Depression rules my life

Hi
Im new to the group and basically just want to find people who live with partners or family members with depression. My husband has had depression for the past 15 years or so. He was prescribed Fluoxitine and has been happily taking them but really other than that does nothing to help himself. He didnt want councelling in the beginnig which i think was a big mistake but not my choice to make. In hindsight i think he knows it probably would of helped but instead took Alcohol cocaine etc to deal with his feelings. Great for an instant high or release of tention etc but long term made him feel (swear)(swear)(swear)(swear)!! (swear)(swear)(swear)(swear)ty come down plus feelings of guilt. Well i say made like its the past tense its not hes still trying to deal with it that way. He does find CBD oil to help in keeping him chilled when hes feeling a bit angry which he can from time to time. Hes learnt to control that much better over the years though. Dont get me wrong my husband is a fantastic man loving handsome great dad but boy when hes down its crap!! Feels pretty therapuetic to write things down as im sure suffering from depression is hell but its not a bed of roses for the people closest to them either.

Hi and welcome to DWD. My husband has had depression for as long as I have known him, had a couple of breakdowns and been through therapy a couple of times...
He was on the highest dose of Fluoxetine for years but it made him feel nothing and he has changed to Venlafaxine which has been a game changer. You might find that he needs a meds review...
Alcohol is a depressant. Drinking isn't going to make things any better...
Has he thought of trying to get counselling now? What about a support group or something?

Hi there
Thanks for replying, My husband had a meltdown 12 years ago and was happy to go to the doctor to get help. He was put on Fluoxitine and really from then on hasnt been assessed. We travel quite a bit so dont register with doctors that often so hard to get help when you have to explain yourself to different people all the time you tend not to bother. Hes pretty good now where Alcohol is concerned and maybe has a small beer if we go out for dinner which is pretty rare. As I said he does have CBD oil which does help him but he doesnt want to have it all the time. Havent heard of Venlafaxine I will look it up. Trying to go down the herbal route now feel like he needs a more natural way of dealing with it.

Hello My name is Terry and I am also new to join. Your story sounds a little like mine. I mean the meds taken plus using Alcohol and cocaine not your actual story of your husband. My story quite different but i know how he feels with needing an escape from everyday life. Things get too much and you just need to disappear into your own little world one that isnt full of pressure and stress and panic. Ive suffered for many years and have dipped in and out of taking proper meds from the doctor to medicating on my own when I feel the others just arent enough. I prefer to stay home when I can if I can get out of any event or gathering I do, just not comfortable with lots of people and having to be polite and friendly when its the last thing I care about. I havent tried CBD oil like your husband but certaintly wouldnt rule it out.

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Originally Posted by Angepange01

Hi there
Thanks for replying, My husband had a meltdown 12 years ago and was happy to go to the doctor to get help. He was put on Fluoxitine and really from then on hasnt been assessed. We travel quite a bit so dont register with doctors that often so hard to get help when you have to explain yourself to different people all the time you tend not to bother. Hes pretty good now where Alcohol is concerned and maybe has a small beer if we go out for dinner which is pretty rare. As I said he does have CBD oil which does help him but he doesnt want to have it all the time. Havent heard of Venlafaxine I will look it up. Trying to go down the herbal route now feel like he needs a more natural way of dealing with it.

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Can I ask how he is getting his prescriptions if he isn't registered with a Dr? Be careful with a herbal route as some interact with anti d's or any other medication..

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Originally Posted by MrTerry

Hello My name is Terry and I am also new to join. Your story sounds a little like mine. I mean the meds taken plus using Alcohol and cocaine not your actual story of your husband. My story quite different but i know how he feels with needing an escape from everyday life. Things get too much and you just need to disappear into your own little world one that isnt full of pressure and stress and panic. Ive suffered for many years and have dipped in and out of taking proper meds from the doctor to medicating on my own when I feel the others just arent enough. I prefer to stay home when I can if I can get out of any event or gathering I do, just not comfortable with lots of people and having to be polite and friendly when its the last thing I care about. I havent tried CBD oil like your husband but certaintly wouldnt rule it out.

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Hi and welcome.

Hi and welcome to you both!

Angepange, if your husband hasn’t had a meds review for 12 years then he really, really needs to see someone. I appreciate it’s tough but would it be doable to stay in one place long enough to be able to spend a little time trying to get him stable?

We spend quite a bit of time in Spain he has been registered with an English doctor there so he prescribes him the fluoxitine, completely above board and legal so dont worry its just its harder to seek any other help there. My husband has mixed Alcohol Cocaine Weed CBD oil and a few other experimental drugs over the years non of which work well with anti depressants so really at this point how much harm could a herbal remedy do!! Im so used to him trying to find an escape from real life that it feels the norm to me. Once upon a time he had his own business and worked 6 long days a week now youd be lucky to get him to do pretty much anything unless hes going through a good patch.

Is he taking the medication properly? Same time, same dose every day? If the meds aren't helping then he does really need to see his Doctor...

No not really when hes in a good place he takes 60mg everyday but if hes taken other things he tends to drop the dosage to 40 or even 20 mg sometimes. This weekend has been quite a good one we got out and about which was nice. Been doing a alot of looking around for alternatives and found a couple things id like him to try. One is turmeric which Im sure I saw someone mention on here somewhere and the other is a tablet called Joyful. The name made me read a bit about it, its a vegetable capsule that helps to elevate your mood apparently and vegan I think it said, not that my husband would care about that part. Anyway ive ordered some to try as nothing can be worse than all the chemicals hes been putting into his body over the years. His mood is quite stable at the moment but that can all change over night hes still not doing very much but I dont like to push him as it never helps. Have to hope he stays taking the 60mg for awhile again as hes usually best with that dosage. As for seeing a doctor who knows has to be his choice its not really something he wants to do, but again he could change his mind over night

But that's not how anti d's work. It takes 4 - 8 weeks (normally 6 - 8 for fluoxetine) to get into your system and the same for each dose change. They don't work like paracetamol. No wonder he isn't finding them much use!
Have you checked that the ones you are buying aren't going to interact with the fluoxetine?

Oh I know they dont work when he does that we have that conversation a million times, Tablets say they are pure vegetable so I dont imagine they will have a bad reaction with Fluoxitine like I said CANNOT be any worse than mixing with all the other crap hes taken over the years. At this point Im happy hes willing to give it a go. Only time will tell I suppose

But until he starts taking his anti d's correctly he can't say whether they are helping or not. Sorry, I don't understand why you'd be trying to add things in when you don't know if these help? Also... St Johns Wort is natural and can have serious interactions with anti d's, so really do check with a pharmacist.

30 seconds to double check with the pharmacist is surely worth just making sure?

With anti-depressants you know what you're getting and the various interactions which may occur with herbal remedies often you're not sure of the strength or how they interact with one another, typically St. John's Wort (hypericum) interacts strongly with other anti-depressants so great care is needed.

If you're thinking of trying turmeric it's worth noting that it can increase the effect of antidepressants, especially taken as golden paste.

You cant possibly know if anything will work unless you try it. With all that hes put in his body over the years a vegetable capsule doesnt worry me like when he takes cocaine, has a few beers or stops taking his meds altogether. Yes I will have a chat with a pharmacist and I might possibly pop into the local doctors and have a word.

That’s good to hear :)

Thank you! I know you probably are a bit fed up of us suggesting talking to someone as you're totally right, it doesn't seem like it can be an issue - esp with what else he's done.... But if he's going to take the meds properly it might help to make sure you're not changing too many things at once itms? My husband found omega 3 6+9 helpful, but again we double checked it with the doctor because it can change the way that your body takes up the meds...