LindaJoy Posted July 9, 2005 Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 Hi, everyone. I've been gone for awhile. I'm sad to see the newbies who've come in my absence, but I welcome all of you and am glad you found this site. The support here is great.All of you know, a few months ago, I was put on Florinef and taken off of Zoloft. I've not been right since. Emotionally and physically, I'm a wreck. I have a horrible temper and seem to yell all of the time. I"m in therapy for that, but it feels more physical than emotional. Emotionally, I feel like I'm in a big hole and don't care anymore to climb out. My POTS has good days and bad days--the last few days have been really bad. I can barely sit here to type this. I'm so depressed about having a chronic illness and not being able to work, that I can't stand it anymore. I know I"m depressed, and I should go back on an anti-depressant, but the Zoloft seemed to GIVE me anxiety. Can anyone suggest one that will help and not hurt?I'm sorry to be so down. I know all of you have your daily battles, too. I love all of you. Take care,LindaJoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michiganjan Posted July 9, 2005 Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 How long have you been on the Zoloft? I have tried Prozac, Paxil, and lexapro for my POTs over the years. These kinds of drugs can take a long time to adjust to. I never could get going on Prozac and it took 3 months before I got over my initial reaction to Paxil. It took Lexapro a month before it helped.One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes you have a better long term result in getting established on one of these drugs if you take the dose low and slow at the beginning. I had a real rodeo of symptoms when I started Paxil such as resting heart rates of 180, really weird thinking--was just fascinated thinking about all the different kinds of pills we had in the house and wondered if I would just suddenly decide to take them all at once--had to have my family hide everything from me before I could stop thinking abou them. All those things did pass but it took three to four weeks on the Paxil for it to settle down. Prozac made me very angry right away. I called up my doctor and yelled and cussed and said words that I wouldn't have believed could come out of my mouth. She said to stop taking it immediately.Both of the above drugs I started on what my doctor conisdered to be a very low dose. When I started the lexapro I took a very low dose-- 1/4 of a pill. After a few days I was sick to my stomach and had some other symptoms. So I quit. Later I restarted lexapro, this time on my own terms. I took 1/8 of a pill a day for a month. No bad effects but about the 1 month point, I began to feel some good effects of the medicine. My thinking got clearer and I was less tired. The gist of this message is: After your body gets used to the drug some of your side effects may go away, but you may be able to avoid going through this period of ill effects if you take it extremely low and slow.Good luck and post on how you are doing.Michigan Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DancingLight Posted July 9, 2005 Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 linda joy,i had to respond to your post before i logged off! i am so, so sorry you are in a break down period too...it's so, so hard.but, one thing i just wanted to check on...you said you've been feeling this way since the florinef???? you said it feels physical? well, i just wanted to say...maybe it is...i took florinef and became extremely depressed and had suicidal thoughs (and you may know, this is pretty out of character for me). it was bizarre. it was like an out of body experience. i was also very, very anxious. i waited it out for quite a while and then stopped the florinef. almost immediately i felt like 'me' again. it was dramatic. it was horrible. there are others who have this reaction to florinef...although, in the little brochure, it's like one percent. but it is possible. i have written more in depth on this before, so if you are up for a search on florinef, dancingligh, depressed, etc. you might want to check it out. if i can, i will search for you, but right now, i'm too pooped, sorry. i just ahd to at least let you know to consider the florinef. i was wondering if you were still out there...i'm glad you checked in...hang on...tie another knot if you need to!love, em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted July 9, 2005 Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 LJ-just wanted to give you a virtual ((((hug)))). it was good to see your name pop up on the board but i'm sorry you're having such a rough time. i would say that anything is possible in terms of reactions to meds (or lack of meds)....true for anyone but even more so for us. in terms of different SSRIs, people have had such varied experiences with different ones so it's definitely something not to throw out immediately. there was a discussion recently and probably many others along the way, but in case you missed the recent one, i'll post the link as soon as i find it...keep on hangin in there & pop up on the board as you're able...:-)melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted July 9, 2005 Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 seems to me there was other discussion too, but here are two links that you might want to peruse:SSRI..how much are you taking?http://dinet.