I have been through many medications trying to alleviate my depression, but i have also been unresponsive to many of those medications. After going through ECT treatments (shock therapy), and being unresponsive, i was started on a medication called Nardil. Nardil is a very old medication and comes with some food and drink restrictions, but is also very strong and has had some very good results with others. The Nardil seemed to be the only medication that had some effect. It did alleviate the depression to a certain degree but i was still having difficulties with my depression. After being on the Nardil for two years, playing with the dosage and also trying to introduce other medications with it, i was given three options as i was not getting any better.

The first option was to introduce a new medication that would have a strong reaction with the Nardil, which was Ritalin. When mixed with the Nardil the effects are very strong and can do wonders for people with depression. However, there are some very high risks. When mixed with Nardil, Ritalin can drive the bloodpressure up extremely high causing stroke, heart attack, or even death.

The second option i was given was Trans Cranial Magnetic Stimulation or TCMS. How that works, basically, is by using high magnetics on either the right or left side of the brain which somehow helps to alleviate the depression. For some reason this can also cause a spike in blood pressure, and it is currently still in test stages.

The last option i was given is something called Deep Brain Stimulation or DBS. DBS involves surgery in which they put two neurotransmitters in the brain and then something like a pacemaker into the chest. That pacemaker sends small electrical shocks to the neurotransmitters throughout the day (almost like mini ECT treatments). It is still in the very beginning of the test stages and there is a chance that i could die on the operating table due to brain hemmoraging.

I decided to start with the first option given and today was the first day i started it. Because of the risks involved my psychiatrist had me go in to his office at the hospital so that he could monitor my vitals when i first took the meds just incase something went wrong. Oddly, instead of my blood pressure increasing, it actually decreased quite a bit. All was well and after a few hours i went home.

The doctor advised me that if my blood pressure reached 150/100 or above and i had any symptoms of high blood pressure such as, dizziness, throbbing headache, numbness, etc. that i was to take a pill to lower my blood pressure and go straight to emerge. Again he stressed that i could have a stroke, heart attack, or die from trying the introduction of this pill because of the high blood pressure spike. So i decided it would be best to get a blood pressure measurer to have at home to keep a close eye over the next couple days and to have nearby incase i ever felt any of the symptoms.

After taking the second dose of the med my blood pressure seemed to hover around 145/98 going up or down slightly. As the night went on however, my blood pressure jumped to 167/107, but i wasn't feeling any symptoms of high blood pressure, i felt fine. So i called TeleHealth to see if they thought i should still go into the hospital. The recommended that i go in since it had been increasing.

I went into the hospital, and saw the doctor for maybe 3 minutes, where he told me i was fine, it was nothing to worry about as i had no symptoms, the blood pressure had come back down to 149/94.

I felt somewhat embarrassed, almost as though i had over reacted, but i felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. However, at least now i know that if my blood pressure is that high but i feel fine that there isn't really anything to worry about unless i start to have any symptoms of high blood pressure.

Tags & Keywords : medications, depression, hospital, blood pressure, cautious,