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Post by shevy on Sept 25, 2019 17:20:00 GMT
I have medication resistant depression that is so frustrating. I just want to feel like myself and have the concentration and energy that I had before my depression got bad.
My doctor has recommended this therapy or ketamine therapy. And yes, it's that ketamine.
I'm more willing to try the TMS as it seems like the least invasive treatment. The ketamine therapy requires that I be checked into a clinic for the day. They give the ketamine and nasally and then monitor you for several hours. You're not allowed to drive and patients report having an 'out of body' experience for the rest of the day.
The TMS involves about an hour, every weekday for about 3 weeks. It's a significant change in schedule and would involve either time off work or manipulating my schedule. I'd still be more willing to do this, I think.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 25, 2019 17:51:34 GMT
I think maybe the Bloggess has tried TMS earlier in the year... it sounds like it (may have) worked for her. Bloggess blog archives-- TMSI'm sorry you're having such a tough time... I don't know anything about ketamine for depression; I'm going to go and read your link. Mine isn't medication-resistant, thank goodness- but I do notice that my depression is more under control when I regularly take all my vitamins, eat properly, and get enough sleep. (which sucks- I hate being an adult and not being able to stay up late and eat cheetos and pizza all the time, lol.) |
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 25, 2019 18:06:59 GMT
I hadn't even heard of it. Thanks for the info, and I hope you start feeling more like yourself.
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Post by kkrenn on Sept 25, 2019 18:12:20 GMT
I'm on a Fentanyl/Ketamine internal IV for pain management and I'm not certain why they would prescribe Ketamine for depression. Maybe it's the combination I have but I don't feel it helps my depression.
I would go the other route just because Ketamine is so powerful.
Good luck!
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 25, 2019 18:43:01 GMT
the research you linked about ketamine is interesting... if I understand it correctly, it sounds like ketamine helps to re-grow neural pathways in your brain that might be lacking, and the lack could be responsible in part for the depression. But it also sounds like there's questions about it since it's so powerful and long-term effects aren't yet known.
For me, the fact that you can't drive for 24 hours after taking it would be tough. But it does say that the positive effects of it are almost instant.
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Post by dewryce on Sept 25, 2019 20:08:09 GMT
Yes, my DH did, though his was for 6 weeks. He felt it helped him, and it really seemed to. He’s having a bad spell again, it’s been about 4 months since he finished IIRC. It’s not a cure all, they expect you’ll still be on medication. Some people need more than one go round, and it doesn’t help some people at all. For scheduling he was able to go in before work every day so it didn’t interfere with his job, which was nice. They also used the time he was being treated to show him some videos and TED talks on various mental health topics like mindfulness. We have BCBS and I think our OOP costs were about $1200. If you have any specific questions please let me know and I will be happy to check my notes from before he started and also ask DH. I have to laugh though. They had to use a stronger current with him because he has a...wait for it...really thick skull. I could have told them that  |
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Post by birukitty on Sept 25, 2019 20:24:22 GMT
I haven't heard of either treatment but I do have a 10 year experience with what was diagnoised as "treatment resistant depression". The doctors tried antidepressant after antidepressant and they would work for a short time and then stop working. In the end in 2008-2009 I had 20 ECT (electric shock) treatments. I would advice you to never have that done! I'm so glad to hear that now they have TMS therapy. The ECT treatments left me with 60% or more of my long term meomories gone forever and I still have problems with short term memories.
But here's the good news and how it relates to you: It turns out my Integrative Doctor did a blood test on me and found out I have a defective MTHFR gene-I have 2 markers for it. What it means is that I can't process B12 normally. Not with B12 vitamins or with B12 shots. You'd think it would show up on my annual blood work but it didn't. Lack of B12 will cause depression-like the kind I had, and the kind you have. Further lack of it will cause dementia, like my grandmother had. Once my doctor perscribed a B12 supplement my body could process and it built up in my body my depression (that type) vanished and it never came back. I still get SAD (season depression) and I'm still on 2 antidepressants for maintence.
