So much depression and have tried several antidepressants with side effects but still wondering if I should keep trying and tolerate the side effects.
Anyone experience this and were the meds helpful?
Posted by me (Member # 45475) on :
Sometimes it takes a while to find the right mix. Sometimes psych meds won't do as much if Lyme and cos make it to the brain until the disease is hit harder by antibiotics. But if you are depressed, it is very worth trying to find the right mix in my opinion only. It is also very, very important to try to find a psychiatrist who is knowledgable about Lyme and cos.
I hope you get relief soon.
Posted by paulieinct (Member # 17514) on :
In my case, after decades of depression with extreme anxiety due to undiagnosed and untreated Lyme, I was put on Paxil. The effect on me was almost miraculous. Felt normal for the first time in my life. No side effects either.
Posted by phyl6648 (Member # 28522) on :
Paulieinct, did the Paxil help your lyme symptoms? A friend of mine was put on zoloft and she said it did more for her symptoms than treatments. Guess if you take the depression away the symptoms don't seem as bad. I know for now that is one symptom I find most disabling.. TY
Me, I have tried many and I am sure don't give them a chance but after a week and I am more dysfunctional I stop.. My psych is lyme literate which helps as she understands our sensitivity to meds. TY
Posted by LisaK (Member # 41384) on :
my sx got worse with them as I tried to stay on them and finally had to stop and am now considered allergic to them.
terrible reactions after last doses.... like hallucinations, and heart, swallowing, ....
Posted by Kudzuslipper (Member # 31915) on :
I was on celexa before my lyme dx. it helped immensely with the "what if's?" and worry. when I started treating lyme the pain was so intense that my dr. suggested I switch to Cymbalta, cause it also helps with pain. it too has been a godsend.
Both have made such a difference in my life and relationships I finally understand what a shrink said to me years and years ago when trying to get me to try AD's and I was opposed to it... she said "if you had a headache, you'd take an asprin" she then went on to explain the chemical inbalances...etc.
I say try it. work with someone who really knows these drugs and knows how to titrate up and down.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
I tried many antidepressants prescribed by both my primary and my gyn. Every one overwhelmed me so that I could not function. So, after 2 or 3 days, I would stop them.
So, I was advised to go to a psychiatrist who knows a lot more about these meds. It was wonderful! I told him what happens to me on each drug and so he started me out on a "ridiculously small dose" of something. I was able to take it.
I got a headache from the antidepressants at first. He had me take a lot of Advil to combat the headache. He had me call him every few days to tell him how I was.
From the first sliver of a pill, I woke up the next morning and my mind was no longer racing! I was thrilled. I just had a normal amount of thoughts. That was so wonderful.
Over about 2 weeks I began to feel better and better.
I advise people to try antidepressants. If you have a hard time with them or can't find one that helps you, then go to a psychiatrist. They are the experts. Tell them what you have tried and how they affect you. They will know which ones would most likely help you and what to do about side effects.
The psychiatrist said that most people who have never had depression before can get off the antidepressant in 6 to 9 months without a reoccurrence. I slowly lowered my dose after 9 months and finally stopped taking it all together and everything was fine.
I would not hesitate to go on them again to get me through a rough patch where I am suffering anxiety, nervousness, depression, etc. They have been wonderful for me. I took Zoloft.
This is what Kudzuslipper is talking about when she says to work with someone who really knows these drugs and knows how to titrate up and down.
Posted by paulieinct (Member # 17514) on :
quote:Originally posted by phyl6648: Paulieinct, did the Paxil help your lyme symptoms? A friend of mine was put on zoloft and she said it did more for her symptoms than treatments.
I would say in the first few days/weeks of Paxil I had some itching which eventually subsided. I know now that this was a Lyme herx. Years later when I started abx I had itching from hell - keets dying off in my skin.
Years after going on Paxil, I finally went on Celebrex due to chronic "osteoarthritis" of the spine (actually undiagnosed Lyme). The Celebrex was Miracle #2!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by SwissPiggy (Member # 47413) on :
I take Zoloft, so all I can say is that it took at least a month before I really noticed the changes in how I felt. Now I couldn't make it without it.
Posted by tulips (Member # 44773) on :
I had depression and tried a variety of antidepressants but all of them caused side effects that were worse than the depression. The last antidepressant caused neuropathy in my feet. When I started taking Mino and Flagyl, my depression disappeared. But everyone is different.