Is there an end to depression?

[Fuzzy12]

I know that ADHD is a life long condition but is it the same with depression?

I haven't been always depressed. It kicked in eight years ago and I haven't been able to get out of this funk since then. I can't imagine that I ever will. I saw some light when I started taking anti depressants but that seems to have fizzled out.

My GP has put me on the highest dose that she can prescribe for this particular anti depressant but it doesn't seem to be making any difference. It might be because I'm hardly eating and smoking too much. I've read that smoking can reduce the absorption of anti depressants drastically. I asked my GP and she said that it shouldn't affect the efficacy of the anti depressants but I'm not sure how informed she is.

I wonder if there ever will be a time when I'm not depressed (at least not full time, for longer than a few hours). I know there are things I could do to make it better, like exercise, etc. but I'm not able to get myself to do those things. Maybe somewhere I don't believe that I will ever be ok again. It seems as if the depression is a part of me now. A part that can't be removed and that is growing stronger and more powerful by the day.

I've tried being ok with the thought of not being ok but still, it's not fun. I'm tired of this.

[anonymouslyadd]

I think how you view it is pretty key, and it seems like you're really struggling Fuzzy.

Depression can be cured, but I think there might be some things that need to be changed to make sure it doesn't come back. The chances of you having it again increase. This is not seem morose. Rather, I want to let you know of a reality we face. I've battled depression off and on, and having been on Wellbutrin for about a year and a half I know I never want to go off it.

What if you viewed your battle with depression as being a journey to learn and understand yourself. When I've put end points (ie ending depression) as my goal, it's made me infuriated and discouraged, over time. When I view something as a process, I'm better able to endure the battle. I'm able to handle it for a longer period, because I've eliminated the end point.

[Abi]

You appear to have developed chronic depression.

What medication are you o? What dose?

What symptoms of depression are the most severe?

[tudorose]

(((Fuzzy)))

I remember being depressed as far back as 3 but it didn't really become something I had an awareness of until I was 8 and even then I didn't understand what it was.

Does it go away? I think it comes and goes. Sometimes it's worse than others. I've been reasonably ok for about a year (since I got sick ironically). I'm not sure if this was coz of a reassessment of my life or whether I started to eat better in the hopes of recovery.

When something is not right the first thing I look at is diet and healthy living. Quit the fags, eat lots of fruit and veg. Try to get to bed earlier and do some exercise. Exercising to exhaustion helps. So does staying off alcohol.

Keeping blood sugar balanced helps a lot too. If you're eating loads of carbs or sugar and then crashing it's not going to help the situation. I know I feel distressed when I'm hungry.

Some things I've introduced into my diet which made it go away were:

Raw spinach
Quinoa
Sweet potatoes
Goji berries
Olives
Rice bran oil
Tumeric

Also I learned to accept myself and stop beating myself up coz of the adhd.

Goodluck Fuzzy. I don't know if it goes away completely but right now I'm enjoying it not being there.

[Unmanagable]

Mine doesn't end, it just gets interrupted by brief periods of what feels like happiness. I feel like I manage it fairly well, some days better than others, of course. But w/o the meds, I don't think I could get to that point as well or as often.

My nutritional intake can most definitely make or break a day. Of course we feel better overall when we pay attention to what we eat and drink. It's the darn planning, prep, patience, and clean-up that presents a giant hurdle in that arena. Grrrrrrrrr.....

I know this part may sound a bit too off the wall for some peeps, but one of the things I've learned that's 'truer than true' is that energy really does go where the mind flows.

Changing the flow of my thoughts to a more positive direction is one of my biggest challenges daily, but making an effort to do so has brought positive results and significant satisfaction. My mind stays active with consistent self-defeating thoughts coming from every damn direction.

I see my life as one giant puzzle that I repeatedly knock off of the table. (I've never been one to be graceful, either. lol) Trying to remember where all the pieces go and scrambling to get them back into place becomes overwhelming and exhausting, and some days it just isn't going to happen. Learning to be okay with that instead of kicking my own *** over it, has been a huge struggle and a relief, all in one.

Shifting focus to accepting there will be bad days vs. my life is f***** hasn't been easy because of the endless struggles and emotional turmoil. I was in a pretty deep ditch for a while and wasn't sure I was going to make it back out. He!!, I wasn't sure I even wanted to get out, for fear of not knowing how to sincerely deal with the "good stuff" either. It's a slippery slope.

[avjgirsijdhtjhs]

The problem with the word depression is that it encompasses so much stuff. Stuff that is totally different from other stuff that also gets referred to as depression. Tell us what the stuff is.

Is it negative thoughts stuff? SSRI's should help with that. You are on Sertraline, and started in mid-late February, right? You said you're on a high dose. What is the dose?

Or is it apathy, boredom, and motivation related stuff? I just looked at some of your previous thread titles and posts, and see a lot about this, and not as much stuff about negative thoughts...

Going up in dose on an SSRI should give more of a "don't give a ****" attitude about things and ease the negative thoughts kind of depression, but might CAUSE a totally different type of depression that has to do with a lack of motivation and "zest" for life. At least they do for me.

