Posted by BarbaraCat on May 22, 2002, at 15:29:26
In reply to Re: SCARED TO DEATH to take this med..HELP!!!! » crazychickuk, posted by Jewele on May 22, 2002, at 9:54:52
Jewele,
Hi and sorry you're feeling so bad with Sarafem (just Zoloft targeted to us little female units). I experienced something similar to you and may have some helpful suggestions for you. First of all, I was on Zoloft for about 6 years, off and on. I stopped periodically during this time because it was deadening my emotions and besides, it would just stop working and the depression would break through. EVERY time I restarted even on a teeny amount, I'd get panic attacks, crying jags and feel horrible. I'd have to white-knuckle it for about 3 weeks until those effects dimished. When it started pooping out, my clueless doctors would increase the dosage and the panic cycle would start all over again. They should have at least put me on an anti-anxiety med, but that would have only temporarily helped.What I've found out since then (entirely due to this board and through further research) is that these kinds of reactions to antidepressants (panic/hypomania at onset, pooping out, anxiety, non-responding to different kinds), are typical of Bipolar II disorder rather than unipolar depression. In Bipolar II, antidepressants alone will cause high and low cycling and will make things worse. You have to take a mood stabiliser along with your AD (sometimes the mood stabiliser alone is enough).
Adding a mood stabiliser, such as lithium, depakote, lamictal, neurontin, has worked wonders for many of us here, myself included. I now take lithium along with Remeron. The Lithium has made all the difference for me. It literally saved my life.
The fact that you had postpartum panic attacks is another red flag for Bipolar II disorder - same thing happened to me. If indeed you do have BPII then taking another kind of antidepressant is not going to do it - ultimately they all fail. Most doctors don't see us frequently enough and are too busy to think about our cases adequately. If I were you, I'd ask for a diagnostic reevaluation and possible trial with a stabiliser.
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:3323
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107308.html