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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Donzi on December 4, 2008, at 13:07:41
I am a male in upper 30's married with 2 kids. No financial or family problems. I had episode 2 years ago. Doctor gave me lexapro. Had lost 40lb, no appetite, could not get out of bed, et.. That first dosage raised my anxiety to levels that i thought would kill me. Neighbor had Ativan that saved me. Tied Lexapro for several weeks, but continued loss of appetite, increased anxiety, bad bowels made me stop. Continued with low dosage of Klonopin. Then I weaned myself off of that and felt "ok" until now. Been off of everything for 1 year, then it comes back. NO appetite, losing 2lbs week, can not get out of bed, nightmares, negative thoughts all day, etc.... Went to doctor and he wants me to try lexapro again. He did give me Klonopin. Taking .5 at night and .5 during day if needed. Makes me feel drugged, but still no appetite and still feel like sh*t. Any suggestions or diagnosis from some that have been through similar situations? I am functioning, but feels like I could lose my sh*t any time. Thanks for any advice. The SSRI' scared the sh*t out of me last time, but I am having same "side effects" now and NOT on ANYTHING.
Posted by Nadezda on December 4, 2008, at 21:04:01
In reply to Advice Needed!, posted by Donzi on December 4, 2008, at 13:07:41
Hi, Donzi.
Did you ask him to recommend either a different SSRI, or another type of anti-depressant?
If you did, what was his reason for not trying something else? You might respond better to another SSRI, or, if not, what about Wellbutrin, or one of the SNRIs like Effexor or Cymbalta? there are some other things, too, which he could also try.
Maybe he doesn't realize how badly you responded to the Lexapro. It might be worth emphasizing that it's important to you to try something that you felt more positive about-- and also something that wouldn't necessitate the klonopin.
If you're interested in the other options, you could look through the Medication section of Psychobabble. There are posts from people who've taken lots of different anti-depressants and combinations of anti-depressants, which might give you more encouragement to ask.
Meanwhile, welcome to Babble. I hope you can find some answers to your questions.
Nadezda
Posted by Racer on December 6, 2008, at 11:33:17
In reply to Advice Needed!, posted by Donzi on December 4, 2008, at 13:07:41
Welcome to Babble!
I'm going to echo Nadezda's very good advice: let your doctor know that Lexapro was not your friend.
Lexapro is often the first drug prescribed, especially by general practitioners. It's the newest of the SSRIs, and it was formulated to provide the most benefits with the fewest side effects -- in theory. And that theory is good, and it works very well for many people. It simply does not work for all people. For some reason that no one fully understands yet, people can respond very, very differently to these medications -- even within the same class, some people will have wildly differing responses. (I get far worse on Lexapro, and have fewer side effects with Zoloft, for example, which many other people cannot tolerate -- mileage really varies.)
The advice I'd love to see you take is to see a specialist. A psychiatrist skilled in psychopharmacology will have far more experience in prescribing medications, and can shave a lot of time off the search for the optimal medication. A good relationship with your GP, though, is often enough to get a good result. The key is to ask questions -- "Why are you choosing this medication?" "How long should I be on it before we decide to make a change?" "If it doesn't work, what's the next choice?" etc.
It's hard to say, from what you've written, what exactly is going on. If you were someone close to me, I'd offer the following advice, in this order:
Find a good psychopharmacologist.
See a psychotherapist to try to get a better handle on what's going on -- any environmental or situational factors involved, helpful behavioral interventions, etc.
Have a complete physical, complete with full blood chemistry. (This is my own soapbox -- I've told my doctor, "When one of my animals develops a new behavioral problem, the first thing I do is take him/her to the vet to be checked nose to tail. I don't assume it's behavioral until I've had the physical ruled out. I think I deserve the same level of care I insist on for my animals -- even though it's harder to get into vet school than med school. And I've chosen doctors who aren't insulted when I say that, so it works out nicely!) Make sure there's not something physical going on.
And just a personal observation: I've found that forcing myself to get out of bed and get dressed helps me a lot. I may get up, get dressed without a shower, and then spend the rest of the day lying on the sofa under a quilt -- but the psychological benefits I get from getting out of bed and into clothes every single day really help.
I wish you the very best, and hope this has been helpful to you.
Posted by JadeKelly on December 8, 2008, at 12:50:20
In reply to Advice Needed!, posted by Donzi on December 4, 2008, at 13:07:41
> I am a male in upper 30's married with 2 kids. No financial or family problems.
Well at least there's that, it helps a great to not have those things to worry about.
I had episode 2 years ago. Doctor gave me lexapro. Had lost 40lb, no appetite, could not get out of bed, et.. That first dosage raised my anxiety to levels that i thought would kill me. Neighbor had Ativan that saved me. Tied Lexapro for several weeks, but continued loss of appetite, increased anxiety, bad bowels made me stop. Continued with low dosage of Klonopin. Then I weaned myself off of that and felt "ok" until now.
How long did first episode last? I'm assuming no mania in between or Doc/family would have known?
Been off of everything for 1 year, then it comes back. NO appetite, losing 2lbs week, can not get out of bed, nightmares, negative thoughts all day, etc....
