Hi Fiona, welcome to beyond Blue forums
Yes, getting the right meds and dose can be a challenge and I'd doubt many go on meds with ease and without changing them.
Unfortunately all AD's are in effect tranquilizers and that drained feeling that effects your motivation is the effect. And a rotten feeling it is.
With 5 kids and grandkids you are a superwoman!! Perhaps a little help from outside of home while you are battling this period should be considered. Sometime the obvious escapes us when we are under stress.
How long will it take? Well I tried 12 AD's before my doctor reduced my dose to only 10mgms but I take a large dose of mood stabilizers that have hit the mark. And my diagnosis was changed by another psych during that time too. I've been on this stable program of meds for 5 years and have not changed it...such is its success for me.
Looking back it was my persistence that did it. I was driving 500 kms a day in my job and those AD's and their high dosage caused me to stop driving, walk around the car 3 times then continue on only to do the same 5 kms further down the road....it was terrible to endure, not to mention dangerous. Hence my regular run back to the psych to find something more user friendly ended with happiness in the end.
Persistence and care from other loved ones is my only advice. And be kind to your expectations of yourself. As a therapist once told me..."Tony, stop trying to save the world and reinventing the wheel". Of course he meant "chill out" a little.
Other posts that might help are (use search)-
Meltdown - back to basics
What life can be like at the end of the tunnel
Take care Fiona. Tony WK
