'MEDICATION' is #2 Keyword for Depression Recovery
Medication - finding one that works - is one aspect of depression recovery that I have had the least success with. Maybe that is why I emphasize lifestyle changes so much. I have had to make many changes to accomodate this illness. Oh how I wish there was a pill that would do the job!
Medication is our #2 Keyword for Depression. Let's continue our depression review.
Medication makes you strong - not weak. Seeking any kind of help for depression is the smart thing to do. Medication might make a little difference. Wouldn't that be worth it? And what if it makes a big difference? Better still!
I could tell you a lot of awful stories about my search for the right medication. I am for the most part, treatment resistent. My biggest side effect is headaches - killer migraine headaches - which of course make me more depressed, not less depressed. I have tried many, and failed with most. Either the side effects were unbearable or they just didn't help at all.
Finding the right medication can be a difficult journey but worth the effort if you get good results.
Presently I am taking lamictal(lamitrogine), a mood stabilizer with an antidepressant component thrown in. The therapeutic dosage is up to 400 mg but my body will only tolerate 100 mg. And it took me a whole year to gradually get up to that 100 mg (managing the headaches with each increase until the headache would subside before the next increase). It makes a wee bit of difference. I'd like to increase the dosage in hopes of further help, but if I try to increase it, I'll get more headaches and I can't sleep.
If you are lucky, the first medication you try may actually help and that is tremendous, because, until you can get at least some help, you can't move on to try and help yourself with some other changes that are even more important than medication.
The journey to find the right medication is as challenging as finding the right diagnosis but it is worth the struggle. Sometimes this is a trial and error experiment that will require patience.
Some of you will have to stay on medication indefinitely, others will not. But if you are lucky enough to find a medication that helps you if only for a little while, take it as an opportunity. While you are feeling better you can think about your life and how the depression started. You can plan some changes that might make your life easier to manage.
Medication can be a two-edged sword because there can sometimes be side effects that are worse than the depression itself. Be brave and patient but don't be shy about reporting the negative effects of the first meds you try. There are a lot of medications out there and it is worth it to try to find the right one for you.
Taking medication doesn't make you weak,
it makes you smart.
If you were a diabetic and had to take insulin would that make you weak or smart? Well, depression is a disease as well and sometimes medication is required.
It can be an easy pill to swallow if it is the right medication.
Antidepressants take a long time to start working, somewhere from two weeks to three months, so the sooner you get started, the sooner you have a hope of getting the medical support you want.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you on the right medication? Are you on any medication at all? Are your meds working for you? Do you have the courage and strength to continue to pursue better meds or changes in meds?
Don't give up! There is hope for depression.
