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#sertraline reviews depression
transmutationisms · 7 months
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DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa0804633 oft-cited 2008 study where sertraline + CBT works better than placebo + CBT for anxiety. Anecdotally, I'm anxious but not depressed, and it worked well for me - distress felt less immediate and I could think it through. I stopped because I didn't like my dreams, and if I forgot or lost access to the pills I'd get anxious AND depressed from withdrawal. Still, "better than placebo" doesn't equate to "proves chem imbalance".
i'd be very cautious about relying on any single study to make any scientific judgment; i'm especially wary about this in regards to psychiatric pharmaceuticals because so many of these turn out to be non-replicable. there are plenty of one-off SSRI studies for depression that show great results and then when you look at the balance of evidence and take into account methodological flaws and author conflicts of interest and p-hacking and misleading presentations of the data, the picture looks very different to what those single studies suggested. this study is also specifically on children, so make of that what you will. also this is the authors' conflict of interest disclosure paragraph:
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Dr. Walkup reports receiving consulting fees from Eli Lilly and Jazz Pharmaceuticals and fees for legal consultation to defense counsel and submission of written reports in litigation involving GlaxoSmithKline, receiving lecture fees from CMP Media, Medical Education Reviews, McMahon Group, and DiMedix, and receiving support in the form of free medication and matching placebo from Eli Lilly and free medication from Abbott for clinical trials funded by the NIMH; Dr. Albano, receiving royalties from Oxford University Press for the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV, Child and Parent Versions, but not for interviews used in this study, and royalties from the Guilford Press; Dr. Piacentini, receiving royalties from Oxford University Press for treatment manuals on childhood obsessive–compulsive disorder and tic disorders and from the Guilford Press and APA Books for other books on child mental health and receiving lecture fees from Janssen-Cilag; Dr. Birmaher, receiving consulting fees from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, and Abcomm, lecture fees from Solvay, and royalties from Random House for a book on children with bipolar disorder; Dr. Rynn, receiving grant support from Neuropharm, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, consulting fees from Wyeth, and royalties from APPI for a book chapter on pediatric anxiety disorders; Dr. McCracken, receiving consulting fees from Sanofi-Aventis and Wyeth, lecture fees from Shire and UCB, and grant support from Aspect, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly; Dr. Waslick, receiving grant support from Baystate Health, Somerset Pharmaceuticals, and GlaxoSmithKline; Dr. Iyengar, receiving consulting fees from Westinghouse for statistical consultation; Dr. March, receiving study medications from Eli Lilly for an NIMH-funded clinical trial and receiving royalties from Pearson for being the author of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, receiving consulting fees from Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Wyeth, and GlaxoSmithKline, having an equity interest in MedAvante, and serving on an advisory board for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson; and Dr. Kendall, receiving royalties from Workbook Publishing for anxiety-treatment materials.
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buggingme · 2 months
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Factitious Disorder - An overview
N Percent
Gender  Male 176 34.2  Female 336 65.4 Marital status  Unmarried 62 30.4  Married 97 47.5  Separated/divorced/widowed 45 22.0 Age (years)  Total mean 33.5  Male 35  Female 32.8 Total range 18–73  Male range 19–67  Female range 18–73 Comorbid psychopathology 239 46.5 Occupation  Health care profession 113 22.0  Others 94 18.3
During hospitalization, 65.8% of patients got a psychiatric consultation. The remaining 34.2% of patients refused or did not have the consultation.
Among the factors considered to be relevant to diagnose these disorders, the exclusion of other organic or psychiatric causes is the most represented, observed in 91.1% of cases.
An atypical presentation is another key issue (89.3%), which implies that the patient’s symptoms or the clinical course of the presumed condition is unusual, sometimes associated with incongruous instrumental findings. In some cases, it is also possible to observe an exacerbation of the symptoms in the presence of the medical staff or, on the contrary, in the absence of any witnesses.
Another important parameter is patient’s unusual behavior (86.2%), followed by treatment failure and/or high disease recurrence (83.7%).
