Posted by Simcha on December 14, 2006, at 0:19:37
Well folks, I haven't written in a long time. I've been euthymic for the most part since I've written. It's been at least a year, I think.
The depression is back. It's all the same junk, only this time Fibromyalgia complicates it. My pdoc does both psychiatry and pain management, yet he says that he can't do both at the same time. He says it's a conflict, ethically. I don't know if there's some sort of California law or what...
Anyway, since he's been my psychiatrist for years he's staying my psychiatrist. My regimen has been the following for a few years:
40mg Celexa (Citalopram) in the am
400mg Wellbutrin XL (Buproprion) in the pm
600mg Neurontin (Gabapentin) in the pmHe says that the latest studies suggest that Effexor (Venlafaxine) and Cymbalta (Duloxetine) not only work for depression, they also work on Fibromyalgia related pain. My background daily pain is a 5 out of 10 (10 being the most pain). He says he has to address this with antidepressants because the pain can cause depression (d'uh!).
Also my father died 5/9/2006. Yes I'm still in mourning and yet I'm having symptoms of depression now and I needed to do something about it besides just talk therapy.
Anyway. He asked me to increase the Neurontin (originally for bruxism 'grinding teeth while sleeping') to 300mg 4x daily. He says that not only can it help me through the transition from Wellbutrin and Celexa to Cymbalta, but it can help with the Fibromyalgia pain. He'd like to put me on Lyrica (Pregabalin) instead of Neurontin for the Fibromyalgia pain but he can't do it since it's not indicated for anything psychiatric so my GP will have to prescribe it, if my GP agrees to switch me from Neurontin to Lyrica. Ugh!
Anyway, first he's going to wean me off of Celexa while increasing the dose of Cymbalta up to a therapeutic level. Then he says we can work on taking me off of the Wellbutrin.
I'm less than excited about this med change. I'm less than excited about anything these days, because I'm so depressed.
I'm also angry that I have to go through a med change and that the depression is back even though I'm already on meds and have been on meds for 5+ years for depression. I thought that perhaps I wouldn't need meds in a few years if my depression didn't return. I guess that's not the case.
Also, I've gained weight and I sweat a lot on these darn meds. He said that the sweating won't likely change and that the Neurontin could continue to make me gain weight. He did say that getting off of the Celexa might help stabilize my weight though. I'm skeptical.
I suppose though that if I can get the depression and the fibromyalgia under control that I would have enough energy to do more walking. And I wouldn't be in too much pain to walk any distance.
All of this is so frustrating. I hate that the depression is back. I thought I was doing so well in mourning my father without getting depressed. Well I was wrong.
Well, I'm back for now and will check in to let people know how this is going. It's going to take a couple of months at least because I go to Chicago for two weeks to visit my mother and brother in the beginning of January (I'm originally from Chicago... Been in Oakland, CA for over 4 and a half years.)
Simcha
poster:Simcha
thread:713453
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061212/msgs/713453.html