Antidepressants Help?

[[Sn...]]

  The depression is becoming all consuming.  It's my worst symptom right now. And I really think that the valium is causing much of it.  I can handle just about anything else but this depression.

  With cold turkey not being a particularly safe option I am thinking I may seriously need an antidepressant during this taper.  Looking for input from others who may have gone this route during their taper.

[[Go...]]

I'm not sure how much help I might be able to give but my wife never normalized on any SSRI/SNRI. We had a doc try her on Pristique (Effexor) a couple months ago to battle symptoms we now know were caused by the benzos. It only caused more issues for her, like insomnia. She never felt much better, even after weeks on it. However, she's just one person and everyone is a little different. We learned a lot of people have to try different SSRIs until they find one that works for them.

 

She's never had issues with chronic depression or bi-polar or anything either during or pre-benzos. The depression she feels has really only been situational, and from the benzos. We've gone a more natural route which has helped her a bit more.

 

Not advice... just our experience.

[[Sn...]]

What was the natural route you went and has it helped?

[[Ne...]]

From what I've read from others that are going through Benzo withdrawal starting medication for depression can cause an increase of systems. I didn't and still don't want to take the chance.

[[Go...]]

What was the natural route you went and has it helped?

 

I think it is mostly the understanding and support from a naturopath she started seeing. It's been amazing seeing so many doctors not understand what's going on, to the point of battling them on diagnosis. Our GP thinks she should take benzos forever. So just having a professional believe and agree with her on diagnosis has been amazing.

 

The naturopath has correctly said there is no magic bullet supplement or treatment but my wife, personally, seems to have found that 5HTP helps her sleep and feel a bit better. When she lacks sleep she gets easily depressed. I look at it as a small help to dull a bit of the withdrawal symptoms she finds the hardest to cope with.

 

Looking at your taper path, you and her are at similar points.

 

[[gi...]]

From what I've read from others that are going through Benzo withdrawal starting medication for depression can cause an increase of systems. I didn't and still don't want to take the chance.

 

That's exactly what happened to me.  I started antidepressant in month 2 of my benzo withdrawal.  I was on it for 30 days, but decided to discontinue.  It didn't work for me, in fact it made things much worse.  That antidepressant worked for me fine before, but not this time around.  I'm happy I'm rid off it.

[[Ca...]]

Same as Ginger. I tried to reinstate Zoloft for 4 days during an unknown wd in July -  I was sure I wasn't going to make it. But I agree, the depression is mind blowing...it's hard to make it go away.

[[Tr...]]

My depression was all consuming also and I found that starting Zoloft while tapering Klonopin was the only way I could see my way out. It was a reinstatement of Zoloft after about 6 months off of it. It was a rough ride, as my anxiety spiked and I had a lot of difficulty sleeping. But after about 3 weeks I stabilized and the depression was mostly gone. I stayed on Zoloft for about 9 months, then tapered again and have been off almost two years now.

[[Ca...]]

The depression is awful. Is anyone doing any better? Travis how are you doing 2 years off?

[[gi...]]

I have ok days and bad days, my depression fluctuates, it's awful.  They say that exercise and proper nutrition helps, well for me it doesn't do a damn thing depression-wise, I've been diligent about it.  I just hope it will lift for all of us, at least partially, so we can get some kind enjoyment out of this life.  What the hell, I just want to be not depressed.  Sending everybody good vibes.

[[ma...]]

SnickleFritz, I'm on Effexor. Already was before beginning to taper the benzo. I don't know if Effexor is helping or not, but the fact is that my taper has been quite manageable and I'm functional. HOWEVER, quitting Effexor will be as difficult as quitting the benzo or even worse. Everytime I forget to take one single pill of this antidepressant, I become sick, in bed, for more than one full day. Like if I had the flu, dizzy, and with pain all over my body. It's horrible!

 

So, I think you should weight not only the benefits but also the problems that one more psychoactive drug will bring you.

 

If I could go back, before starting to take an antidepressant, I would have exhausted the more natural alternatives. Have you tried this type of therapies?

[[Ca...]]

Ginger 5 months and the depression is still as strong? T1D has depression and fatigue - I think he's about the same time out. I eat well too and while I don't exercise that much due to exhaustion, I'm on my feet for about 8 hours a day.

NOTHJNG HELPS.

[[Sn...]]

My doc gave me Paxil, 10mg, which she said I could start out with by breaking in half, but I haven't taken any yet. I don't know if I can handle the increased anxiety for a couple of weeks until it starts to work. I may wait till I'm finished with the taper, see how I feel and go from there. I'm just so afraid of taking anything right now.

[[Tr...]]

The depression is awful. Is anyone doing any better? Travis how are you doing 2 years off?