I have those same symptoms. If apathy/numbness show up too, i'd be very aggressive about treatment. The longer this goes on, the harder to treat, for me anyway.
Went to doctor and he wants me to try lexapro again.
I wouldn't even consider it, again just my opinion.
He did give me Klonopin. Taking .5 at night and .5 during day if needed. Makes me feel drugged, but still no appetite and still feel like sh*t. Any suggestions or diagnosis from some that have been through similar situations?
I'm in similar situation (same symptoms almost verbatim, except I'm not functioning, apathy), have been for over 2 years.
I am functioning, but feels like I could lose my sh*t any time. Thanks for any advice. The SSRI' scared the sh*t out of me last time, but I am having same "side effects" now and NOT on ANYTHING.
Side effects or symptoms? I'd still stay away from SSRI till you see psychopharm (if it were me)
My advice, and that's all it is, don't waste the time I did waiting for it to pass, taking meds you CLEARLY can't tolerate, and trusting that your Doc will have all the answers. If you research your illness now, you could cut a lot of time off your depression, IMHO. For me, there's a difference between some side effects you can tolerate, and "raised my anxiety to levels I thought would kill me". Thats how I feel on SSri's. I would try different type of A/D this time.
Also agree with previous posters. Find good Psychopharm, yesterday, and make appt. Asap. Depression is so hard to treat sometimes, skip Doc and PDoc, and go straight to Psychopharmacist.
Get all tests done, etc., asap as well. I wish I had.Good luck!
~Jade
Posted by Donzi on December 8, 2008, at 21:20:59
In reply to Re: Advice Needed! » Donzi, posted by JadeKelly on December 8, 2008, at 12:50:20
Thanks for comments. This is new to me, except for that experience 2 years ago. I have not gone to Doctor other than regular practitioner. I did go to specialist 2 years ago. I was not impressed. He was willing to do whatever I suggested. He said he had easiest job in the world. Prescribe medication and wait to see what happens. He gave me a script for 100 Xanax with 6 refills. I was scared of that, so I trashed it. I kinda went on my own and for the most part, got better. Then now. something seems to be nawing at me. I have not taken any of the Klonopin in 3 days. Seems "ok". Little better appetite and fairly functional. Not sure if it is depression or anxiety. If I think of something negative, it builds on itself. Comes on hard, then leaves. Some days feel quite normal. I seem to OVER worry about stuff than normal people should not worry about. What if one of my kids get cancer, what if my wife gets sick, what if I do not get better, what if I lose my job, etc... BTW, I am a very Type A personality. I want everything done my way, correct, and on time. I would like to think I could correct this myself, but not sure which way to go. By reading the forum here, it seems that the AD's have not "fixed" many people on this board or maybe these are the 10-20% that did not get better and the other 80% quits posting?? I want to know all I can before I jump on a drug roller coaster ride that never ends.
Posted by Donzi on December 8, 2008, at 21:25:52
In reply to Re: Advice Needed!, posted by Nadezda on December 4, 2008, at 21:04:01
One more thing. The side effects I was experiencing when I started the Lexapro 2 years ago are the same stuff I have experienced lately. So I am not completely sure that the Lexapro caused all the problems. Could have been bad timing. The doctor sent me home with horrible anxiety and Lexapro. I understand that lexapro can cause high anxiety in the first few days. Like adding gas to fire. I think he should have sedated me for a day or two.
Posted by JadeKelly on December 9, 2008, at 2:57:18
In reply to Re: Advice Needed!, posted by Donzi on December 8, 2008, at 21:20:59
Hi again,
Couple things, I noticed a big difference in your desciptions of last episode, and this one. From personal experience, it is unlikely (not impossible) that you came out of a biological bedridden depression into a year of remission, without help. Did you say you tried anxiety med of any kind other than the Lexapro?
Your next post points more towards a behavioral type issue "type A" personality that may benefit from therapy of some kind, CBT would be a choice that comes to mind. I imagine with all that you are worried about, you're under a lot of stress. This could cause many problems for you. In addition, did you say that you d/c'd your klonopin for 3 days? How long have you been taking it and what dose? Check with your Doc, but abruptly discontinuing Klonopin can be dangerous, (not to mention cause you some pretty uncomfortable side effects). The taper should equal 10% per week according to my Doc. So please check with yours asap. If you decide to go the med route, you will find many knowledgable posters on the med board. I would then move your thread there.
Hope you feel better!
~Jade
Posted by Donzi on December 9, 2008, at 9:18:44
In reply to Re: Advice Needed! » Donzi, posted by JadeKelly on December 9, 2008, at 2:57:18
I only tried Lexapro last time. I felt horrible and blamed it on Lexapro, but may have felt like that anyway since i have similar symptoms now. My doctor gave me script for Klon 2 weeks ago. Helps some but afraid i may get addicted. Regardless, it did not fix problem. Current symptoms are feel horrible in morning hard to get out of bed, loss of appetite, worry, can not wait to get home, do not want to be around other people, try to do other stuff, but can not. Fuzzy head and generally feel like sh*t. Have had all blood work done, head scan, thyroid checked, colonoscopy. All checked fine. Diagnosis?
This is the end of the thread.
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