best drug for treating SAD?

[laCster]

yah it's not fun being a recluse...

 

[Cane2theLeft]

I think you'd get a better response in TDS so let's try this over there.




--->TDS

 

[Lolie]

What medications have you tried in the past? What other disorder is your SAD related to and what medications are you taking for that?

 

[†∆†]

I'm skeptical as to whether SAD is a real disorder or the creation of hypochondriacs who want to label a normal experience as an illness

 

[Lolie]

I'm skeptical as to whether SAD is a real disorder or the creation of hypochondriacs who want to label a normal experience as an illness

It's not listed in the DSM-IV as a disorder in its own right. It's a symptom which describes the pattern of an Axis I disorder - major depressive episodes but sometimes bipolar disorder. Not all SAD occurs in winter either - it occurs in summer in some people.

It's pretty well established that exposure to light influences a lot of body rhythms - what's a lot less clear is why most people can compensate as the amount of natural light changes by a few minutes each day but some cannot. Light therapy usually works well for those people.

 

[paranoid android]

I'm skeptical as to whether SAD is a real disorder or the creation of hypochondriacs who want to label a normal experience as an illness

I think it's a very real disorder and since i live in the north i certainly notice a change in my moods after the time goes back. There is not much daylight as it's only bright here now really from about 7AM to 4:30PM, the weather here in winter time does not inspire you to actually get out and do anything and for awile after the time goes back 6PM feels more like 11PM to me. Me and a few aquintences where complaining about this shortly after the time went back actually and how we felt fucking old because we where ready to call it a night at 10PM

If your the type that doesent get up early your not going to see much sun at all so you kinda sleep the sunlight away. I have bipolar disorder and i definetely notice a change in my moods when winter comes. I feel way more sluggish then normal, i oversleep alot (sometimes 12 hours a day or more if im really bad), i tend to slip into major depression and i just feel like shit really

I try and combat this with getting up early not long after daybreak, taking vitamin D because your not going to get any naturally from the sun here in winter and get out for atleast a few minutes a day if i can. Also i take wellbutrin now for the depression side of my bipolar and i find that this helps me alot with various symptoms of SAD. It helps the fatigue and overall sluggishness, the mental cloudiness that comes with depression, i don't find waking up to be so hard, i don't oversleep as much and it makes me more outgoing instead of just having me lye in bed waiting for may to come

So yeah it would be fair to say that wellbutrin makes MY winters abit easier atleast and that it's the best drug for treating SAD for ME. But everyone reacts differently to every drug and what may work well for me may do fuck all for another person or even make them worse.

I would say maybe try light therapy if you can before taking any medications as i have heard that it does help alot of people. If for some reason you can't try it or if it does not work then i would suggest going to see your doctor.

 

[villian]

not a drug but

http://www.amazon.com/NatureBright-...ef=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1291223576&sr=1-1

 

[Lolie]

Ironically, I have a vitamin D deficiency despite living in one of the sunniest places on earth so it might be a good idea to get your vitamin D level checked and address that issue if you're deficient.

 

[laCster]

What medications have you tried in the past? What other disorder is your SAD related to and what medications are you taking for that?

i got diagnosed with SAD and GAD and chronic depression...
klonopin works amaaazing for me, so does adderall, and a little booze of course.....but my parents know i smoke pot daily, think i'm an addict and when my new shrink offered me some xanax, my parents said no and i got left with this useless zoloft which im not even going to take....as of now, i do hardly any social activity outside of school and mostly hermit up in my room which sucks and has been leading me into depression....i've had a hard time with social relationships all of my life, since pre-K--never had a best friend, thinking selfishly, extorting friends, ect.....and it sort of helps to label a problem you know? idk if this shit is real i just don't want to be fucking lonely all my life, it sucks....
...soo i need a something that will actually work for the time being that isnt a benzo while i try to convince my parents to fill up my benzos, or i can just be a hermit crab until im 18 and then i can get those shits

