Posted by jan
on February 24, 2009, 1:51 pm, in reply to "Re: drug advice.."
72.175.193.124
Trish,
Everyone has their own thoughts on this subject. Here are mine. Without the antidepressants they put me on (two simultaneously), I would be dead now. It's really that simple for me. I was already on Paxil when Lora died, and we have a history of clinical depression running in my family. They upped the dose on my Paxil to the maximum allowed, and added Wellbutrin. They did this for the first three or four years after Lora died. Then they took me off the Wellbutrin, and we noticed the Paxil wasn't helping much alone.
Because it was the old formulation of Paxil (not the one they use now), I had to be weaned off it over a course of six months. My doctor gave my pharmacist "carte blanche" to work me through it. As he weaned me off the Paxil, he gradually added a low dose of Prozac. And the Prozac worked well for me (still does). I tried to get off the Prozac two years ago, and I nosedived into a severe depression within days, where I was weeping off & on all day and wanted to die every second I was awake -- which, frankly, was my normal condition before medication. My doctors have told me that while most people only need antidepressants for a period less than 3 years, there are some whose body simply will not produce enough serotonin and need to be on it for long periods, some for life. I am one of those.
When I first started taking an antidepressant (in the early 90s), I was terrified of it, and deeply offended by my doctor for suggesting I needed it. I was of the opinion that I was a Christian, and Jesus was all I needed -- so if I was having trouble coping with life, it was strictly a spiritual problem, and I was therefore a poor excuse for a Christian. I refused to take them for several weeks, but my mood swings were so severe I was close to being fired... so, feeling absolutely defeated and a reject of a Christian, I began taking them.
And my life changed, dramatically. No, they don't make me happy... they give me the mental ability to cope. That's all. And I no longer believe it is a sign of spiritual weakness to use them when needed.
That said, antidepressants should rarely be given to a teenager or child unless a doctor is closely monitoring them. Lora was on prozac for a short period to help her overcome bulimia, which was far more dangerous to her life than the medication.
There are also Christians who think that going to a therapist is a sign of spiritual weakness (I was one of them)... and yet, when I finally conceded to going to one, he insisted I take off work for a minimum of 6 weeks and go away from my stressors at home -- that break from work and family (spent 2000 miles away in Ohio) was the turning point in my grief journey.
I guess what I am saying is this: do what works, and know that GOD is the one providing the comfort no matter through WHAT means.
hugs,
jan
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