RA ..depression and meds

[Guest guest]

was diagnosed with severe ra about 12 years ago...has progressed and

have run the gamut of treatments with some success....many of u have

experienced the same...ok then...depression goes hand in hand..as

with other dibilitating diseases...ive found that most rheum doctors

want to shuffle that part off to either the primary care doc or a

psychiatrist...anyway....my experience was that drugs were

immediately proscribed...(you must be depressed...along with other

problems u are experiencing in your life,etc)...well yeah..i

guess..things arent too great...reminded me of that old tv

show " queen for a day " where the person who could tell the most

heart-wrenching story won the refrigerator or washer/dryer...one of

the most degrading things ever on tv....i digress.....i have taken 4-

5 anti-depressants..wellbutrin(no effect)...3-4 with bad side

effects, and paxil which i had initial good results with...after

about 6 months i started to have adverse reactions...up the

dosage...ok then for 3 months then the same....decided ,on my own to

stop the meds....the withdrawl was terrible...i quit smoking after

30 years and no comparison...took me 2 months to wean myself

off...24 hour headaches, nightmares,night sweats etc.....when i went

back to the doc i told him that i wasnt trying to tell him his

business...but paxil was bad news, and maybe he should reconsider

proscribing it to patients..of course i didnt know anything.. " u had

a bad experience etc " ..well ok then, maybe it was me..then i went on-

line and found that many had experienced the same, and worse...i

guess i share this as just a pre-cautionary thing...if anti-

depressants work for u..great...but if u have the will to go on

without them, i think u will be better off in the long run...just

thinking....would invite other experiences_opinions....frank

[Guest guest]

:

I was suffering from fatigue for 3 years before I was diagnosed with RA. The

fatigue and pain cause depression - not the other way around. (At least, in my

humble opinion.) Anti-depressesants I tried (Zoloft was one) seemed to help for

a few months, but gradually began to have the opposite affect on me and I

started having thoughts of suicide. I got off the stuff and I don't take

anti-depressants now. I have good days and bad days....more bad than good as

far as the way I feel physically. Feeling bad physically can make you

depressed. It is a natural thing. Doctors and drug companies have society

thinking that if you are sad (even if you have a legitimate reason to be), then

you should take pills so you won't be sad anymore.

Don't get me wrong. There are people out there that truly have some kind of

imbalance and are " clinically depressed " . I saw a show on TV a few days ago

where dr.'s are experimenting with inserting some type of electrical wires in a

certain area of the brain and then they adjust an external control until the

patient is at the right level for them to live a " normal " life. To me, that's

better than drugs because it actually works directly on the problem area without

" chemical " influence and nasty side affects.

I have come to the conclusion that it is not only okay to cry or feel

depressed when you are struggling through something as devastating as these

auto-immune diseases are, but it is natural and healthy for you. You are

SUPPOSED to feel that way. The important questions are: Are you able to get

through the sadness and keep hope alive? Do you have someone you can share your

feelings with that will be sympathetic and understanding? If you get to the

point where you are dwelling on negative/suicidal thoughts all the time, then

you need intervention, whether it's just counseling or drugs or a combination.

For me, I've found that the best intervention is prayer and reading the Bible,

but if you're not a spiritual person, find something else that works for you to

lift you out of the blue funk. I would caution anyone using drugs (prescribed

or not) or alcohol to mask their symptoms.

in Texas

frank carnes <sarahaden51@...> wrote:

was diagnosed with severe ra about 12 years ago...has progressed and

have run the gamut of treatments with some success....many of u have

experienced the same...ok then...depression goes hand in hand..as

with other dibilitating diseases...ive found that most rheum doctors

want to shuffle that part off to either the primary care doc or a

psychiatrist...anyway....my experience was that drugs were

immediately proscribed...(you must be depressed...along with other

problems u are experiencing in your life,etc)...well yeah..i

guess..things arent too great...reminded me of that old tv

show " queen for a day " where the person who could tell the most

heart-wrenching story won the refrigerator or washer/dryer...one of

the most degrading things ever on tv....i digress.....i have taken 4-

5 anti-depressants..wellbutrin(no effect)...3-4 with bad side

effects, and paxil which i had initial good results with...after

about 6 months i started to have adverse reactions...up the

dosage...ok then for 3 months then the same....decided ,on my own to

stop the meds....the withdrawl was terrible...i quit smoking after

30 years and no comparison...took me 2 months to wean myself

off...24 hour headaches, nightmares,night sweats etc.....when i went

back to the doc i told him that i wasnt trying to tell him his

business...but paxil was bad news, and maybe he should reconsider

proscribing it to patients..of course i didnt know anything.. " u had

a bad experience etc " ..well ok then, maybe it was me..then i went on-

line and found that many had experienced the same, and worse...i

guess i share this as just a pre-cautionary thing...if anti-

depressants work for u..great...but if u have the will to go on

without them, i think u will be better off in the long run...just

thinking....would invite other experiences_opinions....frank