Experiences - Suffering from severe depression, and never been on anything.

[HomerSimpson]

People I have been suffering from servere depression for many years now, and I think it is time I tried some antidepressants. I have recently, (I know I shouldnt) started taking pain pills like percocet. It gives me that calm feelings where it helps me clear my mind and stay relaxed. Are there any antidepressants out there like that. Ones that give you the same feeling as some pain pills do?

[jb2008]

Don't get addicted to pain pills, that is only going to do you harm in the long run, though I do realise it is hard to put up with feeling like you do.

SWIM recommends that SWIY go to a psychiatrist. Now.

SWIM has taken Venlafaxine and if SWIY has severe depression this would be the best way to go. But as always, see a professional psychiatrist.

SWIM wishes you the best of luck.

[tryptamaster]

Swim has also suffered form depression for many years. he was put on klonopin and wellbutrin. both made swim feel slower and didnt do jack for his depression. Swim self-medicates with marijuana. This does ot only relieve swims depression while high but seems to have a lasting effect also. Note however that swim smoeks daily, usually 1-2 grams low-grade or .5-1 grams high grade. Swim is not recomending this but jsut saying it has helped him. and i agree with the pain pills, they may help short term, but can REALLY hurt u long term. Swim should see a psychiatrist but researc ssri first, swim researched them and was opposed to them. wellbutrin is a non-ssri antidepressant buit swim hated it. good luck.

[Metomni]

Good ole' herb helped SWIM's depression greatly. It has worked on several different occasions throughout several different parts of his life. He's convinced there is something to it, at least for some people.

[tryptamaster]

Swim is glad to hear someone else helped by herb. Swim ash told many,many, docotrs about the healing power of the ganja but they all dotn belive him, i guess altering swims entire serotonin chemistry was a much more sensible idea. swim wishes docotors could understand it. They normally jsut call him an adict. But if pot helps swim and hes an addict, and prozac helps someone why arent they an addict. Same goes for amphetamines or benzodiazapenes. Swim HAS been diagnosed with depression so he knows what helps him and he feels he needs a medicine.

[cnsns2ccl2]

Has anybody tried OTC 5-HTP? Swim has been thinking about getting some as it is a pre-cursor to producing seretonin which is linked to decreasing depression.

[PandorymDMT]

Swim has tried 5-HTP (Mostly for preloading on X, and recovering the next day) and has found that all it does for him is make swim sleepy.

[SullyGuy]

SWIM thinks that you should find a psychiatrist and work out what antidepressant is best for you. There is no way that the internet can diagnose a good medication for you, or even hazard a good guess at what might be good for you. SWIM also thinks you should stop taking pain killers immediately!

Weed is always an option SWIM supposes, but SWIM thinks that drugs from a pharmacy will be safer than marijuana simply because:
1) Smoking is bad for people's lungs (you could always buy a vaporizer)
2) SWIY can't get in trouble for a prescription medication.
3) SWIM doesn't trust drug dealers to not do bad things to the weed (lacing, generally being unsanitary etc.)
4) A pill is much easier than smoking something, if in company etc.

Good luck.

[tryptamaster]

Swim has tried 5-htp. the first few times he would have sworn he felt better but now thinks this was placebo. So basically, it didnt do anything for him.

[cnsns2ccl2]

Something that may have a mild effect, is omega 3. Studies are showing that omega-3 helps improve mood. Swim does find that she feels somewhat better when she has good nutrients in her body (salmon oil 3X daily + vitamin B-12, mind you swims blood has shown her natural b-12 levels are on the low side of normal so doc suggested 25mg b-12 daily). Omega 3 does lots of good things for health so even if it didn't help much for mood it would be worth it but those do really do make a little difference on a day to day basis swim finds. Mind you swim also takes a SSRI anti-depressant for anxiety, which seems to do nothing for depression except make it exist when it never did before. These probably would not get rid of depression all together swim thinks but will likely lessen it somewhat.

Interestingly Swim finds that weed does alleviate depression but has the ability to bring on anxiety full force. Why are these things so difficult to treat??

[Richard_smoker]

i dunno about self-medicating with mj...sounds like a potential disaster waiting to happen. -DICK

[Nature Boy]

Originally Posted by Richard_smoker

i dunno about self-medicating with mj...sounds like a potential disaster waiting to happen. -DICK

I tend to agree with you. As an antidepressant, truly unlocking its potential would require quite a bit of work. It would involve experimenting with multiple strains and ensuring the absolute quality of the cannabis. Not something that buying an eighth off a random dealer would sort out. And even at that, it still comes down to how the individual reacts to it subjectively.

Cannabis is much better for multiple sclerosis pain relief, reducing nausea, glaucoma treatment, sexual enhancement and for general relaxation. Antidepressants are a grey area. One would be better off with psychiatric consultation.

[ShawnD]

Originally Posted by HomerSimpson

It gives me that calm feelings where it helps me clear my mind and stay relaxed. Are there any antidepressants out there like that. Ones that give you the same feeling as some pain pills do?

I know this is very unusual, but ephedrine sometimes gives that feeling. While ephedrine is a weak CNS stimulant that has problems crossing the blood-brain barrier, it's a very powerful Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) stimulant.

