Depression Treatment Medications and Their Effects on Me

Information about depression and other related health issues (includes medications).

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bartelby
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2019 2:22 pm

Depression Treatment Medications and Their Effects on Me

Postby bartelby » Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:26 pm

I’ve been using depression treatment medications for a long while now. Every time I visit my psychiatrist, we change the treatment method and switch to another depression treatment medication. I accept that depression treatment is a long process and requires patience, dedication and much more. You can’t expect to learn how to cope with your depression just in one day. So, I’ve done my part by going to my doctor meetings regularly.

I’ve started with SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). SSRIs are known as having few side-effects, yet this was the only medication with a side-effect on me. It was the day I had a mid-term exam. I studied all night because I was working during the day, plus, I can only study at nights. Luckily, there is a library near my university open 24/7.

So, I went to a café in the morning before the exam and met friends. Just as we left the café, a sudden mood change took place. Standing up seemed like a hard job at that moment. I kept walking but the only thing I could think about was “death”. So, I took the exam and it was about Hemingway. My answer solely based on my emotions and suicide. Anyway, I got 30/100 and moved on. Never had such side-effect again but it was a bad day indeed.

After SSRIs, I used SNRIs (venlafaxine, efexor xr). Well, this one gave me a dry-mouth but I can live with it. That’s not a big deal. It also gave me the ability to last more than 1 hour. You know what I’m talking about. But that’s not the way you’d hope a depression treatment medications to work. Anyway. SNRIs are supposed to reduce depression symptoms by improving serotonin and norepinephrine level in your brain and a bunch of other nerdy stuff. But I did not experience that.

Another depression treatment medication I’ve tried was the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist (vortioxetine). It treats depression by changing the activity of brain chemicals or at least it is what it says in the prospectus. It wasn’t like that for me.

I also tried Dopamine reuptake blocker (Wellbutrin). Very expensive experience for me and very useless too. I got fired while I was taking this depression treatment medication because I was sleeping the whole day and I had an episode of low-mood for 7 days and I didn’t leave my bed, return calls, etc. So, I’m not going to take that dopamine blocker again.

Other depression treatment medications I’ve tried include; trazodone hydrochloride, aripiprazole, and some complementary drugs like modafinil, Ritalin, Concerta, etc.

Of course, these medications affect everybody differently. A drug that did not work for me may create miracles for you. When you start using depression treatment medications, try to pay attention to a few things:

Never use medication without your psychiatrist’s recommendation.
Use them on time.
I don’t advice mixing with alcohol (I’ve done this a few times. 2 beers and you get yourself a black-out).
Don’t overdose.
Don’t crush it and snort.
Don’t sell it on the deep web.

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