let's talk medication shall we?
i will do a post later about Sam-e....which has been very helpful....but perhaps time limited in its effectiveness as demonstrated by one case study...me.
lisa and jim....you had some really good comments about meds....i was wondering if you could repeat them here.
i am talking about meds for depression. i guess it doesn't matter the origin of the depression: caused by multiple sclerosis or the drugs to combat MS or just straight up depression.
I will pose my questions here:
What, if any prescription drugs do you or have you used for depression? We will talk about natural supplements in another post or posts.
1. How long had you used the medication?
2. What side effects did you experience and please don't hold back about discussing sexual side effects.
3. What happened if you missed a dose?
4. Were there dangers of other meds, vitamins, supplements interacting harmfully with your med of choice?
5. How long did it take to make a difference?
6. Could you easily get off the drug if you wanted to? Or is there side effects of sudden withdrawl of the drug?
on another note....
if you here for the love fest...see post below. the topic is kissing. :>)
Come sit a spell and shoot the breeze. Sweeten the day with a little synchronicity...
22 comments:
actually ..
these are exactly the type of questions that i've been meaning to ask myself..
oh good...i hope to get lots of responses for me and you both!
1. I first used Zoloft 15 years ago, but only during the SAD winter months. Then we tried it for a whole year to see if that would even things out. I've now been taking it continuously for 10 years at various dosage levels.
2. At first, I experienced some abdominal cramping and slightly loose bowels. But that went away in about a week after each dosage increase. As far as sexual side effects, I'm not so sure because when I first started taking it, I was not sexually active. Nowadays any decreased libido has way too many targets of what to blame.
3. After the drug builds up in the system, I don't think this is such a big issue. I've skipped or forgotten to take a dose and didn't notice any difference.
4. Not that I'm aware of, although alcohol is supposed to be a big no-no.
5. Honestly, it does take a while to build up before you being to feel a difference. At least, four weeks when starting out. Maybe two weeks (or less!) when increasing the dosage.
6. Zoloft does need to be tapered down if you are going off of it and sometimes you need to let it leave your system before introducing a different class of drug. After I had stepped down my dosage last spring, increased depression crept up and roared in a big way but was tamed by adjusting dose again.
The medication along with counseling has really worked to keep the beast somewhat tame. The thought of going without is frightening to me since I know what a huge difference it makes.
I have spelled out in detailed about the medications I am taking in my blog.
I have shared my prescriptions and nutrition products with my family and MS doctors. I also research about each nutrition/herb products, which in fact, I have several books. My mother is a Shaklee distributor for over 30 years and have given me some products to help with my disabilities.
Hugs, Jim
By the way, kissing is one of my passions which is why my wife enjoys kissing. I posted about my first kiss.
I find myself truly caring about you and what you have to deal with. I guess it's the voice of experience since I once walked the same MS road with somebody whom I loved deeply. So, you trigger that old impulse in me. I mean, I know the realities, but I also know how much is about attitude and yours is excellent.
for my clinical depression, triggered by my ex leaving with our kids from the west coast to the east, i was on prozac, total of 2.5 years
it did stop my downward spiral, and i climbed out of the hole, eventually
unlike for other folk, it was marvelous for my libido ;) lol
I cannot stress more about EFFEXOR. Stay away from it! It is the worst drug ever for anti-depressants. When I was on it, I thought I was on mushrooms or stuck at Woodstock...it was horrible.
This is the only anti-depressant I've been on except Wellbutrin which I am taking with Lithium.
I have also popped Xanax for Anxiety and it made me so dopey and sleepy which was fine as it was for a plane ride and I slept through the whole ride :)
Other than that, I've just been on Mood stabilizers that include, Geodon, Depakote, Invega, Topamax, Lithium, and God knows what else.
Paxil, for about five years. Started almost two years after husband's suicide because I stubbornly refused to believe I needed it. ha.
Took at least four weeks to begin altering my mood. That made me angry because I wanted instant relief, of course.
The only side effect was that orgasm took longer to achieve. Sometimes frustratingly so.
I weaned myself off very gradually with no problems.
It's been over two years since I've used it.
Hi MerelyMe: Very thought-provoking blog today. I hope it compels MSers to comment.
I posted a rather long comment on Jim's blog and instead of typing it all out, I am taking a shortcut and copy/pasting most of it here. However, I have edited it to answer your questions posed on blog.
I have been taking Prozac since around 1995. I suffered from severe depression - deep dark blackness - and none of the supplements I had been taking were making a difference.
1995 was the year when most of the deaths in my immediate family had just passed and it was the first year that I had to myself and to return back to my own little family of four.
For many years up till 1995 I had been dealing with immediate family and all their woes and illnesses and finally deaths. Even though most of their deaths were imminent (and on some level, very much looked forward to), for some reason, depression just landed into me.
