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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Crazy Mommy on April 9, 2007, at 20:48:11
Just came across this site today & thought it was great. Hopefully some of you have had the same problems as me & can help me get myself straightened out!
Alrighty, I have been taking Prozac for about 6 years. Started taking it for post-partum depression. Well, I decided that since my yougest was 1 1/2 that I shouldn't need it anymore and decided to get off of it. Big Mistake!!! Although I have a great life (great marriage, kids, new house, etc...) I went into a very deep depression that had me at a psychatrist within a month. So, we decided to go back on the Prozac, this time at a higher doseage & start looking for something to go with it to help with my being sleepy ALL THE TIME. Well, since I have a family history of ADD & I show some of the symptoms, he decided to put me on Adderol XR. I took it for about a month and hated it. Made my heart race, wasn't helping me focus or get things done what so ever, made me feel like my body was out of control. So, he switched me to regular Adderol that I took twice daily. Symptoms got even worse. I actually picked my fingernails back to where they were bleeding and he thinks it made me develop some sort of OCD. SOOOOO...he took me off the Adderol and put me on Provigil (anti-narcolepsy medication). I was still just as sleepy. I take about 2 naps a day & I am a stay at home mommy of 3 kids 6 and under. Not good! Well, after about 2 weeks of that he switched me to Focalin, which to my understanding falls into the Ritalin famliy. I have been on this for about a week & I HATE it! My heart is racing & I feel out of control again. Still took 2 naps today & I can't wait to go to bed!
Here's some of the rundown of my journey:
*ran lots of bloodwork & everything came back normal. no anemia, thyroid problems, etc..
*I have insomnia & am a very light sleeper with a snoring husband
*Have an amazing new house that is not unpacked after 5 months, always a mess, never in order. I have no desire to get up and take care of anything. Basically, the kids are taken care of & thats all I can do.
*It takes me hours to get ready to go to the grocery store, dr's appt's, etc...
I find a million little stupid things I have to do before I can leave the house.
*No longer want to go out or hang out with my friendsI'm sure I'm forgetting things, but that is all that comes to mind at the moment. I don't really feel unhappy or depressed anymore since I got back on the Prozac...but I have to get the rest of my life back. I love being a mom & a wife & a homemaker...but right now I am really sucking at it all! It is embarrasing!
Posted by karen_kay on April 10, 2007, at 13:46:17
In reply to New + need help!, posted by Crazy Mommy on April 9, 2007, at 20:48:11
hey you! you sound a whole lot like me!!! could your problem be anxiety dear? that's what seeems to be bothering me. it could be a combo of depression with anxiety, but anxiety is a big problem for me. it makes me oftentimes unable to get things done. i have to do things before i can 'do' things, you know? can't cook before i clean the dishes. can't clean the dishes before i clean the kitchen. can't clean the dishes before i do teh laundry. the list goes on and on.
then again, i have no formal training at this. i could jsut be crazy too!! or, i could have gotten all thsi cleaning stuff from my mother. but, when my anxiety level is up, i find it's true with things other than cleaning as well. like getting dressed (trying on several outfits, doing and redoing makeup, ect)
but, unlike me, there are many, many, many people ehre who are of great help. and i want to welcome you to babble. perhaps your best approach would be to talk with your pdoc again and explain in detail all of your symptoms . (oh, pdoc is your doctor, psychiatrist, that is. you'll pick up on the lingo after a while and if you don't knwo what something means, feel free to ask :)
so, feel free to wonder around. and this question may get more replies on the psychobabble page, which is the regular meds page dear. you'll more than likely get tons and tons of really smart replies there that'll point you in the right direction.
take care and i hope you have a good time here, learn a lot, and help people along the way.
have the best day of your life!
kk
Posted by crenshaw387 on April 27, 2007, at 5:41:35
In reply to Re: New + need help! » Crazy Mommy, posted by karen_kay on April 10, 2007, at 13:46:17
perhaps u might benefit from wellbutrin... it is used for ADD and depression and is a stimulant but nowhere near as strong as adderall... i also didnt like adderall... or ritalin for that matter... both made me feel jittery and weird and didnt help concentration but dexedrine does very well...
Posted by Worry Girl on June 26, 2007, at 19:56:37
In reply to New + need help!, posted by Crazy Mommy on April 9, 2007, at 20:48:11
Welcome...
Hope I don't scare you with this long post. I just can so relate to your situation.
I'm new, too, in the sense that I hadn't really started posting again until about 2 months ago. My youngest was about 1 1/2, I think, when I first joined PB.
You sound like me back then, and even still now at times. Way back, it was like I just had a hard time coping with everything. I was equally overwhelmed and bored by motherhood and was in denial about longing for the freedom that I once enjoyed.
Part of the problem could be from sleep deprivation - if you are experiencing insomnia that makes a HUGE difference in your mood. I, too, suffered from it along with the snoring husband who didn't quite get why I was in a nastier mood than he was when I had to get up in the middle of the night once I had FINALLY gone to sleep.
I, too, had a beautiful house that I could not seem to keep in order, while all of the neighbors around me kept theirs impeccable (no exaggeration here). I didn't want anyone coming to my house because I was embarrassed at how untidy it was compared to theirs (not that they were beating down my door anyway!). I finally got a housekeeper to come once a month to do the really heavy deep cleaning and I was even embarrassed at what they would think!
I do believe that anxiety was and always has been at the root of everything. If I had a touch of post-partum, the anxiety just made it worse. My social anxiety tripled during that time and I felt judged by everyone. To make matters worse, at the time I lived in an area where the people did tend to be quite judgmental, catty and competitive. So I obviously didn't enjoy taking hours to get ready to go out and face that.
Moving two years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me. I still have anxiety, but not so bad as it was during that time. My heart goes out to you, because I know how challenging this time of your life must be.
I used to think I was bipolar, but I realize now, that depression was rarely ever the problem. What seemed like mania was actually intensified anxiety and as an adult, it has reared its ugly head hardest in me right after giving birth to my second child, and living in an area where I felt like I didn't belong.
I was on everything from Depakote to Wellbutrin a few years ago. I have to say Wellbutrin probably worked the best, but it left my hands trembling so I looked like an alcoholic with my bloodshot eyes (from lack of sleep no less!) when I went out in public. But it did lift my mood and I felt that I got a lot more done when I was on it. Maybe it could help you?
BTW, Depakote was the worst. I gained weight (not good when trying to overcome an eating disorder and trying to lose post-partum baby weight). I wanted to sleep and eat all the time and had no motivation for anything else. Zoloft made me feel spacey and disconnected.
I took a friend's Adderol once and it made my heart race but at the same time strangely calm. The feeling scared me enough that I never took it again.
Currently I am not on medication. I slowly weaned myself off a few years ago and often wonder if I shouldn't return to something. I relieve much of my anxiety with exercise and taking flaxseed oil and various supplements. But when that feeling comes on strong enough, only a Xanax will do.
If it makes you feel better, almost every new mom I know says that it takes forever to do anything when you have a little one still in diapers. This, too, will pass, although it may not seem like it now. Now that mine are a lot more self-sufficient it takes away so much stress.
I wish you the best and truly care. I hope you find what works for you.
This is the end of the thread.
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