Will anti-depressants work if you are depressed because of a sick family member????

[tylerdylan]

My DS has been battling a brain tumour for a few years now. He is 5.5 years old, diagnosed when he was 3.5 after a lengthy struggle to get a diagnosis for him. To say it has been hard on me doesn't even begin to describe things. I was fine for the first year of treatment, but then stopped feeling like myself, but I was hopeful that when his chemo ended in January (after 16 months) that I would be ok again. But, the last 6 months haven't been much better for me. I am very over-emotional and I over react to everything. I have no patience for anything (ie my 3 year old who refuses to potty train). I want to be a good mother (I am a stay-at-home mom because I had to quit my job to care for my son), but somedays it just seems impossible. I think I am just done dealing with all of this....
And now it looks like DS's tumour is growing again. He will have an MRI within the next few weeks (we are waiting for a cancellation so they can get him in early before his scheduled appointment in late October). And the waiting is killing me. I can't take it. I am so miserable and upset. I try to hide it. I don't want the kids knowing what I am feeling. DS doesn't know he is sick again - we won't tell him till we know for sure.
If the tumour is growing again it will be another 16 months of weekly chemo. I don't think I am emotionally strong enough to go through this again.

So, my question is - will anti-depressants help me??? I don't want to mess up my system more than it already it. I feel like I have severe PMS everyday - not sure if my hormones are totally out of whack from stress or what.

Any ideas are appreciated.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I was put on anti-anxiety medication when my family was going through a very hard time. They helped a lot.

[mom0810]

meds will help regardless of why you are depressed.

[herenow2]

Medication may help you feel better and deal with things a little easier. It's pretty common for people to take some meds to get through something even though it really is more of a situational type depression. Do find a good doctor, anti-anxiety medication may be a consideration instead of anti-depressants. My thoughts are with you and your family.

[RiverTam]

SSRIS will help if you have moderately severe to very severe depression, regardless of the reason.

If you are mildly to moderately depressed, they are no more effective than a placebo and are less effective than talk therapy or a support group.

I had a very nasty experience withdrawing from Zoloft. Most people do it. In my opinion, it's not worth taking an SSRI unless you have a severe problem. The withdrawal experience was pretty extreme.

If you want to learn more, google SSRI and "discontinuation syndrome."

[GoBecGo]

My dad took anti-d's for about 8 years when my mother had 2 (unrelated) terminal illnesses. They helped him get up every day, but didn't make him feel "happier" if you get what i mean. I would agree that a support group/ongoing talking therapy is a MUST for you, regardless of whether you go with anti-d's or not.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by GoBecGo

I would agree that a support group/ongoing talking therapy is a MUST for you, regardless of whether you go with anti-d's or not.

I second this. Talk therapy can equip you with the skills that you need to get over this hurdle.

Here's an informative piece to help you decide which course of treatment you'd like to take.

[provocativa]

My vote is always for nutritional therapy. We need tryptophan, C, and B6 to make serotonin. Stress pulls off our B6 for use in the liver, and our C for use in the adrenals, which are pumping out our fight and flight neurotransmitters. So a b-stress complex, larger dose 5-htp (tryptophan metabolite) supplement, and sodium ascorbate C to bowel tolerance, can help raise serotonin and help the adrenals and liver function during stress.. You can also take gaba- gamma amniobutryic acid (it's late surely I spelled it wrong), a calming neurotransmitter, megadose D3, and take magnesium citrate or glycinate, and megadose fish oil (cod liver oil is what I prefer). Oh, I forgot, you also need inositol and choline-inositol helps the serotoin in the neurons, and choline for cholinesterase, and the cholinergic system. It's a handful of supplements, but for those who don't prefer pharmaceuticals, or who don't have health insurance, they really help me, and others. Also, they are beneficial to breastfeeding. This mdc mama wrote a book about nutritional healing from depression: www.rebuild-from-depression.com .

[Turquesa]

I fixed the link. Sorry!!

http://pressroom.consumerreports.org...-anxiety-.html

[bri276]

Oh, my God, with everything you're going through I hope you can find something that helps I am so so sorry your son is sick

St. John's Wort actually really helped me when I was depressed because of outside factors beyond my control.