# Treatment is not working for many - Losing hope?



## hopefuluk2 (Aug 20, 2015)

Hello everyone,

I was considering to start treatment sometime soon but seeing so many people at this website who tried so many medications without any glimpse of hope makes me hesitant to start anything. I feel that if I try all medications and none works for me: 1- My DP will get worse 2- I might feel that I lost all my hope of recovery that I would consider suicide.

I have been following many friends here who seem to have tried many medications and nothing worked.

It seems that it is true that we have to accept it and live with it SIMPLY because they have not made medication for this disorder.

Would be interested to hear your views especially Eliott - TDX and Lactore?

Cheers!

Hopeful


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## KJames (Feb 29, 2016)

There are so many medications that 'might' work for DP and hundreds of possible combinations of these medicines. There is always going to be something new to try. Also, everyone's chemistry is different, meaning what might work for some, won't work for others and Vice versa. In addition, there may be many people who have recovered by using medication and/or alternate treatments who never contributed to this website or if they did, they may have not returned to share their recovery story.

Elliot and TDX have some really solid knowledge, maybe if you private message them they can give you some advice 

Please try not to worry about running out of options, it's important to stay hopeful. Unfortunately I can't comment on the worry you have about DP getting worse. It's a thought, I think, which plagues many sufferers (including myself - I am petrified of my DP becoming more intense). If you really try to understand the condition, your personal history and triggers, there shouldn't be any reason why your DP would increase in severity.

Good Luck!


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## hopefuluk2 (Aug 20, 2015)

Thanks for your uplifting words. My problem now lies with finding a good psychiatrist. I just don't want to go through NHS because of the waiting list. I am willing to go privately providing that I get a good psychiatrist who understand what I am struggling with. Any tips on how I can find a good one in the UK? Most of those I come across when I do google search are specialists in depression and food disorders. However, I want a psychiatrist who has experience with dissociation because I do not want to throw money randomly if you get what I mean?


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## Billy D.P. (Apr 12, 2016)

It's a terrible idea to avoid addressing serious health concerns simply because a bunch of people on the Internet complain about having no quick fix for their problems. This is to in no way discredit or lambast the people here -- we're all suffering -- but rather to encourage you to seek out help in any way possible regardless of how successful it may be.

Many people do have success with medication, even if it's no cure. I think this fact is highly underreported on this forum. King Elliot has a great many posts on medications with good track records and I encourage you to check those out.

In addition, there are all sorts of recovery stories with plenty of different vitamins, minerals, supplements, etc. that have worked wonders for different people with varying levels of DP. I know my condition didn't really start improving at a rate I felt tolerable until I started nourishing my body with the elements it needs and experimenting with every sort of vitamin and mineral in the book. Magnesium and a Coenzyme B Complex with Thiamine Cocarboxylase are great places to start.

Last, I'd really encourage you to seek out alternative forms of medicine (naturopathy, allopathy, kinesiology, etc.) in combination with everything mentioned above. I feel to really cope with DP you need to take a holistic approach. Adjusting your diet should be No. 1 on your list. Eating healthy has proven results on this board, including full-blown recoveries. If you can eliminate all the junk and whole foods 24-7 (check out the paleo, ketogenic, etc.) while combining exercise, yoga, proper nourishment through supplements, proper sleep, etc., then you may very well be on the road to recovery. I know all of these things have helped me.

Good luck, and remember to never lose hope even after you've tried and failed! There's always a different route or method to try if one doesn't work. Especially with DP, there are many highways to the promise land!


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## luctor et emergo (May 22, 2015)

King Elliott said:


> There's always something left to try. My personal list* (which is far more exhaustive than my Psychiatric Treatments thread) has nearly 100 items on it.
> 
> *I'm considering sharing it but because of the sheer number of off-label, untested and high risk/low reward treatments, I worry about people following it blindly.


I remember you posting this list? 
Please PM, I promise I won't follow it blindy, but through my psychiatrist I have access to a lot of medications. 
Being a guinea pig for this community is something I gladly would like.