I think it's a very real disorder and since i live in the north i certainly notice a change in my moods after the time goes back. There is not much daylight as it's only bright here now really from about 7AM to 4:30PM, the weather here in winter time does not inspire you to actually get out and do anything and for awile after the time goes back 6PM feels more like 11PM to me. Me and a few aquintences where complaining about this shortly after the time went back actually and how we felt fucking old because we where ready to call it a night at 10PM

If your the type that doesent get up early your not going to see much sun at all so you kinda sleep the sunlight away. I have bipolar disorder and i definetely notice a change in my moods when winter comes. I feel way more sluggish then normal, i oversleep alot (sometimes 12 hours a day or more if im really bad), i tend to slip into major depression and i just feel like shit really

I try and combat this with getting up early not long after daybreak, taking vitamin D because your not going to get any naturally from the sun here in winter and get out for atleast a few minutes a day if i can. Also i take wellbutrin now for the depression side of my bipolar and i find that this helps me alot with various symptoms of SAD. It helps the fatigue and overall sluggishness, the mental cloudiness that comes with depression, i don't find waking up to be so hard, i don't oversleep as much and it makes me more outgoing instead of just having me lye in bed waiting for may to come

So yeah it would be fair to say that wellbutrin makes MY winters abit easier atleast and that it's the best drug for treating SAD for ME. But everyone reacts differently to every drug and what may work well for me may do fuck all for another person or even make them worse.

I would say maybe try light therapy if you can before taking any medications as i have heard that it does help alot of people. If for some reason you can't try it or if it does not work then i would suggest going to see your doctor.

my previous shrink said i try wellbutrin, but i said no when he offered because it has been known to cause seizures, but i think it will help me seeing as i can relate to the depression groggy, oversleeping feeling
i really want to try a wellbutrin + klonopin combo, seeing as epilepsy runs in my family, and i've already had an experience on some tramadol and i went all tonic-clonic, and im deathly afraid to seize up again. it was fucking scary as hell and i was fucking conscious the whole 3-5 mins seeing flashing rainbow colors and having flashbacks; violently shaking against the walls and floor and i ended up pissing myself ....so the klonopin will hopefully prevent those....

at the moment i feel like shit, not really anyone i can turn to besides some mj for the time being which isn't healthy... and i feel really pessimistic about life..

 

[paranoid android]

Ironically, I have a vitamin D deficiency despite living in one of the sunniest places on earth so it might be a good idea to get your vitamin D level checked and address that issue if you're deficient.

Thats weird your body just must not be able to absorb vitamin D through the skin. Do you take suppliments? I take 1000IU of vitamin D3 a day so i doubt i am deficent in it or atleast i hope not. They don't test for vitamin D deficency here too often i don't think but they do test for iron and vitamin B-12 levels.

I know people in Australia who say they get SAD and this kinda boggles my mind. A friend of mine was once complaining that it was 18C out and that she was freezing and i was like that's june here :D . But i guess it all depends on what your used to really.

 

[Carl Landrover]

It's not listed in the DSM-IV as a disorder in its own right. It's a symptom which describes the pattern of an Axis I disorder - major depressive episodes but sometimes bipolar disorder. Not all SAD occurs in winter either - it occurs in summer in some people.

It's pretty well established that exposure to light influences a lot of body rhythms - what's a lot less clear is why most people can compensate as the amount of natural light changes by a few minutes each day but some cannot. Light therapy usually works well for those people.

Not everything needs to be medicated though

 

[laCster]

It's not listed in the DSM-IV as a disorder in its own right. It's a symptom which describes the pattern of an Axis I disorder - major depressive episodes but sometimes bipolar disorder. Not all SAD occurs in winter either - it occurs in summer in some people.

