Hello all!
Thought I should pop on to reassure everyone I am still alive. In my last post, I said that I was pursuing treatment, so here’s an update on that.
I’m currently being treated for my depression an anxiety. I’ve started taking medication again – sertraline (Zoloft), since it seemed to help before. As of yesterday, my prescription was increased to 125 mg/day. The medication does help. I’ve noticed a significant reduction in my general anxiety, and a small reduction in my depression and social anxiety. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.
I also met with a therapist for a screening appointment and have been placed on a waitlist for therapy. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll have to wait, but I expect it will be a while. However, the therapist I talked to was very kind and I liked her a lot, so I’m looking forward to working on things when my time does come around.
In addition to all that, I’m taking all kinds of supplements – B12 (and man, do those injections ache [apparently I’m a baby when it comes to intermuscular injections]), and iron, and vitamin D, and multivitamins. It seems like this has increased my energy a little bit. That’s nice, because laying around all the time always makes me feel even worse about myself.
Aside from my treatment, I’m trying to get out of the house more. I’ve done a little volunteering that involves socializing with strangers. It triggers my anxiety, but it gets easier with practice. I figure it’s like CBT or exposure therapy – eventually, my anxiety over starting conversations with strangers might disappear altogether! Plus, it’s a good way to brush up on my social skills, which, I confess, have gotten a little rusty from the way I secluded myself as I descended in to my depressed and anxiety-ridden state.
Currently, my only real complaint is that I’m still having a lot of difficulty with concentration. It takes ages for me to read something. I struggle to watch a half-hour TV show. Writing anything isn’t easy because my mind wants to wander. I’m trying to improve things with baby steps – start with 5 or 10 minutes on a task, then 15-20. It’s getting a little easier (or maybe the medication is helping), but there’s definitely room to grow.
I’ll try to remember to post again when I have further updates.
Hope your year is off to a great start (and if not, that things get better)!
This is a Depression Blog 
Paul Lamb
/ January 18, 2018Nice to see a new post. Sounds as though you’re doing better.
I’m off my meds and quit therapy. I resented the idea of being on medication for the rest of my life, especially since it never seems to do much or any good. And therapy just seemed like rearranging the furniture in a burning house. All cosmetic but nothing substantive.
I’ve gone solo before and it didn’t work. What a cycle, right?
Judy Adkins Lewis
/ January 18, 2018I was put on vitamin b12 (1000 ml) daily.along with Prozac and Larazapam for anxiety. I must say that the addition of vitamin 12 has worked wonders.. Isee a therapist once a month..just to check in..I have been dealing with depression most of my life.
L.C.
/ January 20, 2018Zoloft works really well on females while Paxil works better on males. Zoloft will in time weed out the racing thoughts and help you focus more on one thing at a time. But it does take about 4 weeks to be truly active in your system. This was an excellent medication choice. As far as a therapist….you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. If you don’t like them or just don’t mesh, ask for another therapist. I have always had male therapists and this time I have a female therapist. Don’t be afraid to say “stop” when they ask you about things you aren’t ready to talk about. They should never be pushy or insistent. But it helps to have an idea to tell them in the first session what you are there for and what your personal goals are. They can’t read your mind and may go off in a different direction and you get pissed off and quit. I have had to stop going for several weeks at a time when a therapist hit a raw nerve and I got pissed. I waited until I was over it, went back and explained to the Therapist what they did wrong and not to go there again. Empower yourself during these sessions. Remember that you are paying them for help and they are supposed to be working for you. Best of luck. You may need an additional med for anxiety, Zoloft is not really used for that. Maybe a mild sedative would help take the edge off. But I haven’t found anything to help with social anxiety yet. And I have been off and on meds for over 25 years. Lots of experience here. Keeping all of you in my thoughts…..L.
Evgeny Potapchuk
/ February 1, 2018Hello from Russia! It seems that I have PDD, too, at least, my mental condition have strong correlation with its symptoms. I will read your blog, thanks for writing!
Cynthia Z
/ March 18, 2018Hi– Just read your post and wonder how it’s going since you started your prescription in January. It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for, and what signals your body gives as to whether you are being served. All the best, Cynthia