deirdra

Hi Jacquie802, I haven't been on Zoloft before but I am currently on Paxil. When I started them I felt very "out of it", had headaches, was extra tired and lost my appetite so I think SSRIs can cause all sorts of symptoms until your body gets used to them. I think it took about 10 days before I stopped noticing these side effects. It is really hard at the time and you wonder if it's worth but it did get better. Paxil has really helped me. Try to hang in there! Hopefully if Zoloft agreed with you and helped you before they will again I started at a low dose to try and avoid start up effects-not sure if that helped though. I moved up twice in dosage later on and didn't experience any of those horrible effects again. I think once my system was used to them the change in dose wasn't so hard on my body. Hope you start to feel better soon!

I really feel for you. I weaned slowly off mine but still had some withdrawal so I can't even imagine what you are going through cold turkey. Most people say that withdrawal lasts about 2 weeks or so. I can't really be of much help but just wanted to let you know that it does get easier and that the withdrawal symptoms do ease a little each day. I unfortunately had to go back on mine as I started to get POTS symptoms back about three months later. Maybe you should let your doctor know how badly you are being affected to see if he could offer any suggestions x

How long were you takin Zoloft k&ajsmom? I was told my my doctor to slowly wean off my ssri to avoid withdrawal effects. Maybe you are experiencing withdrawal as well.

I really benefited from an ssri. It helped my dizziness, lowered my heart rate and regulated my bp. I stopped fainting completely. After 8 years of being on Paxil, I thought I was better and it wasn't until I stopped them that I realised how much they had actually been helping my condition. There were some side effects but they were outweighed by the positives.

Hi Cma, I just wanted to know if you are in the north or south of Ireland? When I initially became ill I went to a really good doctor in Belfast. He carried out a tilt test and diagnosed my condition. He tried me on several medicines before I found one that worked (Florinef, Midrodrine, Betablocker and then SSRI). He seemed to know alot about the condition. Later on once I improved he transferred me to a cardiologist as he was closer to where I lived. If you want I could look up his details for you?

Hi, I too take midodrine.I take 5mg three times a day.I don't find the tingling too bad I just find it a bit weird.I get this sensation at the back of my scalp and neck and get goosebumps on my arms as well.I have found this drug to be of help.I haven't felt quite as bad since I've been taking it.I can stand up and walk about for longer periods.I hope you also find it to be of help.

Yes i get this feeling a lot of the time too.Its pretty unpleasant.I would get it if I bend down for something, stand up too quickly or reach up to get something from a cupboard or high shelf etc.I think i read somewhere that this is due to low blood pressure so maybe your bp does go low when you get this sensation.

Hi, I don't have any tips on getting your insurer to pay up but just wanted to let you know that I too was told by my doctor it would take 9 months to get an appointment for a tilt test.So I decided to get an appointment in a private clinic which cost ?100 for the single consultation.That consultant then told me to come along to his NHS clinic the following week where he referred me for a TTT and it only took 4 months this way.Just wanted to let you know it can be done a bit more quickly in case you wanted to get the test done while waiting on a decision from your insurers.I hope your fight with the insurers goes well-its a pity they're always trying to look for ways out of paying up what they owe. Dee

Morning is definitely the WORST time for me as well.I am at my dizziest and have my worst visual and heartbeat problems as soon as I rise.I don't even like to speak first thing as my words come out all wrong.Its so horrible.However, if i go for even an hours sleep during the day that is still enough resting to give me horrible symptoms when I wake.I too come to life around 11.30pm.Isn't it fun being a night owl?!

Thanks for the advice.I think i'll talk to my doctor about trying the folic acid in the 1mg form,can't hurt to try and see if it helps.I can't seem to tolerate coffee very well though as my heart seems to become even more uncomfortable shortly after drinking it.Cheers again.

Hi Futurehope, I was reallt interested to hear that you found folic acid to be a help.Did you just think of trying that yourself or did your doctor suggest it?One more question-is 1mg equal to 100mcg?It's just that I,like bamagirl, feel like I'm in a daze too and it lasts all day .I'd be willing to give anything a go to get even a bit of mental clarity back.

Thanks Melissa and Lauren for your advice.I have started taking the Midodrine and am keeping a positive mentel attitude that it will have some effect shortly.It is great that it helped you so much Melissa and Lauren, I'm glad it helps you too-even if its only slightly. Thanks again guys.

Hi Lauren, I'm quite new to this forum but have been checking in on your posts.I thought it was great to hear that you had finally found something to help you a bit in the form of Midodrine. This made me look forward to starting it even more.I'm from Ireland so it took a while for my consultant to get hold of the drug. I was just curious about when you noticed it starting to help you?Even slightly? Thanks,

Hi there. I think the best thing for preventing hypoglycemic episodes (long term) is the GI diet.Ironically, if you eat something sweet it makes your blood sugars crash further later on.Thats what I can make of the books I've read about the GI diet.So basically you need to avoid alot of sugars and eat complex carbohydrates.My consultant recently found I was suffering from low blood sugars but then discovered they were not due to anything organic like diabetes etc.So i've been reading up on this diet and I intend to start it in the very near future.