Activism Change

How will I know…..

Question:

Hmmm… Tough question. I don’t think it’s stoopid in the least. For me, I *knew* when the ADs were working. I find it MUCH harder to know when they aren’t working anymore (hopefully this won’t happen to you). Of course, this is probably different for everyone. Can you identify exactly what your symptoms were? Mine included sleeping 15-20 hours a day and crying uncontrollably, so it was obvious when they went away. It’s probably harder for people whose symptoms are less easy to define, like how I think of disthymia (how in the world is that spelled?). Of course, my understanding of dysthimia could be wrong. My instinct is that if you aren’t sure they’re working, they probably haven’t kicked in yet, but I am by NO means an expert. I hope you get a bunch of perspectives on this. Oh yeah- and I hope you feel better soon! Bizzy Can anyone tell me how I will know when my antidepressants are working?  I have taken several different kinds and I haven’t felt much different on any of them.  I want to know if maybe I am better and don’t realize it. (I know that sounds really stupid). Dawn Dawn Bennett Feminism is to Lavender as Womanism is to Purple  (unknown)

– I’m astounded by people who want to "know" the universe when it’s hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.         Woody Allen

Response:

[posted and emailed] Can anyone tell me how I will know when my antidepressants are working?  I have taken several different kinds and I haven’t felt much different on any of them.  I want to know if maybe I am better and don’t realize it. (I know that sounds really stupid).  

not that stupid – i "think" i feel the same, but am more functional since the ADs kicked in. people had to point out i was doing better – when i was most depressed, i would pull the covers over my head each morning and call in sick – down to 5% of the time, now….. so – has your FUNCTIONALITY changed? what to others near you think? Thomas A. Ott http://www.geocities.com/heartland/5294 "All Things Are Possible Except Skiing Through A Revolving Door…" [remove "nospam." from my sig to respond...]

Response:

I suppose when you start to feel less depressed you will know that it is working.  Sometimes you have to try many AD’s to find the right one that will work for you, just be as patient as you can….it will be worth it in the long run. Regards, Randy.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [posted and emailed] Can anyone tell me how I will know when my antidepressants are working?  I have taken several different kinds and I haven’t felt much different on any of them.  I want to know if maybe I am better and don’t realize it. (I know that sounds really stupid). not that stupid – i "think" i feel the same, but am more functional since the ADs kicked in. people had to point out i was doing better – when i was most depressed, i would pull the covers over my head each morning and call in sick – down to 5% of the time, now….. so – has your FUNCTIONALITY changed? what to others near you think? Thomas A. Ott http://www.geocities.com/heartland/5294 "All Things Are Possible Except Skiing Through A Revolving Door…" [remove "nospam." from my sig to respond...]

I agree with this one.  I suddenly seem to be able to get myself to do things that I was "too depressed" to do before.  It feels as though a weight has been lifted off of me, not just emotionally, but physically as well.  And the feeling of hopelessness is greatly diminished.  Things are generally just as crappy as before, but I am not automatically perceiving them as unsolvable.  There is still a lot of "work" to do in terms of living more effectively, but I feel much more able to do the work. Paula

Response:

Hope folks won’t be too upset w/me if I change a subject line slightly I didn’t want to clutter up that thread with my sub-topic & wanted ppl who may not be watching that thread to hopefully reply . GMT, thus Spracht:      [re: how to tell if Zoloft is working & does it seem to flatten feeling...]] – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – so – has your FUNCTIONALITY changed? what to others near you think? I agree with this one.  I suddenly seem to be able to get myself to do things that I was "too depressed" to do before. Yup.  Now about five weeks on Zoloft, first at 50 mg and then up to 100, and I’m feeling a lot more emotionally numb, but I’ve also cleaned by garage, put away all my clothes, painted some of the outside of my house that needed it, mowed the lawn and planted flowers this week.  All this after weeks of just lying around, napping, staring at the wall, etc.   I was on Prozac a year or so ago, and I notice a real difference between it and Zoloft.  With Prozac, I felt almost *over* motivated….but I was kind of wired, too.  With Zoloft, I just sort of….feel….distant.  I mean, distance in this particular moment has also offered some clarity, which is good, but I’m wondering if this unemotional-ity is here to stay. Laurel

