good article here

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...s-the-victim-0

I tried Prozac to increase prolactin levels (which it did) for MS. Can't say it helped MS but i'd never want to quit it (only 10mg's) cause it makes the day a slightly brighter one.
Smile in a bottle.

I wish I could taken an anti-depressant. Every one I took had serious side effects for me.
It is my belief that we are living in a world that has become so depressing that it would be abnormal not to be depressed to some degree. I need not list what is going on. If you watch TV or listen to radio news programs or even peruse the internet for news, you already know.

Becoming depressed about "what is going on", in the world or in one's own life is different than the depression caused by changes in neurochemistry. The latter responds well to AD, while the former often does not.

With love, Erika

So true, thanks. You can't just "cheer up"
and get rid of MS/demylinating depression.

I read the article and read about the blame game. I thought it funny that they blame the persons parents and family. So they played the blame game in the article. Main stream psychology does that quite a bit and I'm not 100% on board with that one. Some people become depressed for reasons other than their "conditioning" in childhood. I know someone who when through a period in their life when they did a lot of bad stuff. Now they are clean cut but the remorse of what they did is causing them grief and depression. Whatever happened to this person in their childhood had nothing to do with what he did and what he is experiencing.

There are others that I know that had horrible and abusive childhoods and have become outstanding adults. They were able to recognize the issues from their childhoods and turn their lives around so the pattern did not repeat itself.

I agree with Erika as well. There is situational depression as well as depression caused by ones chemistry. For a lot of MSers, it is a neurologically based depression and there is treatment for that.

I believe many MS people prescribed anti-depressants don't give it enough time to work - 6 to 8 weeks of consistent use is mandatory. Everyone wants to see immediate results ... we're only human.

Then, when we don't see results after 8 weeks, we give up. WRONG! Try a different AD. For at least 8 weeks. If that doesn't help, Try a third type!

I know from personal experience. Years ago I was prescribed Paxil by my MS neuro. After 8 weeks there were no changes in my depression. Next I tried Wellbutrin. Another 8 weeks with no improvement.

I tried one more - Effexor. After only 3-4 weeks on Effexor I felt I could make it through a day without crying from little things like not being able to button a blouse, or to pull up my socks. Or to go up three steps. It was nice to actually feel almost "normal" again. Of course I still couldn't do any of those things, but I found a way to accept it was ok that I had limitations and there was always a solution. It was truly "freeing" for me, like taking a BiG load off.

I still cried/cry at appropriate times .. sad movies, hurt and homeless animals, and at Hallmark Card commercials. AD's don't stop one from feeling; they help bring your emotions back to normal. Whatever that is.

It's been around 8 or 9 years now that I've taken my AD. As I continue to progress, (I'm PP and very, very progressed) I know how much difference the Effexor has helped me accept it without crying every day.

msbluis

good convo- thanks
I for one was being treated for depression before the M.S. I was told that depression can make MS worse, and MS can make depression worse.

I'm not sure depression is 'overcome-able' but it at least manageable.

I think the thing that intrigued me about the piece was less about depression and more about 'Janet' the 'victim-of-everything'.

It's just such a crummy disorder...chronic depression feels like a rain cloud constantly over your head...the world's affairs don't seem to help.
I've tried many different ADs, all with side effects. I give it months to work, but it doesn't seem to help.
Behavioral therapy helps a lot though. Mind is the builder, and if one can work on reshaping how one thinks, it can make the rain cloud of depression a bit smaller, IMHO.