Question
Had a killer headache on Friday.

I went to the doctors and she was asking me questions. One of her questions was.... Have I been depressed lately. I told her, yeah... my weight. I have not lost the weight since I had my daughter and I have gained a couple more pounds on top of that. She continue to ask me if I was depressed after I had her. I said NO definitely not. but like I said my weight is the only thing that im depressed about. I have tried diets, weight watchers and etc. and I cant stay focused. So then she asked about my daily routine. So I started on about that.... I wake up at 4:30 leave my house at 6 then drop my older girls off and get to work by 7:30, i leave work at 4 then depending on what day it is, its off to practice or my second job (which i just started). She looked amazed, so she said okay, on a typical day what time do you get home. so i told her well it depends what day it is, if its a practice day then 8:30 and if its a day i work then 10:30-11.

so after questions she came up with im going threw some kind of depression.

i have to say at first i thought she was crazy and i let her know. i told her i think if anything i been stressed out but not depressed, so now she has me thinking, either she really good on making people believe her or i am going threw something.

she told me that depression affects people differently. some people eat alot (me) some people dont eat. headache are a sign, not enough sleep, forgetfulness. so im thinking wow that is me.

so I need to start these pills (there at home, so dont have the name of them) she told me only start them if im going to follow threw with taking them. i have to take them for 8 months straight. if i stop all the sudden, it can cause me to be worst.

i called her today, to ask if i get pregnant can i still take the pills. she said yeah. im a little worried about that though. so im going to look it up tonight to find out. i read the papers inside and there is no warning about pregnancy.

just wanted to see if anyone has taken any kind of depression pills?

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I was on Zoloft for about 6 months. I weened myself off of them (which is a BIG NO NO) but it did help....a lot! I didn't think I was depressed myself, but my ex-husband said if I didn't atleast seek some sort of counciling he was calling our marriage quits. So I went and I was diagnosed with depression. When my mom died this past May she had quite a few sample bottles of the Zoloft and I was very tempted to take them, but I didn't. Just do what your doc said and take them the way she prescribed. I wouldn't have stopped but insurance ran out on my therepy sessions and with out that I couldn't get my refills so I had no choice.

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Yep, I've been on Paxil for years now. It's certainly helped me a lot.

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im just curious, what do depression pills do anyway? Do the elevate your mood when youre under stress or something? How does it make you feel when you dont take it and when you do take it?

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I was on Welbutrin for a few months. It didn't do me any good; in fact, I was even meaner when I was on it (it's supposed to be a medication that works on the pleasure sensors in your brain). I quit taking it cold turkey (which is a huge no-no) with absolutely no side effects.

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Originally Posted by Shaks18 im just curious, what do depression pills do anyway? Do the elevate your mood when youre under stress or something? How does it make you feel when you dont take it and when you do take it?
Different depression medications do different things. The one I was on (Welbutrin) typically acts on the "pleasure sensors" in the brain (though it didn't work for me). Some depression medications "level you out" (if you are bipolar).

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mommy- I hope you feel better soon. We're here for you

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I was on Zoloft my first year of college when i was having periods of insomnia and blackouts but was on prozac before that. I didnt notice any difference but apparently everyone else did and its something im considering going back on once my insurance is set.

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I've been on Effexor, Buspar, Wellbutrin, and Zoloft.

Effexor made me VERY angry so I didn't take it for long. My ex took it for anxiety, though, and it did wonders for him.

Buspar made me sick, so I didn't even take that for a week.

Wellbutrin I took to quit smoking. It was AWESOME.

I'm on Zoloft now. It's working great and I'm even able to BF while taking it.

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Hey Mommy, I'm sorry you're going through this. I have no advice other than what the girls have offered, just a .

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I'm on Lexapro and actually just had my dosage upped which decreased my appetite because I eat when I'm depressed. I lost 6 pounds (with an active lifestyle and not eating past 6pm- which was really tough to start). Anyway, it's been great - with very few side effects and I still feel like myself. Although, during the PMS week, I still get down occasionally but NOTHING like I was.

Try it out and see how it works - it's worth it!!!