I do take Prozac. I started at 10mg and didn't increase to 20mg until 2004. Before that, I used supplements (St. John's Wort, SAM-E, etc.)
My autistic son who is now 25, was started on anti-depressants when he was 7. The change it made in him was so noticeable that I recommended it to every parent in my support group.
When Prozac came on the market, it was suggested to me to switch him because he was on the maximum dosage of his med, so he was switched at age 14 to 10mg of Prozac. He is now on 20mg and he functions quite well on that dosage - enough to be able to hold a full time job. So I am very pleased with Prozac.
*****
Q1. answered above
2. No real side effects because dosage is basically small compared to others.
3. Prozac is a drug that has to build up in your bloodstream. Noticeable changes can be noted in ten days, but literature mostly states 14 days. Missing one dose is no big deal for me, but for my son, his OCD is very telling to me. He is in charge of his own daily meds but if OCD is too apparent, then I "know" he missed a day or so. Gentle nudge.
4. Prozac is very versatile and I haven't noticed any adverse effects. Prozac is widely offered as a "first drug" to people with depression. Although Jim's dose has been upped to 80mg a day, I did ask him if he spaced it out over the day. I'll check his blog for an answer in an hour or so. It is my opinion only, but I would recommend that anything over 60mg a day (max dose per literature), to change to another SSRI drug. I really believe that one can become too used to a drug so that it stops working with our biological makeup.
5. Answered above.
6. For me, I did stop Prozac for about 3 months a few years ago and replaced it with St. John's Wort again because I didn't have a prescription drug plan. Prozac does not effect one with sudden withdrawal symptoms, as far as I know. But I noticed that St. John's Wort had to be upped so high to come even close to managing my symptoms with Prozac.
I still have my "days" but nothing like the deep blackness I have known in the past.
As you know, I do not take any of the injectible MS drugs and "manage" my MS with diet, supplements and H-Wave. I will blog on H-Wave (and wet cell) soon, but suffice it to say that it totally takes care of my foot drop. If I miss using H-Wave for two days, my foot will start dragging. (When I was hospitalized for a heart attack in 2005, no H-Wave and doctors thought foot drop was new symptom.)
Sex life: Hmmm, I am well into menopause and I think most of the things I have noticed have to do with that. Previously, I never noticed that the Prozac affected me adversely in sex life. On the other hand, it didn't do anything proactively either. LOL
I know you have been blogging lately on your depression symptoms. I offer a shoulder and one unsolicited piece of advice.
And that is: Since SAM-E doesn't seem to be cutting it for you, I suggest that you ask your doc for 10mg Prozac dose per day (usually in AM, but if it makes you sleepy by any chance, then take it before bedtime). Please TRY it for a month and see if it doesn't make a difference.
Re: your autistic son. I used supplements for my son until he was 7, then turned to prescription meds because his OCD was intolerable. I firmly believe that Prozac (or any SSRI) will be a 360 degree turnaround in your home. I remember when my world was revolving around my son which contributed to my dark moods. There was no way I could effectively take care of him until I got taken care of first.
Please think about a one month trial. You have my email address - please feel free to contact me offblog anytime.
Anne
wow! thank you, thank you, and thank you! this is all such excellent information. i definitely want to keep this info. where i can find it. yeah...i am thinking about the prozac precisely because it IS helping my son. i need to digest all of this...this is great.
the first anti depressant I used was Effexor and it was a MIRACLE. unfortunately I went off it a year later because I thought I didn't need it any more. I plummeted way down and 3 months later was worse than before.
tried effexor again which had no effect whatsoever, followed by a hellish period of testing several other antidepressants which were useless.
finally I tried zoloft, which, while it never helped to the same degree that effexor did the first time, it got me to the point where I could function again.
I've been on zoloft for several years now. currently am on the highest dose, twice I have reduced it by half, but it just doesn't work for me when I do.
hope this information is helpful in some way
i started using welbutrin about 9 years ago before my ms dx. i beleive they saved my life. i was completley opposed to taking drugs, but i have changed my tune. used appropriately, they are life savers.
Wow. A subject near and dear to my heart.
In the time since I was diagnosed bipolar I've been over 25 diff meds in about 22 years. My gold standard is Lithium. I've been on it for over 20 years and it is my wonder drug.
2. Side effects. Well I am getting off Seroquel because of a weight gain and craving sugar. Just got off Geodon because of ultra rapid heartbeat. Went to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack. Lovely med gave me anxiety. I have never had anxiety or panic attacks before in my life. Now I am on anti anxiety meds because of this.
Also gave me double vision, and headaches, but I can live with that.
Currently on Clozeril and it's causing my hair to fall out . Oh and a weekly blood draw. Hurray Hurray!
Depakote made me put on weight and got the rash from Lamictal. I can go on and on.
