Posted by Enigma on April 22, 2009, at 9:17:22
In reply to Remeron's now put my friend off meds for life..., posted by sowhysosad on April 21, 2009, at 19:49:33
Wow, that's really sad. You can't explain to her that other meds have either very few side effects in comparison, and some may have none (for her). ?
I myself, suffer from every side-effect a drug has. I'm pretty much cursed that way.I'm actually extremely upset with my doc for jumping both feet first towards the Remeron approach and SO QUICK to take me off Nardil.
As soon I was a week off of Nardil I became suicidal. I told my wife to leave me and find another man to take care of her and kids both romantically and financially as I was just a step away from the grave (drama, I know, but true). I think there were 3 days where I didn't speak to anyone, just cried, and thought of ways to fund my family so I could be 'free', legal and not so legal.
Currently, I'm on social security disability (U.S.). It's not much, but it pays the bills (mostly). My wife can't work because she takes care of EVERYTHING else (she's Superwife!), including our youngest child, which I couldn't do if I wanted to.
Even when suicidal, I still wouldn't leave my family in poverty, so my rule is to make sure they are covered financially in case I bite the bullet (literally). But, after a couple of days of being in the worst pain of my life, I went right back on the Nardil, slowly, and I'm human again. Nardil never gets me to 10/10 perfection, more like 5/10, but it drives away the suicide and super intense depression. I literally cannot live without it and it's the only drug that's ever really worked for me (Had some success with selegiline too) as an AD.Now all my sleep problems are back, but they're better than being suicidal, so I'll take door #1. I have insomnia really bad (again), and usually get up many times at night and usually have problems getting back to sleep. Just for laughs, checked my med chest and found this Valarian root bottle ("Promotes restful sleep"), so the last 2 nights I took a pill. Now, I can't say in just 2 nights whether or not it was this pill or not, but once I finally did make it to sleep, I slept through the entire night, both nights, which is extremely rare for me. So, I'm going to be taking this stuff every night from now on, hoping that's what's really keeping me asleep. Now if I could just tackle the insomnia.
Again, sorry about your friend. In the past 15+ years, I've been let down my meds and doctors more times than I can count, but you have to get past it in order to feel better. That's what your friend has to focus on. If I don't like a med, I research a new one. If I don't like a doctor, I research a new one. Simple as that. Sometimes you win, sometimes you fail. I seem to fail a lot more than I win. And finally, whatever doesn't kill you, just weakens your organs and damages your body overall. :(
> Disappointingly, my friend who was on Remeron has decided not to try any more meds after her negative experience with it, and may never achieve full remission as a result.
>
> I'm really angry with her pdoc. Some years ago she tried fluoxetine and imipramine, had no success and lots of side effects so gave up. So I was pleased to hear she'd decided, reluctantly, to give meds another shot.
>
> Under the UK guidelines, docs are meant to try one of the tried-and-tested SSRI's first - fluoxetine, citalopram or sertraline. Then they can try mirtazapine (Remeron) or Effexor, then a TCA, reboxetine, moclobemide, dosulepin, AD combos, lithium augmentation or phenelzine for more stubborn cases.
>
> With SSRI's all being very different, there was a good chance that citalopram or sertraline would have worked where fluoxetine failed. But for some reason he decided to start her off on Cymbalta.
>
> Now I know a lot of people have a good response to it, but in the UK the national guidelines discourage docs from using it. Pooled data suggests it's less reliable than the older SSRI's and has a higher incidence of side effects. So the decision to start her on Cymbalta was unconventional to say the least. Lily must have bought him a really nice dinner. And gave him a free pen.
>
> I think it was really unprofessional - given that my friend was VERY anti-meds to start off with - to start her off on a drug that guidelines say is less likely to work and may be more unpleasant to take! How did he expect to achieve compliance?
>
> Then the Remeron was the final nail in the coffin - the heavy sedation, mental fog and binge eating were too much to bear. I just don't think its extreme side effects make it a good candidate for someone who's not comfortable with taking meds in the first place.
>
> Docs are also meant to take into account Remeron's propensity for weight gain before prescribing it, so why give it to someone who already had a weight problem?
>
> So there's another soul completely lost to psychiatry who'll probably never get well, all thanks to this idiot's irresponsible behaviour.
poster:Enigma
thread:891271
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090416/msgs/892130.html