The demographic profile of the sample shows a prevalence of female. The data support the hypothesis of several case reports and reviews that FD occur mainly in women.3,9,10 However, other studies published in the literature show a clear prevalence in male gender. This illusory disagreement finds an explanation in Freyberger’s words, who asserts that there is a prevalence of men in clinical trials for Munchausen Syndrome, while the women are most common in the classic form of FD with a ratio of 3:1.11
A disorder in which one pretends to be sick, by self-injury or making themselves sick.
Therapy
Psychotherapy:To help the patient recognise and acknowledge the problem. Also helps them learn coping skills.
Cognitive behaviour therapy:To bring changes in the person’s thinking and behaviour.
Medication
Antidepressants: To treat the associated depression.
Sertraline . Citalopram
Antianxiety drugs: To treat the associated anxiety.
Lorazepam . Diazepam
Rare (Fewer than 10,000 cases per year in Australia)
Treatments can help manage condition, no known cure
Doesn't require lab test or imaging
Can last several years or be lifelong
Common for ages 20-40
Symptoms of factitious disorder include:
Exaggeration of symptoms
Faking symptoms; inconsistencies in the symptoms reported
Dramatic presentation
Presence of symptoms only while being observed
Willingness and eagerness to have diagnostic tests or other procedures
Long medical records of multiple admissions to different hospitals
Reluctance by the patient to allow interaction of doctors with family members
Having a vast knowledge of the diseases one claims to have
Many surgical scars
Self-harm for example by injecting oneself with bacteria or gasoline
Tampering diagnostic results e.g., by heating a thermometer
Causes
The exact cause is unknown but it is attributed to psychological factors.
Risk factors for developing the disorder include:
Depression
Low self-esteem
Child abuse
History of illnesses that required hospitalisation
Personality disorders
Desire to be a healthcare professional
Loss of a loved one
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In med school and also preparing for my exam. I have to learn a whole course about antidepressants so here it goes I guess !
Hi! I'm sure that the majority of this will be pretty basic review but let's talk about it!
The first generation of antidepressants were monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). They were originally invented to treat tuberculosis but in 1953 Iproniazid was developed and patients taking it showed improvements in their depression symptoms. As their name suggests, they function by inhibiting the breakdown of monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, ect) by the enzyme monoamine oxidase, and this leaves more neurotransmitters available for synapse. The problem with this method is that there are monoamines in our food. Patients taking MAOIs have to be careful eating foods that contain lots of tyramine because it can't be broken down. High levels of tyramine can cause sudden increases in blood pressure and even cerebral hemorrhage! Understandably, MAOIs aren't prescribed very often anymore.
The next generation of antidepressants, known as tricyclic antidepressants, was developed in the late 50s. These work by inhibiting both serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake. They are also antagonists for postsynaptic adrenergic α1 and α2 receptors, muscarinic receptors, and histamine H1 receptors. Reuptake inhibition is the mechanism found in a lot of our current antidepressants, but they're a little bit more focused.
In the late 80s, Fluoxetine was finally approved by the FDA and SSRIs continue to dominate the antidepressant landscape. SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, and they do what their name suggests, inhibiting the serotonin transporter (SERT) at the presynaptic axon terminal. This leaves more serotonin (5-HT) available for synapse. Additionally, SSRIs target the 5-HT1A autoreceptors. This seems counter productive at first, because the autoreceptor activation slows 5-HT production and release. But over time, this builds autoreceptor tolerance. Generally, autoreceptors can shut off signaling when there's too much and is a main contributor to building drug tolerance. But since the autoreceptor is now being activated, that shut off function loses efficacy and the extra 5-HT in the synapse from SERT inhibition doesn't cause tolerance to be built up (as much). This is why it takes SSRIs weeks to kick in because the two processes do cancel each other out until the autoreceptors have gotten tolerant. There is variety within SSRIs. Fluoxetine (Prozac) has a half life much longer than Sertraline (Zoloft) and takes longer to get peak plasma concentration.
Serotonin-Noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors work very similarly, they just also inhibit norepinephrine reuptake. (Say what you will about anti-depressants, at least they're named straightforwardly lol). Some patients respond better to SSRIs, some respond better to SNRIs. Unfortunately, a lot of patients don't respond well to either and they can come with difficult side effects.
