Depression Recovery

Question:

Thank you Pat!  About the 3rd month into my quit, I felt I was becoming somewhat unglued and way out of balance.  I knew I would have up and down feelings into my quit but to label it a "depression" was difficult.  In any event, I went for counselling and talked about it until I had nothing more to rant about.   Each problem I had experienced I blew out of proportion.  I recall my Mom talking about making mountains out of mole hills so that about describes the junk I was digging up.  Now in retrospect I seem to be much more grounded.  I am a little embarrassed that I made such weird comments to some of my friends and family but then I guess I had a valid reason for this.  It is comforting to know that we do live through these times.  Your post here is a keeper for me.  Thank you again. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Response:

Pat, Thank you so much for your post again. I know you posted this around my 6th month. Around that time I didn’t feel at all depressed. In fact it wasn’t until January that I sort of slipped into depression. > Have you done permanent damage to your brain?  Well…. this is also > individual.  For most folks, they experience some brain fog, some minor > depression and in about 3 to 6 months, they are well past it all.  Their > body kicks in and starts producing the chemicals that the neurotransmitters > need to function properly.  For me…. (and I am just going on my > experience….  I am not a doctor so take what you need and leave the > rest…. ) the depression got worse over time.  Apparently, I have indeed > caused the neurotransmitters permanent damage.   > Take care of you….. > Pat

I would like to state something that was written in "newsweek" mag in MId February of this year. On the cover was photo of Robert Downey Jr. It was about addictions and drugs. Inside the mag it did state that NICOTENE as well as cocaine and several others did cause permanent loss of dopamine receptors FOREVER. In otherwords most of us will never be as happy as a person who has never smoked. Apparently it does effect some of us more than others.:( The bottom line is Nicotene does Kill or permanently damage these "happy" receptors called the dopamine receptors. It is very sad to know this now. I personally hate the thought of taking some of these brand new CNS meds. They scare the holly heck out of me. While they probably do make one feel better, what do they REALLY know about the LONGTERM effects? Nothing, they couldn’t possibly since most of the meds have only been marketed for less than 10 years. Prozac is the oldest of the whole family of most of these meds being released in 1989. There is no way they can no what these meds can do to a person 20 years from now. Some people are given these meds and take them for 10+ years and other types of illnesses or lifetime meds.:( Are we actually killing more dopamine receptors? Do they really know. I have many other questions in regards to this. One being *IF* the studies or done on rats/mice/rabbits, how do they know that these rats/mice/rabbits are depressed? How do they force depression on these rats/mice/rabbits? Most meds are tested on volunteer people for less than a 6 month period before they are released and marketed. That again scares the heck out of me. The companies NEVER allow epileptics to volunteer!! This is very disturbing to me as I have epilepsy and grand mal seizures. To think that they never do testing with persons with epilepsy is scary. It shows that they don’t know enough about the meds and they don’t want to risk people with seizures yet once released Dr’s will prescribe that WILD to persons with seizure disorders. Once again how many lab animals are tested? For how long? What is the general condition of these lab animals. Good health? I guess I don’t have much faith in the medical field. I have seen too  many OLD people taking dozens of different meds. Dr’s don’t seem to care once you hit over 60, here is another med for yet another condition. Who cares, you don’t have much longer to live anyone. Just another guinea pig. Well I am rambling now. Sorry about that. Just had to make my points. While I know they probably don’t make sense to most persons. I think people should look back on the "Triclyces" sp ? for an example. These meds are NO longer used or rarely used? Why because they found they did more damage than good. Then there are the MOA inhibitors that once again are rarely used. Yet less than 20 years ago they were given to every person that walked through the door with depression. Personally I am inclined to take "shock treatment" over the meds cause at least that doesn’t damage your other vital internal organs. I am going to continue my search and quest. I hope all does. Gwen