I don't know if you have this genetic marker but to find out it's a simple blood test. The supplement I take is called Homocysteine Supreme and it's made by Designs in Health. I wouldn't take it without the blood test and without your doctor's okay. The doctor I saw is called an Integrative Medicine doctor. I wish you the very best and hope this works for you. Many people have this and don't realize it.
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Post by dewryce on Sept 25, 2019 21:14:55 GMT
I haven't heard of either treatment but I do have a 10 year experience with what was diagnoised as "treatment resistant depression". The doctors tried antidepressant after antidepressant and they would work for a short time and then stop working. In the end in 2008-2009 I had 20 ECT (electric shock) treatments. I would advice you to never have that done! I'm so glad to hear that now they have TMS therapy. The ECT treatments left me with 60% or more of my long term meomories gone forever and I still have problems with short term memories. But here's the good news and how it relates to you: It turns out my Integrative Doctor did a blood test on me and found out I have a defective MTHFR gene-I have 2 markers for it. What it means is that I can't process B12 normally. Not with B12 vitamins or with B12 shots. You'd think it would show up on my annual blood work but it didn't. Lack of B12 will cause depression-like the kind I had, and the kind you have. Further lack of it will cause dementia, like my grandmother had. Once my doctor perscribed a B12 supplement my body could process and it built up in my body my depression (that type) vanished and it never came back. I still get SAD (season depression) and I'm still on 2 antidepressants for maintence. I don't know if you have this genetic marker but to find out it's a simple blood test. The supplement I take is called Homocysteine Supreme and it's made by Designs in Health. I wouldn't take it without the blood test and without your doctor's okay. The doctor I saw is called an Integrative Medicine doctor. I wish you the very best and hope this works for you. Many people have this and don't realize it. DH never had the blood work to test for the genetic marker but his doctor recommend he try taking specific B12 medication to see if it helped, and it did. He’s been on it for years, first as a prescription (Deplin) but since it’s a vitamin insurance stopped covering it, so now it is naturally twice as expensive. He notices differences in his mood almost immediately if he runs out. This is the one he uses, Methylfolate is the form of B12 required per his doctor. It looks like the one you listed has this same one (along with other sources of vitamin D and is half the cost! So we will run this by his doctor at his next visit. Thanks! |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 25, 2019 21:40:34 GMT
oh, yeah... another thing to look at might be vitamin D deficiency, as well as B vitamins. I was way low with my Vitamin D, too, and now take a supplement for that, too. I can tell when I haven't been taking my meds regularly (vitamins as well as Rx antidepressants) that my depression starts to get worse.
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Post by delila on Sept 25, 2019 21:51:22 GMT
I haven't heard of either treatment but I do have a 10 year experience with what was diagnoised as "treatment resistant depression". The doctors tried antidepressant after antidepressant and they would work for a short time and then stop working. In the end in 2008-2009 I had 20 ECT (electric shock) treatments. I would advice you to never have that done! I'm so glad to hear that now they have TMS therapy. The ECT treatments left me with 60% or more of my long term meomories gone forever and I still have problems with short term memories. But here's the good news and how it relates to you: It turns out my Integrative Doctor did a blood test on me and found out I have a defective MTHFR gene-I have 2 markers for it. What it means is that I can't process B12 normally. Not with B12 vitamins or with B12 shots. You'd think it would show up on my annual blood work but it didn't. Lack of B12 will cause depression-like the kind I had, and the kind you have. Further lack of it will cause dementia, like my grandmother had. Once my doctor perscribed a B12 supplement my body could process and it built up in my body my depression (that type) vanished and it never came back. I still get SAD (season depression) and I'm still on 2 antidepressants for maintence. I don't know if you have this genetic marker but to find out it's a simple blood test. The supplement I take is called Homocysteine Supreme and it's made by Designs in Health. I wouldn't take it without the blood test and without your doctor's okay. The doctor I saw is called an Integrative Medicine doctor. I wish you the very best and hope this works for you. Many people have this and don't realize it. That is all so fascinating, thanks so much for sharing your story. I don’t want to like your story but i want you to know how interested I am in it. I hope for the best for you. |
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Post by refugeepea on Sept 26, 2019 1:36:19 GMT
patients report having an 'out of body' experience for the rest of the day. As someone who's never tried illegal drugs, I think that sounds kind of fun.  
