Hi,

Nope I'm in the same boat as you. I've tried Effexor, Zoloft and Lithium. Mind based therapy. I've been to a psychologist, three psychiatrist, and one counsellor. I found it helped talking sometimes, however my depression and anxiety is not triggered by anything specifically, or did I have a horrible upbringing, in fact it was the opposite, a warm, caring, welcoming, loving middle class family.

Good luck with your search, keep me posted.

It is one of the most difficult things to deal with. I have also been through everything. Eventually on a tenuous concoction of about 5 different meds......still have bad patches........but it keeps me functioning.

Do you think you could possibly have mild food intolerances? I know that if I eat gluten I am heading for trouble.

Wishing you all the best.

I started practicing yoga. Two different varieties helped me: Ashtanga, which is what I practice now at least 3-4 days a week and then Lifeforce yoga for depression (they sell a good dvd on Amazon for it) which was helpful. However, I get extremely clinically depressed in the springtime and found that the yoga did not help enough and I'm now getting myself set up for ECT. Like yourself, Ive tried everything. Depression is a serious thing and once it goes on and on long enough and you have a few good bouts over a few years, it can feel unbearable and become incredibly disabling.

I was hoping the yoga would take care of it, but when spring hit again, it didn't do enough for me and then I have severe menstrual issues and can't practice for a week out of the month it seems...but it does help when I can devote at least 3 days to it a week.

Anyway, try yoga. It did something for me that other forms of exercise never did. If you can't or don't want to make it to a class, try getting yourself a copy of this DVD and see what happens:

http://www.amazon.com/LifeForce-Yoga-Beat-Blues-Level/dp/B000MMMWMU/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1370630804&sr=1-4&keywords=yoga+for+depression

P.S. It was created by a woman who suffered from depression herself and found healing for it in a daily yoga practice.

Have you tried viibryd? I just posted my story about what it's done for me, it's fairly new and expensive, but you feel the effects right away and from what I've read up about it, people who have tried other medications in the past have been VERY happy with it - including myself. You can get a starter pack (30 days worth) from your doctor to see if it is something that will work for you. I am sorry you're having a hard time finding something that works - I have also heard yoga is helpful and am looking into trying that as well for a more well balanced mind - Good luck to you!

I ended up doing best on a combination of Wellbutrin and Celexa (an SSRI). Have you ever tried combinations of different antidepressants, or add ons like Abilify, Lithium or Lamictal?

With counseling, finding the right therapist for you is the key.

Is anxiety an issue for you? I didn't really start to get my depression under control until I got my anxiety under control.

How much sleep are you getting?

My depression is med resistant too. Right now I'm on lithium, symbyax, and prozac. Have u tried ECT? i dont know if thats an option for you. Also there is a therapy called EMDR. Ive heard good things about it. Have you brushed up on your DBT skills lately? Are you in any support groups? I was in a dbt support group for awhie and it helped alot. I also started taking fish oil pills and vit. D. Hope u find something that works for you.

Thank you for all the responses :)
Of those suggestions above I've tried everything but ECT and support groups.
I get about 6-8 hours of sleep per night.
I recently learned that of those who have mitrovalve prolapse, which I have, about 70% also suffer from anxiety and depression. I'm about to see a new cardiologist and hope to learn something on that front.

Have you tried Sam-e? That stuff is super potent and I mean SUPER potent. Don't take it with meds of any kind without checking with a pharmacist though...doctors know less about interactions so I think a pharmacist would be a good resource for contraindications. I have taken it before and I could feel the difference in just a few hours, unfortunately for me it lost effectiveness after a few months but holy crap did it work.
I have read that most depressed people suffer fom poor methylation which Sam-e speeds up but quick. Make sure you take it with a good b-vitamin complex also since they work better together without creating a deficiency.

About SAM-e - too little, and it doesn't do anything. Too much, and it gives me diarrhea. Despite playing with the dosages, I haven't yet found the one that seems to do the trick.

