Is it normal to be depressed even on meds?

I've been on medication for clinical depression for the past few years. I have been taking it continuously but recently it feels like my body is rejecting the medication. I feel even more fatigued and I sleep 12 hours straight a day. The medication before helped me remain positive and tolerable about things. Recently, I just feel tired and my mood spirals down. I'm about to start uni soon and I don't know if I can adjust and not feel unmotivated with the things I love most.
Is it normal my meds are doing this to me? Should I get new medication?

Voting Results
69% Normal
Based on 93 votes (64 yes)
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Comments ( 35 )
  • You should be telling your physician all of this. Medication is not really a fix-it-all approach, you should also be pursuing some sort of therapy in addition to meds.

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    • I have regular therapy sessions and I am aware that being on meds doesn't make me instantly happy. The meds I'm taking I feel is really causing me to be burnt out and back to my depressive ways. Just not sure why something I've been taking for years suddenly changed its effect.

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      • Honestly, I'm not sure why your medication is not doing the trick for you any more. There could be many variables which might be affecting your situation. Has anything about your situation changed recently?

        You said it 'suddenly changed its effect' which, to me (not a medical professional), seems unusual, so that's why I recommended you see your doctor about it. Also, I've never taken an anti-depressant, so I have no personal experience to share. I do suffer from severe and chronic anxiety, though, and I understand how not feeling well can affect motivation levels and sleep patterns, among other things. I take medication for it too, but anti-anxiety meds are a lot different than anti-depressants.

        At least you are taking a holistic approach to your depression and combining medication with therapy. Many people seem to be under the impression medication alone will cure them.

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        • I must have grown intolerance much like any other medication taken for a long period. No, my situation has been fairly uneventful which is great but it just bothers me why I react differently. Thanks.

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          • VioletTrees

            I already told bugsforbreakfast this, but I'll say it again: it is not possible to form a tolerance to all medication. It seems like a lot of people don't know that. For example, the effectiveness of acetaminophen (Tylenol) doesn't decrease with frequent use. I'm not sure about antidepressants. I know that there's a bit of evidence for tolerance in certain tricyclic antidepressants, but I'm not sure about SSRIs, which are more commonly used these days. I'll get back to you, if you like.

            That said, brains are complicated, and it's possible for other factors to make it so that a medication is no longer effective for a patient, even when tolerance isn't possible. It's not always terribly predictable. Bodies change. Talk to your doctor about changing medication or increasing your dose. There's something to be said for both options.

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            • That's correct but it is possible to be intolerant of anti-depressants. It's called Treatment Resistant Depression. I was just wondering why it was so sudden and whether anyone can relate to the situation. Hopefully, I would not have to increase my dosage as I was fine with my current one. Thanks for your reply.

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      • noid

        This happens sometimes. Talk to your Dr. about changing medications.

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  • Maya05

    As it has already been stated, your body can grow a tolerance to it. I've had depression for over 7 years and I've changed medication a couple times now. Also if you do change it don't forget there are A LOT of different kinds that work differently to everyone. So if you start taking one and it doesn't work, try another one.

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    • Do I just suggest this to my psychologist? I have boxes of medication untouched. How will the change from one medication to another be?

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      • Maya05

        It might not hurt to bring it up. As for the changing over period, it's hard to say. I'm sure everyone would react differently. For me my head gets pretty disoriented feeling and dizzy. I assume this to be from the chemicals in my brain shifting back to their 'natural' unbalanced state. But that only lasted a week or so. Surprisingly my emotions didn't seem to be effected too much.

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  • After taking the same psych med for a couple years some people will grow a tolerance to it and need a med switch. It is recomended to switch them every few years for long term use.

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    • VioletTrees

      It's worth noting that it's not possible to form a tolerance to many medications. There are other reasons medication can stop working, however, and I don't know what specific medication the OP is on. So it could be tolerance, for all I know.

      Do they really recommend that you switch every few years? Every doctor I've had has refrained from changing my medication unless it's necessary. Switching medication can be an ordeal, and I don't see how avoiding the possibility of developing a tolerance would be worth it.

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      • Im currently on 4 meds and have had to change them every couple years. It probablly depends on the person but I seem to get immune to most of them after so long. Also some of them cause side effects after so long. An example is I was on abilify for a few years and was fine and then started having tardive dyskinesia symptoms and had to switch to something else (zyperixa and lithium). Ive also taken meds where I would keep getting immune and had to keep increasing the dose until the dose was no longer safe and switched meds.

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        • VioletTrees

          Ok, thanks for the info! I think it probably depends on the medication and the situation. I've been on two different SSRIs, and they never switch me unless there's a problem.

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    • That's most likely why. I'm hoping the next one would suit me better. Thanks.

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  • shuggy-chan

    Be careful, meds may not be helping. I don't like meds, I know some people might need them but after they made my uncle weird and loopy and eventually drink laundry detergent in a failed suicide attemt, I think I'll pass. It too scare how a few chemicals in ur brain can completely change a person. I rather be myself and in a "black" depression then to lose control and identity to happy pills

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    • I understand but as long as I take my medication and go to therapy I am fine. That's what I felt like before that I was a totally different person on meds but it does keep me more neutral about things.