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Dear Pat and Laurie, > When I quit smoking, I had already been diagnosed with clinical depression from > the physical trauma my back had gone through. When I had been about a month and > a half in to my quit my depression got worse. I don’t know if it was due to the > change from zoloft to zyban or just quit depression. I tend to beleive the > latter was the culprit. > I need to warn you about something though. If you are in the USA and get > diagnosed with depression, your medical diagnosis will be stored in the Medical > Information Bureau. There is nothing you can do to prevent that. Once it is > there, it’s permanent. Later on down the road you may actually recover, but > those friendly insurance companies will still turn down your life insurance > application because of this diagnosis. Some insurance companies will approve > you after 10 years, but then your application will be highly scrutinized and > thus the premium accordingly. > When it comes to quit depression, this particular ailment is supposed to be > short lived. If a person can detox through this they are much better off in the > long run. A person never knows where they will be down the road. They could > come in to a better job, higher bills, more children….who knows. Life > insurance becomes very important when these life events occur. Pay for the > Zyban if you can afford to. If you have an HMO you can still purchase it at a > discount if your HMO also handles their own prescription medications. > The reason the Wellbutrin SR is called Zyban is to differentiate a patient from > smoking cessation and depression here in the US for purposes of MIB reporting. > Janet > "Curiosity never killed anything."(Earthlink) > -San Francisco billboard, Spring 2000…

Wow Janet Thanks for that info..didnt know that. Ive tried to quit 3 or 4 times. First cold turkey ..then with the patch. Each time I have ended up with clinical depression. Im sure by now Im in the "Big Brother Data Base" It amazes me that the Federal Government can determine Nicotine is an addictive drug yet the Hmo’s dont cover cessation programs or the meds.Or any doc visit under that diagnosis code…. At least mine won’t. Of course thats not gonna stop me from quitting. I think alot of doctors put people in the depression category and ignore the nictine addiction aspect…its easier for them to get paid that way. I live in a small town…Im sort of a captive audience..if ya know what I mean….I miss those Chicago doctors who read….lol For those who have never taken Wellbutrin….I have …and even without trying to quit…my smoking dropped to about half….of course my depressive symptoms came back..but thats my pattern to contend with. The only problem I had with Wellbutrin was a head ache getting on and getting off the drug.(tylenol fixed that) Good luck to all….and  thanks again Janet..love you quote : )

Response:

