Can't do therapy

[whiteraven]

So...I really, really like my therapist and he has been helpful in the past. As a matter of fact, he offered the only real help I've ever had and I've seen a boatload of therapists.

Right now, though, I'm stuck. I can't do the work in therapy because I'm too depressed. I can't speak, can barely cry anymore, I never want to go (unusual for me), and I seem to just be getting worse.

This happened a few months ago. I was on an anticonvulsant I'd been on for years and was severely depressed with very low energy. I asked to be taken off of it, and it got switched to something else. I think the new one is doing the same thing; I had about a month where I felt really good (well, you know) and then it started all over again. I truly believe that I have medical issues in addition to the other stuff that is going on and that they are making it worse.

I went to a functional/transformational medicine doctor several months ago and, instead of helping me figure things out, he recommended an exorcism. Yeah. I've had so much trouble with doctors, and I think I'd rather die than go to another. Besides, I really can't afford it.

Don't know what to do. I feel like I'm at the very bottom of a hole in the middle of nowhere. No one to help and no way to get out.

 

[EveHarrington]

Is coming off the med an option?

 

[Teamwork]

I have a physical disability and one medication I take at bedtime makes me very depressed in the morning until almost noon, when it starts to leave the body. It acts on the nervous system as a relaxants because I have spastic muscles, but it also depresses everything else. I’ve done two things with it. One the recommended dose is two tablets, I take one and secondly in the morning if I’m bad for mood issues I remind myself, that’s the drug, it will go away soon. I also take a seizure drug and have to talk to it too! It’s got too much sedative power to it, so that doesn’t help elevate mood.
So if you can do without the drug, try that, if not talk to it and go to therapy and sit down and look your drugs up together and discuss what they actually do and how long they are active, or have a life in the blood stream. I have no choice on medication, but I educate myself on drug action, half life, side effects. Hope that helps.

 

[whiteraven]

Is coming off the med an option?

I'm not sure. I did call and leave a message for my neuro, but he is out this week. I tried once before and he basically said I didn't know what I was talking about, that this medicine wouldn't cause any of the symptoms I was talking about, including depression. Even though they are listed in literature and there is a ton of anecdotal evidence that shows it does. So we'll see what he says. I've already decided to find another doctor if he won't help me.

 

[EveHarrington]

Wow, bad doc!

I know that mood stabilizers can cause depression issues...

I was worried about mine causing mania at one point but it’s actually used to treat mania——top down mood stabilization, so I quickly dropped that idea, lol.

Which one are you on? I take Trileptal, 600mg 2x/day.

 

[blackemerald1]

Absolutely - medications can have a psychological effect on a person.

Every medication has a side effect and every side effect will be different.

he recommended an exorcism.

^^I am speechless! WTF is going on? Lol...was he a Doctor of Medicine or Theology??

In the end the therapeutic benefits must be carefully weighted against side effects. It's not a given that we should swallow a pill regardless of the side effects. I learned this the hard way.

I hope you get some decent advice soon..:hug:

 

[whiteraven]

I was worried about mine causing mania at one point but it’s actually used to treat mania

Actually, that's totally possible. I was on Celexa and nearly killed myself. The depression and suicidal thoughts were intense, until I finally found someone to take me off of it.

 

[MyWillow]

I sometimes wonder if med side effects can layer on top of existing symptoms. I was taking Lyrica for nerve pain and I’d wake up every morning with my heart racing. I was taking dangerous risks too. I went cold turkey. My heart still races and I feel like taking dumb risks but I’ve got enough impulse control to manage it.

Whatever you are experiencing is real for you. The brain is ridiculously complex and we don’t understand the half of of. Take good care x

 

[Mach123]

I'm not on psych meds of any kind I smoke pot and drink a little and I have not had real depression since. I was suicidally depressed and not on meds in my 40's but I was symptomatic and didn't know about CSA or cPTSD. I would go on meds if I were depressed to the point of SI. If I were severely depressed and on meds, I'd go off them.

 

[shimmerz]

Even though they are listed in literature and there is a ton of anecdotal evidence that shows it does.

Sometimes I just shake my head at these people. What an asshole. Seriously. I think finding a new doctor is absolutely the best step here.

 

[whiteraven]

Sometimes I just shake my head at these people. What an asshole. Seriously. I think finding a new doctor is absolutely the best step here.

My last one was recommended, because he was an epileptologist. He was worse.

 

[Skywatcher]

My therapist seems to be pretty aware of medication side effects. Whenever my mood changes or my anxiety seems ramped up (which is evident in the crazy emails I will start sending her) she will ask me if I am on any new medications. Then she will tell me if she knows about any side effects. (Recent inhaler situation... the thing turned me crazy after a day of use, but I could breathe!). She once explained how to google medications.... write the med and list your symptoms.

Like: “drug name” depression crazy numb avoidance

If you just say: “drug name” side effects, you won’t get the same results.