Posted by Krissy P on March 19, 2003, at 23:54:26
In reply to Meds and all that jazz, posted by BarbaraCat on March 19, 2003, at 23:33:36
ah so much to say about this topic. My docs have always paid attention to diets. I learned a long time ago that if it's to be-it's up to me and when people relaize this-life is good. I took a lot of meds tonight-I hate them right now and wonder if I will ever be able to function without them-probably not-I tried-and that gets me down. Yeah, things could always be worse-but they can always be better too. Diet is important yes, but some people can't be perfect and to think otherwise, is ignorant. Sure, you can put shitty fuel in your car and it runs right? Put in a cookie instead of an apple in your body and yeah, you still run. Whatever we eat, we will die anyway. A lot of people have eaten terrible, smoked cigars or the like, and lived to be over 100-so what makes us any different????
Sometimes when a person does everyting in their power to live a happy, productive, so-called perfect life, it just doesn't happen-this isn't negativity-this is reality PERIOD. We don't have to brood about what may be, but we have to plan-if we don't, then we can choose or not, to suffer the consequences.
I am 32, my periods were always regular and just dandy-when I started these meds, I gained weight, and my periods went amuck-that pisses me off. Yes, female hormones have a TREMENDOUS amout of influence on us women and I am really getting sick of the docs out there that don't address that. Some of yours may-but I had 2 laparoscopies, endometriosis, and the doc hit an artery, and I almost died. Do any of you think that I had any control over that? Nope I don't feel I did.
Meds, controversy, some docs' ignorance, life, hormones, weight, fuel...........and all that jazz...............................................................................................................................................> Dear Y'all,
> Well, hope I can put some of my experience to good use. I'm probably BP-II rather than major depressive disorder as I thought for 25 years. Have had classic hypomanic symptoms that were a giveaway, but the clearest symptoms have been my non-responsiveness to SSRI's. There's a great book called "Why your depression isn't getting better" that clued me into why SSRI's made things worse for me and why I needed a mood stabilizer. Hence, lithium.
>
> It has been a very mild benign drug. I'm only taking 600mg vs the usual 1200mg 'therapeutic window dose'. The only noticeable side effects were some hand tremors at the beginning. More disturbing was the negative thyroid effects. I was already hypothyroid and that can cause depression, weight gain, muscle pain in it's own right. But lithium competes with thyroxin at the receptor site and can cause exacerbation of hypothyroidism. I've been taking more thyroid med and it's been helping, but I worry about long-term problems.
>
> Even so, without lithium I start to disintegrate. I'm currently on 600mg lithium, 50mg lamictal, 75mg nortriptyline and occassional valium for stress and ambien for sleep. This seems to be the best cocktail I've been on in 20 years. The main side effect of nortriptyline is dry mouth, but it encourages me to drink more water. It also can cause weight gain, but I've been on so many porky drugs that I just gave in and realized that without exercise you just get fat, no matter what you're taking. So now I'm feeling better and exercising and getting buff in the process. For whatever reason, nortriptyline has worked better than any other SSRI I've been on. It feels more natural and seems to work on all levels instead of just serotonin.
>
> Another thing to keep in mind is the role of reproductive hormones. Depending on what phase of life you're at, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone play a HUGE role in all this stuff. Not nearly enough attention is paid to this very crucial topic. Hormones seem to be the master key to so many health and mood issues and doctors just aren't paying attention. You have to do your own research and put the pieces together because docs are so specialized they don't see the connections between their specialized fields.
>
> I also have to say that these past two years of being without work, my Mother dying rather tragically, being very sick physically and mentally, and coming to terms with Life in all it's grand design has caused me to wake up in so many ways and pay attention to Right Now and give up brooding about what may be. All that fretting takes energy away from positive action.
>
> Meds keep my overactive imagination in line, but the rest is truly up to me and I believe I'm getting it at last. I need help, but it truly is up to me. And yes, diet is very important. What would make you think otherwise? You put shitty fuel in a car and it clogs up and breaks down. The only thing we really have any control over in this life is what we choose to put into our bodies. Garbage in, garbage out. Don't get me started on how that whole subject is totally ignored by the medical profession. - Barbara
poster:Krissy P
thread:208531
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030319/msgs/210838.html