Question(s) about Pain Rx and Depression:
~ Hello everyone. Please help me if you can! I currently battle two very big problems in my life that are just about to "take me down:" 1) Chronic pain and 2) Depression.
I am a 40-something male, have a good profressional job, I have with mutiple Degrees, and on the surface I have a very successful life (good family, job, salary, lots of x-tras in life, etc.) but underneath, in the part of my life only I can see, I am falling apart.
I have bad, chronic pain due to a lower back injury and failed surgery five years ago and a bad leg and arm due (also had several surgeries with this!) to a car wreck one year ago. I have not been totally out of or free of pain for over 5 years. And along the way, as I battled the Pain and started taking narcotic pain Rxs (from my Dr), I started slowly slipping into x-treme depression, and it has gotten so bad that I no longer want to do anything that marks a normal life! When I do manage to do the normal things of life, I have to force myself to do it. I would rather stay at home either in bed or in front of the TV, not thinking about real life.
** My questions I would appreciate help with are:
1) Does narcotic pain Rxs help cause or at least help fuel depression? Some have told me NO, while others seem to say YES. Since the depression came on after I started the pain Rxs, it seems to fuel it. But, I also have had some very serious losses in my life during this time, too. I have lost several close relatives, including parents, lost jobs, suffered the accidents I mentioned above, and due to them, I can no longer do much of what I used to do as a very active person. I am not crippled, but I cannot run, jump, or move without a bad limp. I have had so much loss in my life over the past five years, it is hard to separate into little parts all I am carrying around in my life right now. What do you all say?
2) I have tried Zoloft (my wife got tired of NO SEX due to the horrible side effects it had on me, so I had to stop to save the marriage!) and WellButrin (Had ZERO effect on helping me so I stopped!). Are their any new or good anti-depressants out there now that do not have bad sexual side effects and really do help? [Honestly, I have lost all desire for sex due to the way I feel ... it seems to be too much trouble... it is for the wife!] Any suggestions?
3) What do you suggest I do to get help to get on with life? I have tried counseling, but after awhile, it seems to no longer help. I do not want to go on with life most days, and do so only for the job, wife, and family.
I would deeply appreciate any comments or suggestions you might have on these questions.
God Bless,
Lee R.
Cybalta may help. It is for pain and depression and currently has been submitted for anxiety. Before asking your doctor or counselor about it read all the posts on this forum. Find the posts by using the little drop down on the left just barely above the forum, itself. There are 9 posts titled Cymbalta. You will read the ups and down people have experienced, so you don't go into it blind.
bev
bev
~ Hello again. 
I truly do appreciate the 30 people who looked at my post, and I am extremely grateful to the one person who made a reply. But, if there is ANYONE else out there who can post something to HELP me I would appreciate it tremendously. I am hurting here guys (physically and EMOTIONALLY) and I am looking for some help.
So, I will take any and all advice, suggestions, advice, words of wisdom, etc. I just need to know what, if any, connection my pain Rxs. might be having on my SUPER BAD Depression. I am near the breaking point, but I do not want to break. 
You can read my entire post above and see what is going on in my life right now. I have faith that someone on this message board has enough knowledge and/or experience to help me in some way. I am not suicidal, but believe you me, I have thought about itcountless times, like many of us. It is EZ to get the point in life where you say to yourself, "Hey, it is just NOT worth it any more." When the problems, worries, conerns, battles, busted dreams, broken relationships, failed weeks, miserable months, and wasted years start piling up one on the other, you can seemingly wake up one day and ask, "WHY?"
Am I the only one who feels that way? Are there others?
And then there is the chronic pain... the CONSTANT horrible physical pain that I suffer and battle EVERY day... and it is a battle... me trying to beat it back by taking more and more pain Rx., just hoping and praying for enough relief to feel comfortable even if just for a little while. Yes, it is a battle that I fight every day .... and unfortunately the pain is winning, and I am hurting now more than ever before. And the longer I fight the pain the WORSR the DEPRESSION gets. The pain and depression are like two fires and two sets of fuel that feed each other.
I now measure my life and days by the physical pain I fight and the depression level I find myself in. And every once in awhile I see just enough hope to help me go on another day... or at least another hour. But, just about the time I THINK I am actually doing better, I am reminded very quickly of how bad I hurt physically, and then I have to take more pain Rxs... and then some more to try and make the pain go away.
So, if you have nay reply or word, I thank you ahead of time.
Bless You and Merry Christmas...
Lee R. 