It's pretty well established that exposure to light influences a lot of body rhythms - what's a lot less clear is why most people can compensate as the amount of natural light changes by a few minutes each day but some cannot. Light therapy usually works well for those people.

yah i first experienced depression and anxiety symptoms in july, started to get better through august september, and then it got worse and started having panic attacks in social situations

 

[Lolie]

Thats weird your body just must not be able to absorb vitamin D through the skin. Do you take suppliments? I take 1000IU of vitamin D3 a day so i doubt i am deficent in it or atleast i hope not. They don't test for vitamin D deficency here too often i don't think but they do test for iron and vitamin B-12 levels.

I know people in Australia who say they get SAD and this kinda boggles my mind. A friend of mine was once complaining that it was 18C out and that she was freezing and i was like that's june here :D . But i guess it all depends on what your used to really.

It's the first time a Vitamin D deficiency has shown up on my blood tests so I'n pretty sure it's just because I was spending almost no time outdoors. 15 minutes a day is supposed to be enough exposure to sunlight to provide your vitamin D but most of my outdoor time is spent behind shadecloth.

My doctor said she's seeing it more often as people now apply sunscreen literally every time they venture outside no matter what the season - which is what is recommended to prevent skin cancer.

I take supplements on and off. I need to take a calcium supplement anyway and most of those have vit D in them, but I get slack about taking them when money is tight.

 

[laCster]

It's the first time a Vitamin D deficiency has shown up on my blood tests so I'n pretty sure it's just because I was spending almost no time outdoors. 15 minutes a day is supposed to be enough exposure to sunlight to provide your vitamin D but most of my outdoor time is spent behind shadecloth.

My doctor said she's seeing it more often as people now apply sunscreen literally every time they venture outside no matter what the season - which is what is recommended to prevent skin cancer.

I take supplements on and off. I need to take a calcium supplement anyway and most of those have vit D in them, but I get slack about taking them when money is tight.

it's weird because i worked as a life guard over the summer, so i experienced sun, but since august i haven't really been outside much and it's gotten worse....maybe i should try taking some vitamins?

 

[theseeker]

I would certainly recommend Wellbutrin, particularly if you've never taken an antidepressant before. It worked wonders on my depression years ago when I first started taking antidepressants. Of course, it's only a temporary fix. If you can take it on a temporary basis just to get yourself out of the funk, that's the best course of action.

 

[laCster]

I would certainly recommend Wellbutrin, particularly if you've never taken an antidepressant before. It worked wonders on my depression years ago when I first started taking antidepressants. Of course, it's only a temporary fix. If you can take it on a temporary basis just to get yourself out of the funk, that's the best course of action.

i think im going to ask for wellbutrin in my follow up in a week, hopefully i can con-cox a deal with my parents about smoking pot less hopefully (they know i smoke every day and the psych won't prescribe anything for me without my parents consent) and get a low dose of benzos, but i've had some trouble with benzos in the past...

 

[BeckyLee]

IME (which is somewhat limited) wellbutrin has helped me a lot with SAD in the past...

 

[laCster]

IME (which is somewhat limited) wellbutrin has helped me a lot with SAD in the past...

yahh i feel even a slight bit of optimism atm, maybe its the pot and the serotonin from the bananas and chocolate i ate lol but i am going trying to convince myself to step away from the benzos, and go on wellbutrin which will hopefully cut back my smoking

 

[Paulycodone]

Hi laCster-

My name is Paul and I've been thru a lot of anxiety and still getting better, I've also been a counselor lol, so if you'd like to talk just drop me a line, thanks

 

[laCster]

Hi laCster-

My name is Paul and I've been thru a lot of anxiety and still getting better, I've also been a counselor lol, so if you'd like to talk just drop me a line, thanks

what's up paul? what has helped you get through your anxiety? i plan on getting more exercise seeing as i replaced sports with smoking pot and doing drugs 8)
but i realize that isn't too healthy and i need to get out more and practice moderation...hopefully wellbutrin will help me not smoke when i have nothing better to do you know? i also want to look into a better food plan, one with more serotonin...in the back of my mind though, i really want the benzo script....