Posted by JESSsMom on July 21, 2008, at 21:13:44
In reply to Obesity - Anxiety - Depression - Headaches, posted by JESSsMom on July 20, 2008, at 14:59:30
OK, gang. Thanks for your responses. Had my appointment today. PDoc was clear in no uncertain terms that he is a Pdoc and not a bariatric doctor or a pain management doc when I brought my obesity and Meridia up, along with my chronic pain. Meridia is no longer classified under ADs, it's under controlled meds as a weight loss med only now. <rolls eyes> Darn.
Lamictal was a no go. Upping my Topomax was not an option either.
While my PDoc appreciates my weight problem and does not wish to prescribe anything that might exacerbate it, he is not going to prescribe anything to help with it either. Same with chronic pain.
I will have to see a bariatric doc and a pain management doc in addition to my PDoc.
In the meantime, for depression, anxiety, and any compulsive thinking/behaviors, he prescribed 50mg 2x/day to start of Luvox. Phillipa, you and I have discussed Luvox on here before.
You are SO right about it being a very sedating SSRI. I have been on it before at all different doses (max was 300 mgs) and could barely keep my eyes open in the late afternoon. I'm talking about falling over asleep on the couch at Oprah time. That is not a side effect I can have at this point in my life and I KNOW from experience that I will get. Long story short - I have to be "UP" in the late afternoon to drive and pick DD up from school, help with homework, make dinner, and then take her to her extracurricular activities. I know it is summer time now but I also know that this rotten somnolence doesn't go away - it's with me as long as I am on Luvox.
However, something must be done and now regarding the anxiety and depression and what my PDoc sees as compulsive eating, although I don't. I see it as making terrible food choices and being sedentary.
So I am going to take the Luvox but the question becomes when and how much. As of today I have 100mg tablets that can be cut into 25mg pieces. I have to somehow time the taking of Luvox so that the late afternoon exhaustion doesn't happen. If I take it at night before bed, I am certain to get this side effect in the late afternoon - that I remember for sure.
It's been a while since I have "played" with the timing and dosage of Luvox but I can't remember when the best time to take it is. It has a very short half life and the effects (good and bad) are felt quickly.
I agree it is not a weight gainer and can even be a weight loser. The only benzo I can take is Klonopin (I have my own personal Xanax horror story). Although I am prescribed 3mgs/day I have been getting by on 2mgs/night to sleep. As Mbluett says, I am keenly aware that Klonopin can cause a sort of low energy depression that cannot be shaken until any large amount of Klonopin has cleared the system.
I also want to look into the Metformin you mentioned, Mbluett and Racer. I need to see another doc for my weight but not one that simply prescribes Phentermine, etc. as they do at many clinics. I could look into Metformin with a bariatric doc. With my anxiety, amphetamines are out of the question.
Racer, we must be in the same age group if we are both talking about perimenopause - I think that's coming soon on my end. Of course I had to google Wensleydale lambswool and figure you are a knitter. :)
I also want to see a pain specialist and discuss Lyrica. I've unsuccessfully taken Neurontin before and at times feel that I am THE candidate for prescribed narcotic pain relief. In other words, if someone said to me, "Aren't you afraid that you will need to take "whatever narcotic" twice a day for the rest of your life?" I would answer, "No, I am afraid of living the rest of my life WITHOUT taking a strong prescribed pain med regularly with this terrible quality of life." Hope that makes sense.
So for now, just for today, I tried to tackle one set of problems - the mental health ones. I am going to skip the Luvox tonight and take either 25 or 50mgs tomorrow morning. *Maybe* this will eliminate the strong late afternoon somnolence? I don't know.
Meg
poster:JESSsMom
thread:841086
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080718/msgs/841334.html