Like A Rock ~ Fukitoff Fails

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Well, unfortunately, going off Fukitol didn’t work as well as we may have hoped, what with the late night panic attacks and the crushing despair and all. Back on Fukitol I go.

However, since I was trying to go off that one because I’m tired of waking up with half my face contorted like Popeye’s, or having the floor slide out from under me whenever I turn my head, I am going to find me another brand.

This could take a while.

I don’t think the one I’m on right now is a winner. I have finally discovered what people mean when they say they felt “unmotivated” on antidepressants. I always get a certain measure of inertia on them, but this one goes beyond a bit of unmotivation. At this point, activity has been rendered almost purely theoretical. It’s a very strangely numb feeling.

So I think I’m going to have to do a few trials again.

Damn. I hate these reminders that chronic conditions are … well … chronic. Depression sucks.

Comments

[thewrongcrowd.livejournal.com]

The explanation I have seen (and used) is that depression, like diabetes, is treated, not cured. And although some people are able to go medication-free (due to behavior modification, life-changes, whatever) or have short-term issues (post-partum depression, depression associated with trauma, etc.) many chronically depressed ultimately spiral and decide that the pluses of meds are worth the minuses.

Not only do the synapses release serotonin* too rapidly, but chronic depression is associated over time (and untreated) with a decrease in numbers of serotonin receptors. So it's a doubly vicious mechanism.

_{Aw, darn. I no longer have my Paxil icon. ;)}

*Serotonin is the best known, but research is pretty solid implicating dopamine and norepi receptors as well.

[luinmir.livejournal.com]

This.

It may help, in this case, to think of depression as a collection of symptoms rather than having one discrete cause. Some people can get better with short-term meds plus cognitive therapy, but some cannot.

Frankly, there are so many factors to psychological illness that it's almost impossible to give a definitive answer to any one individual's experience of depression. Not to mention the the medications we have today - while better than they used to be - are nowhere near subtle enough to fix the problem without potentially causing a whole lot more. That's why so many of us have to go through the rigmarole of trying medication, getting off medication, trying different medication, et cetera.