Depending on what kind of person you are, a PNS stimulant can really help. Example: nerdy people are often very uptight and nervous. They take shallow breaths, they breathe quickly, their shoulders are always tense, and they never relax. Ephedrine and psueodoephedrine ("Sudafed") reverse all of those. Smooth muscle relaxes, the airways loosen, the shoulders drop, and the person is overall more relaxed. Unlike a painkiller, a PNS stimulant like ephedrine does not weaken or slow you down. In fact, the opposite is true. People take PNS stimulants to improve their endurance and strength. Ephedrine is really a miracle drug if you're a stereotype nerd, the skinny nervous one, not the fat creepy one. I don't even want to know what happens when the fat creepy nerd is given ephedrine; maybe turn into a super creep.

Good ole' herb helped SWIM's depression greatly.

I will never understand this. I have smoked weed before, many times, and I absolutely hated it. It makes my skin numb, my spine tingles, I can't think straight, I'm overwhelmed with fear, it feels like I'm disconnected from everyone around me, it sometimes caused chest pain, and a few times it made me nauseous. What is everyone else experiencing? I sure hope it's not what I experienced.

Swim has tried 5-HTP (Mostly for preloading on X, and recovering the next day) and has found that all it does for him is make swim sleepy.

That was my experience as well. It might be a good idea to take this stuff even if you don't have depression. Try to find one person who doesn't enjoy a good night sleep.


I'm just talking out of my ass here, but what if Homer got some Adderall/Dexedrine? If amphetamine doesn't make you feel better, you're clearly not a mamal. Prove me wrong, people. Prove me wrong.

[vehicularmanslaughter]

i find it difficult to seek comfort in drugs given to me at my local walgreens, at least in terms of healing some kind of mental illness. i dealt with depression for as long as i can remember, and i actually asked to get put on meds, but i always felt uncomfortable every time i swallowed one of those damn pills, and it really didn't help me at all, it just made me think this magical little pill was going to rid me of my depression problem. depression has a lot to do with one's lifestyle, i.e. one who leads a depressing life is a depressed person. swallowing that pill isn't going to change your lifestyle, at least this was not the case for me. i stopped taking the pills, left home and took my life into my own hands. there's not a single way i can say how to do that, because different people lead different lives, but taking control over your own life instead of letting your depression keep you from doing some crazy shit is a big part of it i believe.

[negativecreep]

SWIM believes that weed can heal some people's depression, It gives them the quality of life that they have been looking for especially if nothing else has worked. It's really a lifesaver for some people. Everybody has different chemistry though, and weed can also cause anxiety which could make some depression worsen, or even cause depression.

[Mammon]

Recently SWIM's life has gone to the dogs and he's quite depressed. When he was depressed many years ago he used Prozac and might do so again, but not until he's done his best to sort out his problems without it.

SWIM finds now he's down that weed actually makes things worse and he just can't see any much hope when stoned. He knows it's bad but booze helps.

[Panthers007]

If it doesn't lift by itself in a few months, then it's advisable to see a councilor or psychologist for advice. But depression usually goes away on it's own - just as it arrives. Many people are led to believe that being depressed for any amount of time is worthy of a jar of pills. And the SSRI's like Prozac are the current rave with doctors who are all-to-happy to scribble out a prescription for them at the drop of the hat. Best not to go for the brain-chemicals without giving nature plenty of room to accomplish the task naturally.

One thing I've found in my research is the linkage between dreaming and depression. Many times people have told me they were not getting good amounts of sleep, and they didn't seem to dream. Alcohol is good for disrupting the dream-state. Dreams are messengers that bring information to, and from, the conscious and unconscious mind - in the form of symbols. And you need this information even if you have no idea what it means or is even transpiring. And depression is nature's way of letting you know something is wrong. When I'd get people to lay off the drink for awhile and get to bed earlier, the depression would vanish as quick as it came. So whether or not you pay heed to my weirdo mumbo-jumbo psychology (partly Jungian), it's certainly worth a shot - yes?

Good night.

Reputation Comments on this post:

You are a very wise man, and I think you're wonderful!

[Mammon]

Yup, SWIM knows that booze is nothing more than a means to forget for a few hours the problems with his life. It's just that sometimes he needs that break. It's not serious, though; the days of problem drinking are over for that guy.

He does, however, appreciate the advice, Panthers. The bastard fact is that sometimes his dreams are so sad they wake him up in the early morning.

Anyway, it can't last forever and things could always be worse so he supposes he should be grateful for that.

[Panthers007]

The alcohol may put a band-aid on the feelings, but then it wears off and come back with interest - worse than before. And alcohol itself short-circuits the dream-state. So do other depressant drugs like barbituates. One might feel better for now, but then it gets worse - and prolongs the process. Best Idea Dept: One should taper-off the alcohol and quit. Just for awhile. It might be difficult for a few days, but then one may well find much improvement.

[meaculpa]

swim has also suffered with depression and anxiety for many years. swim was given anti-depressants which didn`t work and swim started to use codeine for relief, swim then became addicted and at one time was taking 30 pills per day. swim was fooling herself by doing this as in the end it only made matters worse. swim strongly advises thay swiy DOESN`T self medicate but seeks proffesional help as self medicating will do more harm than good. swim has recently been giving new meds which so far are proving helpful, swim has even managed to cut down on use of codeine. good luck