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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 18 of 18. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by FrustratedMama on October 16, 2011, at 20:49:27
Med after med after med ... Trying to survive is getting harder by the day and although the medication helps me get to work that's all it does. No enjoyment anymore - angry and tired all the time.
Posted by Laney on October 16, 2011, at 23:33:39
In reply to Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 16, 2011, at 20:49:27
So sorry your having such a difficult time. Hang in there! There will be something that will work. Don't give up hope. We will be here for you! Sending hugs!!!
Laney
Posted by Phillipa on October 17, 2011, at 0:24:25
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by Laney on October 16, 2011, at 23:33:39
I never asked before FM is there any issues in your life that cause anger that you could be suppressing but that causes all this frustration. Phillipa
Posted by FrustratedMama on October 17, 2011, at 0:31:58
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by Phillipa on October 17, 2011, at 0:24:25
Thanks laney and Phillips - no that's what I can't figure out ..... I flip out over the dumbest things .... Like mud on the floors or losing my keys or noise .... Just cometely over- react to minor stressors .
Posted by Deneb on October 17, 2011, at 11:10:30
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 17, 2011, at 0:31:58
Are you in therapy also? Maybe that would help. Or meditation or exercise or something. Pdoc is really into exercise. It's good for stress.
Posted by Phidippus on October 17, 2011, at 17:02:25
In reply to Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 16, 2011, at 20:49:27
What medications have you tried so far?
P
Posted by huxley on October 17, 2011, at 19:13:16
In reply to Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 16, 2011, at 20:49:27
Frustrated Mama.
You said in an earlier post that you were quitting effexor?
Keep a close eye on your mood. If it takes a sudden turn for the worse it is most likely the withdrawal.
Can really knock you arround.
Posted by FrustratedMama on October 17, 2011, at 22:43:05
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by huxley on October 17, 2011, at 19:13:16
My mood is about the same.....still taking 75 mg of effexor this week and 2o mg of prozac. Wean down to 27.5 mg of effexor next week with 20 mg of prozac....Just want to get some sense of meaning back in my world. I spend every ounce of energy I have working and can't live for me....have nothing left after work for myself or family. Exercise is out of the question...so out of it and ready to fall asleep that just driving home is a challenge most days. I have been on all but nardil and some of the TCA's. at one point or another.
Posted by Phidippus on October 17, 2011, at 22:54:38
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 17, 2011, at 22:43:05
I'm sorry you're feeling so spent. Have you tried stimulants to get you up? Why don't you try something like Nuvigil?
P
Posted by FrustratedMama on October 17, 2011, at 23:52:31
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope » FrustratedMama, posted by Phidippus on October 17, 2011, at 22:54:38
I am taking Focalin XR right now....Vyvanse was too anxiety provoking, and concerta caused tightness in my chest muscles. Tried provigil a longgggg time ago......cant remember results.
Posted by bleauberry on October 18, 2011, at 5:38:57
In reply to Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 16, 2011, at 20:49:27
About 15 years of that crap....med after med like you said....is what led me to start looking at stuff I was missing. God made the plants of this earth as medicines and food for us, and there are some really good ones. I think when we limit our healing toolbox to just the small circle of substances a doctor will prescribe, we are screwing ourselves.
I don't know what meds you are on or what ones you've had. Doesn't matter. I'll just mention one name to get started, goes with meds or by itself. Rhodiola. There are other approaches and choices and mechanisms to put in your toolbox, but Rhodiola is my personally favored first line choice for just about anyone I might be talking to.
Posted by SLS on October 18, 2011, at 5:43:56
In reply to Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 16, 2011, at 20:49:27
> Med after med after med ... Trying to survive is getting harder by the day and although the medication helps me get to work that's all it does. No enjoyment anymore - angry and tired all the time.
I know the feeling.