Moving on from depression, let's talk a little about anxiety and anxiolytics. One of the key brain changes in general anxiety is reduced PFC inhibitory control, associated with reduced GABA(A) receptors. This is coupled with amygdala overactivity. Benzodiazepines help regulate anxiety by increasing GABA control. They do so without nearly as many side effects as the previous barbiturates, and took off in the 1960s. But because they act on GABA, mixing benzodiazepines with alchohol (also acts on GABA) creates lots of abuse potential (think of the Valium + martini housewife). The positive side to this is that benzodiazepines can be used to help someone with alcohol withdrawal, which is otherwise very dangerous. Second generation anxiolytics are partial agonists for 5-HT1A receptors. Moving away from GABA reduces the abuse potential, but also makea the drugs less effective. Generally, SSRIs are prescribed for anxiety before other classes of drugs.
Hope that was a good basic review!
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sekritjay · 2 years
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I'm uh.... back. I didn't really leave I guess... at any point between before and after my last post if I'm being honest, which you may have seen if I popped up in your notifications liking a random post out of the blue because I fat-fingered and then hastily unliked a post on my mobile. So what happened?
Well nothing, frankly. After my dog copped it I didn't expect things to get any worse but they did anyway, and they did in ways I could never have imagined - Covid did a number on the business but in a way that to my egocentric ways seemed at times to specifically target me
Literally from the moment de Pfeffel declared a lockdown I was run ragged every single fucking day. Coupled with the fact that I had to put my entire staff on furlough meant that for the next two years I was doing double the work for two-thirds of the money, with a 20% premium added to everything I had to buy on top. Before the pandemic I had a migraine maybe every other month. During the pandemic it was every other day and even today I get migraines on the regular
And of course people died. Three family friends passed away and none of them from covid - sepsis, cancer and car accident. And I never saw them the entire time, not even at a funeral. All I could do is... get back to work, because I was facing yet another night of doing more work for less money
Shamefully my default response during that time wasn't despondency - it was in fact through extreme temper flare ups, shifting from apathy to explosive anger from even innocuous questions
And now business is on a downturn. Right when my energy bills are skyrocketing. Two months ago I was paying £1,500 a month for electricity, my next bill? £3,500
And I don't derive any pleasure from doing what I loved. If anything, I do those things just to distract myself from what I should be doing but can't seem to face. Even a post like this, which had been sitting uncompleted in my drafts for two months. Because I couldn't bare to face it. Because I honestly felt shame from even voicing it on the internet, in a public sphere. Because it felt like I had lost the ability to meaningfulyl socialise. I haven't even spoken to my real life friends in three years, let alone people on tumblr
I finally managed to get a mental health review a couple of months ago, thinking that it was ADD. Couldn't even get that right - I've been diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder and prescribed sertraline
I'm still not sure if it's *improving* my situation on a personal level as I don't feel any different. Outwardly maybe - anger flare ups stopped happening even when under pressure but no-one seemed to notice. I haven't told my family I'm on antidepressants but they haven't said anything. And I guess it's nice that I don't have intrusive thoughts any more, something which my doctor said that despite everyone getting them, the frequency I was having them was a cause for concern
The fact is though is that the circumstances that lead to depression haven't gone away - I would say that have in fact gotten worse but I don't see any way I can change it in the short term. I'm still doing 60 hours, 7 days a week. I still can't pay myself. I still can't get the fresh start I desperately want
And I still can't sleep properly at night. Plus ca change
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blueonwrestling · 2 years
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anyone got a review of Sertraline for depression, anxiety and all that?
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roisingrasby · 27 days
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Today is sponsored by ...
CW: Mental health and suicide. Today's emotions can be summarised as a mix of defeat and rage. To set the tone, this is not share as a "woe is me" post. This is shared as a "This is the stuff I'm dealing with that I wanted to share with you, so you maybe feel less alone too" type of post. At the start of March I went for a Mental Health Assessment of sorts at my local practice, with the Community Mental Health Team. I was with that person for an hour (along with Dan to offer input if needed) and summarised my mental health as best I could. To do that briefly here, current diagnoses are Depression, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, OCD, Complex PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder. I have had at least 6 different rounds of therapy, with different therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, using a variety of methods. I am on my 4th different type of meds - Sertraline. I still struggle on a weekly basis with certain levels of passive suicidal ideation (Passive suicidal ideation is having suicidal thoughts come up, but not making plans/actions to die by suicide or hurt myself) and feel like I'll be working part time for the rest of my life as I kept burning myself out working full time. My drive is low unless it's helping others, which is familiar to a lot of us, right.