I have been thinking and thinking about this topic.  As I have read the newsgroup these past few weeks, I noticed that no one wrote about quit depression with the exception of a couple of side comments.  I wrote the below post some time back to once again bring this very hard topic to light. I have written about quit depression a lot.  It is one of those topics that most would rather not talk about or read about.  That’s alright.  Then please skip this post.  Smile.  But those of you who think you are suffering with ‘the tears from hell’ or being down more than what you think is comfortable for you, please keep reading so you can know you are not alone in dealing with this chemical depression.  And I encourage you… no make that… STRONGLY encourage you to go see your doctor.  There is help available for quit depression. This is my experience…. Sending many hugs, Pat, DOF Hello AS3, I have been thinking about all of you and especially of you newbies.  I congratulate you on your decision to get free.  I honor you for the strength and courage that you are showing every day/every moment you honor that decision.  Smoke freedom is all that you’ve heard it is.  It’s sweet here…. indeed. I am quit now for over two years.  Most of what I went through to get to here is archived on my website but I was having to deal with another minor dip into my ‘blue place’ here recently and when I had gotten to the other side, I thought maybe I’d write to all of you about this process and specifically about quit depression. I have written about this topic lots.  It is one of those topics that most would rather not read about nor do they want to recognize that this can be a very real symptom for some of us when we quit smoking.   But if those that are suffering with tears that won’t quit or with being sad without the ability to pop out of it and are feeling like there is something very definitely wrong with them, I want you to know there probably is…. and there might be a reason for it. A bit of my history….  I quit smoking cold turkey on 5/25/98.  About three days into my quit, I was overwhelmed by the tears.  At that time, a longer term quitter suggested I try St. John’s Wort, which I did immediately. Although it didn’t take effect right away, in time, I knew that it was helping a little.  But omigosh…. the tears….  I would be working at the store and have to run to the back room because I had started crying *again*. I started to call these tears the ‘tears from Hell’.  I mean it was like the tears came from out of left field.  I was not under any more stress than normal other than the stress of quitting smoking.   I simply couldn’t pinpoint a reason for my crying.  It was very confusing and VERY unsettling to me. I had read here in the ng that there was such a thing as ‘quit depression’. Now, I had never spent a depressed day in my life.  I am not that kind of person.  I am cheerful and live life as a half-full person.  My grandsons know me as a dessert first grandma.  To be stymied by these tears (And yes, they stopped me cold…. how was I to go out if I couldn’t control when these tears would hit me?) and to feel this darker side of me was horrifying to me.  I couldn’t understand it and I couldn’t seem to do anything about it.  I was on a roller coaster ride and the ticket taker forgot to let me off! I was so blessed to have folks around me that not only supported me but gave me the information that provided understanding of what was happening to me. It seems that when I quit smoking, I deprived my neurotransmitters of nicotine.  When I smoked, the nicotine coated these neurotransmitters and gave them a (very false) sense of well-being.  When I took that away, my neurotransmitters were without this coating and were akin to raw nerve endings…. and this produces what is called, Quit Depression. I kept trying to deny that my depression was getting worse.  ddSteve, Melly, Mona, and my quit family (the 5/25′ers) all tried to gently suggest I go see the doctor.  Being a very stubborn person, I kept thinking I would get better….  if only because I was willing it so!   The long story short, the depression became so bad that when I did finally go see my doctor, it was a very long road back.  I knew I was in trouble because whereas in the early days, when I went into a depression, I would be there for about a week and then climb back out on the other side.  When the time frame for the ‘climb out’ became longer and longer and when I finally just stayed depressed most of the time, I started to get really scared for me. I think my family doctor is a typical doctor who doesn’t quite believe in quit depression but because he was either just humoring me or because I was in his face insisting that there was something VERY WRONG with me, he started monitoring the quit depression.  When it was clear that the St. John’s Wort wasn’t working any longer, I knew I needed to check it out further. Shortening up the story a bit more, I finally went to see a psychiatrist that specializes in depression and the meds to treat it.  In the beginning, I had quit depression…. but after a length of time, it’s not called that any longer.  I had/have chemical depression and it is important that it gets treated.  (And in reality, that’s the good news…  it’s treatable!)  All of my denial and my willing it to be otherwise couldn’t convince my neurotransmitters to regain their health.  I would need chemicals to replace my natural chemicals until my body began to reproduce them on its own. You can’t imagine the *relief* that I felt when my Pdoc pulled out article after article about quit depression.  My regular G.P. must not have read these articles out of the medical journals that shows the research to back this diagnosis up but there they were…. right in front of my face.  Then I started crying (again…) because I finally realized there was a true medical reason for what I was experiencing and it wasn’t all in my head. I continue to treat my depression with meds.  I have developed a Tool Kit that I use when I feel myself slipping into the blue place.  That Tool Kit is very similar to my Quit Tool Kit.   Some of the tools that I use are taking a walk, taking a time out just for me, treating me gently with a bubble bath, a good book, or whatever makes me feel good….. bottom line is that I found I hit this ‘blue place’ when I am tired and not sleeping properly, eating properly or generally not taking good care of me. Gratefully, the meds that I am on have allowed me to find a place where I’ve regained my emotional stability.  In that I went into the blue place that I mentioned at the top of this post, I didn’t feel bad about that.  It actually made me realize that I was not overmedicating myself, that I was still able to feel sadness and all of the emotions… I just don’t get depressed and stay there anymore.  I thank the Creator for that…. and my wonderful Pdoc. So…. those of you who are crying more than is normal, who are getting depressed more than what you are comfortable with, who are experiencing anything that is making you concerned about you, I am asking you to please go see your doctor.  At least allow him or her to monitor what is going on with you.  And don’t let anyone tell you that what is happening to you is all in your head.  You walk out that door if that is their response and find a doctor that is willing to work with you to help get you to a place of more stable emotions. I understand quit depression.  I’ve lived it and am living with it.  I maintain to this day that I would go through it all over again just to be here, breathing free.  Quit depression is treatable.  I would rather deal with chemical depression than chemotherapy or oxygen therapy.  There is no choice there as far as I am concerned.  It continues to be worth it all. Absolutely. I hope you don’t mind that I have written about this very hard topic.  I was so grateful when I was first quit to get the information that let me know I wasn’t alone.  I want to send that message out to all of you who might need to hear it.  You aren’t alone.   You have me. I’m very grateful for this newsgroup…. for all kinds of reasons…. but mostly for being there for me when I needed you most.  Thank you…. Pat Yukpa hashi/Laughing Moon/budette www.talkingstick.net Two years, three months, one day, 9 hours, 1 minute and 8 seconds. 16487 cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,703.95. Life saved: 8 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 55 minutes.

