I'm a true non-medication person. I was very reluctant to begin a medication regiment for my depression. I was concerned about the side effects and the impact on my health. When suicidal thoughts entered my equation I had little choice.
My regiment works exceptionally well for me right now and is not a recommendation for others. This discussion is mainly to open the topic for thoughts and exploration. I began exploring medication options in September of 2010 with no luck.
I tried almost eight different anti depressants over the course of time from September till my hospitalization on April 22nd. Tinkering on an out patient basis was not what I needed. My depression was a deep clinical depression that evolved over a year or more. For me, eventual hospitalization would be the only solution.
Once hospitalized, my medication regiment was aggressively altered. I had been on 10MG of Lexapro which was elevated to 30MG. They also added an augment of abilify 5MG to help the Lexapro do a better job of attacking my depression. After seven to ten days I felt as if someone had turned me back on. I felt expressive, hopeful and overall quite good.
In conjunction with attacking my mood disorder of depression, they also dealt with my horrible quality of sleep. I had been having terrible nightmares for over seven months that were directly compounding my sleep and subsequent depressive symptoms. They added 100MG of Trazodone and 1MG of Prazosin before bed for sleep and nightmares. Both drugs have done wonders for me. I now achieve eight hours of restful sleep a night!
This course of therapy took place over the course of eight months! Medicating depression symptoms takes time and trial and error. Be patient and hang in there. There is no easy solution to finding the right combination except for trial and error.
I encourage you to keep a log or journal regarding the medications, symptoms and improvements. This will aide you in your efforts to find the correct combinations for your specific diagnosis.
Remember, be patient and keep a log!
Till next time!
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