I am fed up of talking about myself. I am fed up of the guesswork of meds; are my conditions partly due to a lack of serotonin/dopamine/norepinephrine or not having them get sent to the right places at the right times? I wanted to see if I could be considered for Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which involves electrical stimulation of the brain by applying a weak direct current to the scalp. It is NOT Electroconvulsive therapy. It's taken me quite a while to build up the courage to request it, and I had to be quite firm with my GP to even be put forward to ask for it. I won't go into my reasons for wanting to try it, but it's safe to say after 22 years of being "officially" depressed, the drugs/therapy/myself is not working. Today I received the call from the assessor that "It's bad news" and after the team reviewed my case, I couldn't be considered for tDCS. That in itself was pretty disappointing, but when I asked them why - again, a bold step for me instead of just sadly going "OK" - they didn't know the reasons, which gives me nothing to work with. I asked them to get that information if possible, because otherwise it's not a very helpful "No". We agreed a follow-up phone call next week to see what alternative next steps I could take at this stage. Whew. So that's the rant over and no doubt I'll feel sheepish and like i could have explained myself better, but I think it's important to post whilst things are fresh (and when things have sunk in and been thought about, but now is not the time).
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existentialmagazine · 4 months
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Review: The alt-rock upcomer Molly Meaker just shared her debut ‘Sertraline’, a hard-hitting narrative beneath a bubbly front
Debuting to a sold out upstairs show at Ronnie Scott's in July 2022 and most recently seen opening for Grammy award winning band Chai, the upcoming alt-rock artist Molly Meaker is now ready to share her first ever single 'Sertraline' alongside a 6-date UK tour either side of the release.
From pressing play, the oddly sugary sound of 'Sertraline' dances through your eardrums with an unexpected level of vibrancy for a song on such intimate themes, an anthem-like journey that turns the lows into the highs. Masking meaning behind tumbling drums, groovy guitar strums and bass twangs, 'Sertraline' pounds with an introductory moment of instrumental charisma and charm, bundling you within its glossy covers for quite the tumultuous ride. Simmering for the verse, steady beats and a subtle bassline join together, allowing Molly’s impressive vocals to take the lead through impressive ranges between sombre tones and airy glides. With a short mid-verse intermission, the instruments once again peak into clashing drums, vigorous strums and backing twangs before settling back into the verses’ chant-along infectiousness. The chorus is simple but addictive, flowing through ‘na na na na na’ vocal hooks and dominating instruments at their most brash. The track feels rather untraditional in format though, never leaving you sure whether you’re amidst an ongoing verse, the choruses high or something in-between, capturing more of a living aspect to the way it chooses to evolve and unfold. Delivering an unexpectedly electrifying guitar solo after the more lulled bridge, 'Sertraline' jumps from modern day swagger to more rock and roll roots, ecentrically showing off in a performance made to both uplift and leave you thinking deeper. Molly also seems to become more confident as the track plays out, sharing lines with an attitude and flair that’s utterly mesmerising, reminiscent of some of the most smashing rock headliners.
The lyrics are just as powerful, with the track named after the antidepressant Sertraline and Molly’s own experience through mental health, as well as recovery. From the opening admission that ‘sertraline’s got me feeling sick’, Molly touches on the common themes of antidepressants causing a period of nausea, caught up in a new experience without anyone to share advice on her solitary journey - instead hoping to help other people in the same situation. Continuing ‘I’m finally getting rather good at it, now I feel like I almost exist’ , Molly seems almost torn on her opinions, half-pessimistic as the drugs haven’t quite brought her back to life but perhaps taken her a step closer to where she once was. It’s almost as though her outlook still continues to be rather down though, lingering on lines like ‘this ship is going down’ that don’t seem to wish for anything to go right, finding security and comfort in the unknowns of depression. She does still acknowledge an unhappiness within this rut however, admitting ‘can’t escape, my mind is suffering’ , feeling trapped within an illness that consumes her every moment of existence. There are moments of clarity however, singing ‘a chemical imbalance I suppose, let’s hope these drugs finally hit’ , in some ways maybe relying too heavily on antidepressants to be a quick fix without acknowledging the causes of her emotions. Everything about ‘Sertraline’ is very back and forth, shifting in moods and working through newfound experiences in ways that feels authentic and raw. For those still finding their way along their own mental health journey, ‘Sertraline’ is a single worth checking out for some comfort in an experience that can be isolating.