Also, you'd like to try an ADD stim(s), but haven't been able to get one prescribed yet, and you don't take Bupropion either, right?

[CheekyMonkey]

What other medications have you tried?

Are you willing to see a psychiatrist instead of just your GP? I'm sure your situation is multifaceted, given that you are also ADHD. A good psychiatrist will have experience with this and know some different medication combinations to try.

Don't give up home. Sometimes it is just a matter of finding the best meds for the job. It can be a long and daunting road, but it pays off in the long run.

Are you seeing a therapist?

[anonymouslyadd]

Fuzzy, have you considered volunteering for an organization, which helps sufferers with depression? I found one in the UK, but I don't want to post it. PM me if you're interested.

[spunkysmum]

The last time I struggled with severe depression was years ago, so it my experience it has been known to go away - or at least to take long breaks. I had one major episode at 15 and another 10 years ago when I was 26. Of course there are times when I feel lower than at others, but depression for me was persistent sadness and emotional pain that wouldn't let up, more than dullness or lethargy, so I notice when it seems like I might be slipping back into it. I've been pretty vigilant since the last time about being aware if I start to feel that way again. I had a few tough weeks last spring, first when I gave up one old car to take on another and regretted the decision instantly and missed the old car terribly. A couple weeks after that a cat I really loved died and that took me out for another couple weeks. Usually every time I have had an acute (& thankfully short-lived) episode of depression, I can identify a trigger event. Whenever I have suffered a major depressive episode, I have had difficulty identifying any external event that may have led to it.

If your medication isn't working, your doctor needs to keep working with you to find one that does. It's very important to keep doing whatever can be done to get you well.

[Sandy4957]

Fuzzy, here's what I'm hearing from you, and the questions that what I hear you to be saying prompt from me.

I hear that you've experienced what it's like to NOT be depressed AS AN ADULT. Am I right about that?

You've felt depressed for some time. How long?

You've been on medication for depression and you're now on the highest possible dose. How long? And what medication?

You can't seem to bring yourself to exercise. What if I could GUARANTEE you that, with walking vigorously for 45 minutes per day you WOULD feel significantly better. Do you think that you could muster the energy to try that? If the answer is "yes," do you need a guarantee that will work with just ONE "dose?" I guarantee that you'll "feel" it with one "dose." I do, FWIW. And it doesn't take more than walking 45 minutes....

Want to "friend" me on Endomondo and we'll "work out" together? I promise you, you WILL feel better with exercise. I guarantee it.

Oh, and fish oil, babe. Fish oil. A LOT of fish oil...

[spunkysmum]

Originally Posted by Sandy4957

If the answer is "yes," do you need a guarantee that will work with just ONE "dose?" I guarantee that you'll "feel" it with one "dose." I do, FWIW. And it doesn't take more than walking 45 minutes....
.

Or even 15 or 20 minutes. Odds are if you start with that you'll just want to keep going, I usually do.

That said, as I mentioned on another depression thread a couple days ago, during the last major episode of depression I had I was exercising, vigorously, walking miles a day over beautiful terrain that normally never failed to make me feel uplifted, on gorgeous sunshiny mornings - and the effect on my depression was nil. If it did help, I don't want to imagine what I would have been like without it, because with it, I got no noticeable relief. It became just another of those things included in the depression symptom "loss of interest and/or joy in things you normally love." I might be crying the whole time I was doing it. For me the loss of interest and joy in things was a major characteristic of my depression. All those things that are normally medicine for my soul didn't work for this. Not even music, which for some reason just hurt me. So, while I think it's entirely possible, probable even, that regular exercise will help, I can't personally give a 100% ironclad guarantee.

But it's DEFINITELY worth a try. As a supplement to what you're already taking, it is probably a lot more effective than it would be to try exercise as your main remedy.

[avjgirsijdhtjhs]

Do you get sun or take vitamin D?

[spunkysmum]

Originally Posted by CheekyMonkey

What other medications have you tried?

Are you willing to see a psychiatrist instead of just your GP? I'm sure your situation is multifaceted, given that you are also ADHD. A good psychiatrist will have experience with this and know some different medication combinations to try.

Excellent point. I experienced relief with the first medication my GP tried, but that was just dumb beginner's luck. It's not going to be that uncomplicated for everybody and a lot of trial-and-error might be needed. That in itself is a daunting proposition given the length of time it takes to build up any one of those meds in your system before you really know if it's going to work.

I really wish for you Fuzzy that you could get a doctor to try you on ADHD meds, I'd be so curious to see if you are one of those people who get not only relief from ADHD symptoms but also get relief from depression on a stimulant.

[Rebelyell]

I wondered this myself,I also wonder if I ever get off my meds if my depression will comeback even fiercer then before?

[Targaryen]

Originally Posted by avjgirsijdhtjhs

Do you get sun or take vitamin D?

Good point. While that might not be your issue it still wouldn't hurt to have your vitamin d levels checked. I had mine checked not too long ago and found I had a vitamin D deficiency (mine was 13)

I now take vitamin D3 everyday and will be getting my levels checked again soon and I feel a lot better and vitamin D3 supplements are cheap. My doctor said he had to look several times when he saw the report.