I too have been through all sorts of therapists (tried EMDR), tried Cognitive Therapy (where you do this workbook thing - it didn't go well - I got fired by the therapist because I said it was nothing but a simple translation exercise that didn't do anything for the feelings. (I am qualified to say this because I am a professional linguist. I translate for a living.) She got angry and told me she couldn't help me. I never had a therapist just throw me out before. I wasn't being nasty or anything.

I have suffered through any number of medications ( including one where my husband found me wandering around on the back lawn at 6:30 in the morning, barefoot, in my nightgown, when there was about a foot of snow on the ground. I was babbling something about having to find a certain embroidery book, because if I found just the right stitch, it would make the bad things go away.) They took me off THAT med. I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be easier to go hiking in the mountains, "pretend" to get lost, and "accidentally" tumble a thousand feet or so. I'm so sick of NEVER feeling ANYTHING but this endless grayness.

Hi Spencer -

I hope things are going well and that your cardiologist was able to give you some hope. That seems very promising.

I'm not sure if you commented on whether or not you've tried DBT (not CBT). It's a skills course that is always taught in a group. I think the skills can be very helpful, but you really have to practice them - and to be honest - it's not enough help for me, but does provide some relief sometimes.

Have you tried TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation)? It is not a new therapy, but recently FDA approved. It often helps people with treatment-resistant depression, although it is very expensive and many insurance companies do not cover it. (Anthem does, in case you have Anthem.)

There are also alternative therapies. For example, equine-assisted psychotherapy (where it's you, a therapist and a horse) was actually very insightful for me - much more so than traditional talk therapy. Some people report help from acupuncture or regular meditation.

You said you've tried a bunch of prescription drugs. Sometimes doctors don't try the really new ones or the really old ones, for example MAOI's and Geodon, among others.

I don't know if any of these are new ideas - but I thought I would toss them out there.

Hope you're okay.

I can honestly mention that marijuana helps me more than anything else ever did. Just because something is legal ie: tobacco and alcohol does not mean it is safe for consumption. My ex insisted I quit and I did and my life was the shits for years until a therapist recommended resuming it and does it ever help me. There are studies that small amounts help and too much doesn't so it is a very fine line but look it up and it's true.
Years from now when fubama is out and canada tosses out harpo you will see big pharma smashing down doors trying to patent a certain strain. People can say what the heck they want but I have met others who swear it helps them and with minimal side effects besides an increased appetite and more passion for the arts. If anyone puts down weed then don't listen to music since a healthy amount wouldn't be there if marijuana didn't exist.
On the flip side, it is not for everyone and some people do find themselves worse off from it but can't that be said about everything? Just my opinion and I consider synthetic drugs some of the most dangerous and misused forms of treatment on earth...right up there with alcohol. Best of luck.

I admire your willingness to explore your options. What have you switched to now that you don't jog? I know exercise helps me a lot. I had a procedure about two weeks ago and am recovering but once I do I'm definitely using exercise to help me again. Can you do another exercise with the same intensity as jogging that isn't so hard on your joints so that you still benefit? Also I want to mention interval training. I found that since I'm out of shape I can work out intensely for a short period then slow down for a bit and keep rotating through and just 20 or 30 minutes of that really helps my depression. I highly recommend you try it with your current workout program.

Also something else to look into that I read about awhile back:

http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20050302/implanted-brain-pacemaker-treats-depression

I have depression too and I though I tried everything. I tried alot of anti-depressants and mood stabilizers and even ECT. In the process I found out (through a naturopathic doctor) that I have food intolerance to both corn (like the veggie and high fructose corn syrup and others) and whey (like milk and lactose). I completely changed the way I was eating by seeing a nutritionist (lost 20 lbs too!). Then I started adderall (that is for add/adhd which I do not have) as an off-label use for depression. It has really helped alot if only some days by giving me energy and motivation, and other days it gives me my life back! Everybody is different so you may have different experiences. I read an article and some time soon they are coming out with a new A-D that will work within hours but they are still developing it. So, there is hope! Good luck!