Dysautonomia And Depression

[shannabanana]

Hi everyone,

I decided to make a post about what i have been feeling lately, to see if any others with POTS have had similar experiences. So basically, I have been feeling quite depressed lately. And the confusing part is that it isn't for any particular reason. I have had POTS close to 6 years and I feel that I have a pretty good handle on it now, and can deal with it quite well. I have been happy while suffering from POTS.

For a bit of background info, I was on Zoloft for the past 3 years or so. I was NOT put on an anti-depressant because I was feeling depressed, but because of the research showing that SSRIs can help POTS in some patients. This year I decided I wanted to get off of the Zoloft, because I didn't really feel that it could be helping all that much. Of course I did this with my doctor's blessing and did it very slowly. Was on 100 mg and went down to 75 for 2 weeks, then 75/50 for 2 weeks, then 50/25 for 2 weeks, then 25 for a full month, then 25 every second day. It took me months to get off it, and i did experience lots of common withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, headaches, dizzyness, crying fits, anger, but alas i have been completely Zoloft free for close to 3 months now.

However, during all this time, I have been feeling very depressed. I cry almost daily, and not because i am sad about any one thing in particular but because every little thing that goes wrong, a bad mark on an assignment, a small argument with a friend of family member, little things that used to easily be dealt with feel like they are the end of the world, and i just have this overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Even when nothing seems to be going wrong in my life, I get sad and upset for no reason and just start crying. I have NEVER experienced this before, and am wondering what is going on with me?!

I feel like it is important to stress that i have NEVER been depressed before, my family doesn't really have a history of depression, and even when my POTS was at my worse, when i cried, i cried for a reason! I am wondering now if i could still be going through withdrawal from the Zoloft so long after I stopped it! I have, like I'm sure most of you have, heard horror stories about Zoloft and other anti-depressants withdrawal and have even heard of a few select cases where the withdrawal symptoms were experienced for months after but i'm pretty sure it is quite rare? So I guess my question to all of you would be, have you ever experienced anything like this? What have your experiences been with depression, anti-depressants, and withdrawal? Any advice would be very much appreciated!

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you!

-Shannon

[pat57]

My daughter had been on it a year and a half. She had nausea the first week off it, it has been 3 weeks now. Her Dr. did say new effects could emerge over the period of a month. This is her 2nd attempt, during the first her depression returned in about 3 days.

That's all I can add for you,.

[mountain girl]

I have been on an antiepressant for 10 years or more and way before I ever had pots. I felt sad over nothing and would cry and get very upset over the smallest stuff like you described. The med mostly controlled that until the pots. Now I sometimes cry for no reason and I hate it, because I feel embarassed. It comes over me usually in the evening especially if I have worked or gotten very tired, so I kinda blame it on that. I also feel like I have dealt with the pots fairly well so it is not like I sit around feeling sorry for myself. I wonder if something to do with the pots being a condition of the autonaumic nervous system has something to do with it. Certainly talk with your dr. but it may be the zoloft was helping you in a way you did not realize. Do you or any one else feel trembly and just bad all over when you have the crying spells? It is weird, but I usually feel better after "thecrying spell" ,like it has been a relief of sorts. Again, I know it sounds strange, and is really hard to describe. Blessings!

[Mrs. Burschman]

Shannon,

From what I've read, withdrawal problems from SSRI's are more common than most people realize. I imagine that it could take a while for your own body chemistry to "even out" after being manipulated by the medicine for three years.

How do you feel physically? Are you doing OK POTS-wise off of it?

I can't stop taking Paxil, unfortunately. I don't get depressed when I don't take it, I get sick as a dog (tachycardia, neuropathy, nausea, diarrhea, a nearly constant feeling of panic.) Until I find some other miracle way to control my screwed up autonomic nervous system, I'm stuck.

Have you talked to your doctor about it? An option might be to restart it, but maybe just half of your biggest dose, then taper down again, REALLY SLOWLY. Like six months for each step downward. You also might try fish oil, which is supposed to support healthy brain function.

Believe me, I feel for you! When I had to restart Paxil, I felt like such a failure. I REALLY wanted to get off of it, and I had spent more than a year tapering off.

Just remember, if you do need to restart it, there are worse things in the world. Such as feeling really depressed or panicky all the time!

Take care,

Amy

[ajw4790]

Hi,

Wish that I had some info to offer... Just wanted to say to make sure and discuss it soon with your dr, and see what they say. It may be that it was too fast for your body to go from being on Zoloft to taking absolutely no Zoloft. You may have to wean off slower or something. Other than it being from that reason, I suppose it could be due to hormonal imbalance, thyroid issues, etc. So, that is why it would be good to see and talk to your dr. about what is going on. I hope you get some answers and relief soon!

[vemee]

It can take months to get over the withdrawal effects of an antidepressant. Also people are more vulnerable to depression this time a year as the amount of natural sunlight decreases.

[shannabanana]

Thanks for all the replies guys! To answer some questions, the doctor situation for me right now, is quite crappy. I had a wonderful doctor (the one who diagnosed me with POTS), but this summer I had to stop seeing him as I turned 19 and he was a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Now, all I have is a family doctor, who i cannot for the life of me get ahold of (I called for a week straight and the office doesn't even have an ANSWERING MACHINE?!?) so i have contacted my OLD doctor asking if i can't see him if he can possibly refer me to SOMEONE else as I can't be living with this chronic condition with no doctor! He is looking into it further but has said he doesn't know of any in my city, so even if i were to find one it might be a 6 hour drive just to get there So as far as that goes, I have no doctor to consult as of now.

I too considered going back on the Zoloft, but I really want to give being off it a shot before I do. I am worried that if i go back on it I will never know if this depression was just the withdrawal, and if it was, I would be able to live comfortably without the medication! It scares me to think that I could still be having withdrawal symptoms over a month after being completely off of it. The fact that a drug can do that just gets to me. lol. Also my POTS symptoms have remained the same throughout it all, so I feel like it was not helping in that respect?