One of the med cocktails I was on did cause the sex drive to fly south for the winter. I went on Wellbutrin thinking it would come back but it didn't. Now I am dealing with hyposexuality 24/7 and I am not in a relationship with anyone, so it's a lot of cold showers.
3. I do miss doses I just double up at bedtime. Fortunately, it's maybe just once a year I forget.
4. I just had a root canal and the pain pill my dentist gave me interferred with my lithium. I got extremely depressed/suicidal ideation from it.
I was fortunate that the dentist caught it and told me to not take the pain pills. She is a good person..
5.Most of my meds take about 6 weeks to start working.
6. I don't know about stopping the med cocktail I am on, I think that would be a disaster. It's a catch 22, I hate taking them but I need them to live.
Thank you
Elavil (generic name Amitriptyline) was my first anti-depressant I started at 25mg by the time I stopped taking it I was taking 150mg. I experience weight gain and that is the reason I stopped taking it. Since I have been off, I am back to my preferred weight. I was on it for about four years.
Zoloft generic name (Sertraline) is what they put me on next, but my behavior was extreme and I came off it after a couple of weeks.
Paxil (generic name Paroxetine ) was the next anti-depressant prescribed to me and I had no problems with it I have been taking Paxil for 5 years. There were times I stop taking it and nothing happen. My doctors decided to put me on Cymbalta 2 years ago because it was good for depression and neuropathic pain. I experienced lost of appetite, dizziness, tiredness, and night sweating. The side effects went away at one time, but they came back. I also would skip days at a time with no complications. I came off Cymbalta this summer because the sweating became worse.
Instead of giving me Paxil because I know how I function on Paxil. My doctors wanted me to try Lexapro (generic name Escitalopram). After a week of trying Lexapro, I wanted off, the side effects of feeling as I was loosing my mind and having suicidal thoughts was too much to handle. I am now taking Paxil again.
When it comes to meds as individuals, we must do what is best. It is wise to carefully pay attention to how you feel when you are on a medication and know for yourself if it is good for YOU. Remember no one knows your body like yourself.
As to how long it takes the medication to take effect I believe it depends on the individual and how long you can tolerate the drowsiness and dizziness that usually happens when you first start taking anti-depressant. Personally, for me I experience the drowsiness and dizziness for the first three days when I start new anti-depressants. Side effects that I closely monitor are the change of behavior, increase anxiety, and irrational thoughts. If they persist more than a couple of days I stop taking the medication, so far nothing drastic has happened to me from stopping immediately rather than tapering off.
Anti-depressants are not the only medications that can cause sexual dysfunction. To keep it real…SEX is very important and there are times when sex is the best medicine when the body feels like crap. As far as sexual function there are times I definitely do not want it, but I push pass those feelings because it is unfair to my husband. Thankfully, he respects my feelings when I do not want to be intimate. When I push beyond the times I do not want sex, I actually feel good in more ways than just sexual gratification. I also feel as if I defeated depression for the moment or MS symptoms which ever is the culprit that mentally makes me believe I do not want intimacy.
i am so very appreciative of all your comments...you all went out of your way to carefully explain everything. i am slowly digesting all of this.
Hi, Merelyme.
I was given 20mg of Fluoxetine (Prozac) when I first sought medical help in Dec 2006 after 10 relapses of severe depression in the last 20 years. I experienced dry mouth and constant waking up in the night. Thankfully, after just 1 week, I felt a little better and was more functional. I was not totally well but lifted up to a more functional level and able to work and benefit from counsellings. My doctor said I am one of the fortunate few who could experience the effect of Prozac just after 1 week. She said I am very sensitive to medication.
I was on Prozac for 3 months when some happy events happened in my life and suddenly I turned manic. I slept only 3 hours mostly and was up in the early mornings developing my website to share with others God's goodness to me. That went on for almost 2 weeks and I nearly collapsed out of sheer exhaustion!
When I went back to my doctor, she took me off Prozac immediately, and said I am prone to bipolar and cannot just take anti-depressant on its own as I will turn manic at times. So she started me on Quetiapine 25mg (Seroquel) and Lamotrigine 25mg (Lamictal). My Lamictal has been increased to 100mg over the last 1 year++.
Lamictal is a mood-stabiliser just like Lithium but it is newer and with lesser side effect. My doctor said I will need to be on Lamictal lifelong as it will help to stabilise my moods. Thankfully I didn't suffer from any rashes which is one of the side effect of Lamictal. So far I can't remember any side effects from Lamictal and Seroquel. I take them before bedtime and they help me to sleep.
