Depression Medications

[shshonegirl]

I was just wondering if any of you, or anyone you might know, has taken any kind of medication for depression or anxiety..you know, like Paxil?? the reason i ask is becuz I have this friend who started taking Paxil last year, and before she started taking it she was all bummed out....but after she took it for a while, she was all chipper and happy, and telling me i should get on it...(cuz i was depressed at the time) well i thought about trying to get it..but i didnt do it. i jus wonder why she wanna take drugs to make her happy and feel better, when she is depressed and isnt trying to get to the root of her problem??? what do you people think about them drugs, do you think they help? (i guess maybe in combination with some kind of therapy, maybe...)

[lakotajingledancer]

well my mom took paxil when she was still married to my real dad,but after they got seperated & we moved to tn & she was away from him 4 a while she stopped taking it.it did help her when she was on it though.

[ndnkidz_5]

When I worked for IHC in the Mental Health Dep I would seee some folks who did not need meds (just counseling)....but then there are some who do, I think in combo with therapry is the best....but I know some folks who would definenitly would not be here if it were not for medication. An dI am so gald that they were able to see a doctor and get the help they ned. Often too many ndnd folks go with out proper Mental Health service for lots of reasons ...which is sad, becuase I have seen medication do wounders for people.

[shshonegirl]

oh yah, i definitely agree that some people do need the medication. I used to work at an aftercare facility, and there was one resident who was dual diagnosis, and there was a huge difference when she was on her meds...and you could tell when she didnt take them. and yes, it is true, there are a lot of natives who do need some kind of help with their mental health, but choose not to get help. my friend, she seemed to have a good life before taking paxil. she had a good job, a beautiful home, a good husband, and i really didnt see anything wrong with her..she seemed happy to me..but i guess she wasnt. but it was like when she was on it, it was like she was high almost...kinda scary cuz she was sooo happy... i just wonder if she maybe needed some kind of therapy or something. can a person get addicted to paxil?

[Ahcakos_iskwew]

Cautionary tale...after 13 years of dealing with what doctors, therapists, and I believed to be depression I've recently found out it may not even be depression, but stress. My doctor thinks I am severely stressed (but not depressed) and this is why my therapy and antidepressants haven't worked. Most important thing, I guess, is to be sure of what you're dealing with.

[WolfTears]

Yeah they all to ready to call ya manic .. I fought for 23 years an come to find out all it was was good ole B12 an Folic acid . I tried the meds an man oh man they messed me up worse than I was before .
Find out what it is that is making you unhappy an deal with it only way to change things .
Thats how I did it oh an yeah bead bead bead ...Some ppl need meds to make things better chemicals an all that . Just remember everyone is diff, an what works for one might not work for anyone else .

[shshonegirl]

Originally posted by WolfTears
Find out what it is that is making you unhappy an deal with it only way to change things .
Thats how I did it oh an yeah bead bead bead ...Some ppl need meds to make things better chemicals an all that . Just remember everyone is diff, an what works for one might not work for anyone else . [/B]

thats what im thinking..like with my friend, i really couldnt see where she could be unhappy with her life (but then again you never know) and why didnt she try to deal with whatever was making her unhappy. Ive been going through some depression lately, but i just think that it will pass; plus i have my man to talk to about things, and hes supporting me 100%. it seemed like my friends happiness was almost like....manufactured..or fake..or something..but it didnt seem real.

[Awful_Mnom_Woman]

I have to agree, every person and situation is unique. For myself, I lived for my kids and when my son died at 21, it was something I never ever was prepared to deal with.

Constantly crying (I'm crying now just thinking about it again) was not a way to live my life. My grandbaby (his daughter) was just born last December so I wanted to fulfill my grandma obligations and be a happy gramma for her. I started an anti-depressant in February and it has mildly helped. I wanted to feel good feelings too, not just the sad bad ones. That in combination of seeing my grandbaby and the happy effect she has on my daughter being an auntie is really helping a lot.

I don't have the up spirit and happy butterfly feelings inside I used to have, but I am sure eventually they will come back. Right now the babies in my family keep me smiling. That and going to powwows lifts me up every time. :)

[MikmaqRose]

This is actually my very first post......
I just want to say that, in my opinion, avoid psychotropic medication if you can help it. I am dual diagnosis - Bipolar I/substance abuse and have to take approximately 8 medications. They've been added gradually because the meds that are truly necessary have caused major medical problems. I have such incredible highs and lows and other problems because of this illness that I have to be on certain medications. That, of course, leads me to my point. Life is not always wonderful and sometimes you may need a little help, but if you don't need to be on drugs don't be because you don't just want to see life, you want to be able to feel it too. :Angel2

[Kakeeya]

Originally posted by Awful_Mnom_Woman
I have to agree, every person and situation is unique. For myself, I lived for my kids and when my son died at 21, it was something I never ever was prepared to deal with.

Constantly crying (I'm crying now just thinking about it again) was not a way to live my life. My grandbaby (his daughter) was just born last December so I wanted to fulfill my grandma obligations and be a happy gramma for her. I started an anti-depressant in February and it has mildly helped. I wanted to feel good feelings too, not just the sad bad ones. That in combination of seeing my grandbaby and the happy effect she has on my daughter being an auntie is really helping a lot.

