Gayness and depression

[GaryK]

I'm going to go to a regular physician some time next week and try to get on some medication. Hopefully, I can go with Wellbutrin.

Be sure the prescription permits the pharmacist to dispense the generic version because the brand-name is obscenely expensive. That's true with almost every single modern psymed. I take generic Wellbutrin-SR along with generic Celexa and together they work wonders for me.

 

Hi Gary,

So my solution is to take in the morning, with my breakfast, 0.5mg of Alprazolam (called Xanax here) when I have to meet these persons in my diary .

Bob, Xanax is a brand-name drug here too. It's a benzodiazepine-based medication similar to the Klonopin I take. Actually I take the generic version called clonazepam. Like Xanax it's powerful stuff. Even worse it causes a physical addiction. But it works really well and I expect to be on it the rest of my life so the addiction really isn't important. I''m on a rather high dose of the stuff; 6-10mg daily.

 

Unfortunately, reoccuring depression isn't something that will just clear up with time and positive thinking. There are community mental health centers that will charge based on what the patient can afford. Anyone suffering from severe depression needs to find help immediately: http://www.nmha.org/go/help/ .

Great idea Steph! However there doesn't appear to be a Mental Health America affiliate close to Tim. I wonder if you have to live in the service area of an affiliate in order to get help from them. I couldn't find anything about that on the NMHA website.

Edited June 7, 2008 by GaryInMiami

[Tiger]

I will, Gary. I just have to wait until next week to see when I can get in to see the doctor. Then, I can start treatment. I'll also have to keep Steph's link in mind. Anyway, I really appreciate everyone's concern and understanding. Anyway, I am still writing so depression has not stopped that. In fact, I have access to the hard drive now. The files are now updated on the laptop.

[GaryK]

In fact, I have access to the hard drive now. The files are now updated on the laptop.

Does that mean the electrician finally showed up and fixed things at your new home?

[Tiger]

Does that mean the electrician finally showed up and fixed things at your new home?

Yes it does.

 

Anyway, does Wellbutrin have a tendency of making things go limp? I hope not. I don't need that side effect. I'd rather be depressed.

[GaryK]

Anyway, does Wellbutrin have a tendency of making things go limp? I hope not. I don't need that side effect. I'd rather be depressed.

Do you really need to ask me that question?

[Tiger]

Do you really need to ask me that question?

Well, I was just making sure, because I don't know how long I'll be on the stuff, and when I move to KC...

[AFriendlyFace]

Anyway, does Wellbutrin have a tendency of making things go limp? I hope not. I don't need that side effect. I'd rather be depressed.

 

Good news, Tim!

"Wellbutrin, the brand name of bupropion, had the lowest overall rate of sexual dysfunction."

 

Click the link and read more!

[GaryK]

Thanks for the link Kevin. It's nice to have empirical evidence to backup what I already knew. I'm living proof that Wellbutrin doesn't affect sex drive or performance. That's what I was joking with Tim about.

[Tiger]

Wellbutrin it is then! I have to be sure of it. Along with the low risk of sexual dysfunction, it will help me not want to smoke. I'm sorry to say, but I have smoked some cigarettes lately to calm my nerves and because cigs are supposed to be good for depression. It also is supposed to lower appetite. What more could a guy want?

[AFriendlyFace]

Wellbutrin it is then! I have to be sure of it. Along with the low risk of sexual dysfunction, it will help me not want to smoke. I'm sorry to say, but I have smoked some cigarettes lately to calm my nerves and because cigs are supposed to be good for depression. It also is supposed to lower appetite. What more could a guy want?

 

Cancer-free lungs?

 

 

Sorry that was harsh, but I'm proud of you with all the progress you've made quitting and I don't want you to slide back into it

 

-Kevin

[Tiger]

Cancer-free lungs?

 

 

Sorry that was harsh, but I'm proud of you with all the progress you've made quitting and I don't want you to slide back into it

 

-Kevin

Kev, I don't want to either. I've just had such a bad week. I need a healthier coping mechanism. I guess nervousness brings out a bit of an oral fixation.

[GaryK]

Kev, I don't want to either. I've just had such a bad week. I need a healthier coping mechanism. I guess nervousness brings out a bit of an oral fixation.

Didn't you satisfy your oral fixation by talking with me on the phone today? You seemed kind of talked-out by the time supper was ready and you had to go.

[Tiger]

Didn't you satisfy your oral fixation by talking with me on the phone today? You seemed kind of talked-out by the time supper was ready and you had to go.

Yeah, I guess that means I have not felt depressed today. I know it's bound to happen again though.

[GaryK]

Yeah, I guess that means I have not felt depressed today. I know it's bound to happen again though.

Sometimes an optimistic outlook is not a good thing!

[Tiger]

Sometimes an optimistic outlook is not a good thing!

It's more of a matter-of-fact outlook. Until I am on the medication I need for long enough, it will happen. I guess I need to see a therapist... ever notice what happens when that is separated into two words after the first three letters?

[GaryK]

It's more of a matter-of-fact outlook. Until I am on the medication I need for long enough, it will happen. I guess I need to see a therapist... ever notice what happens when that is separated into two words after the first three letters?

That is sort of what they do to your mind.

