Antidepressants

[crystalkk]

Hi guys,

I was just wandering what anyone's expreince was will finding the right antidepressant.

I tried paxil, made me feel very sick, nausea, lost of appitite, severe dizziness, room was spinning.
I tried cymbalta, it did the same thing.
I tried lexipro, it did the same thing.

Any suggestions?
thanks
cyrstalkk

 

[ltr]

Hi Crystal - I have had the same problem....they all cause me to have serotonin reaction, speedly like, racing heart, etc. Jamie said that he had to try numerous ones until he found the right one. All you can do is keep trying them and try to change the "family" of medication. And Cymbalta made me feel like a wet noodle! Good luck.

 

[Jamiet]

I can relate, i went thru them all...and again, most of the doctors told me wellbutrin would not work, it had too many side effects...well, that was the one for me.

Try Wellbutrin...it did the trick for me and it's not like the others. it's the oldest and the best according to my psych. I take the Wellbutrin XL 300 mg, i take the Non-Generic, it's better than the generic.

Well, i hope you are married or have a good boyfriend, becuase the real side effect is increased libido...:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

good day.

 

[crystalkk]

Hi Leslie,

Guess you gave up and aren't taken any as well.
I am takeing ativan for anxiety.
I believe I read before Jamie is taking Wellibuterin.

How are you feeling, are the steriods working?
Have they found out what caused the myopathy?
How are your reflexes?
My dr keeps telling me that it is too early for a muscle biopsy if nothing is showing on my emg.
I will wait a little longer, and then I am going to insist.

thanks, crystalkk

 

[Cornelia]

some anti depressants loose their side affects after about 3 weeks. I know 3 weeks
is a long time. I think there are some anti-depressants that are not serotonin uptake
inhibitors. Good Luck Cornelia

 

[crystalkk]

Hi jamie,

I was just replying to Leslie, and told her I believe you are taking wellbuterin.

From what I was told most of them decrease your libido.
I am married with 2 children.
An increased libido sounds good.

thanks, crystalkk

 

[ltr]

crystal - I have progressed even on the steroids. I now have hand atrophy. The muscle cramps and twitching is pretty bad. But, it's hard to tell if I feel better than before. I think I may have more energy than before the steroids. My legs are very thin, I trip, you know all the junk that goes with this stuff. They haven't found what has caused the myopathy, but a couple of the neuros think it is from antiphospholipid antibody syndrome which I had come back positive, then negative, then positive....so who knows. I feel that if they could get to the bottom of why we could fix it a lot better. My reflexes have changed numerous times, sometimes hyper, sometimes hypo, sometimes gone. My case proves it isn't too early for a muscle biopsy. I don't know, but try.

 

[Lorie]

Prozac

Tim Is On Prozac, It's Helping Him. Along With Valium When Needed And Xanax When He Is Highly Aggitated!

I Am On Paxil, It Has Not Bothered Me. It Takes Atleast 2 Weeks For These Med's. To Get Into Your System And The Side Effects Lessen Or Go Away.



Lorie

 

[nspoc]

Hi All-

Jamie is right ( as usual) -Wellbutrin is not an SSRI, so side effect profile is different. One thing to remember - you have to taper off most of these meds, especially Paxil, or you can really feel VERY sick.

That said - some people can also tolerate Effexor, which has 2 mechanisms, one of which is an SSRI. It is one of the few drugs where the side effects go down as the dose increases - because the other mechanism takes over for the SSRI.

Give Wellbutrin a try, because often those who do not tolerate any SSRI's can tolerate this med. You have tried 3 different SSRI's with the same result, now might be a good time to switch classes of drugs. There is also a much older classification of drugs which are as effective as the current antidepressants: tricyclics. Elavil is one, Tofranil is another. Often these drugs are given in small doses to PALS to decrease secretions. They also have their side effects, but are worth a try.

After all of these drug problems - I hope you see an actual psychiatrist. Most MD's don't know what to do after the 1st one does not work, and they are often afraid to go up on the dose. Also - they are MUCH less likely to be up on the interactions of Psych meds.

Lorie -

Valium and ZANAX are variants of the same medication - the Benzodiazepine family. Do not ever give him both drugs. I cannot see why he has been prescribed both, unless by 2 different doctors who do not know about each other. These both relieve anxiety and aggression, but depress breathing. You MUST be very careful with those. Other drugs in the same class are Clonazepam and Lorazepam. Many of our PALS get a liquid formulation of Lorazepam for choking episodes. None of these should ever be mixed with each other or alcohol.

By the way - I take Prozac, the oldest of the SSRI's and it works well for me. It is a terrible problem of trial and error. Please stick with it, and keep trying.

Last point - SSRI's are one of the best drugs for anxiety - but they take a long time to work for anxiety,work a little quicker for depression. Valium, etc. work on anxiety, as well, but research is showing a very good effect from SSRI's and they are not lethal or addictive.

Good luck - Beth

 

[Sammantha]

antidepressants

I finally would let my doc prescribe me a antidepressant as i am not depressed but do have a lot of anxiety............. I take klonopin for the anxiety and apparantly it makes you feel groggy or slow.... So he thought Lexipro would be better. Well it made me yawn huge terrible yawns that gave me severe jaw and cheek muscle pain! Then i started to shake like a leaf and went into a deep depression, then i had a panic attack. I have not had a panick attack in over twenty years! As soon as i stopped taking the pills i was back to my normal self... Yes i have bad anxiety and the klonopin works for that with minimal side effects, and yes i get emotional easily but i try to control it myself by knowing that it is not warranted..... I am scared to try any new medications... Does anyone know why an antidepressant would cause the exact opposite reaction in some people!?

 

[janf]

welbutrinxl works great with no side affects and i'm on lose dose paxil which helps the crying.jan

 

[LeoGreene]

Remeron

I found that Remeron, which was recommended by someone with Hospice, not only lifted the depression, but also increased my appetite and raised my energy.

 

[Omar]

I had been on Cipralex and Xanax for 3 months and didn't notice any side effect.

 

[crystalkk]

Hi Sam,
happy to hear your panic attacks are gone
When is your next emg with als doctor.
You are in my prayers.
They do tell you in the side affects that it can cause the opposite reaction.
I don't know why though.

crystalkk

 

[CindyM]

Hi Leo- great tip about the Remeron. Hope all is well with you. It is always nice to hear from one of our PALS after an absence of any length. Cindy