Whenever I am down with severe depression I need to start with 20mg of Prozac for about 7 to 10 days, then I will be better and able to use other means such as exercise, counsellings, reduce stress and strain, etc. During a recent relapse in July 2007, another doctor started me on 10mg of Prozac on alternate morning because he feared I will turn manic. But for 1 month, I didn't get well, still very depressed. I went back to my previous doctor and she immediately up my Prozac to 20mg daily for 10 days. Again, after just 1 week, I was better and lifted up to a level I could function. Now I know that whenever I am severely depressed, I need to start with 20mg of Prozac for 7 to 10 days.
Recently, I joined a ladies Gym near my home. I do briskwalkings on treadmill for 45 mins and some weight training. A week or so later, again I turned manic. I stopped my Prozac immediately. I read that sometimes regular vigorous exercise can work like anti-depressant to some people or depending on the severity of the depression. Now I am off Prozac, and have been doing regular work-out at the Gym for 2 months. I am still a little manic. I also go for long walks at the beach and gardens.
Take care! Regards, Nancie
hmmm...see...this is what i fear a bit...i do want to try something but i wonder if i will become manic. i honestly do not think i have bipolar disorder...one would know right?
Merelyme,
My personal dealings with people who are bipolar is that they had a pretty good idea they were when they were diagnosed. This is for adults though, not teens and children.
What confuses most people I have met are the diagnoses bipolar one and two, or NOS. I tell them it doesn't matter, the important thing is to get stable so the ups and downs don't occur so much and you can have a shot at living. I know so many people who have come into our DBSA meeting thinking they aren't real bipolar because they were diagnosed bipolar 2 or NOS.
The ones I can remember (I'm sure I'm missing a couple) and in no particular order: Prozac, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Lamictal, Depakote (the last two are not normally used for depression but they were given to me anyway).
1. Each one for different amounts of time due to effectiveness etc. Usually more than six months.
2. Weight gain and with the Prozac the inability to have an orgasm.
3. I never did. Been on meds all my life for allergies so I'm good at taking pills.
4. I'm sure there are/were but there was no negative ineraction with anything I was currently taking.
5. At least two weeks.
6. NEVER just go off an anti-depressant. You must always wean yourself off.
From what I read, you will not turn manic if you are not bipolar. I didn't know I am bipolar because whenever I am well or hypomania, I thought I am normal. What I can recall more are the 10 or so severe depression episodes over the last 20 years as they are so unbearable. I didn't know that it can be treated. I felt so ashamed of myself and dare not tell many people about. Those that I shared with have little knowledge of depression and consequently little sympathy for me. They used to chide me for my weaknesses and being so emotional and sensitive. I used to hate myself. My depression usually lasts for 3 to 6 months or more, and it is day in day out, night in night out.
My depression episodes became more and more frequent in the last few years, and more and more unbearable. I find it harder to fight the suicidal temptations and just wish I could die soon and don't have to wake up in the morning. That was what prompted me to seek medical help.
The anti-depressant did work for me by lifting me up to a functional level. At first the Doctor thought I suffer from Major Depressions s I only recounted my depression episodes to her. The Doctor finally changed my diagnosis to bipolar when after 3 months of being on anti-depressant, I suddenly went manic when I was better and some happy things happened in my life. I couldn't sleep much for some two weeks or so, didn't feel tired or the urge to sleep, slept mostly only 3 hours every night, have racing thoughts, was at my computer busy typing out my thoughts and feelings to share with my friends, writing long emails (just like what I am doing now), talked very fast so much so that people around me noticed it and have to ask me to slow down.
It was then that I realized that even when I am well, I am actually a little on the hypomania side as I do have most of the manic symptoms then but in lesser degrees. And as I think of it even without medication, I have experienced mania in the past, though not as high as last year and not every day for weeks.
Sorry I didn't comment earlier. Over a ten-year-period, I took 25 different medications in different dosages and combinations.
I was sick for six straight years with so many mind-numbing side effects that it defies description.
But I'll vote for my worst medication, which was Abilify. With only a small dosage, I felt so terrible that I couldn't breathe. And Geodon, which produced suicidal ideation. The only drug that works for me at all is Adderall, which is a stimulant and certainly not a good choice for most people.
I'm only sorry that I didn't realize that medications--even for those people for whom they work--are only one small part of a wellness program.
Susan
Hi Merelyme, Every time I recovered from an episode of depression, I cherish life and the people around me better. Though depression is awful and painful beyond words, every surviving experience is enriching for me and I grow a little each time, though I also died a little each time :-)
I have just recovered from an episode of severe depression that started in July 2007, got worst around Sept 2007 and Oct 2007, and now finally better and a little hypomanic. I am writing on the blessings I derive from my depressions and hypomania. Would you like to drop by and share some of the blessings you derive after surviving a depressive episode or even from your MS experiences? I am learning to find something positive from my experiences so that I can grow and be useful from those experiences. Take care and have a nice day. Regards, Nancie
Post a Comment