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=2823Depression & Anxiety, POTS - Depression?http://dinet.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=2829even aside from issues with meds, know that most if not all of us have had times of major struggle with the fact that things are taken away from us b/c of illness, so you're not alone there. at the same time i know that doesn't make it feel any better or easier....it still feels horrible & endless. but...with the corresponding med changes i would definitely at least pursue that route of inquiry...:-)melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nantynannie Posted July 9, 2005 Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 Hi Linda Joy,I wanted to let you know that I felt the best while on a low dose of Lexapro. I went off of it to try Cymbalta, which is supposed to help with neuropathic pain, but I have been in a terrible mood/grouchy/irritable/very emotional for months now and putting my family through ****. I think I am going to go back to the Lexapro. I know everyone has a different experience, but it might be worth a try for you. Just keep testing different things to find out what works best. Don't give up. I hope you feel better soon.Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DancingLight Posted July 10, 2005 Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 p.s. zoloft also made me MORE agitated...but i think i am one big med disaster! anyway, i've tried many. the best for me are effexor xr and celexa. that's it. and i agree with jan...take it super, super slowly! sorry, just had to add one more thing...b/c i so want you to feel better and figure out if a med is the trigger...i have been depressed for both reasons...just the weight of chronic illness can do it. but also from meds and i too felt like it was different than being depressed not from a med. okay, rambling...check in with us if you can, k? or we'll worry too much!emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaJoy Posted July 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 Hi, everyone,Thank you for your thoughts and your caring wishes. You've made me cry, which I do a lot these days.I will keep Lexapro in mind, as it sounds like something that may help.DancingLight, I went off of Florineff at the end of May, and I still have the weight gain (15 pounds) that I can't seem to lose, which isn't helping my emotional state any. I read somewhere here at the forum that it takes 6 weeks to get the stuff out of your system completely, which would put me right about now. What do you think? Could I still be having some reactions to it?Michigan Jan, thank you for your information. I was on Zoloft for over 6 years. I know, from what I've read, that it takes a month for the body to adjust to it being gone, but it's been well over a month, and I'm more of a mess than I've been in a long time. My POTS is worse than I can remember it being, and my emotions are a wreck.I also feel shaky all of the time, like I have fingers crawling up my back, and I just want to shake. I feel like I'm losing my mind. My body is a wreck, my mind is a wreck, I'm depressed. My daughter called me the other night--I hadn't heard from her in a week, and she lives in Alabama, so you'd think I would really listen to her news, right? Oh, no, not me. I had ADD the entire time we talked, which was around 40 minutes. My husband asked me if Bethany had any news, and I really couldn't say. I just couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. I've had trouble concentrating before, even on the Zoloft, when my POTS is bad, and it's been bad now for awhile. Could all of this be from POTS? I just don't know anymore.Thanks, everyone, for letting me go on and on. I may not be on for awhile because it's getting harder and harder to sit at my computer, but I'll check in as soon as I can.Love, LindaJoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselover Posted July 10, 2005 Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 Dear Linda,I've been been wondering about you. I haven't been up to posting much lately, but I did notice I hadn't seen anything from you for quite a while. I am so sorry you are struggling so much! Do you think it is from going off the Zoloft? Ughhh!!!! I hate all of this - for all of us! Please know I missed you and am praying for you.Love Roselover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariella Posted July 10, 2005 Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 Hi Linda,Don't know if it's from going off the zoloft (I don't have experience with zoloft), but I was extremely fatigued and irritable on florinef. Not sure if it is a side effect of the florinef because I have another apparently neuromuscular condition going on which precludes the use of florinef, but in any case, the only time I really felt like I was losing it, or had already lost it, is during the 10 days I tried the florinef.Hoping it gets resolved soon, Ariella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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