Response:

Dear Pat and Laurie, When I quit smoking, I had already been diagnosed with clinical depression from the physical trauma my back had gone through. When I had been about a month and a half in to my quit my depression got worse. I don’t know if it was due to the change from zoloft to zyban or just quit depression. I tend to beleive the latter was the culprit. I need to warn you about something though. If you are in the USA and get diagnosed with depression, your medical diagnosis will be stored in the Medical Information Bureau. There is nothing you can do to prevent that. Once it is there, it’s permanent. Later on down the road you may actually recover, but those friendly insurance companies will still turn down your life insurance application because of this diagnosis. Some insurance companies will approve you after 10 years, but then your application will be highly scrutinized and thus the premium accordingly. When it comes to quit depression, this particular ailment is supposed to be short lived. If a person can detox through this they are much better off in the long run. A person never knows where they will be down the road. They could come in to a better job, higher bills, more children….who knows. Life insurance becomes very important when these life events occur. Pay for the Zyban if you can afford to. If you have an HMO you can still purchase it at a discount if your HMO also handles their own prescription medications. The reason the Wellbutrin SR is called Zyban is to differentiate a patient from smoking cessation and depression here in the US for purposes of MIB reporting. Janet "Curiosity never killed anything."(Earthlink) -San Francisco billboard, Spring 2000

Response:

Laurie, A few of your comments struck me and I’d like to respond to them…. > My question is : Have I done permanent damage to my brain? After you > quit does the brain heal itself…or will I have depression now for > the rest of my life.

Have you done permanent damage to your brain?  Well…. this is also individual.  For most folks, they experience some brain fog, some minor depression and in about 3 to 6 months, they are well past it all.  Their body kicks in and starts producing the chemicals that the neurotransmitters need to function properly.  For me…. (and I am just going on my experience….  I am not a doctor so take what you need and leave the rest…. ) the depression got worse over time.  Apparently, I have indeed caused the neurotransmitters permanent damage.  My Pdoc does not expect me to ever be off of some sort of AD.  What the AD does is add the chemicals that my body would normally make and that make the neurotransmitters work. I am not depressed…. and in need of a therapist (although there are friends of mine who might argue that point…. smile).  I have a chemical imbalance that needs to be treated.  There are no options for me other than taking the AD’s.   I will NOT go back to smoking.  And, I need to be able to function in my world.  So…. I have come to terms with taking the AD’s. > For now its safe to be labeled depressed. My HMO wont cover Nicotine > Addiction treatment or medications related to it.

My insurance company won’t cover Nicotine Addiction related expenses either. So my Pdoc didn’t use any sort of label other than ‘depression’ for my insurance company and chose Wellbutrin SR instead of Zyban (they are the same drug).  And it’s been covered.  I think insurance companies are plain foolish is not helping folks get off the smokes.  Oh man, could I go on and on about that.  But… the point is, there is a way to get the insurance companies to pick up the tab.  Diagnosis: Depression  Treatment:  Wellbutrin SR > I just don’t want > the Pdoc to tell me Im just depressed…when its actually nicotine > related.