Again--cymbalta! It is for both pain and depression. I didn't write much, because as you saw if you looked at the 9 posts there is contention on the forum about it. My daughter has completely turned around on it, and as far as I'm concerned it is a wonder drug. However, in good conscious I can't recommend it without also saying learn all you can about it, so you know the downside.
First, you are asking for a cause of the depression. Shrink stuff says that you need to know to get better. Well that's hokus-pokus. In your case, that's the chicken and egg question. The answer just isn't there to be found.
Just after cancer surgery threw me into menopause, my husband and I separated. He took our sons and turned them against me with his lies. I lost my home, our business, a heck of a lot of money. I had the IRS threatening to put me in jail for something my husband had done during the separation. He could be scary, so my friends wouldn't testify for me, and he talked my mother into testifying for him. I watched in amazement as friends believed him and fled like rats from a sinking ship. The police, judge and both our lawyers believed him in every dispute. He gaslighted me until I didn't know what was real and what wasn't.
I went from living in the "best" part of town, to living in a 100 year old shack, with $50 a month from my husband for support, and no ability to work, because of my broken state of mind. My daughter's christmas presents came out of a dump, AND those weren't the worse things going on in my life or mind. He drug out the divorce, slowing destroying everything in my life until he had sold all our property and made sure the house was foreclosed on. He pocketed everything and the courts let him. He lied about his income, so my daughter got almost nothing in child support, and he left me with one thing $80,000 in debt. And none of that was the worst of my life then.
Can you tell me what I was depressed about? I still don't know and it's been 25 years. My issues were about a man hell-bent on distroying me, my reputation, my life. He would have been happy if I had committed suicide--and yes I thought about it.
You have the very real issue of pain. You have depression for whatever reason. That is what is real. Let go of worrying about the genesis and concentrate on treating both the chronic pain and the depression.
Assuming the losses are what caused the depression and the pain has nothing to do with it (like that could be real!). People get over losses. So you can go into counseling and search your past for the weakness in you that allowed them to get such a grip on you--or you can treat it with medication--and let time heal the losses.
Assuming the losses are due to pain--and again you come to needing medication. So that is why I say consider cymbalta, which was designed to treat both.
I wouldn't do drugs then--some were pretty bad. I went to counseling, joined groups, read 106 mental health books and did so many things to put myself back together that my head still swims when I try to think how I got back. My daughter is having some difficulty and she is taking cymbalta--from what I've seen in her, I wish, I'd had it available and not spent all the time I did in misery. No matter though. Today, I live the life I always wanted, depression free and happy. I am sorrounded by new friends and I am a better person than I ever was before. Can't ask for more than that.
bev
First, you are asking for a cause of the depression. Shrink stuff says that you need to know to get better. Well that's hokus-pokus. In your case, that's the chicken and egg question. The answer just isn't there to be found.
Just after cancer surgery threw me into menopause, my husband and I separated. He took our sons and turned them against me with his lies. I lost my home, our business, a heck of a lot of money. I had the IRS threatening to put me in jail for something my husband had done during the separation. He could be scary, so my friends wouldn't testify for me, and he talked my mother into testifying for him. I watched in amazement as friends believed him and fled like rats from a sinking ship. The police, judge and both our lawyers believed him in every dispute. He gaslighted me until I didn't know what was real and what wasn't.
I went from living in the "best" part of town, to living in a 100 year old shack, with $50 a month from my husband for support, and no ability to work, because of my broken state of mind. My daughter's christmas presents came out of a dump, AND those weren't the worse things going on in my life or mind. He drug out the divorce, slowing destroying everything in my life until he had sold all our property and made sure the house was foreclosed on. He pocketed everything and the courts let him. He lied about his income, so my daughter got almost nothing in child support, and he left me with one thing $80,000 in debt. And none of that was the worst of my life then.
Can you tell me what I was depressed about? I still don't know and it's been 25 years. My issues were about a man hell-bent on distroying me, my reputation, my life. He would have been happy if I had committed suicide--and yes I thought about it.
You have the very real issue of pain. You have depression for whatever reason. That is what is real. Let go of worrying about the genesis and concentrate on treating both the chronic pain and the depression.
Assuming the losses are what caused the depression and the pain has nothing to do with it (like that could be real!). People get over losses. So you can go into counseling and search your past for the weakness in you that allowed them to get such a grip on you--or you can treat it with medication--and let time heal the losses.
Assuming the losses are due to pain--and again you come to needing medication. So that is why I say consider cymbalta, which was designed to treat both.