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I was on Zoloft for several months in high school and I too weaned myself off of it, which you're not supposed to do, but I never felt I had a chemical imbalance and have been fine since. (That was seven years ago).

I have a psychology degree and work for the American Psychological Association. I've also had a couple of years of counseling. I feel pretty strongly that counseling is the way to go. Typically, antidepressants are used if it is thought that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, usually not enough serotonin or dopamine. However, people are often prescribed these drugs as a 'quick fix' to circumvent counseling. Drugs like Zoloft and Wellbutrin are used to increase these neurotransmitters which is thought to boost mood. I am going to grad school for health psychology, so I'm also a big proponent of exercise to help improve mood, as it has been shown to increase levels of serotonin and dopamine without drugs. Keep in mind that primary care doctors are often only taught about drug treatments, not things you can do yourself. (Like diet and exercise). It seems like you have a very very busy schedule, but see if you can fit in two 15 minute walks a day. Maybe on your lunch break? You could also try reducing caffeine and suga rin your diet. Since you said you feel depressed about your weight, maybe in can help in a couple of ways.

Best wishes. Let me know if I can provide any more info.

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so when i got home i talk to my fh and told him that the doctor said it would be okay to take the pills, even if im pregnant or trying to get pregnant.

for some reason i still felt weird about it. i kept thinking you can take these pills if your pregnant? so what do you know i read the medication guide, and my doctor is retarded! right now im really pissed off at her!

these are the pills she wanted me to take Effexor XR.

check this out.........
What should I avoid while taking EFFEXOR XR?
Please tell your doctor if you are pregnant, intend to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. Newborns whose mothers took EFFEXOR XR late in the third trimester have had problems. Because of those problems, the newborns needed long hospital stays, help with breathing, and tube feeding.

my fh is so pissed off! he said what a fu$$ing bi$ch. so i decided that its not worth taking a risk.

im going to make an appt to see a different doctor and see what they say. but i know there is no way im taking anything that can harm my future baby.

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Like I said, primary care doctors REALLY don't know that much about psychiatric drugs. Always check it out if you are expecting.

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I was depressed a while back and I was offered medication for it, I refused because I didn’t want to become reliant on it and then have a really hard time trying to get off it.

So I did a combination of counselling and taking St Johns Wort which is a natural herbal anti-depressant and it was great - it does take a while to get into you system, so you don’t start feeling the effects for a couple of weeks.

The thing you need to think about is if you start taking medication that the doc precribes then how hard is it going to be to get off it! You don’t want to end up relying on things like that!

Heres a for you in the mean time babe I'm sorry you are feeling yucky!

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Anti-depressants aren't for everyone obviously. But they do work for those who really need them, like I did/do. Wanting to off myself couldn't be fixed by exercise and diet (or vitamins Tom Cruise!)
You aren't at the level of depression that I was at, so yeah, it is possible that exercise could help you. Definitely find someone who knows about the medication before you begin taking it.

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Tom Cruise is not a psychiatrist and shouldn't be giving medial advice.

I believe in exercise, diet, vitamins, counseling. I also believe that there are those individuals (including myself) who due to short-term stressors need the assistance of modern pharmaceuticals. (Buspar and Trazadone, myself)

If someone is in a short-term stressful situation, taking the meds are not a bad thing. Yes, some of these meds might not be wise to take if one is pregnant, breastfeeding, etc. Personally, if I already had children, wasn't married, was running around working two jobs, toting everyone around town, planning a wedding, etc... the last thing I would be worried about would be getting pregnant. I would be doing everything possible to make sure I DIDN'T get pregnant until I had some resolution to the other issues that were causing the stress/depression. Note-- the Effexor causes a problem while taken *late* in the third trimester--say months 8 and 9. So if you currently aren't pregnant, it isn't an issue. Overcoming the stress and depression is an issue.

Mom03-- it really sounds like you have a heck of a lot going on right now in your life. From what you have said, it sounds like these might be short-term stressors and your physician feels you could be helped with the short-term use of Effexor or some other antidepressant while you coped with the issues causing the stress in the first place. And counseling while you are on the meds will also help with the coping. Exercise is always good. But if you need the medication, please rethink not taking it because you *might* get pregnant. Maybe try not to get pregnant until the issues are resolved.