((((((Laurie)))))))  What matters, I think, is that you know the reason for the depression.  I would check out all possibilities though.  The more information you have, the better armed you are. > Thanks for post..It meant alot to me.

You’re very welcome.  It is a subject that is near to my heart.  And I think it is important to let those who have quit depression know they aren’t alone. > Laurie > On a farm in Virginia > Waiting for the tomato’s to grow.

Once they start growing, I’d like a flat of ‘em sent to my place, eh? Giggle…. Take care of you….. Pat

Response:

Pat..Thanks for sharing your experience..Thats was great (well not really living it Im sure). I have just recently put a post on this topic and in reading responses..I realize just how different we all are..I do think that the information out there regarding Quit Depression is hard to find. A long time ago I read a poster at my PDoc’s office. It said if you are depressed more than two weeks you should see the Doc. For each person it is different. I have a kind of check list I use for myself. Basically though when I have crying spells for more than a week Im off to the Doc. I do not have any relatives in town….so I have to take care of myself. I have a very technical job…so when my brain chemistry is off..I know it. You were so lucky to find a Doctor that had current information. Most of the info they have on brain chemistry has been discovered over the last ten years. When I went to the bookstore t o get a book to help me quit smoking I noticed most had been written back in the 80’s. I did find one copyright 2000. And it does include some info on Quit Depression. My question is : Have I done permanent damage to my brain? After you quit does the brain heal itself…or will I have depression now for the rest of my life. For now its safe to be labeled depressed. My HMO wont cover Nicotine Addiction treatment or medications related to it. I just don’t want the Pdoc to tell me Im just depressed…when its actually nicotine related. Thanks for post..It meant alot to me. Laurie On a farm in Virginia Waiting for the tomato’s to grow.

Response:

Thank you for this post, Pat.  I think that some people are reluctant to admit they have a problem, because they think there is something "wrong" with being depressed.  They think that we are supposed to just "get over it". But seeing someone who is obviously a very "together" person, and who has faced down depression, and lives with it, helps reduced the stigma associated with it, and makes it easier for people to get help.  Great post. Diane M.   – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have been thinking and thinking about this topic.  As I have read the > newsgroup these past few weeks, I noticed that no one wrote about quit > depression with the exception of a couple of side comments.  I wrote the > below post some time back to once again bring this very hard topic to light. > I have written about quit depression a lot.  It is one of those topics that > most would rather not talk about or read about.  That’s alright.  Then > please skip this post.  Smile.  But those of you who think you are suffering > with ‘the tears from hell’ or being down more than what you think is > comfortable for you, please keep reading so you can know you are not alone > in dealing with this chemical depression.  And I encourage you… no make > that… STRONGLY encourage you to go see your doctor.  There is help > available for quit depression. > This is my experience…. > Sending many hugs, > Pat, > DOF > Hello AS3, > I have been thinking about all of you and especially of you newbies.  I > congratulate you on your decision to get free.  I honor you for the strength > and courage that you are showing every day/every moment you honor that > decision.  Smoke freedom is all that you’ve heard it is.  It’s sweet > here…. indeed. > I am quit now for over two years.  Most of what I went through to get to > here is archived on my website but I was having to deal with another minor > dip into my ‘blue place’ here recently and when I had gotten to the other > side, I thought maybe I’d write to all of you about this process and > specifically about quit depression. > I have written about this topic lots.  It is one of those topics that most > would rather not read about nor do they want to recognize that this can be a > very real symptom for some of us when we quit smoking.   But if those that > are suffering with tears that won’t quit or with being sad without the > ability to pop out of it and are feeling like there is something very > definitely wrong with them, I want you to know there probably is…. and > there might be a reason for it. > A bit of my history….  I quit smoking cold turkey on 5/25/98.  About three > days into my quit, I was overwhelmed by the tears.  At that time, a longer > term quitter suggested I try St. John’s Wort, which I did immediately. > Although it didn’t take effect right away, in time, I knew that it was > helping a little.  But omigosh…. the tears….  I would be working at the > store and have to run to the back room because I had started crying *again*. > I started to call these tears the ‘tears from Hell’.  I mean it was like the > tears came from out of left field.  I was not under any more stress than > normal other than the stress of quitting smoking.   I simply couldn’t > pinpoint a reason for my crying.  It was very confusing and VERY unsettling > to me. > I had read here in the ng that there was such a thing as ‘quit depression’. > Now, I had never spent a depressed day in my life.  I am not that kind of > person.  I am cheerful and live life as a half-full person.  My grandsons > know me as a dessert first grandma.  To be stymied by these tears (And yes, > they stopped me cold…. how was I to go out if I couldn’t control when > these tears would hit me?) and to feel this darker side of me was horrifying > to me.  I couldn’t understand it and I couldn’t seem to do anything about > it.  I was on a roller coaster ride and the ticket taker forgot to let me > off! > I was so blessed to have folks around me that not only supported me but gave > me the information that provided understanding of what was happening to me. > It seems that when I quit smoking, I deprived my neurotransmitters of > nicotine.  When I smoked, the nicotine coated these neurotransmitters and > gave them a (very false) sense of well-being.  When I took that away, my > neurotransmitters were without this coating and were akin to raw nerve > endings…. and this produces what is called, Quit Depression. > I kept trying to deny that my depression was getting worse.  ddSteve, Melly, > Mona, and my quit family (the 5/25′ers) all tried to gently suggest I go see > the doctor.  Being a very stubborn person, I kept thinking I would get > better….  if only because I was willing it so!   The long story short, the > depression became so bad that when I did finally go see my doctor, it was a > very long road back.  I knew I was in trouble because whereas in the early > days, when I went into a depression, I would be there for about a week and > then climb back out on the other side.  When the time frame for the ‘climb > out’ became longer and longer and when I finally just stayed depressed most > of the time, I started to get really scared for me. > I think my family doctor is a typical doctor who doesn’t quite believe in > quit depression but because he was either just humoring me or because I was > in his face insisting that there was something VERY WRONG with me, he > started monitoring the quit depression.  When it was clear that the St. > John’s Wort wasn’t working any longer, I knew I needed to check it out > further. > Shortening up the story a bit more, I finally went to see a psychiatrist > that specializes in depression and the meds to treat it.  In the beginning, > I had quit depression…. but after a length of time, it’s not called that > any longer.  I had/have chemical depression and it is important that it gets > treated.  (And in reality, that’s the good news…  it’s treatable!)  All of > my denial and my willing it to be otherwise couldn’t convince my > neurotransmitters to regain their health.  I would need chemicals to replace > my natural chemicals until my body began to reproduce them on its own. > You can’t imagine the *relief* that I felt when my Pdoc pulled out article > after article about quit depression.  My regular G.P. must not have read > these articles out of the medical journals that shows the research to back > this diagnosis up but there they were…. right in front of my face.  Then I > started crying (again…) because I finally realized there was a true > medical reason for what I was experiencing and it wasn’t all in my head. > I continue to treat my depression with meds.  I have developed a Tool Kit > that I use when I feel myself slipping into the blue place.  That Tool Kit > is very similar to my Quit Tool Kit.   Some of the tools that I use are > taking a walk, taking a time out just for me, treating me gently with a > bubble bath, a good book, or whatever makes me feel good….. bottom line is > that I found I hit this ‘blue place’ when I am tired and not sleeping > properly, eating properly or generally not taking good care of me. > Gratefully, the meds that I am on have allowed me to find a place where I’ve > regained my emotional stability.  In that I went into the blue place that I > mentioned at the top of this post, I didn’t feel bad about that.  It > actually made me realize that I was not overmedicating myself, that I was > still able to feel sadness and all of the emotions… I just don’t get > depressed and stay there anymore.  I thank the Creator for that…. and my > wonderful Pdoc. > So…. those of you who are crying more than is normal, who are getting > depressed more than what you are comfortable with, who are experiencing > anything that is making you concerned about you, I am asking you to please > go see your doctor.  At least allow him or her to monitor what is going on > with you.  And don’t let anyone tell you that what is happening to you is > all in your head.  You walk out that door if that is their response and find > a doctor that is willing to work with you to help get you to a place of more > stable emotions. > I understand quit depression.  I’ve lived it and am living with it.  I > maintain to this day that I would go through it all over again just to be > here, breathing free.  Quit depression is treatable.  I would rather deal > with chemical depression than chemotherapy or oxygen therapy.  There is no > choice there as far as I am concerned.  It continues to be worth it all. > Absolutely. > I hope you don’t mind that I have written about this very hard topic.  I was > so grateful when I was first quit to get the information that let me know I > wasn’t alone.  I want to send that message out to all of you who might need > to hear it.  You aren’t alone.   You have me. > I’m very grateful for this newsgroup…. for all kinds of reasons…. but > mostly for being there for me when I needed you most.  Thank you…. > Pat > Yukpa hashi/Laughing Moon/budette > www.talkingstick.net > Two years, three months, one day, 9 hours, 1 minute and 8 seconds. 16487 > cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,703.95. Life saved: 8 weeks, 1 day, 5 > hours, 55 minutes.