I wouldn't do drugs then--some were pretty bad. I went to counseling, joined groups, read 106 mental health books and did so many things to put myself back together that my head still swims when I try to think how I got back. My daughter is having some difficulty and she is taking cymbalta--from what I've seen in her, I wish, I'd had it available and not spent all the time I did in misery. No matter though. Today, I live the life I always wanted, depression free and happy. I am sorrounded by new friends and I am a better person than I ever was before. Can't ask for more than that.
bev
Post Edited (bevhea) : 12/16/2005 4:36:39 PM (GMT-7)
Dear BEVHEA,
Thanks so much for taking time to reply. It means more to me than you will ever know. God Bless you. 
I am not sure why more people did not reply ... perhaps it is simply too difficult a topic or is incredibly confusing or just too misunderstood for people to know what to say ow how to say it(?). I just felt, or at least hoped, that more people than myself were dealing with a similar issue (pain Rxs and depression issues!) and could offer some words of help, advice, or personal wisdom. Again, if anyone knows anything to say to me that might help, I am all ears... so to speak!
... perhaps it is simply too difficult a topic or is incredibly confusing or just too misunderstood for people to know what to say ow how to say it(?). I just felt, or at least hoped, that more people than myself were dealing with a similar issue (pain Rxs and depression issues!) and could offer some words of help, advice, or personal wisdom. Again, if anyone knows anything to say to me that might help, I am all ears... so to speak!Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good night...
Lee R.
I'm not sure either, except that each person who answers sort of has their own thing. I answer posts if I believe I have knowledge or a story to fit (I have lots of stories). Other people have tried many meds and know about them. Some people also answer when they sense a similarity or hear something in a post. Some people cheer a person on. Right now, the "primary" posters generally don't seem to be dealing with physical pain, although a few pop in from time to time. Any of those and perhaps other things may have caused people not to respond.
There is a chronic pain forum here too
http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=16
Perhaps you will get more responses there, from people who are dealing with more similar issues, and of course you are always welcome to visit this forum.
bev
There is a chronic pain forum here too
http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=16
Perhaps you will get more responses there, from people who are dealing with more similar issues, and of course you are always welcome to visit this forum.
bev
HI Lee! Sorry to hear that life isn't so good rioght now. I know that the pain I suffer from fybromyalgia has increased my depression a great deal. I can't do the things I did before, some days it is a chore to take a shower. You need to talk to your doc and experiment with meds to find what is right for you. It is a very challenging and frustrating chore, but in the end it can really be worth it. Hang in there.
Brenda
Brenda
I AM NEW TO THIS BOARD BUT NOT NEW TO DEPRESSION OR CHRONIC PAIN.THANK GOD FOR CARING DOCTORS ALTHOUGH IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIND ONE. I WENT THROUGH SEVERAL ANTIDEPRESSANTS BEFORE I FOUND ONE THAT WORKED FOR ME. EVERYONE IS UNIQUE IN WHAT WORKS FOR THEM. I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM AND VERY IMPORTANT THAT I HAVE A GOOD DOCTOR WHO CARES ENOUGH TO LISTEN WHEN I SAY SOMETHING IS'NT WORKING FOR ME. I ALSO HAVE TO open UP TO LET HIM OR HER KNOW EXACTLY HOW I AM FEELING. DEPRESSION IS A DIFFICULT SUBJECT AND FOR ME IT IS BETTER TO NOT TALK about IT WITH SOMEONE WHO DOES'NT UNDERSTAND BECAUSE I END UP FEELING WORSE.I WENT THROUGH CERVICAL FUSION THREE YEARS AGO AND SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM, FIBROMYALGIA,OSTEARTHRITIS,MENAPAUSE,AND ON AND ON.I FELT LIKE I COUDN'T RECOVER FROM ONE THING BEFORE ANOTHER WAS THERE. BUT LIKE BEV I HAVE MADE IT THROUGH SOME PRETTY ROUGH TIMES IN THE PAST AND CAME OUT THE BETTER SO I WON'T GIVE UP NOW.I BOUGHT MYSELF A TREADMILL AND FOUND THIS HAS HELPED ME ALOT. I PUT ON MY WALKMAN AND TURN THE MUSIC UP AND EVEN IF ITS JUST FIFTEEN MINUTES I FEEL LIKE IV'E DONE SOMETHING GOOD FOR MYSELF AND I DIDN'T HAVE TO THINK FOR EVER HOW LONG.THERE ARE LOTS OF GOOD MEDS OUT THERE AND IT'S FUSTRATING TO GO THROUGH THE ONES THAT DON'T WORK BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE END TO FIND ONE THAT WILL.