Check out ‘Sertraline’ for yourself here to enjoy Molly’s vibrant sound and more important lyrical message beneath.
Written by: Tatiana Whybrow
Photo Credits: Unknown
// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.
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thewinstersoldier · 1 year
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We out here working through our depression.
I started sertraline October 2021 and I wanna say I stopped taking it January 2023...but I'm going to start taking it again bc I truly cannot raw dog life like this LMAO
Here is my review! When I first started it, the anxiety was RIPPED from my body, anxiety WHO!?
but along with that came emotional numbness and like I was in a constant haze. I wasn't depressed, I was just existing and I felt nothing.
Once I adjusted I was fine and living my life BUT I was regularly using marijuana so that was interacting with my meds and I DO NOT recommend mixing the two AT ALL. I would smoke bc I wanted to feel emotions again but in turn that gave me crippling anxiety suddenly and paranoia so lmao don't do it it's not worth it bc it took hours to come down from really bad thoughts.
And I rarely drink but when I did drink on those meds they made me feel so so so so bad so also don't rec that.
That being said, I'm doing a clean start this time and not mixing SHIT sooooo stay tuned.
It's true though about the NO FEELINGS, I literally couldn't cry and I did not care about anything which can be a pro and a con depending on the situation.
And the low libido...if you like fckin or whatever then say goodbye cos u can't c*m....I'm ace anyways so that doesn't matter to me but I know for a lot of people that is something that is hard to deal with.
Anygays if anyone has questions about Zoloft I don't mind answering!
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artheartsoul1 · 6 years
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There are a lot of negative posts on these things, so I just wanted to talk a little about my experience on sertraline (zoloft). That experience being the first time I’ve taken it, today, at 25mg.
I’m taking it for anxiety causing my conversion disorder. My anxiety is so bad that sometimes my legs don’t work and I’ve developed GERD. I’m taking it to save my stomach and so that I can walk a little more.
So so far, it’s slowed me down. In a good way, I’ve had different meds that slowed me down in a bad way. This one kinda nudges my ADHD and anxiety down and lets me focus for a bit. The world is slower, I feel like I have more time to do all the things I want and need. That’s pretty good.
My OCD, which I’m not taking it for, has improved significantly (which is just for today). So every now and then I feel like I should bite my lip, but then this deep-inner calmness is just like “Nah, we don’t have to do that. Let’s do this instead.” And so I find myself licking my lips instead. Or instead of biting my nails, I briefly touch them to my lips without biting hard enough to break the nail. And that’s only for a second. And that’s fantastic. My OCD is pretty much half cured, and it’s only the first day.
I’m also deciding to walk more. I go to sit in my wheelchair and I just get that sensation, “nah, you can walk it out.” and so I go to do that. Then it’s like “Since you’re going to bring it out anyway (I have to in case I fall) why don’t you put your bags of trash on it and take those to the garbage on your way out? (I live in an apartment complex, so it takes like 5 minutes to throw my bags away but it’s a physical workout for me). And so I put some of my bags of trash on my wheelchair and take them out to the garbage dump. Fucking. Fantastic.
Oh, and I’m also less sad. It is an antidepressant, after all.
On the downside, I have a little vertigo. I could probably ride a bike, but it would be risky. I don’t know how to drive, but I’m still undecided as to whether I would be safe to be driving a car or not. It doesn’t really matter, since I can’t drive.
I also have this tense-ness in my upper neck/lower jaw. I think it’s where the saliva glands are? Not sure. My mom had an allergic reaction to Zoloft, and it constricted her breathing. This 25mg dose causes me less problems then foods I have mild breathing problems with. So chamomile and quinoa, for example, restrict my lungs in addition to my throat, but I can usually still breath. With Sertraline, it’s only this upper part of my neck that’s restricted. It’s mildly uncomfortable and I’m breathing in slightly less air, but I still have enough. I think maybe twice the dose of this (50mg) would probably be my limit.
