if you don't mind, I'd like to open a discussion with you (public or private) about your son's condition. We can do it here or via email. Does he have MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) or has he been diagnosed bipolar? The terms and their meanings have been tossed around over the years and thus it blurs the lines about what means what. Full disclosure, my Dad had asked me for years to check myself out for it and I did not. When I was younger, life was so good that I could mask it. After I moved here, my depression became a runaway train. One key element in the continued misdiagnosis of me was that I wouldn't fall into deep melancholia, but rather would have bouts of rage and anger.
Corey my son's depression is probably more MDD than bi-polar. My sister was bi-polar so I have seen the difference. My son has had bouts of low self esteem and self doubt his whole life that were masked pretty well when he was younger but that surfaced as major depression when he was aged 14. He has been Baker Acted twice.... the first time when he was 14 and the 2nd last spring when he was a senior in H/S. He has had his great moments though.... a pretty girlfriend for a couple of years and moments of brilliance in the classroom. But his self doubt and sometimes self-loathing seem to always win out.... and his medication recently just seems to be causing other problems like acute anxiety over things that normal people can overcome..... like driving a car. So it's a battle.... one that we will continue to fight hard.... I hope you can keep fighting and winning over yours Corey.... and feel free to ask me questions if you like.
What meds is he taking? They started me out on a few things before finding my current combination that seems to be working just fine. In fact, I know it is. The initial prescriptions made me more of a zombie than anything, but the changes a few months back have gotten rid of the zombie feeling and life is a lot more clear. I have a cigar box full of meds, and not all of them are expensive. I have 2 for the depression and 1 for the anxiety that can be caused by the other meds. There's others, like a sleep med, that work great on a night in which I can tell I'm not going to be able to sleep. The biggest thing is that I went from being constantly angry and worried to being 'normal.' (whatever that is)
He was taking 300 mg of Wellbutrin plus 5 mg of Abilify. The doc on Tues. abruptly removed him from Wellbutrin because of it's failure to keep him from being suicidal and the fact that it also seemed to increase his anxiety and caused inability to concentrate amongst other side effects. In the past he has taken Selexa and also Lexapro but they were not ultimately as effective as needed. We will be trying something new real soon.... just don't know what yet.
Corey, Dave please excuse my attempt at humor, I got to thinking about the picture above and thought what if they think I was being more ignorant than I normally am. My reply was that the word normal is relative to each individual and the judgement of who and what is considered the status in society is nothing more than hot air. Hence the picture of cousin Eddie above for a "normal" person...
Ralph, No need to apologize, I thought it was hilarious. I was looking for just the right Quaid photo to reply with!! Dave, Have they tried Cymbalta? It isn't cheap but depending on your Rx coverage, that could be a moot point. Funny enough, it took me a year to get an Obamacare plan but I was finally able to get on. I paid literally jack squat for Rx and it was wonderful. The problem was that it didn't cover a lot of procedural or preventative stuff that I didn't need, but I could see other people needing. You may want to check into that. I know you said he's on your wife's insurance, but is there any way he could seek his own plan on the marketplace? Anyway, when I got married in October, I got on my wife's plan (state worker, DOT) and her plan covers WAY more than mine did, the cost of the Rx is much higher. Before, I was paying $5 to $20 TOPS. Now, almost everything is $20 to $50. That still isn't bad because a 30 script for some of this stuff runs $900 cash price, so $50 is still a steal.
He hasn't tried Cymbalta yet Corey but that may happen. He will be on a new med in the next few days. Fortunately my wife's Rx plan is pretty decent.... mostly providing a $5 - 10.00 co-pay. We'll keep trying till something clicks.