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## Chicane (Oct 8, 2015)

Billy D.P. said:


> It's a terrible idea to avoid addressing serious health concerns simply because a bunch of people on the Internet complain about having no quick fix for their problems. This is to in no way discredit or lambast the people here -- we're all suffering -- but rather to encourage you to seek out help in any way possible regardless of how successful it may be.
> 
> Many people do have success with medication, even if it's no cure. I think this fact is highly underreported on this forum. King Elliot has a great many posts on medications with good track records and I encourage you to check those out.
> 
> ...


I think this is the way forward - looking for a wide variety of possible (alternative) treatment options that can each help you feel perhaps 20% better, and then combining them where possible. You might find that a given medication works somewhat, for example. So go from there and then explore more integrative approaches. That way, you're not pinning all your hopes on one treatment option, instead you're looking for a multitude of incremental changes that will hopefully stack and combine to make you feel a good deal better. Don't forget, we needn't feel 100% cured. I bet many of us would feel so much happier and function a great deal more if we could see even a 40-50% improvement in symptoms.

The main issues I'm experiencing on the road to recovery are depression and apathy. Like I'm fine to sit on my ass and pop a pill but for some reason I don't have much inclination to seek out anything beyond that. Do as I say, not as I do then, I guess lol.


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## Smile (Feb 29, 2016)

I have personally wondered if some doctors aren't giving the meds time to kick in. I saw a great psychiatrist this week who explained that when this hits (DP/DR), it kills brain cells and they take a good 6 months-1 year to regrow so it can take that amount of time to heal and feel better. And the longer you take the meds, the more they help. He said it takes about 6 weeks for the meds to work for depression and up to 12 weeks to work for anxiety (which is generally what generates the DP/DR). I've been taking them for 6 months now and still seeing improvements all the time, so its a gradual process (although I felt human again around 12 weeks). I was worried about switching meds (had to switch due to insurance) because I was afraid it would get worse and that I would then NEVER come back. I expressed that concern to my DR and they assured me that IF it did get bad again, I WOULD come back to normal again. I didn't notice any effects from switching, FYI. When DP/DR hit in the beginning, I would have taken or done ANYTHING to fix it because I didn't see how it could get any worse, so my advice is to take chances. It COULD potentially get a little worse, but it COULD also get a lot better. If nothing else is working for you, try meds...they do work for a lot of people. I know how scary it is, but life is about taking chances. The trick is you absolutely HAVE to stay positive and think "this IS going to work". I feel like the mindset has a lot of influence on the outcome.


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## KJames (Feb 29, 2016)

So impressed with the quality of advice on this thread.


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## thy (Oct 7, 2015)

Chicane said:


> The main issues I'm experiencing on the road to recovery are depression and apathy. Like I'm fine to sit on my ass and pop a pill but for some reason I don't have much inclination to seek out anything beyond that.


This is me.


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## TDX (Jul 12, 2014)

Me too.


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## TDX (Jul 12, 2014)

> There's even some completely idiosyncratic treatments that fuck with blood-brain barrier integrity (I'm taking a punt there based on my selective sensitivity to all CNS-active substances).


I think it's not a good idea to touch the blood-brain barrier...


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## TDX (Jul 12, 2014)

> There's no reason to be cautious. At some point, even treatments with a high risk of death become worth trying. I'll probably put the cyanide last though.


Yes, that's true, but the question is if there at least some theoretical reason to believe that this might work. Or have you planned to try everything that in some affects the central nervous system?

I think you should at least order your treatment attempts in terms of their risks.


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## luctor et emergo (May 22, 2015)

King Elliott said:


> I posted a short list of (mostly) proven drugs once, I think. My personal list is a lot bigger.
> 
> Once I've finished with the annotations, I'll share it selectively with people who have demonstrated that they won't be stupid with it.


Would you know where your shortlist is posted?

Thanks in advance for the personal list, maybe 2017 will be our year.


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