Response:

>So…. those of you who are crying more than is normal, who are getting >depressed more than what you are comfortable with, who are experiencing >anything that is making you concerned about you, I am asking you to please >go see your doctor.  At least allow him or her to monitor what is going on >with you.  And don’t let anyone tell you that what is happening to you is >all in your head.  You walk out that door if that is their response and find >a doctor that is willing to work with you to help get you to a place of more >stable emotions.

Thank you for this post, Pat! How long though? That is the question. When do we grow concerned that we have an underlying form of depression that is not quit depression? In my case, I knew I had clinical depression because of my injury. I wasn’t surprised when it got worse when I was in the deep cleaning cycle LOL!!  But when should one of the newcomers go get some answers? Are there any net resources? This is an important thing to look for around your 2nd or 3rd month quit. (in my opinion) It would be nice to read of some clinical studies on quit depression. Are there any out there? Janet I view smokin’ as dying a slow, gruesome death on the installment plan – Windupd0ll

Response:

Janet asked: > How long though? That is the question. When do we grow concerned that we have > an underlying form of depression that is not quit depression?

In my opinion, how long one should wait is not long at all.  If you are concerned about you, then head to the doctor.  It can’t hurt and maybe it can help stop the severe roller coaster ride.  Now when one first quits, there is a certain amount of emotional distress where the emotions seem out of control.  Brain fog is a part of this phenomena.  But I am speaking to the person whose ability to bounce back after a certain time (and I truly believe this is an individual time frame); they are the ones who need to scoot to a doc. Again, quit depression is treatable.  Why not take advantage of that?  In the least, your doc can monitor you and that ‘comfort’ alone is worth something.  I took so long to even go to my doc that when I finally got there, when he walked in the room, all I could do was cry.  He knew right away that wasn’t the Pat he knew and that something was definitely wrong.  I am saying don’t wait until you get to that point.  There is a reason for this type of quit reaction.  It is NOT in one’s head.  It is a *physical* problem. > Are there any net resources?

I wish I could find some.  I have read numerous reports on depression and as well on the meds that I am taking to treat it but nothing specifically.  I did, though, read report after report in my doctor’s office on quit depression.  I was amazed that is was so accepted…. at least within my Pdoc’s community.  So the reports are out there…. I would like to find them.  If you find any, would you please let me know?  And I’ll do the same if I find any. Thanks for your response, Janet.  I think this kind of dialogue is so valuable.  I appreciate you. Keep on keeping on, Pat, Two years, eleven months, three weeks, three days, 17 hours, 25 minutes and 48 seconds. 21814 cigarettes not smoked, saving $3,577.58. Life saved: 10 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours, 50 minutes.

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