That’s my review for the antidepressant zoloft/Sertraline (I’m taking the Sertraline version). Remember that every body is different. I’m having a good reaction, and so I wanted to fill in the space so that other people wouldn’t be terrified of it. You really won’t know until you try.
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mollies-mad-moments · 4 years
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*TRIGGER WARNING*
Update.
Hello lovely followers. Thank you for all of your kind messages, I have now responded to them individually and privately. I’ve written a little update for those of you who are interested.
Since last time I posted, things have got worse- much worse.
I continued to engage with the CRHTT but it was felt that I needed more support than they could offer in the community, so I was asked if I wanted to go to an inpatient mother and baby unit (MBU). I declined, until they threatened to section me, so I went in voluntarily.
I was placed in an isolation room and tested for COVID-19, then moved to the main ward once that came back negative. I was on Level 3 (one-to-one) observations.
Although the majority of the staff are wonderful, and it’s a very nice ward, I no longer wanted to stay here and was put on a temporary section when I insisted on leaving. I was then assessed and placed on a section 2.
The suicidal thoughts persisted and when I was downgraded to less intrusive observations I attempted to end my life. Clearly I failed. The staff who found me were absolutely lovely to me, bless them, which somehow made me feel worse. I was taken to the closest A&E and had both internal stitches and surface stitches on my neck. The doctor who treated me said I was extremely lucky that I didn’t hit my carotid artery. Since that was my plan, I certainly didn’t feel lucky.
I was placed on Level 3 observations again.
Today I had a review with the doctor and my core team here on the ward, which I hadn’t been looking forward to but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected.
The consultant thinks I have developed postnatal depression and is taking me off the antidepressant (sertraline) the community psychiatrist prescribed and I’m going to try mirtazapine instead. He thinks this may help with my sleep also.
As for Ezra, the staff are brilliant with him, he’s loving all the groups and activities, he’s learnt to crawl, is trying new foods, has another tooth coming, and has been pulling himself into standing position. I continue to be amazed every single day.
So that’s where things are at the moment.
Would love to receive some post or something, if anyone could be so kind as to send me something please inbox me for the address.
Hope all my fab followers are well and are doing better than I am at the moment.
Stay golden x
@finding-mollies-marbles
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vrets · 5 years
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Medication review imo:
Propranolol—you want a medication that works when you only take high doses? Well here it is. Not much help for anxiety even at 40mg
Buspar/Buspirone—HA fuck you buspar if I want to be thrown into a manic episode I know who to call and what to take because this baby threw me on a rollercoaster of bipolar disorder
Abilify/Aripiprazole—not even cheaper but like a knock off brand of rexulti except I could still interact with my personalities #schizoaffective
Venlafaxine/Effexor—it was so useless that I don’t even remember taking it
Risperidone/Risperdal—barely touched my psychosis and gave me urge incontinence
Oxcarbazepine/Trileptal—this did nothing my mood swings were unaffected gang gang
Duloxetine/Cymbalta—really good for joint pain!!!! Not much for depression but damn my joints felt good!
Fluoxetine/Prozac—Low dose was good doubled it and felt like dying 🤷🏼‍♀️
Latuda—FUCK LATUDA restless leg syndrome to the MAX and I thought my legs were detached from my body
Current meds:
Klonopin/Clonazepam—honestly this does nothing for me and I’m trying to switch to Valium
Lamactial/Lamotrigine—yes!! This plus my lithium I finally have stable moods until BUSPAR came into my life
Sertraline/Zoloft—great for flashbacks
Gabapen/Gabapentin—we will see I don’t know if it’s this or the saphris that’s making everything foggy but it’s one of them since I just started them both yesterday👀
Saphris—tastes fucking GROSS makes your mouth NUMB I guess it’s working since it’s supposed to stabilize my moods since BUSPAR fucked them up
Rexulti—I love rexulti expensive!!!!!! Unless you have the new card they were giving to people but great for my schizoaffective ass except I miss talking to my personalities
Trazodone—MY BABY sometimes it works and I build up a tolerance to it so I’m slowly climbing up to higher doses to get me to sleep but for right now it’s working!
