a word about anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds ....

[MichaelOM]

.... they work! (for me at least)

[jillannf6]

hi me too!

and no shame in taking them i have been on anti-depressants 4 the last 30 years and anti -anxiety med s too#

lol Jilll

[CJ49]

Good for you Michael!......nothing "sucks" more than being depressed all the time...I know, "been there....done that." It's nice to wake up each day and "actually" think that it's "good to be alive!"

Life is to precious,not to enjoy.

CJ

[Precious44]

They work for me also. I have been on antidepressants for 20 years and probably should have been on them a lot sooner. I have never felt shame or anything else about taking them, my doctor once said "if you had diabetes you wouldn't stop your insulin, and depression and PTS are illnesses too." I had stopped my meds for some unknown reason, but it was a big mistake. I spent time in the hospital psych ward, back in 1992. I went in and couldn't even find my way out of a room..that's how bad I was, my brain was on over,over,over load.I had lost a lot of weight and was wearing a size 2, I was a size 10 before that. I had a wonderful therapist and she saved my life by having me put in the hospital. Some people see it as a weakness and some see it as we're crazy, well I don't care what others think, I am ill and have to take my medicine for depression and for parkinsons, and high blood pressure. I am 68 years old and I am alone, my Ron passed away in 1996. I live with my oldest son and his girlfriend. I have what they call an mother-in-law quarters, it's kind of away from the other bedrooms and it's bigger than the regular ones, plus I have my own bathroom. If it wasn't for needing food sometimes I wouldn't leave my room. Infact when I was first diagnosed with parkinsons I didn't have any friends here, I had lived in this town for about 9 years and didn't know anyone. That has changed I now have two wonderful friends here, I had to move away from my hometown and my friends when I got sick in 2001 and needed to live with my son.

There is a saying "what other people think of me is none of my business." I try to remember that, judge me not for thee will be judged.

Good night all

Hugs, hugs, Hugs

Precious 44

Kathy

[MichaelOM]

To me it's like turning the heat down on the stove (of my brain). I might be suicidal without them.

[etterus]

So far I haven't found success with antidepressants but take lorazapam .5 twice daily.

[srarndt]

What? Me needing antidepressants? NO WAY! (Or so I always felt during my prediagnosis years!

YES I found it irksome to admit that i needed to take even more pills! YES i do feel better after several months of Citalopram 20mg

Do as I suggest, not as i did! Denial ain't a big river in Africa. NO SHAME, if you need them, just smile and accept the help they provide.

Best wishes!

Steve in Bisbee, AZ

[Hidden]

Do not long term antidepressant treatments make the PD worse?

Back in 1999 I was given Prozac for depression (at least the Doc said it was)

After ten days I had a disastrous reaction, which I believe (though doctors deny)

caused my PD.

There are days of depression in PD, but I will not concur nor have anything to do with it .

I know there is no shame in having to want or need that medication, neither would I judge anyone for having it.. But I implore you to be on your guard with such drugs.

[DeParkiePoet in reply to Hidden]

I agree! that's all I can do right now!

[DeParkiePoet]

Do you find any particular one more effective for PWP?

[tlongmire in reply to DeParkiePoet]

My therapist and neurologist conferred on this and decided Paxil was the best for me as a PWP.

Hugs, Terri

[tlongmire]

I agree. My quality of life is so much better since I started Paxil. .I also use Ativan (beforehand) when I know there's a likelyhood I'm going to be in a stressful environment.

Hugs, Terri

[grammieof3]

I take cymbalta depression is a part of pd took me along time to figure out i couldn't just get over it. No shame

[MichaelOM]

Before Lexapro (my "brand") and my myriad of Parkinson's meds (which started as a sprinkle and now seems a torrent) I rarely took aspirin. I wholly agree that Western medicine is often too quick to prescribe drugs and to treat symptoms rather than consider more natural, non-drug treatments and to focus on curing illnesses. However, I have a practical problem in that I LIVE IN THE WEST and in my limited exposure to Eastern and alternative disciplines I've run into more quacks and phonies than I ever did with Western medical doctors.

[MichaelOM]

Just to be clear, i've never been to the East.

[harding55]

can't live without my xanax daily!

[Jenette]

I'm on Klonipin once to twice daily. I was hospitalized for anxiety. The psychiatrist said I'm not depressed, but recommended the Klonipin. So far, it's been working well

[moonsake10]

I found out that, once I stopped taking Klonipin-my anxiety attacks completely stopped. The down side (and it's a big one) is that without the Klonipin-rigidity/stiffness set in and I haven't found anything to completely get rid of that like Klonipin did. SO for me, it is a matter PHYSICAL comfort over mental anxiety. I also take Cymbalta which covers my anxiety pretty well. Just wish there was something LIKE Klonipin that was NOT an opioid.

[Tiger101]

What do you take?

[moonsake10 in reply to Tiger101]

For anxiety? Only Cymbalta