By Robin Cain – Depression and anxiety are personal things, yet the medical community often treats them with a “one size fits all” approach. Those suffering often learn the hard way that there are different approaches and different schools of thought regarding same. I’m sharing my story in an attempt to enlighten those who are mistakenly under the impression that these drugs are a “one pill cures all” antidote.
I was given anti-depressants by my family doctor nearly six years ago. Suffering from general sadness, and lack of energy, I visited my doctor who quickly prescribed what she believed would help. At the time, I was not alarmed by her brief examination or that her diagnosis took all of 4 minutes. I just wanted to feel better.
Starting with Lexipro and moving to Zoloft and then Prozac in a period of a just a few short months (in an attempt to find out which worked better), I wound up settling on Prozac and stayed with that drug for just over 5 years.
In defense of pharmaceuticals, the Prozac did work. I felt positive, happier and less intimidated by circumstances, and I felt that way for the better part of 5 years. At that point, the Prozac no longer did the trick my doctor and my doctor put me on Cymbalta, explaining that a body’s needs change, this was the ‘latest and greatest’ and that it should help.
After three months, a gain of ten pounds and no real change in my mood, I decided I’d had enough. My doctor’s regular three-minute assessment of my emotional state began to worry me. Did I really need these drugs? Was I doing more harm than good? Did it make any sense to look at other contributing factors? I wasn’t getting answers and, tired of the crazy things my body was doing, I stopped the Cymbalta cold turkey.
Warning: This is NOT the recommended method of getting off this drug.
At the ten day mark, when the cold chills, hot flashes, brain zaps and vertigo had left me nearly bedridden, I went back to the doctor. She suggested I start the drug at its highest dose all over again and wean off slowly over the next few months. In her defense, this is the across-the-board recommended treatment, but reflecting on the hell I had already been through, I chose to not subject myself to that.
I made an appointment with a naturopathic medical doctor by way of a friend’s recommendation and, unlike my family physician, this doctor actually ran tests. She took blood, a full history, spent over an hour asking me comprehensive questions, suggested doing both a hormone spit-panel and a heart calcium score CT (to determine if my cholesterol levels truly necessitated the prescribed statin medications I was on). In other words, she went in search of contributing factors.
I will be the first one to state that my situation is unique to me. My intention is not to make broad assumptions, but I will state that I have noticed many doctors who are very quick to prescribe anti-depressants. In my case, it was very premature.
It turned out that the statin medicine I was on was a contributing factor to the lowering of my levels of serotonin. Combined with my out-of-whack hormones and my body’s inability to process folic acid correctly, these all contributed to my out-of-whack emotional state.
It took the better part of five very long weeks to kick the discontinuation symptoms of the Cymbalta and it was nothing I’d wish upon my worst enemy. It got so bad at some points that I was nearly convinced I was losing my mind. The fact that a drug prescribed to make one feel better can have such detrimental side effects is something not to be taken lightly. To make matters worse, these side effects were never discussed by my doctor. (In fairness to the makers of anti-depressants – the contraindications are listed in the enclosed product pamphlet, but I never read them.)
I am now off the statin drug, taking multiple supplements as well as a hormone each day, and I finally feel better. I now know that, in my case, I didn’t actually need anti-depressants – which is something my regular physician failed to take the time to investigate. For her, it was easier to prescribe yet another pill and move on to her next patient.
Millions of people suffer every day, searching for balance in their body’s chemistry. I am not denying the very real existence of depression nor people’s need for pharmaceuticals to assist in helping them feel better. The information I have presented here speaks to those who may actually have other things going on in their bodies, but lack the support of their doctors. My intention is to share that which I had to learn the hard way and possibly save some people the needless ingestion of unnecessary and over-prescribed drugs. Often times, one pill does not fit all.
© 2010 Robin Cain, author of WHEN DREAMS BLEED http://www.robincain.com
Robin Cain is a wife, a mother, an animal lover, a licensed realtor, and a struggling business owner. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband, daughter, three dogs, three horses and donkey. As a novelist and regular contributing writer for an online publication, she spends her days searching for the perfect words to amuse, enlighten and touch her readers.
A percentage of the proceeds of her book will be donated to the American non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), which aims to present hope and find help for people struggling with problems such as depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.
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