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Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

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Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#271

Post by exitheone »

Antidepressants saved my marriage and the early development of my daughter.

My wife suffered a combination of depression and PTSD caused by a very bad childhood since basically middle school.

Under the stress of a newborn child it started to escalate to dangerous levels so she seeked help. After many failed therapy attempts she landed on Sertraline, which caused her symptoms to almost completely vanish and had only very mild side effects.

In the beginning she could not believe that neurotypical people feel like that all the time because she could not even remember a time anymore without depression and anxiety.

It fundamentally changed her and after 2 years of taking it, for the first time since she can remember, she is worried about the future and looking forward to it instead of hoping that she may die soon.

Talk to your doctor, get good advice, but don't be too afraid to try medication because it could potentially vastly improve your quality of life.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#272

Post by aaaaaaaaata »

zephyrthenoble wrote: post #250
danamit wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found strangers online to be more effective than doctors, simply because they read to much on the matter, then they interact too much with you. I basically got diagnosed online by 2 different people about 2 different issues, one is biological, and the other is mental. And they were right. This is nerds out there who read about topics constantly, way more than the average doctor, not even close. So a stranger can he…

This isn't a video game. Your sample size of one is not indicative of the greater population. Don't cause people to mess up their health by appealing to the notion that they can do better than trained medical professionals. This is dangerous.

Congratulations on having a frankly privileged experience with the medical system.

The only thing dangerous here is you, acting like people shouldn't advocate for themselves to every extent their intelligence allows.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#273

Post by selcuka »

inter_netuser wrote: post #267
amirhirsch wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

50% are below the median.

Grades are normalized on a gaussian curve. What's the difference between mean and median in a Gaussian distribution? Looking forward to your contributions to mathematics.

> Grades are normalized on a gaussian curve.

Are we talking about grades? Honestly when I see "50% of doctors are below average" I intuitively think of some other metric, such as the correct/incorrect diagnosis ratio, or the number of people that died because of their errors. Maybe it's just me but their uni (?) grades never comes to my mind.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#274

Post by inter_netuser »

wheelerwj wrote: post #199
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the reason you are getting so many "I disagree" responses is because many of us have had awful experiences when it comes to medical professionals and mental health. It's important to understand the economic pressures in psychiatry. I went to see a psychiatrist, who prescribed me antidepressants. They helped give be a baseline level of energy to get me out of my acute depression, but they addressed none of my…

> I think the reason you are getting so many "I disagree" responses is because many of us have had awful experiences when it comes to medical professionals and mental health. > I've heard it said that giving antidepressants to a depressed person, without any therapy, is like giving amphetamines to a tired person: yes, they may temporarily cure your "tiredness", but what you really need is to go to sleep. I don't even…

>A few people have problems with medical professionals.

>"Death by medical error or accident is the nation's leading cause of accidental death"

Trust the "leading cause of accidental death".

Medical training is extremely limited. Physicians literally don't understand how any of the drugs they prescribe work, and the standard operating procedure is to memorize 2-3 drugs out of one class and never prescribe anything else in that class.

Physicians are constrained by: their hospital policy, HMO incentives, civil liability, criminal liability, boards, legislation, insurance rates, personal biases, past unique experiences, influence of their mentors, weather, bad knees, bad marriage, whatever. Sometimes they are just having a shit day. Some keep practising to the point they are so senile they attempt to sign a prescription with the syringe needle (witnessed that myself).

They are just humans. Rather greedy humans, most of the time. They will never be fully frank with you.

3rd opinion? People often seen 5+ physicians, and spend 10+ years to get a proper diagnosis.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#275

Post by hu3 »

inter_netuser wrote: post #268
hu3 wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a horrible experience with a psychiatrist. Then a great experience with another psychiatrist who managed to get me to function just enough for me to go see a psychologist who not only "cured" me but gave me a superpower of being resilient against life's wraths. So your mileage may vary. To whom might be reading this: don't give up. It sucks but sometimes we get unlucky and need to change doctors.

>superpower of being resilient against life's wraths. how?

Therapy changed the way I see life and toned down my expectations.

I live less in the future and more in the present.

I judge myself less and feel emotions more.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#276

Post by aaaaaaaaata »

inter_netuser wrote: post #77
kappuchino wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I DISAGREE. For this reason: I was given antipressants by my (former) doctor for a moderate anxiety "phase". It was escitalopram. And it did well for me - within a day! When it came to end the medication, I was told to just stop taking it. Which I did. But I should not have - I had anxietiy "echoes" over the following YEAR, really weird stuff. So I started to read about the medication: Studies have shown the longer y…

You had an incompetent prescriber. Tapering doses for all sorts of medications are routinely done, and any pharmacy can handle such an rx. If they can't - you don't want to go to such a pharmacy anyway.

Easy to say when you're in a major city/within the 100 mile border zone.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#278

Post by inter_netuser »

zephyrthenoble wrote: post #250
danamit wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found strangers online to be more effective than doctors, simply because they read to much on the matter, then they interact too much with you. I basically got diagnosed online by 2 different people about 2 different issues, one is biological, and the other is mental. And they were right. This is nerds out there who read about topics constantly, way more than the average doctor, not even close. So a stranger can he…

This isn't a video game. Your sample size of one is not indicative of the greater population. Don't cause people to mess up their health by appealing to the notion that they can do better than trained medical professionals. This is dangerous.

The guy who came in last in his medical class. In the worst medical school in the country.

..is somehow always better...than everyone else? Always?

Professional opinion is just that, an opinion. Opinion of potentially the worst medical student, from the worst medical school. but because they got a prescription pad, they are now smarter than anyone else in America. Got it.

Health is ultimately our own decision, and ours alone.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#279

Post by codr7 »

Did you try simply sitting down and with closed eyes and waiting?

From my experience dealing with depression, it's likely connected to unprocessed feelings. Stuff that was too painful to face and therefore was shoved down. The problem is that they don't stop hurting you just because you ignore them.

Drugs will mostly mask the problem from my experience, unless you intentionally use them as a bridge to get to a point where you can solve it.

Re: Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

#280

Post by grepLeigh »

The responses to this thread seem overwhelming to me, as someone who has struggled with burnout/depression.

I think these are the important takeaways:

* Talk to a medical professional, like a doctor / GP

* Keep talking to your therapist if it helps. Look for a new therapist if your current one isn't a good fit.

* Work with your "care team" (therapist, doctor, loved ones) to create a treatment plan. Agree on ways to check in / track, so you can adjust the plan.

"Treatment plan" might include medication, but also combination of diet/exercise/practices like journaling.

Mental health and wellbeing is a spectrum. Nothing about health is permanent; it all requires upkeep.

You probably take lots of other supplements without thinking about it, like enriched flour or fortified milk. SSRIs supplement insufficient serotonin production (the causes of this are very complicated).

The contraindications, lifestyle changes, side effects that accompany SSRIs are not trivial. Your fears are valid.

Remember that you're in control of your treatment plan though. If you feel worse or decide the trade-offs aren't worth it, you can keep tweaking or remove mediation entirely.

Don't give up!

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