I don't have the up spirit and happy butterfly feelings inside I used to have, but I am sure eventually they will come back. Right now the babies in my family keep me smiling. That and going to powwows lifts me up every time. :)

Prayers for you Awful Mnom Woman. I know a little of how you must feel as my granddaughter died from SIDS when she was 8.5 months old/young. I still just think about her precious face and it makes me cry, she was my first grandbaby. I have another granddaughter now and she is almost 3. Both parents are currently not in the picture at the time and it is just me raising this tiny tornado. :) Sometimes I feel depressed cuz I don't have the energy that I wish I had to play with her all the time and keep up with her. I spoke to a doctor about this and she said that my depression seems to stem from my first grandchild, cuz I feel overwhelmed a lot. I rely on our sweat lodge and am going in there tonight to pray to be super grandma as I need all the strength and energy I can get. :) All kidding aside, I will be on some type of short term meds and hopefully I will snap out of this slump I am in. Prayers for everyone!

[azurebreeze]

Re: Depression Medications

[i]i jus wonder why she wanna take drugs to make her happy and feel better, when she is depressed and isnt trying to get to the root of her problem??? [/B]

She is taking the pills to be healthy. If you are diagnosed with clinical depression docters than treat it as a medical condition...meaning you can not just will your self back to health without medical help.....hence why they write the prescriptions. It is not a character flaw, or even an issue of laziness why this person has depression. Docters consider it a chemical imbalance invovling low serotonin levels in the brain.

Statistically it shows Native Americans in general have the highest rate of mental illness such as depression, bipolar, post traumatic stress disorder, etc over all the other races.

Also mental illnesses are hard to treat cause there is no blood test to determined if you have depression or post traumatic stress. That even the medications prescribed are administered by trial and error. That no two people respond to the same medications the same ways not even family members cause everybody's chemistry is unique.

[~*Oji_Flava*~]

As a person who takes anti-depressants, I just wanted to put in my 2 cents...

For myself, it is due to Anxiety Attacks. Upon my doctor telling me I had to take "ANTI-DEPRESSANTS!"...She also booked me an appointment to visit with a counsellor, reason being---to understand exactly 'why' I am being put on such a drug.
Through my meeting, I understood how and why the drugs work on both Anxiety and Depression.

I myself didn't turn up being as a 'chipper' person, but I was able to carry on my normal life without worry of experiencing another anxiety attack.

Suffering from panic attacks, anxiety attacks, etc...I would not wish this on anyone.
But thanks to Celexa...I have been able to carry on my life...
It'll be 4 years this spring since being diagnosed with Anxiety,...I'm just glad I got this taken care of with a doctor, and didn't live my life in fear.

Still the question lies in my mind..."Fear of what?"....Hell if I know! LOL, Maybe of getting another anxiety attack!?

[Gache]

Well alot of problems stem from a lack of balanced and proper traditional diet. People expect to eat this modern food and expect not to get cancer or mental problems from all the different chemicals in the food.

I worked in neuropharmacology for 6 years and found most peoples problems were never really solved just covered up by drugs. Counceling which is really just people opening up to others usually helped better.

What we suffer is often related to the imbalance of our lives from work stress, family disfunction, chemicals from food lack of communication with others, freedom to be our own unique selfs rather than how most people live which is trying to be something for others. All these things upset the balance of who we are created to be.

[azurebreeze]

Well in my case my docter said that eating right or good sleep and excercise will not fix my mental illness. That there is no cure and the same is true for most of my family. If someone is diagnosed manic depressed docters will tell you that you are going to be taking psychtropic drugs for the rest of your even in cases while you are pregnant. Docter says those with manic depression who did not take psychotropic medications had a 35% suicide rate.

You know what is even more harder is the fact often people's bodies get used to a certain medication. A medication you thought finally works for you, over time will lose it's effectiveness. Usually they just keep increasing the dose. But sometimes they have to switch you to an new medication all together. And this can happen several times through out your life. It can leave you feeling like a guinea pig being experimented on for the rest of your life.

The guy who cut off his ear was Vincent Van Gogh the artist, and he suffered from Manic-Depression and spent alot of his life in mental institutions, and in the end committed suicide. In his lifetime he only sold one painting for about $30 and that was it. Makes me disgusted to know that, cause people are making big bucks off is artistic creations right now, and the man never benefited from his work monetary or recoginition in his own lifetime.

Some famous people who suffered from depression or manic-depression are:

Drew Barrymore, actress
Jim Carrey, actor and comedian
Sheryl Crow, singer and rock musician
Carrie Fisher, actress and writer
Harrison Ford, actor
Peter Gabriel, rock star
Ashley Judd, actor
Camryn Mannheim, actor
Sarah McLachlan, singer, Lilith Fair creator
Marilyn Monroe, actor
Alanis Morissette, Canadian singer
Axl Rose, rock star
Winona Ryder, actor
Robin Williams, actor


While most people experience their first breakdown as early adults, docters are finding there is an alarming rate of children as young as 8 are being diagnosed and prescribed these pyschotropic medications.

[Gache]

Im sorry that so often doctors are misleading. I worked with the top scientists in the world in this field and they will tell you straight up that they dont know what the hell their talking about because the brain is so complicated. Its all guess work which is why your taking different medicines to keep up.

In your case manic depression may very well have become a genetic defect in your family line. However modern science does not really understand how the brain works they just know how to block or open receptors in the brain which again really just covers up the disease. It does not cure it.

I can vouch for alot of people who cured all kinds of mental diseases by eliminating western food and lifestyle. Of course though if you were to do something like this you should experiment with your doctors knowledge and a personal support network of people who care about you who could protect you from yourself during this time.

Counseling can uncover deep and personal issues that may have lead to these things to.

Just remember western medicine is less than 100 years old and not that knowledgeable about anything.