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      • shuggy-chan

        i just wish the best for you, and hope you and other close to you, keep an eye on you for any erratic changes in personality and behavior

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  • 0404

    I am on meds to just like you. You just have to work with the meds for the meds to work. You cannot let the meds do all the work.

    best of luck :)

    I know how you feel!! Take care

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  • Terence_the_viking

    Your body can get used to any meds.

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  • davesumba

    yeah, meds are a scam. Learn how to fix your problems in your life yourself.

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    • Chemical imbalances within the brain cannot be resolved just by positive thinking or without the aid of medication and therapy. It's not as easy as 1, 2, 3.

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      • davesumba

        My parents made me go to a doctor when i was younger who diagnosed me with "depression" (and gave me the whole shpeal about how its a disease caused by chemical imbalances in your head) and put me on meds that I didn't need and didn't do anything. The source of my depression was the fact that I didn't have any friends, so I was like waaaa i don't have any friends, i don't have a life, this life isn't worth living. I didn't have chemical imbalances in my head, and all it took was for me to realize all of the things that I did have, and did have going for me, and that I had my computer games to entertain me and the friends that I met on them and talk to while playing. And realize that some day, I will meet a good group of friends that I can hang out with in real life, and it will be worth the wait.
        I also could have easily been diagnosed with A.D.D. if I brought it up, but it's not a matter of that people can't physically pay attention in class, it's that they don't want to pay attention because it's boring and they'd rather be thinking about other things and have their eyes wandering around the room. But they/I just had to realize that I need to be paying attention, I need to get good grades so that I can get into college and have a good career.
        I've also seen many people being diagnosed with "disorders" that they don't even have, and put on medication for it. Only to get a second opinion which proved the doctor wrong.
        Doctors are paid to tell you things are wrong with you and that you need medication, but the fact is that human kind has gone soo many years without it, because they were able to figure out their problems themselves. But unfortunately, we live in the day in age where there's a drug for everything, and yeah, it is designed to fix your "problems" but that isn't helping you, and can cause you to be dependent on them, and can change your personality. And i've seen too many people who are fun interesting quirky people off their medication, and that is what makes them unique, therefore interesting. But doctors think that if people don't act like their expected "norm" that they need to be sedated and stabilized, but this can cause you not to be your true self, and all you really need is to change the way you think and put things into a better perspective. I myself have found the joys and perks of being an optimist, which has worked wonders for me. There's absolutely no point in worrying about things in life, as the saying goes, "If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it"

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      • davesumba

        lol, is that what the doctors you pay to put you on medication tell you.
        And I have to strongly disagree. The power of positive thinking works wonders. And on the flip side, the power of negative thinking causes devastating effects on your body and mind. Some weak minded people just let stuff get to them too easily, and don't know how to properly put things into perspective, which theoretically, a therapist can help you do.

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        • VioletTrees

          "Some weak minded people just let stuff get to them too easily." Oh, I guess when I was having frequent flashbacks, I was just "letting stuff get to me too easily". How silly of me to let something as trivial as rape and abuse get to me! I should've just tried being positive. I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT.

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          • davesumba

            Well now you know !

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    • VioletTrees

      I'm not the OP, but I take psychiatric medication. Here are the solutions to my problems that I've been able to come up with myself (not counting the ones I've tried that didn't work) in no particular order:
      a) suicide
      b) stop eating
      c) eat, but vomit afterwards
      d) seek help in the form of medication and therapy
      e) suicide
      f) suicide
      g) suicide

      Pop quiz: which option is healthiest?

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      • michaels4p5

        then you really have no problem you are making the problem for your self i would make you eat if i were around you and that would be the only choice you would have i would make sure you don't have a chance to go make what you ate come out then you'll get a little fat. i do like skinniness tho but still not sickly skinny

        i have a question for you where did you get the idea to make your self puke & why. their must be an other reason.

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      • davesumba

        I don't disagree that medication can help people, so can illegal drugs and alcohol, but that doesn't mean it's the only or best choice.

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        • VioletTrees

          I gave you a list of choices. Which among them was better than medication?

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          • davesumba

            That is a poor list of choices, but I would pick get therapy, because you need someone to coach you on how to change your outlook and get through your problems. I'm guessing that you didn't report your abusers and see to it that they served time for their actions, so you don't have any closure. And you need to learn from your "mistakes" and try to avoid putting yourself in those situations to be abused and raped. And take self defense classes and/or carry some kind of weapon on you, so by the small chance it does happen again, you will be prepared. And know that with this knowledge, remain hopeful that it will never happen to you again, and that life gets better.
            And as far as the don't eat/become bulimic goes, you need to learn to love yourself. And if you don't like the way you look, then put in the effort to go on a good exercise program and a better diet. One of my good friends was fat thru middle/high school and was made fun of for it, but she worked her ass off, and by her second year in college, was a slim sexy woman, who could shove it in the faces of those who made fun of her.
            And i just wrote a long comment on the OP's response to my comment, to explain my disposition on turning to medication.

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            • VioletTrees

              • I can't exercise or take self defence classes right now due to my disability, although there are measures I can and do take for my safety.

              • I wasn't abused and raped because I put myself in a situation to be. It happened because somebody abused and raped me.

              • Pressing charges doesn't guarantee closure or stability; in fact, sometimes the process can be very traumatic for victims.

              • I'm already bulimic.

              • I'm not going to be happy with the way I look until I'm at an unhealthy weight.

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          • michaels4p5

            you have my best answer to your ?

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