[Tummy Trouble TB]

I've witnessed changes in my life lately. I had a nasty bout of depression and anxiety, and things seemed under control with 75 mg Effexor daily.All of a sudden however, I've been sleeping more and more, wanting to stay in bed all day, and finding it hard to clean the house and even take a shower each day (although I'm a clean and neat-freak).I don't feel suicidal or any different other than this. Talk therapy has been such a failure for me - I never have been able to follow through or get anything out of it even when I do follow through. My psychiatrist is drug-happy and loves to just hand out pills to me like candy. I had to cut myself off from some of them because my memory was so bad after awhile.What do I do here? I can't take higher doses of Effexor because it messes up my blood pressure. I've tried Prozac, Remeron, Celexa and Paxil all to no avail. The idea of starting another pill scares me.Any ideas?

 

[california123]

Sounds more like depression than anxiety to me. How about finding a new psychiatrist or maybe a therapist to talk things out with? Most psychiatrists today are paid by insurance companies only for medication management not theapy. If your sessions are only 20 minutes, that is all he or she is allowed to do. Find out your options and then decide what you want to do. And though I know it will be difficult, tell your psychiatrist what you said to us, all of it. Take care.

 

[Guest]

Excellent advice....

 

[zayaka26]

I agree.

 

[trbell]

There are different kinds of talk therapy. CBt has helped a lot of people and you might want o try getting Dr. Bolen's book.Bada

 

[Marriah]

Tummy, it does sound like depression. I can relate, I feel like that almost every day. (I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to being clean). Sometimes I feel like I weigh a million tons, trying to walk through molasses.I know the idea of going on different medications can be scary, but if you have a chemical imbalance...There are so many anti-depressants to try. I have tried about 15 (or more), and I am still looking. That isnt to say that the next thing you try wont be the one for you. You might really consider finding a different psychiatrist. I have found that how I feel about the doctor can make a big difference on how I feel about everything else-I guess it helps knowing that your doctor wants to help.Hows it going today?hugs, marriah

 

[finefingers]

ask to try welbutrin. effexor made me crazy. I did things that were totally out of my caracter and regret most of it. welbutrin got me out of my funk fast.

 

[Guest]

Some meds, and I think Effexor is one of them, work differently depending on the dosage that you take. Depending on the dosage they affect different neurotransmitters. At the first level it affects Serotonin, at the next it affects Norepinephrine and at the higher doses it affects Dopamine. At least that's what one psychiatrist told me. It may be that your dosage of Effexor needs to be adjusted?A second opinion certainly wouldn't hurt.What works for some may not work for one and vice versa.I experience all sorts of bizarre reactions to different meds. I've even hallucinated on some.This is just a layperson's guess, but it almost sounds like a Dopamine issue.The crux of the matter is that your psychiatrist's diagnosis could be wrong. If it is, then your medication may also be wrong for you.Hope you feel better soon, Tummy... you're too nice, sweet and cute to feel bad.....

 

[ian1974]

Tummy, I recently started to come out of a very similer and long lasting funk. I tried Zoloft, Prozac and Wellbutrin. None helped. Talk theropy only provided a temporary escape. In the end articulating to my friends the details of my individual nerosis helped the most. Often I find myself thinking about my situation, cutting that down as much as possable really helped. Concentraiting on putting the right foot in front of the other helped. Theropy actually helped me dwell, and dwell. Eventually I was in such despare I could not remember many of the reasons why. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Tummy Trouble TB]

Thanks to everyone. Eeni, I especially identified with your post, because I have tried so many SSRIs and SNRIs, and talk therapy has been a waste of time for me. 6 therapists haven't made headway, so somehow I feel it's not going to be an option for me anymore. Talking and talking about feeling the way I do is dull and I hate doing it. Most of the time they end up agreeing with me constantly and it's just not helpful.Anyhow, I'm doing OK today. I had a lot of errands and was out all day. I came home and got a lot done. I must've had an energy burst.I'm going to see how it goes and go from there. I'm due to call my psychiatrist on the 7th anyhow.Thanks again to you all, and a special thanks to Evie for the nice compliments.