Lithium—only on 300 mg bc I wouldn’t take the blood tests also when you go up in mg you lose all feelings about life in general so I’ll take my 300
Update:
Vraylar: better than rexulti! Which gave my Akathisia in the end happy to make the switch 
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slaying-strong · 5 years
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Depression is a bitch.
I think I am burning myself out with working too many hours; running myself into the ground. I am not just physically exhausted but mentally my brain is just not running like usual.
Bouts of depression are few and far between since beginning sertraline (thank god) but when I have them, it scares the crap out of me because I am so afraid of not being able to get rid of the feeling.
I have a bit of an idea of what is causing it. I don’t totally resent my body; I am learning to accept it but lately, I have been so easily triggered by all the diet talk surrounding summer and by a new co-worker who I suspect has an eating disorder. She constantly talks about very disordered symptoms while making light of her behaviors and the whole thing is hard to be around.
I don’t want to go into detail about the behaviors that I am exhibiting but I am eating as many “safe foods” as I can to meet my intake goals. I know I will be able to pull myself out of this pit; it has just been a hard few days and I think I need to sleep for about a week.
I am thinking of writing my old therapist, K, a reflective letter updating her on my progress. I think channeling the positive change I have created for myself might help me feel better. After my run in two weeks ago with J got me thinking again about K and how much more she helped me and how grateful I am for the time I had working with her. The last she and I spoke, I was on the fence about an IOP admission and since then, I have been flying sky high and doing so incredibly well. I am also considering breaking out my 8 Keys workbook. I haven’t touched it in a few months and I am thinking that life gets tough and it is important to review the basics to help myself stay on track.
I didn’t come this far to only come this far, you know?
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Day 3 back on meds and PUPPPPIESSSS
After a 4/5 month break, I decided to go back on medication, sertraline 50mgs, this was a decision I've been toying with for a while and since I've been quite irratic for the last month with all the changes that have been happening around me, I decided that It was for the best. I feel good and happy about this decision. Medication doesn't solve any greater problem, I still have depression, but it does help stable me to a point where I am able to listen to my rational brain more.
This was my penultimate work day supporting my lovely next door neighbour and friend who has special needs. For the last 2 years, once a week we have been volunteering at an animal sanctuary, we walk dogs and cuddle cats. It's ridiculous to call that work. There were an abnormal amount of volunteers when we got there so all of the dogs had already gone out for their morning walks :( one of the staff members asked us if we wanted to sit in with mum and her 8 puppies! Puppies make me so happy!!! For an hour we sat whilst they nipped and licked and climbed all over us. I gave so many kisses and cuddles, I really was in puppy heaven. I definitely believe in animal therapy, my life has completely changed since we got our family dog. Having a cuddle from a dog is like nothing else in the world.
I was knackered when we got back! I had a nap after I dropped her home.
I bought a book: lost connections by Johann Hari. Someone recommended it to me after I wrote a status of Facebook explaining that I was taking a break from Facebook and Instagram as my mental health has plummeted and don't feel like it helps. So I ordered this book and I'm excited to read it and will defo review when I'm finished.
I also went out last night, I haven't managed to go out anywhere other than work in a few days and I really didn't want to go out, I was super tired and didn't want to spend any money but my best friend is going travelling this week, she leaves for India in a couple days and I won't see her again for about a year unless I go and visit her. We had a good evening the 4 of us. I'm glad I went.
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themori-witch · 5 years
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I haven't been active in a little while, so let me explain why:
I've been having a really difficult time trying to control the symptoms of my Dysautonomia since December (2018) and only managed to get a medication review two and-a-half weeks ago (March, 2019). I was taken off Amitriptyline (a neuropathy and depression treatment/management medication that I was on the max dose of), and have begun the weaning process for Sertraline (an anxiety and depression treatment that I was on 100mg of) because the medication I've been put on to treat my Dysautonomia (Duloextine) has a very strong antidepressant in it.
Duloxetine takes 6-8 weeks to really kick in, and so my body has been having a bit of a meltdown - as has my mental health.
I've been very sick, very sad, and in an attempt to ignore all of it, been sleeping a lot.
I'm not really feeling good yet, but I'll get there. I just need to give it time.