I'm doing great now that I found SAM-e, actually. I did pretty well the first year and a half after quitting Zoloft but had a low level depression that I couldn't quite shake. Never too deep, but always there. Did talk therapy, exercise, meditation and constant coping exercises but it was still lingering.

 

About 4 months ago I started with 200mg Nature Made SAM-e and it totally snapped me out of the cloud and back to feeling like myself. It's a low dosage but is just what I needed. Plus no side effects. Best thing I've done for myself lately.

[[Sn...]]

What is SAM-e?

[[lo...]]

NAC (jarrows sustain) + st johns wort 900mg saved me.

[Guest [ou...]]

Before going to your antidepressant options let's see what you could do without them.

 

Based on your history I agree that Valium is the cause of your depression.

Going 'cold turkey' could lift your depression but as you know that is not an option.

However, here's a less 'crazy' idea based on your saying depression>anxiety;

you could consider going slightly faster (maybe .5mg/week) in an attempt to balance the 2.

 

Now let's talk about antidepressants.

Your doctor's suggestion on how to take Paxil is wise and should minimize any initial anxiety.

However, Paxil discontinuation is a close 2nd to benzo withdrawal.

Personally I take 10mg doxepin as needed for sleep (per Ashton's recommendations)

but at 25mg (still low-dose) it also has antidepressant properties.

 

Hope this helps.

[[Ca...]]

Paxil ruined my life - beware

[[Tr...]]

What is SAM-e?

SAM-e is a supplement available over the counter in the US but by prescription in Europe. It's supposed to help both serotonin and dopamine production. There's a lot of info online. I did a ton of research before starting on it, and went slowly. No side effects, other than a little insomnia. Boosts energy and motivation.

 

From Dr. Weil:

 

"SAMe (S-adenosy-L-methionine) is a naturally occurring molecule found throughout the body, with high concentrations in the adrenal glands, liver, and brain. It has been studied extensively as an antidepressant as well as for treatment of osteoarthritis pain. Although the study populations have been small, results have generally been positive, showing SAMe to be more effective than placebo."

 

There's a bunch of info here: http://www.raysahelian.com/sam-e.html

[[er...]]

Exercise, exercise and more exercise.. also, eating organic and avoiding as many toxins as possible will help much more than pills, which got us all here in the first place.

 

A job helps too, but right now I'm out of work and am bummed out about that..

[[Ca...]]

it is SO hard to exercise when you're exhausted

I have to say - dairy and wheat def. make me feel worse. I feel best when I eat hard boiled eggs and spinach and bananas.

WD must rob us of vital nutrients, too.

 

[[Iw...]]

  Antidepressant can be good but find a doctor that will work for you. It takes patience and trial and error until you find the right one for you. I have tried a bunch of them. I can usually tell within the first 3 days if them help, do nothing, or are making things worse.

  So its trial and error to find the best one for you.

[[Pa...]]

This is something I have a lot of experience with but I'm so confused with it all. I first felt a low level depression which I did nothing about. Later I had my first panic attack which developed into generalized anxiety. I was prescribed Paxil but also tried a few other ADs.  I finally settled on Paxil plus clonazapam daily. I CT'd both in 2010 and went on Cipralex. For two years I was perfect. Due to stress, my low level anxiety showed up and then a panic attack and slowly my GAD came back as well.  I increased my dosage and added clonazapam but it didn't help. I switched to Effexor plus Remoron and after about 6 months I began to feel somewhat better. During the 6 months I took more and more lorazepam but mostly none for about 6 months following. Benzo withdrawal didn't seem to bother me much. Then I had even more stress in my life and the anxiety got worse. I began to take more lorazepam which helped for one day and then my anxiety would come back. I began to take more lorazepam but I noticed it was less and less effective. I then tried to change my AD to Paxil, then trintellix, then back to Cipralex and finally I went on Zoloft this past May. I knew at this point it was the lorazepam that was the problem. I as getting anxiety every morning but of tolerance. I switched to Valium in February and CT'd it Sep 1st. Now it's been 11 weeks off and I finally began to get some windows. In fact I had 9 good days that ended Three days ago. Not sure what happen but I got this bad wave.

 

So here I am today, no Benzo, 150mg Zoloft and 100mg Trazadone. I've taken some Gabapentin to help smooth out the really bad days. It has helped but sometimes I feel like a zombie. No anxiety or depression but I feel like a zombie. Not sure if I should take it consistently or just keep taking it as needed.

 

So in my case, I think I need the AD and I would afraid to try without them. However, because I have felt so crappy the last three days, my doctor thinks the Zoloft isn't working for me and to try Prestiq or Effexor. I was definitely better on Effexor than Zoloft, however I don't think I was experiencing Benzo withdrawal then.

 

That's my story and I need to decide if I should switch to Effexor soon.