Posted by Narelle Lehane on September 25, 2000, at 9:57:45
I am new here, and have had a long haul, first with Post-natal depression, then 3 operations for my vocal cord condition (Spasmodic Dysphonia) in the last 12 months, lots of different meds - Prozac, Effexor xr (yechhh), Aropax, Dothiepin, plus Xanax and the Valium to get off the Xanax. I went off the dothiepin 2 weeks ago and tried to go off the valium, but couldn't the WD was just so intense. Now I find out that Benzo withdrawal can mimic the symptoms of depression. Groan. I don't know if i'm depressed, withdrawing, just normally anxious, or what. My new pdoc says my depression is a result of my vocal cord disorder (13 years of it) and was not really PND, that just made things worse. Now my throat situation is looking up but I can't face all this withdrawal and i'm really scared. I joined a group for benzo wd, but when I had to start taking them again, on docs orders, they really don't want to know me until I get off them. I quote "Your daughter needs a drug free mother". If I went cold turkey i'm not sure she'd have a mother at all. I have tried to take my life during the depths of the depression, and don't want that to ever occur again. I guess no-one can help me, i'm just looking for reassurance from people who know depression and how i'm not "taking drugs" and harming my daughter by doing that, I am just not equipped to go cold turkey off a benzo, and it needs to be more gradual. I feel like i'm slipping back here, but that was such a horrible thing to say, I am a good mother and the drugs have helped me realise that. Now my world's been turned upside down, and just as I thought things were going to be OK, another battle faces me - getting off the benzos. I am rambling, sorry. The doc thinks i'm out of the depression, but this has all knocked me about. Surely a good mother is one that cna look after her child, not a zombie going through fast WD who can't function at all???
Narelle
poster:Narelle Lehane
thread:45255
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000905/msgs/45255.html