A word on Depression

[fatrockstar]

Many of you haven't read much from me lately because I've been writing filtered and/or private posts. Some things I needed to get off my chest and work through in words without a lot of feedback. For those few of you that did offer support I thank you. Now on to the next chapter.

I have not had a serious depressive episode in a very long time. The last time I felt the need to medicate my depression was about seven or eight years ago, and before that I took medication in college to treat severe insomnia and depression. While the drugs were helpful, I did not like taking them. I always felt that if I had to take pills to manage my mental health I was doing something wrong and needed to pull my head out of my ass somehow. Not a lot of people agree with me on this, but I'm not concerned with how other people choose to manage their mental health issues. If you or someone you love needs a pill, I believe you or your loved one is the only person who can make the decision whether or not to take it and for how long. I do not enjoy taking pills. Not even the fun ones.

So here we are. I've been out of work for more time than I'm comfortable with and it's affecting me to the point it's affecting those around me. People are worried about me. I'm worried about me. My weight loss has stalled, my sleep is not sound, and my stress levels are starting to effect other aspects of my health. I made an appointment with my doctor and talked to him this morning. "I'm so glad you came to talk to me about this -- what took you so long?" were his first words to me this visit. Dr. Finch is a smart man. I should have trusted him a few months ago when he first suggested that depression was hindering my weight loss, and he said as much.

After talking about what I was comfortable with and what my recent research uncovered, a medication was decided upon and a prescription written. I told him I didn't want to be on anti-depressants forever and he agreed. "Six months, maybe a year. In six months it will be October, and that's not a great time to be off the juice. Let's see what happens, shall we?" Maybe it will only be nine.

The med I will be on is considered a norepinephrine-reuptake-inhibitor with mild seretonin- and a small chance of dopamine-reuptake inhibitor qualities. It is a class B drug, which means if fate should twist in my favor everyone will be okay. SSRIs are just not an option for me after the side effects I experienced in the past. I start my new drug tomorrow, bright and early. I am both scared and hopeful.

Comments

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

Good luck!