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I was on Zoloft for about six months-It was helping but I was having horrible dreams. I tried wellbutrin-but ended up having a panaic attack. I really didnt think I was "depressed"-I just thought I was moody-tired-and had alot of headache's(all signs of depression!). I havnt taken anything for about three years. Sometimes you need antidepressents for awhile to get things back on track and things are good for then on.

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thank you everyone, for your concerns and comments.

i left my doctor a message, letting her know that i am not going to take the Effexor, and if she wanted to try me on something else. I will keep you all updated.

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Read your post and felt ba for you. Taking pills are not the only solution to losing weight. you must do regular exercising and dieting, watch over what and how you eat very closely. And if you have your moral very low, you can always go on weightloss forums and talk to people who are struggling to lose weight like you. Here is a nice forum you can go to http://www.imsickofbeingfat.com. Such motivation works a lot and you can share similar experiences with other posters. Dnt lose heart! There is always a way.

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Originally Posted by fallingstar Read your post and felt ba for you. Taking pills are not the only solution to losing weight. you must do regular exercising and dieting, watch over what and how you eat very closely. And if you have your moral very low, you can always go on weightloss forums and talk to people who are struggling to lose weight like you. Here is a nice forum you can go to http://www.imsickofbeingfat.com. Such motivation works a lot and you can share similar experiences with other posters. Dnt lose heart! There is always a way.
Okay unless I am totally missing something here - shes not trying to lose weight, she has been prescribed pills for depression.

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I think she may have misunderstood, as mommy03 said in the original post that she was depressed because of her weight.

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I was on Zoloft and Buspar at the same time. I stopped them cold turkey after about 6 months. I have wondered at times if I don't need them, but haven't wanted to give in I guess. Anyway, I was having anxiety attacks, I would wake up and not be able to breathe, the doc diagnosed anxiety. I think they helped. I agree that the drugs are good in you have an imbalance, but they aren't a cure all.

With Zoloft I had to have mine increased from 100mg to 150mg because at 100 I was suicidal. I would have dreams about "offing" myself. After a week or so at 150mg I stopped thinking about killing my self with razor blades and stuff. I also lost a huge amount of weight (40-50 lbs), and enjoyed exercising and was doing like 250 sit ups alone every day, walking, running and marching in place, it was amazing..... holy cow, maybe I do need to be back on the stuff. I have no energy now....... just walking to the kitchen is a dreaded task......

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Originally Posted by fallingstar Read your post and felt ba for you. Taking pills are not the only solution to losing weight. you must do regular exercising and dieting, watch over what and how you eat very closely. And if you have your moral very low, you can always go on weightloss forums and talk to people who are struggling to lose weight like you. Here is a nice forum you can go to http://www.imsickofbeingfat.com. Such motivation works a lot and you can share similar experiences with other posters. Dnt lose heart! There is always a way.

First off wanted to welcome you to pash

I am depressed about my weight, my doctor did not give me pills to lose weight, she gave me pills for depression. I was told when you are depressed, either you eat alot, or you dont eat. while im one that eats alot. The pills are to make me feel better about myself, and I should not be eating as much as I do.

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Originally Posted by imstilldreaming Like I said, primary care doctors REALLY don't know that much about psychiatric drugs.
I want to stress this to EVERYONE - if you think you need psychiatric medication you should be seeing a PSYCHIATRIST! They specialize in these meds and have the knowledge and experience to find the right ones for you.

I STRONGLY feel that regular doctors should not be prescibing psych meds at allm as it is dangerous to take ANY of them without supervision (i.e. regular follow-up appointments). Regular doctors seem to think these pills are harmless and prescribe them as a "quick fix" with no follow-up. ARRGH! That just irks me!

Mom03- it sounds like you are depressed, but the first step in addressing it shuold NOT be medication. You should first make an appoinment with a therapist or psychiatrist and get their opinion. It may be that there is a drug out there that could help you, but you want to ensure tha tyou get the right one!