I hope you are able to find what works for you. I don't know if you have issues with anxiety, but maybe a prescription of both may work for you. My son (he has Autism) takes fluoxetine and when he has a bad episode where he self harms, I give him CBD oil.
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Post by shevy on Sept 26, 2019 15:52:48 GMT
What it means is that I can't process B12 normally. My Dr has had me get B12 shots about 1.5 years ago. Then she had me take something similar to what you mentioned. Neither of which made any difference for me. another thing to look at might be vitamin D deficiency, I do have a deficiency. I had the Rx Vitamin D and now take 5,000 IUI/day. As someone who's never tried illegal drugs, I think that sounds kind of fun. HA. I've never taken any either. Never smoked cigarettes and never used pot. But to be honest, it kind of scares me. I told my husband that he'd need to lock me in my bedroom with no social media. lol |
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Post by shevy on Sept 26, 2019 15:53:18 GMT
Thank you for the stories and information. It really does help and I appreciate all of them.
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Post by dewryce on Sept 26, 2019 15:55:41 GMT
I wouldn’t stop looking I to the vitamin B issue just yet. If you have this mutation/issue your body needs it to be in a specific form in order to process it. Just regular old vitamin b shots wouldn’t necessarily work.
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Post by birukitty on Sept 28, 2019 23:32:27 GMT
I wouldn’t stop looking I to the vitamin B issue just yet. If you have this mutation/issue your body needs it to be in a specific form in order to process it. Just regular old vitamin b shots wouldn’t necessarily work. I agree. If you have the a marker for this genetic issue it is simple to find out-all it takes is a blood test. If it were me I'd pursue that first before undergoing treatments with side effects. It can't hurt and it might very well help and be the treatment you need. |
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Post by callmenutz on Oct 6, 2019 16:16:31 GMT
This is a fairly new gene test that will tell your doctor what drug to use for depression that works for you and your genes. My niece just got her results. This all ties in with the MTHFR gene mutation that my daughters and I just found out that we have. So does my niece. genesight.com/Scroll down to see references to depression, bipolar, etc. stopthethyroidmadness.com/mthfr/I’m beginning to think that the MTHFR gene mutation is the cause of A LOT of health issues. My doctor said it is quite common. This gene is responsible for your health and well being. I asked him if it’s so common, why isn’t everyone tested for it when they see a doctor for the first time? This explains my health history going back 50 years. It also explains why my daughters are sick. My my youngest daughter was days away from being hospitalized when I found a functional medicine doctor. She tested positive for the gene mutation with two variants. It turns out that she doesn’t absorb vitamins and can’t get rid of toxins. They are treating all of that with vitamins and hormones and five weeks after starting treatment, she is feeling almost normal and is hoping to return to work in a couple of weeks. And all it took was a simple test.... |
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Post by shevy on Oct 8, 2019 21:26:17 GMT
This is a fairly new gene test that will tell your doctor what drug to use for depression that works for you and your genes. I have had this test and tried all the meds listed for me. They didn't seem to make a difference. |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Oct 9, 2019 2:24:56 GMT
shevy, have you had any more discussions to decide whether you want to try TMS or ketamine? I hope you're doing okay right now.
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Post by shevy on Oct 9, 2019 15:55:25 GMT
I haven't had another appointment to discuss it. I'm helping with my mom, who has stomach cancer and is the middle of chemo, working my 40+ hours a week and just trying to struggle through until I can decide which one I want to try. Thanks for asking. crimsoncat05 |
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,444 
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Post by Gennifer on Oct 9, 2019 20:54:25 GMT
My friend just texted me yesterday to say her doctor is suggesting this, and sent me the same link as in the OP to read about it. I’m super intrigued.
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