Lee,
Chronic pain can cause depression. Effexor has really helped my husbands depression, and I am on it too, waiting for Cymbalta to be approved in Canada. It does affect your sex life tho too. Most AD's do. What is more important to your wife, that you have lots of sex, or that you get your depression under control? There are many different ways and things you can do to help satisfy her. She needs to be a little more understanding about what is going on here. If the shoe was on the other foot, I am sure she would expect some understanding on your part. Marriage is about a whole lot more than sex.
Go to your dr and see if he/she can't come up with something that will work better for you.
you also mentioned your willing to try almost anything. Have you given God a try? He know what you are going thru and is there to help you thru this difficult time.
Blessings,
Sweet
dx: fibromyalgia, IBS-C,Myofacial Pain Syndrome, Chronic Headaches, hypothyroidism,anemia, insomnia,mild depression.
rx: Effexor, clonazapam, baclofen,Tylenol#3,iron pills,synthroid
supplements: probiotics, garlic pills, magnesium, melatonin, b12(sublingual)
Jerrimiah 29:11
Chronic pain and depression go hand in hand. By that, I mean if you are in physical pain, your depression level goes up as your body struggles to fight the pain. Pain meds are the source of additional possibilities of depression.
A word of advice, however. Chronic pain sufferers need medication to survive the daily routine of life. Take your meds if you are in pain and take them as prescribed and on time. If you can maintain a level of "pain free" status, you will notice that your depression will start to lift. I've been in pain for 20 years and my depressions ebb and flow. Unfortuneatly, this is my lot in life. Once you are able to recognize your own version of depression, accept and realize that this too will pass.
Anti-depressants help tremendously with CP sufferers. The anti depressants will help balance out the rough cycles. Work with your doctor to find the right one for you. As I have tried many, it sometimes is a trial and error equation for a time but you will find the one that suits you.
I hope you will find the right "cocktail" for your suffering.
A word of advice, however. Chronic pain sufferers need medication to survive the daily routine of life. Take your meds if you are in pain and take them as prescribed and on time. If you can maintain a level of "pain free" status, you will notice that your depression will start to lift. I've been in pain for 20 years and my depressions ebb and flow. Unfortuneatly, this is my lot in life. Once you are able to recognize your own version of depression, accept and realize that this too will pass.
Anti-depressants help tremendously with CP sufferers. The anti depressants will help balance out the rough cycles. Work with your doctor to find the right one for you. As I have tried many, it sometimes is a trial and error equation for a time but you will find the one that suits you.
I hope you will find the right "cocktail" for your suffering.
Hi Lee,
I can tell you for sure those go hand in hand. I am going thru them both right at this time. I am really struggling. I have been in chronic pain for 2 yrs and I started Lexapro (anitdepressant) then. It worked well the whole time. I had to go up in mg one time. Well, now I am going thru the mourning part of realizing I am unable to have a normal life. The Antidepressants just seem to quit working about 3 weeks ago. Went to my GP and he is trying wellbrutin now along with my lexapro. He said there is a new one on the market and I don't know what it is called and it suppose work as well as lexapro He also added ritalin for a boost on the anti's Plus he didn't want me laying around causing myself more pain and depression. I have felt pretty good with that combo, but the depression is still there, I feel lonely, sad and angry. I hate it. I hope you get to feeling better soon. As far as the sex, hey you are in pain. and also depressed she should cool it till you feel better. Sorry about that lol
Hugs to You
Reba
Ps Don't tell her I said that. I don't think that would make her happy lol
I can tell you for sure those go hand in hand. I am going thru them both right at this time. I am really struggling. I have been in chronic pain for 2 yrs and I started Lexapro (anitdepressant) then. It worked well the whole time. I had to go up in mg one time. Well, now I am going thru the mourning part of realizing I am unable to have a normal life. The Antidepressants just seem to quit working about 3 weeks ago. Went to my GP and he is trying wellbrutin now along with my lexapro. He said there is a new one on the market and I don't know what it is called and it suppose work as well as lexapro He also added ritalin for a boost on the anti's Plus he didn't want me laying around causing myself more pain and depression. I have felt pretty good with that combo, but the depression is still there, I feel lonely, sad and angry. I hate it. I hope you get to feeling better soon. As far as the sex, hey you are in pain. and also depressed she should cool it till you feel better. Sorry about that lol
Hugs to You
Reba
Ps Don't tell her I said that. I don't think that would make her happy lol
I was diagnosed with Degenerative disc disease 2 yrs ago. L4-L5 area the disc is completely gone, causing my verterbrae to rock and slam on my nerve root, when I walk.I am severly full of scar tissue.Bone spurs, curvature of the spine. you name it
Hang in there everyone,we have to take it one day at a time and we are so lucky to have so many understanding people on this site to talk to.