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Where do we even start?
So.
This is my fourth medication change within less than 2 years.
Apro Paroxetine. She was cute. Did what I needed her to do. She helped lessen the panic attacks. But then after 5 years we had a new player to the game. Depression. So we jump onto-
Venlafaxine/Effexor XR. And the transition was rough. Medical professionals equate it to "it would be smoother to come off of meth cold turkey" I shook I trembled I ached I stayed in bed for days. But we get there. We play with the doses. Up and down. Less and more. Then the depression is settled. Anxiety is back in focus, but after a terrible week full of trauma, agrophobia re-rears her ugly ass head. So after weeks of not going out alone, we put our foot down, and we try-
Imprimine. And this transition is the worst. I was so fucking constipated I seriously wondered if I would combust and be nothing but shit left. I wanted to die. Now more than ever. My poor boyfriend spends several nights holding me shaking in the bath tub. Should have got a lotto ticket baby, because I had almost every side effect possible for this drug. Every day I'm reading other people's reviews online. And they all seem fine. What's wrong with me? I become delusional. I convince myself that I'm having a miscarriage, despite not even being pregnant. I spend my days trembling in bed chewing ginger, until I say fuck it. I send my doctor an angry email. I tell him where to shove those pills. Only catch is I can't see him for another 4 months, so I have to come off this medication and re-ween myself onto-
Venlafaxine/Effexor XR. I feel like I've failed to mention that the process of coming off of the ridiculously high doses I'm on sometimes takes 3-4 weeks. That's before I can even take the new drug. So I ween off of Imprimine, and we gradually build up the venlafaxine. But this time no matter how many I take, there's no difference. I'm always dizzy, light headed, sleepy - but I can't sleep no matter what I do. Almost 2 weeks I go with no more than 3 hours some afternoons of sleep. I want my life back. I drop weight. I have panic attacks 2-6 times a day. My agrophobia and panic attacks team up, I get slightly out of breath walking a slight incline -BAM- panic attack! So I can't be out of the house alone for long. Or consecutive days. I feel like I'm going insane. I want to sit my driving test, I want to work, I want to contribute to the world. I've lost most of my friends. Only a handful of people even know where I live. This isn't living. So I assemble the dream team. Dad and Boyfriend. They flank my sides after the 4 months of agony I've waited, I feel like one bad bitch. We are about to make this doctor feel some kind of way, because I sure haven't in months. They are both men of few words. But their message is clear - enough. He nods. He knows we got to level up. So here we are-
Sertraline/Zoloft. I'm aware that not many people seem to have positive experience with this. I'm willing to feel a little numb if it means I can feel anything other than terror and fear.
We are in the first few days of transition. Weening off of Venlafaxine. I will post semi regularly when possible as I transition. The purpose is not so much for people to read this and feel sorry for me. It's to show people that real people have to live like this. That the mental health system isn't quick and perfect like the movies show. This is a fucking struggle. Imagine having to be dosed up on chemical crap because your own brain has betrayed you.
Until next time,
Jess.
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itsaa96-blog · 5 years
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Week 2 on Sertraline (28th December 2018)
Hello! I haven’t posted daily since the end of week 1 on Sertraline. Things have definitely changed since!
The physical symptoms are starting to get a bit better. I’m no longer feeling constantly fatigued. I still have dry mouth, but it’s not as bad as it was the first week. The only symptoms that have carried on are occasional headaches and nausea. Mood wise I felt fucking amazing the first week. My anxiety was pretty much gone, I didn’t feel depressed and at times I even felt way too happy for no reason. During the second week, I started to notice that I felt a little bit more anxious and I would get quite irritated at silly things. I haven’t felt depressed since I started taking Sertraline tho.
I had a review appointment with the nurse on the 28th December. She said it’s amazing that I’m already seeing a difference, but that I should expect to start feeling shitty again as my body gets used to the dose I’m on and that in two weeks time if I’m feeling horrible, I will have to increase my dose. She reassured me that this is normal and that it takes a while to find the right dose for someone. So I’m bracing myself for some more horrible side effects and possibly feeling depressed again. Yay 😐
From now on I will post updates every week, I hope they’re helpful for anyone considering medication or anyone just starting on antidepressants 🖤
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