 

BTW, don't get too excited about this Wellbutrin. Not every anti-depressant works for every person. My psydoc and I struggled for nearly two years before we found the right combination of meds for me. Even if Wellbutrin works for you most anti-depressants take between 2-6 weeks before you begin to feel any benefits.

[Tiger]

I'll have to see what happens, Gary. I hate needing medication, but I definitely need it for a while. I realize a lot of it has to do with my past. It still eats away at me. I really should go to therapy.

[GaryK]

I'll have to see what happens, Gary. I hate needing medication, but I definitely need it for a while. I realize a lot of it has to do with my past. It still eats away at me. I really should go to therapy.

I've never found much solace in talk therapy. I know what's eating at me. So do you. I could talk about it forever and it wouldn't change how I feel.

 

Is talking about what's happened going to make you feel better? I don't know. Maybe it will if you're lucky.

 

It seems to me to make more sense to find ways of coping with what's happened while still moving forward with your life. That's harder to do for you right now because of where you live. No doubt that's also playing a role in your depression.

 

Perhaps more relevant to this thread in general is that being stuck in what seems like a hopeless situation plays a role in depression. Being young, gay, in the closet, and afraid to come out for fear of being ostracized or worse is enough to make anyone depressed.

 

Is it what I call situational depression which meds probably won't do much if anything to alleviate? Or is it clinical depression that meds can help with? I don't know. Only a psydoc can tell you for certain. But there's the Catch-22. Regardless of which kind of depression it is what maybe makes it worse is you can't tell anyone about your depression without risking the real source of it being uncovered.

 

What's a person to do in that situation? I'm really not sure. Tough it out seems too trite an response. Develop of circle of friends with whom you can be honest is perhaps a more workable solution. That still might not be enough...

[Tiger]

Situational depression can often lead to clinical depression. I know from experience, and I do believe that is the case as of right now. Hopefully, medication will help. I already know of one I cannot take and a few that do not work. Hopefully, Wellbutrin can work for me.

[Tiger]

I just thought I would give an update on this front. I actually just started taking Wellbutrin. I seem to have dry mouth, but otherwise nothing to serious in the form of side effects. Well, I do feel a little more energized. Anyway, I hope those effects wear off soon.

[Masked Monkey]

I just thought I would give an update on this front. I actually just started taking Wellbutrin. I seem to have dry mouth, but otherwise nothing to serious in the form of side effects. Well, I do feel a little more energized. Anyway, I hope those effects wear off soon.

well, you could drink more . There are also swabs and special chewing gum you can get that will reduce the dryness. If it is a long term side effect, it is important to address because having a dry mouth can lead to dental (gum) problems.

 

And no, alcoholic/caffeinated beverages don't count, and neither does a certain bodily fluid

[Tiger]

well, you could drink more . There are also swabs and special chewing gum you can get that will reduce the dryness. If it is a long term side effect, it is important to address because having a dry mouth can lead to dental (gum) problems.

 

And no, alcoholic/caffeinated beverages don't count, and neither does a certain bodily fluid

I did not say they did count. Besides, I have to limit my intake of alcohol. At least, I can drink occasionally with this one. I figured I wouldn't be able to drink at all. As for the other you mentioned...

[Masked Monkey]

I did not say they did count. Besides, I have to limit my intake of alcohol. At least, I can drink occasionally with this one. I figured I wouldn't be able to drink at all. As for the other you mentioned...

 

Why are you hitting me for mentioning caffeinated beverages?

[Daisy]

It's more of a matter-of-fact outlook. Until I am on the medication I need for long enough, it will happen. I guess I need to see a therapist... ever notice what happens when that is separated into two words after the first three letters?

 

Situational depression can often lead to clinical depression. I know from experience, and I do believe that is the case as of right now. Hopefully, medication will help. I already know of one I cannot take and a few that do not work. Hopefully, Wellbutrin can work for me.

 

I agree with both. The bottom is what has happened to my mum, I don't think that she is naturally disposed to depression, well certianly not to the extent that she has been. some of her personality may lead her that way, but again, I'm not sure how much of that has developed by the way she was brought up and other events in her life over time. Goodluck with the anti-depressants. My mum has been on loads of different ones over the years and I'm not even sure now if the one's she's on are really working. and I'm convinced the ones she started last Nov made her sleeping and nightmares worse.

 

About the therapy, I'd just like to warn that when you do start it (if you do) be ready for things to get worse for awhile. when my mum 1st started facing her demons, well it was a big step for to even do that, but dealing with things she's run from and buried but that have festered and shaped her current situation has not been nice, still isnt nice. a friend of mine from uni said the same, she's got anorexia/bulimia, but she's finally registered she's got problems and getting help, but she agreed she feels worse now than she did before. but the therapy is the only way my mum's going to get better, its a long road, but she's working through her problems and the future (not just talking). I can let you know all the different types of 'therapy' she is getting and will be doing in the future if you want to research them.

 

The smoking . My mum tells me she does it to breathe!!!

 

Goodluck ,

Celia

[AFriendlyFace]

I just thought I would give an update on this front. I actually just started taking Wellbutrin. I seem to have dry mouth, but otherwise nothing to serious in the form of side effects. Well, I do feel a little more energized. Anyway, I hope those effects wear off soon.

Good for you, Tim

 

Hope your progress continues unabated

 

-Kevin