ramakentesh Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 Ive been thinking about some of the medications Ive been on and their side effects and I thought that Id ask you guys whether you would continue a medication if it gave the following side effects:1. fatigue2. gastro-disturbances3. mental confusion4. agitation5. loss of sense of humour, mild depressionI guess it comes down to the ratio of benefit versus adverse effects.For me I did find a few medications that really helped but they always had side effects that annoyed me - 1 made me totally mentally out of it- like a zombie, the second made me super agitated so I could stand fine but got nervous over nothing in particular all day long and the third made me slightly jittery but I lost interest in things and could watch funny movies all day without laughing once. Weird eh?? My wife said that she preferred me laughing and witty even if i couldnt sit all day at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewatcher Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 1. fatigue Any more fatigue and I'd be asleep 24/72. gastro-disturbancesI'd take this one, it is easier to fix with other meds3. mental confusionTotally not an option.4. agitationThis one can also be controlled with other meds5. loss of sense of humour, mild depressionGot this on Lexapro, felt like dung and just didn't care. My kids gave me a hug and I felt nothing .........Immediately went off. Won't ever do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxine Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 The fatigue; it depends on what kind of fatigue. Feeling sluggish might be doable, but weakness and fatigue that makes it diffiuclt to move around won't work.Gastro; this might be tolerable, as long as it's not severe constipationMental confusion; now way, if it's severeAgitation; not an optionLoss of sense of humor, mild depression; maybe mild depression if it's on and off, but loss of sense of humor is part of losing yourslef---not an option.My wellbutrin makes it difficult for me to show emotion, and I'm not crazy about that. however, without it you have to scrape me off the floor. anything that makes me nervous is completely out. Being like this is like having no life.The other meds I take don't have nay major side affects. The propranolol can sometimes make me feel sluggish. Without it, I'd be constantly dealing with sudden tachycardia spells---(standing OR sitting). Today's tachycardia was paroxysmal----it's started suddenly, but I had an aura and this is when I went into the bathroom and started to wash my hair. I didn't want to be caught with "bed head". this was weird to have this today, as I am on my beta blocker---so I don't know what happened.Maxine :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janiedelite Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 Too tired to post in detail, but I agree with Firewatcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prettyinpink Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 For me it depends on the severity of the side effect and if the side effect gets better or worse. Beta blockers make me very sleepy but after almost a week on Inderal I've noticed an improvement in my fatigue, more of an improvement then pre-inderal because my heart isn't working so hard. I try to hold out for several days on a new med if at all possible so I can really tell if a side effect will last or if my body just needs to adjust to the medicine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 1. fatigue - more would be bad but I put up with enough (episodically) already so it's a when & how much thing. Mental fatigue is harder for me to deal with than physical as long as I can still "get by" and don't make myself worse in terms of stamina.2. gastro-disturbances - I'm usually immune but otherwise a whimp on these... It would have to be minor or temporary if it manages to rock my otherwise iron gut and reaches my soft wimpy core.3. mental confusion - if it gets me run over in the street that is bad, if I achieve "ignorance/bliss" maybe that's ok so long as I never ever realize how stupid I am. Otherwise, this would have to be mild, specific, or periodic so I can keep a handle on it and keep my ego properly fed.4. agitation - I am kind of offended that you would even think to put this in your questionnaire. Especially as item number 4, thinking you could sneak it in there and none of us would notice what you are up to. I suspect you made up this whole questionnaire thing just to as me personally about my agitation issues. Is this the case? Personally, I think you should repeal this item immediately. 5. loss of sense of humour, mild depression - Tough one. If I thought the fact that a square is also a rectangle was incredibly funny, that might be bad. If I couldn't laugh at myself for sometimes caring about that very fact... that would be far worse. I would prefer to drug the rest of the world so they thought I was funny... you know, like they did back in the 60's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted December 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 Yeah that is pretty much what i was thinking - agitation LOL - If i stand too long Im a grumpy man... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 I've been pretty lucky side-effect wise from the meds I have tried for POTS. The worst was the first day on Paroxetine / Paxil (I've posted about this before so won't bore you all). However I was glad that I saw a doctor the next day and was told to take half a tablet. Felt rotten for the first 2 weeks but then the side-effects went away, as I agree with trying to stick it out for a couple of weeks before giving up on a med.Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsgirl Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 I'd be interested to know what drugs you were taking with these side effects.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommytoSJEA Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 1. FATIGUE- It really depends on what kind of fatigue and how much. Most of my meds make me tired. If its I cant get my butt out of bed tired, then NO. But if its im soooo tired, then yeah i can deal with it.2. GASTRO-DISTURBANCES-Again really depends how much. One med I was on, the nausea was so bad I never knew if the next time I opened my mouth to speak, if I was going to vomit all over the person in front of me. NOT COOL! Come and go symptoms wouldn't bother me as much3. MENTAL CONFUSION- I hate to be confused. About 6 mo ago I was on a trio of meds that when taken at the same time, it literally made me stupid. I couldn't hold a full conversation. You now the Adam Sandler movie 50 First Dates, the guy who can't remeber more then 7 seconds, yeah that was me. That was a no go in my book. Just too much!If its the typical foggy headedness that we are all so fond of, then I can handle that in small portions. Makes for a fun day.4. AGITATION- Ummm....I don't thing I've ever been on a med that has made me agitated. I guess my family would not like that too much. So it depends how bad it got. If it was some mood swings, I could always pass it off as a woman thing 5. LOSS OF SENSE OF HUMOR, MILD DEPRESSION -The mild depression I can handle. Been there done that. But a sense of humor is a must. Humor is how we deal with all the day to day crap that comes along with all the health problems in this house ( I doubt I have ever mentioned but my 8yr old son has Crohn's Disease), so we try to find the humor in everthing. Makes things easier to deal with.~Kelli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Yeah the medication that helped my POTS the most of all that Ive tried was Butchers Broom funnily enough. My doctor wanted me to try it again for longer but last time after 10 days i developed tolerance to it after about three days and I seemed to lose my sense of humour and was crabby all the time. I remembre watching a movie I used to love that is hilariously funny and just sitting there without any response to any of the jokes...But now I wonder whether losing my sense of humour is ok if it allows me to work more easily and have some sort of a life?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.