Posted by Jewele on May 22, 2002, at 18:11:34
In reply to Re: SCARED TO DEATH to take this med..HELP!!!! » Jewele, posted by BarbaraCat on May 22, 2002, at 15:29:26
> Jewele,
> Hi and sorry you're feeling so bad with Sarafem (just Zoloft targeted to us little female units). I experienced something similar to you and may have some helpful suggestions for you. First of all, I was on Zoloft for about 6 years, off and on. I stopped periodically during this time because it was deadening my emotions and besides, it would just stop working and the depression would break through. EVERY time I restarted even on a teeny amount, I'd get panic attacks, crying jags and feel horrible. I'd have to white-knuckle it for about 3 weeks until those effects dimished. When it started pooping out, my clueless doctors would increase the dosage and the panic cycle would start all over again. They should have at least put me on an anti-anxiety med, but that would have only temporarily helped.
>
> What I've found out since then (entirely due to this board and through further research) is that these kinds of reactions to antidepressants (panic/hypomania at onset, pooping out, anxiety, non-responding to different kinds), are typical of Bipolar II disorder rather than unipolar depression. In Bipolar II, antidepressants alone will cause high and low cycling and will make things worse. You have to take a mood stabiliser along with your AD (sometimes the mood stabiliser alone is enough).
>
> Adding a mood stabiliser, such as lithium, depakote, lamictal, neurontin, has worked wonders for many of us here, myself included. I now take lithium along with Remeron. The Lithium has made all the difference for me. It literally saved my life.
>
> The fact that you had postpartum panic attacks is another red flag for Bipolar II disorder - same thing happened to me. If indeed you do have BPII then taking another kind of antidepressant is not going to do it - ultimately they all fail. Most doctors don't see us frequently enough and are too busy to think about our cases adequately. If I were you, I'd ask for a diagnostic reevaluation and possible trial with a stabiliser.Thank you for your information. There is something that bothers me about medication, I dont have depression at all. I am very happy, (except of course for the misscarages) I have never had a problem with all of these panic attacks untill i had the misscarages. So they think it is a hormonal thing, or that I may have developed a fear because of the horible time i had in the hospital. Things went from bad to worse when i went in for my DNC. I had a bad reation to reglin (some stuff they give you to speed up the digegstive system so you dont vomit during surgury) and then i find out i have to have a spinal injection and i just thought i was going to die. I was so scared I honestly just wanted to jump up out of my body and run out of the hospital. I had no control at all over what happened to me. So i now have a fear of hostitals and going places that i know i wont be able to leave at my own free will. like going to work, i cant just go there and if i feel sick leave. so i get panic attacks before i even get there. And i have tryed so hard to fight them off that i am totally exausted and have a major headace when i finally settle down! so i started going to see a theripist and she is going to help me by taking me to the hospital after a while and just having me stand in the loby and take baby steps to feel better about going places. I am just fear taking any medications because of my low tolerance of medcation. i get reactions to takeing things like Benadrill. I get EXTREMLY tired, i cant keep my eyes open at all when i takethat and i sleep for about 24 hours or more when i do have to take it. so i dont take medications at all unless i have to. And since i had that bad reation to that medication in the hosiptal then with the sarafem i am totally terrified of taking something. i had to take a sleeping pill to help me sleep at night and i only took it one night and right after i took it i almost went into the bathroom to throw it back up because i was so scared of how i would react to it. but my husband came home and stoped me from thowing up. anyway, thank you again for all of your suggestions. I will sertinly print them up and take them to my doctor and see what he thinks. I do have a lot of confidence in this doctor. he has been my husbands doctor since he was little (my husband is diabetic) and he has helped me with A LOT of things so far. so i beleve he is really good. he has gotten awards and stuff for things he has done. so i will see what he says about those medications. thanks again for all of your help! sincerly, Jewele
poster:Jewele
thread:3323
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107329.html