DrugBuyers.Com: Effexor XR and a lack of motivation?

I don't post much, as I prefer to read. That said, I have gained so much from this community that I feel I should respond to this thread.

I have had depression/social anxiety for over 15 yrs now and recently suffered from lack of motivation. The depression has been treated with just about anything you can name.

I have been prescibed many SSRIs (paxil, prozac, zoloft). They sometimes help with the depression/anxiety BUT I have found that they decrease motivation and suck any joy/excitement out of life. They also seem to cause me to feel mentally and emotionally blunted. In my opinion, the SSRIs can be a god-send if you are one of the lucky few that respond to this class of drug. If you do not respond to one of the first two that you are prescribed...forget them. There is not as much difference between the drugs in this class as they would like you to belive.

My depression comes in cycles, this means I function for a year or two and then...I fall into a VOID.

In the last year I was working and studying for a major exam and then my sleeping dread awoke again. I was put back on SSRIs and I very quickly found that I could no longer study for my exam in the way that I could only weeks before. I was in a BAD state, I felt that the only way out was a full tilt run down an icy highway during a snowstorm on summer tires.

It may sound funny, but I had my clothes picked out, burned a CD to listen to on my last voyage and even obtained some Warfarin to take with aspirin (ensuring that I would bleed out after I crashed).

So...what happened? (after all, I am writing this aren't I?)

A family doc asked me if I would consider a low dose of a stimulant normally used in children for ADHD. I had nothing to lose so why not? I had to wait a couple of weeks for the weather anyway.

Things changed on the day that I filled that script. Within 2 hours I was hitting the books like I used to. After a week fighting the effects of the SSRIs, I stopped taking them, against the advice of 2 shrinks and my family.

I had to postpone my exam because of a death in the family but this turned out to be a good thing as it gave my system time to get rid of the SSRI (they linger for a while).

I took the test and scored higher than I would have ever dreamed...shocking everyone and giving me the idea that SSRIs and shrinks were not the answer.

I have since done some research on the topic of depression and would be happy to share this with anyone who would like references on the subject. This has led me to consider the following tactics with regard to depression:

1) Low dose stimulants are effective when SSRIs fail
2) Anti-oxidants are very helpful in mental disorders
3) Omega-3 fatty acids are also of great use in depression and other mental disfunction
4) An aerobic exercise regime can be helpful

Finally, I should wrap this up: If you are lucky enough to have someone to talk to/confide in you this can be stronger than any of the above.

Thanks for listening...forgive others if you can...trust yourself-you are the only one you have.

I would be honored to respond to any comments on this post, it may take me a while (shared computer) but I will answer.