Posted by hildi on September 23, 2002, at 19:47:45
In reply to Re: Is Ativan better than Klonopin? » hildi, posted by BarbaraCat on September 20, 2002, at 19:02:36
> Dear Hildi,
> I really feel for you. It sounds like you've hit the bottom and it's so scary there. I sure know it well. I've had 'depression' for lack of a better word, for most of my life and the dark places a person can descend to are really quite amazing. If I ever have enough presence of mind and energy I'd love to write a book or two. Stephen King is retiring from writing and I can easily take over for him.
>
> I'm actually doing very well on my current regime. Down to 12 mg of Remeron from my high of 90 and will stay there because it's working better than at the higher dosages. I'm seeing a naturopath and am on intense therapies and a Zone-based diet. I've been researching new theories on the 'why' of what I've been feeling - depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, crazy. Been finding out alot of interesting things having to do with reactive hypoglycemia, hormones of all kinds, pH balance, and how interrelated body/brain systems are and how hormones are the links. It's fitting together many disparate pieces of the puzzle and I have greater hope now than I have had in many years. It all seems to depend on diet to balance our biochemistries -- in ways few of us are aware of. I've been following the ideas as well as I can and am feeling very much better.
>
> In the meantime, you need relief. I should remember your dx but I don't. I know I've been helped with taking neurontin and lorezapam at the same time. I know I need a mood stabilizer and neurontin seems to help and be relatively benign. Someone on this board recently said that he was prescibed Adderall for bipolar II, which is very weird, but it helped him within a day. Sometimes our diagnoses dictate our treatments and it turns out our diagnosis is all wrong. I didn't do well on ADs alone and adding lithium and neurontin seemed to be the ticket, although nothing really helped all the way. Would you mind telling me your symptoms and the meds you've been on? Also if you have any physical health issues. I feel your pain from the bottom of my heart and know the desparation and despair first-hand. If I can gain relief from this nighmare, anyone can. It may not last, but I thank God while it does! Please reply when you feel up to it and hang in there, baby. - BarbaraCatHi Barbara. I didn't mean the last message to be short, nor this one. But right now I'm on limited time again.
Right now I am actually feeling OK- guess what ? The xanax is actually helping with the anxiety and I am not feeling tired or out of control like I did before, on ativan or klonopin. Maybe I just should have given those other two more time, but I felt wierd and had the feeling xanax might actually be better for me, and it turned out to be OK, so far at least.
I am taking 25 mg zoloft, 6.6 mg prozac, and 25mg xanax (3 times day for the xanax). I planned on either dropping the prozac or the zoloft when I start to finally feel better, but the last couple of days have been nearly "OK' so I am scared to change anything.
All the physical symptoms I have experienced are too many to mention now, but let me just say that I suspected hormones, then endocrine imbalance, blood sodium levels off, etc. .. and also hypogylcemia -some of these due to the meds,too!
Anyway, I definately have the hypogycemia, but that is the least of my worries. Everything else checked out fine medically and I was very surprized. I think the higher dose of zoloft (that I used to be on) really made me sick, so as soon as my serotonin levels go back up I want to stay on a low dose regimine, a very low dose along with a benzo.
I remember feeling like crude after taking prozac for a while, when I first started taking ad's, so this confirms that after a while the levels build up in my blood/body and I need less, not more.
I definately think I have ADD in addition to major depression and HUGE anxiety d/o. I am interested in trying something for this, but that will come later.
Anyway, I gotta go for now-more later.
Tell me more about this zone diet when you have the chance. I am becoming very interested in food choices and food combining.
Hildi
poster:hildi
thread:76145
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020922/msgs/120868.html