Effectiveness of antidepressants with DID

Although I have achieved alot of integration (which I find is ever so much better than being split up) I have been struggling with significant depression. My dr has prescribed various SSRI antidepressants (Zoloft, Effexor, Lexapro, etc) both alone and in combination. However, I have had very little, to no response to medication. My dr and I suspect that the DID and PTSD I have interferes with the effectiveness of antidepressants. I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who would like to comment on the types of medication they have taken and how effective they have found them.

shrinkrapper wrote:My dr and I suspect that the DID and PTSD I have interferes with the effectiveness of antidepressants.

Thats an interesting idea.

Most of the info I have found suggests that the usual antidepressants and antipsychotics etc that Dr's prescrible those with DID are ineffective because we don't have the 'chemical imbalance' or whatever it is that the meds are designed to 'correct'. So they simply don't work.

Me personally, I have been put on many meds, antidepressants, antipsychotics, antianxiety meds etc etc. Almost all meds I have had bad reactions to, ranging from the side effect that outweighs any possible benefit (if there was any), to severe anaphylactic reactions that ended up with me being rushed to the emergency department.

The few that I haven't had bad reactions to either did nothing at all, or they simply made me so numb that I couldn't stand it and desperately needed to feel something, anything, again.

So now, I don't take any psych meds anymore, except for some xanax and valium for my panic and anxiety attacks

After being put on so many things for no good reason, I feel like a guinea pig, a lab rat being experimented on with meds. So, I guess I could be biased by my own reaction. But in general I belive that meds are usually ineffective when it comes to DID

Lahl

I found that in the early years of my integration my emotions were very unpredictable and I didn't respond well to meds. Here I am, three years down the road, and I am now taking meds that are working very well for me. They are a combo of Remeron, Serzone and Abilify. It took a while to find the correct cmbo and dosage but with me, my T and my psyciatrist working for me I finally feel quite stable.

Kathy

sweetngentle wrote: Here I am, three years down the road, and I am now taking meds that are working very well for me. They are a combo of Remeron, Serzone and Abilify.

Glad you found some meds that worked.
When you say you didn't respond well to meds beforehand, what exactly did you mean?

I took 1½ tablets of remeron which left me so wiped out that I couldn't stand up and it took me over a month to recover from that small dose.

Serzone was only slightly less bad than Effexor, which left me lying on the bed with no muscle control and twitching all over with my head spinning so bad I didn't know where I was or what was happening, all within an hour of taking 1 tablet.

Abilify is new here and not available on the gov't Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, so it way too expensive to even try, so I wouldn't know how this new antipsychotic med works or if I would react to it like some of the others.

One thing I found tho which is interesting. One or more of my alters seem to be either immune to the effects of the meds, or able to choose not be affected by them if they want. This was shown after I OD'd once and was unconscious for several days in the ED observation room. However both my GF and the ambulance officers and the hospital staff all reported that I would occasionally be instantly alert and unaffected, go do something like go to the toilet or answer the phone etc, then bam, I was unconscious again. They thought I was faking it, but I remember nothing. Its also seems to have happened a few times when I've taken something to sleep, then discovered someone had been using my computer and going online in the early hours of the morning while I was supposedly asleep in bed. (exactly which alters or how many seem to have this ability is as yet unknown)

So, is this similar to what you meant about not responding well to meds beforehand, and could the integration of alters that aren't adversley affected by the meds have helped in your current ability to take a combination that works for you and keeps you stable??

Its an interesting idea.

Lahl

When you say you didn't respond well to meds beforehand, what exactly did you mean?

I think that my alters were capable of stopping the meds as they went through my body. I have a fried who has DID and she had a really difficult time simply because some of her alters were able to resist the effects of the med.

So, is this similar to what you meant about not responding well to meds beforehand, and could the integration of alters that aren't adversley affected by the meds have helped in your current ability to take a combination that works for you and keeps you stable??

When I was first going through some integration my meds had little or no effect on me. The further I got towards being completely integration, the less the meds worked.

I don't get wiped out by Remeron or Serzone one single bit. My meds had to be totally changed and new ones were tried until we got the best we could hope to get.


Kathy

Lahl and Sweetngentle,

Thank you so much for your replies. I found them very interesting and most helpful.

Given the great number of people who take antidepressants today, I doubt that many have just a chemical imbalance. Larry King had a show on depression. The dr (from Johns Hopkins U) advised that that best treatment for depression is antidepressants and talk therapy. However, for what it's worth, I bet that if you talked to most people who take antidepressants, that they have reasons for being depressed. The trend today is to prescribe antidepressants for almost anyone who is clinically depressed. I personally think that they are over prescribed and that this attitude suggests to the public that talking about your problems isn't necessary.

I found that the most common side effect to most of the antidepressants was exhaustion. I could hardly move on Paxil. It was awful. As of late, I'm taking Lexapro and Welbutrin and finally, I'm feeling less depressed. I can't believe I'm saying this. I would have totally agreed with you (Lahl) that antidepressants are of little/no use. I hope I can still say this in a few weeks/months from now.

I think that the meds are probably able to work now because of therapy/integration. I doubt that they would be able to work if I had taken this med. say, a year ago.

I am glad Sweetngentle that you have had success with your combo of meds. I wouldn't take Remeron b/c of the weight gain side effect that occurs with some people. Serzone is banned in Canada because a very small number of people had liver complications. It's very good to know that meds can be helpful at some point.

I also found your responses reasurring. Thank you