I was taking Zoloft about 3 yrs ago, after a severe crash.  I was able to get the scrip free for a limited period as part of a study & for about a month after, total of about 2 1/2 mo. ; quit b/c of cost. The effects I noticed that I could attribute to the med were that it brought my mood up (crying uncontrollably every day, feeling like my life was going to hell on a skateboard, unable to cope w/ any mundane daily tasks- ie, it seemed to reverse those symptoms), and it seemed to generally clear my mind, make it possible to think clearly w/o suicidal/ depressive ideation- seeing things in terms of black/white, everything impossible.  Something just clicked one day- sort of: "Oh, here’s what I can do about this, and that…. & wasn’t _that_ a weird way to feel about that issue….".  I tend to get caught up in a lot of obsessive circular thinking/ feelings about myself, relationships, life to the point of being paralyzed (not physically) & Zoloft appeared to just magically terminate that.  In short, for me, it worked pretty much as advertised, with no SEs I can think of. caught my attention, Laurel.  The clearing of my mind that I noticed seemed to be mostly b/c of the elimination of negative emotional terms of the process of therapy with the ultimate goal of a "cure" (meaning being able to function emotionally/ mentally independent of therapy and meds, in full control of one’s life, no training wheels)- it seems that at some point in the process that an AD that distances and flattens mood would be counter-productive.   As I see my own healing journey: 1) To be able to effect desired changes in my thinking/ feeling/ relations, I need the clarity- not just to not be at risk for suicide, but to unravel the emotional knots and self-destructive behaviors that have taken root.  Some of that work I can do with clear reasoning (as in rational-emotive therapy)- so Zoloft seems a definite aid, even a life-saver here. 2) But I also need to just vent, let emotions, hurt, anger, fears, come to the surface- both for the release and to have them available to do the work of seeing where the feelings originate, to get at the roots.  In my situation, to effect healing, I need both the thinking and the feeling modes working.  I’m talking about all this in the context of long-term talking therapy, not short-term patch-em-up send-em-back-to-the-front therapy- the latter I’ve wasted most of my life with.   So- if the meds flatten mood, sort of just appear to make feeling irrelevant (don’t mean a "zombie" effect), I’m going to tend not be motivated by pain to do the emotional work, especially since I have well-developed ways of suppressing/ ignoring feelings anyway.  I noticed this effect just recently with my use of St. John’s Wort, and quit taking it for that very reason.  I can see if one has a hyper-emotional, passionate persona, a little flattening of mood would be beneficial; but if the air is already out of your emotional tires, an AD that has this effect might be an impediment at some juncture. To use an old personality classification system- the 4 elements, Air, Earth, Fire, Water (crude but simple, with a little Jungian justification : for fire-y or water-y ppl, some distancing from emotional turmoil might be good & for air-y/ earth-y ppl, the trick is to get closer to & free up the feeling mode.  I suppose there is some correlation with the Meyer-Briggs system, at least on the thinking/feeling & into/extraversion axes……. I guess part of what I’m after is- is there an AD (or combo) that helps normalize mood & clear thinking w/o attenuating the feeling function?  Is Prozac different from Zoloft in this respect?  Also, I’d be very interested in hearing from ppl who have been undergoing long-term talk therapy as to how their meds worked for/ against with what they were trying to accomplish in therapy.  (hint, hint- Stewart? would value your input).   All this has relevance for me b/c I will soon be starting a quest for the perfect <g therp. & I’m thinking about questions to ask that will smoke out how a therp. feels about these issues; moreover, relevant in terms of my taking control of the direction of my recovery. Anyone with some insight/ personal experience to share?  Thanks in advance for some feedback-  :-) Regards,         FanMan You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief, But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.  -K. Gibran

Response:

so – has your FUNCTIONALITY changed? what to others near you think? I agree with this one.  I suddenly seem to be able to get myself to do things that I was "too depressed" to do before.

Yup.  Now about five weeks on Zoloft, first at 50 mg and then up to 100, and I’m feeling a lot more emotionally numb, but I’ve also cleaned by garage, put away all my clothes, painted some of the outside of my house that needed it, mowed the lawn and planted flowers this week.  All this after weeks of just lying around, napping, staring at the wall, etc.   I was on Prozac a year or so ago, and I notice a real difference between it and Zoloft.  With Prozac, I felt almost *over* motivated….but I was kind of wired, too.  With Zoloft, I just sort of….feel….distant.  I mean, distance in this particular moment has also offered some clarity, which is good, but I’m wondering if this unemotional-ity is here to stay. Laurel

Response:

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