Please keep fighting. I know how much of a challenge it is to remain hopeful in the face of mounting treatment failures. I bet there are quite a few combinations that you have not tried. For some people, multiple drug actions are necessary to produce a therapeutic response. Unfortunately, Wellbutrin makes me feel worse, but a great many people respond to drug combinations that include it. I wonder how well a combination of Wellbutrin + (Zoloft or Effexor) + nortriptyline would work. Effexor + nortriptyline produced a partial response for me. However, I was taking only 1/2 the amount of nortriptyline that I discovered was necessary for me to obtain therapeutic blood levels. Right now, I place a certain amount of hope in the idea of revisiting this combination, but using the higher dosage of nortriptyline. It is simply something that I have not tried yet.
Right now, my partial response to the addition of Viibryd to my treatment regime is inadequate. I am not placing too much hope on its working. Logically, I cannot exclude the possibility that it will still produce a robust response with continued treatment. I have been taking Viibryd for 23 days. Antidepressants often take longer than this to work. My doctor mentioned that, in his experience, Viibryd can take longer to work than other antidepressants. I hope that he is right.
I get depressed about being depressed, too. The first depression is a normal reaction to having the abnormal condition of the latter. I make it an imperative to battle the first so as not to make worse the second. Besides, any kind of depression is a miserable experience. Since I have some control over depression #1, I know that it is not futile to process the issues that cause it. So far, I have been pretty lucky in my ability to resolve situational depression; the situation being that I have a stubborn case of a biological depression (bipolar).
Currently:
Viibryd 40mg
nortriptyline 150mg
Lamictal 200mg
Abilify 10mg
lithium 300mg
- Scott
Posted by SLS on October 18, 2011, at 5:54:46
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by bleauberry on October 18, 2011, at 5:38:57
> God made the plants of this earth as medicines and food for us
He also gave us the tools and free will to use them to produce modern pharmaceuticals. He even gave us the tools that we use to gather and process the plants that are so important to our survival; without which we could not support our current population. Just about every pharmaceutical we currently use is the product of plants. Check out the Carboniferous Period, oil, and organic chemistry.
- Scott
Posted by FrustratedMama on October 18, 2011, at 8:40:54
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope » bleauberry, posted by SLS on October 18, 2011, at 5:54:46
Thank you both sooo much . I will add rhodiola today and it's so sad but helpful to know i am not alone . I am going to keep fighting! I am just so tired of this fight... Sometimes ( most days) I just wish I had an illness that was treatable or even visible....I know that's such an awful statement to say but it's so hard trying to deal with the day to day things when you are sick all the time. It's not like you can just call in to work to say - I need the week off because I am having a horrible relapse. Sorry for the whining....I know you all understand - and Scott I really hope vibryd works for you but if it doesn't please keep posting....you are one of the people I kook forward to hearing from. You and many others on babble are what keeps me going right now! Thank you :)
Posted by polarbear206 on October 18, 2011, at 10:24:03
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by huxley on October 17, 2011, at 19:13:16
> Frustrated Mama.
>
> You said in an earlier post that you were quitting effexor?
>
> Keep a close eye on your mood. If it takes a sudden turn for the worse it is most likely the withdrawal.
>
> Can really knock you arround.
>
Why didn't you try to increase the Effexor first before ditching it? You really didn't give it a chance.
Posted by polarbear206 on October 18, 2011, at 10:24:50
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by huxley on October 17, 2011, at 19:13:16
> Frustrated Mama.
>
> You said in an earlier post that you were quitting effexor?
>
> Keep a close eye on your mood. If it takes a sudden turn for the worse it is most likely the withdrawal.
>
> Can really knock you arround.
>
Why didn't you try to increase the Effexor first before ditching it? You really didn't give it a chance.
Posted by FrustratedMama on October 18, 2011, at 15:35:00
In reply to Re: Frustrated Mama, posted by polarbear206 on October 18, 2011, at 10:24:50
It was causing more anxiety than anything and my weight gain and appetite kept increasing as we increased the dose so I discussed with pdoc. Decision was that the effexor wasn't the right choice. I was on for 2 months...this is the third month.
Posted by Phidippus on October 18, 2011, at 21:11:29
In reply to Re: Just want to feel alive again losing hope, posted by FrustratedMama on October 17, 2011, at 22:43:05
I'm with Scott. I think you would do better on a drug combo rather than a single drug. Have you tried Wellbutrin?
P
This is the end of the thread.
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