....but I figured.....I've been through worse without them.....and it didn't kill me.

JMHO

Of course ADs are over-prescribed, watch a hour of television and you will probably see at least one commercial hocking some magic pill. However, that doesn’t mean that they are not effective or in fact necessary for some people. I think numbing out for a while is better than shooting yourself or slowly drinking yourself to death.

Part of the problems with ADs is how they are marketed. The serotonin reuptake inhibitors probably won’t do much for people that aren’t really clinically depressed. There may be a placebo effect though. They have been blamed for making kids suicidal.

I don’t see it as weakness to want some help overcoming a traumatic situation. I never took ADs partially because there is still a stigma attached for people that seek mental-health treatment. In my profession, such a “weakness” would probably, if not stop my career, would certainly hinder future advance. Plus I just wanted to keep my pain to myself and hold it for a while. It was my “precious” if you know what I mean.

When I feel really bla, and have for a while, I take St. John’s Wort. I can’t say specifically how it works, but it does seem to indeed improve my mood. I also run excessively. This combination works well for me, but I’m sure it wouldn’t work for a lot of people.

Here is some info on St. John’s Wort for those who haven’t tried it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Wort

The fact is if a patient asks his doctor for ADs he will probably get them. The Drs. can risk the ire of the patient and say no, but this may cause the patient to choose a different Dr. A denial can also open the door to a possible lawsuit from the patient or his family if the patient subsequently does wig out and hurt someone. If you were a Dr. which rout would you choose?

My take on anti-D's:
I was placed on them after some really traumatizing experience a couple of years ago. I had refused to take them through the whole post-A ordeal because I was affraid it would just mask my real feelings, and I am the kind of person that needs to marinate in their pain to really get over it.
I was on lexarpo for 4 weeks. My husband and my friends seemed alarmed with the effects it had on me, nearly bipolar. I noticed too, and I also realized it made me feel just... blah... I am an artist so feeling just blah isnt all that good, I thrive on emotions to create art, so I felt so automatic, so cold and so insane! I had to stop.
Of course nobody told me I had to stop gradually, and when I quit cold turkey I went into a tail spin.

Anti-D's for me? No thank you! I rather just ride the rollercoaster as it is. I agree with Miss Priss, and I have to say I am glad I havent numbed myself. It helps me feel compassion and empathy so I can help others around me.
But that's just my humble opinion.