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  1. I’ve been here before but I don’t think I posted an introduction when I first joined the site. That opening sentence is a good analogy for my story - I started something a number of years ago, I didn’t get far, couldn’t fully engage or complete the steps and now looking back, it’s hard to recall the detail (I had to go to my profile page to see the date I signed up - shocked that it was almost 5 years ago). Many ambitions in work, life, health, friendships but minimal progress and much frustration, sadness and increasing ill health. SSRI use began in my early 20s after many years of depression and anxiety. I think I was prescribed Citalopram. Towards the end of my 20s my husband and I decided to start a family. I came off meds twice because I didn't want to be on them during pregnancy or breadstfeeding. I don’t even recall how I stopped. Tried Zoloft after my 2nd child and had a terrible experience. Went on to Lexapro for approx 6 years. Switched to SNRI Effexor. I found the addition of norepinephrine really helpful to begin with as a prominent feature of my depression is lack of motivation and I was positive about the benefits I experienced. After some years I started experiencing debilitating daytime sleepiness. I had very heavy menstrual blood loss after my 2nd baby and often had low iron. Being a tired parent, the sleepiness didn’t seem that unusual, especially with my symptoms of low mood, anhedonia, etc. I tried to research the effect of antidepressants on sleep quality as I suspected that long term use could be affecting my sleep stages. Approx 2012 - 2015 Attempted to withdraw from Effexor twice. First attempt was way too fast and withdrawal was awful and so unsettling. Reinstated Second attempt was much slower after researching and finding anecdotal accounts of slow tapering; I think it was over 10-12 months. I coped until the end of the taper and then was once again really unwell. Once I reached small numbers of the little white beads I was swallowing them without a capsule It’s possible the drug didn’t make it past my stomach acids - essentially at the most precarious stage of tapering the decreases were way too large and fast. Couldn’t cope - back to GP and started on Cymbalta 30 and then 60mg. I saw a psychologist over many months and she encouraged me to investigate my sleepiness with a specialist and also to have an assessment for ADHD. In 2018 I did a number of sleep studies and was diagnosed with Idiopathic Hypersomnia; excessive daytime sleepiness despite fairly normal night time sleep.Sleep specialist prescribed Armodafinil 250mg daily - thankfully this keeps me awake. Psychiatrist diagnosed me with ADHD late 2018, age 46, and prescribed Vyvanse - This gave me mental clarity and optimism for better functioning in life. I couldn’t tolerate side effects and stopped after a few months. Also unable to tolerate Ritalin and Dexamfetamine. Devastated- after a brief glimpse at being able to organise and function well I had to stop the ADHD meds. Sleep Specialist doesn’t believe I have ADHD & that my executive function deficits stem from my sleep disorder. When I have raised the issue of long term antidepressant use as being the cause of my disorder, I get a blank stare and a recommendation to stay on the AD. Vyvanse gave me a very dry mouth, jaw clenching, mouth ulcers and a feeling of having burnt my tongue in a hot drink. The symptoms with my tongue in particular remained even after stopping Vyvanse. Oral specialist ruled out any issues. Nearly 5 years later I still have ‘burning mouth syndrome’. Some literature connects it to anxiety and also menopause. Oh yeah, menopause. ALL of my mental health struggles and symptoms have worsened with the hormonal upheaval. Pretty constant anxiety and very poor executive function. I discuss my depression and anxiety with my GP and they are very sympathetic. Suggested antipsychotics to get my anxiety under control. No thank you. I expressed concern that the long term AD use and daily anxiety is affecting my gastrointestinal health. She referred me for Gastroscopy & Colonoscopy, 2023. Colonoscopy all clear. Gastroscopy showed Telangiectasias in my upper stomach - like spider veins - with a ‘slow ooze’ of blood. No explanation of the cause Second gastroscopy was scheduled at a different clinic so they could treat the blood vessels - they use argon gas to seal off the bleeding - but this time the telangiectasias were not found. No explanation. My own theory is that the long term use of antidepressants is degrading my stomach (affecting so many systems in my body and brain) and that this mild bleeding happens sporadically and then resolves. I sometimes experience a bad taste in my mouth and wonder if it is from the blood. Blood test reveal low iron at times despite no dietary changes and no menstrual bleeding. Woah, this is turning into a long piece. I’m sure I could edit but I may never get it done and posted. I saw a different psychiatrist mid 2023. I was and am desperate to function better. The Psychiatrist didn’t recommend any of the non-stimulant ADHD meds, believing they could lead to adverse effects. Suggested I ask my Sleep specialist about increasing the Armodafinil to see if that helped. I increased by a half but it doesn’t help my executive functioning. Feb 2024 reduced Armodafinil from 375mg back to 250mg bc I was experiencing heart racing. That symptom has gone but I’m struggling with sleepiness during the day again. I guess my brain adapted to the higher dose. I’ve no way of proving my theories about the list of medical and psychological problems I have being linked to nearly 30 years of AD use. I want to get off Cymbalta. I have bought the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. It’s going to be a very long road & I’m grateful for the SA resources and community.
  2. HI all of you sufferers from the withdrawal of whatever it WAS that you were on. The best thing about success is that you will NEVER go back on anything like this again. There are so many other ways of combatting depression or whatever reason you chose this option of medication. I personally was given it (without knowing what it was) for menopausal symptoms. I did not know at the time that there were other things I could have done, but being the very busy MOM, wife, administrative assistant, events coordinator and the primary source for anything happening within my family I just took the prescription, filled it and started taking them. They initially helped me relax, sleep better and gain 20 lbs over a year or two. I changed doctors at one point and the first thing he said to me was,,,,"Why the heck are you on EFFEXOR?" I told him and that I wanted to get off of them, since I had learned a lot about it's side effects and had been on it for almost 4 years at that point. He said, "well, if you are going to wean off of it, do it very very slowly, it's like coming off of Heroin". That scared the heck out of me, so I began my decent. Over a year, I went to EMERG hospital 3 times for a PANIC attack, a sedative (one) settled me down for a while, but this journey was one I had to do all by myself, family members just didn't understand what the big deal was,,,,just get off of them. Honestly, it was one of the most difficult times in my life. Ironically, my older brother had commit suicide in 1986 in his 30's, he was given several trials of antidepressants over a period of a year. In the 80's very little was known about some of these experimental drugs they were using for depression. He ended his life just before his 35th birthday. I firmly believe the drugs played a significant role in his depressed state. All he really needed was counselling, a good doctor and his family who he wouldn't confide in. If only I knew then, what I know now. But, having gone through that with my brother, it made me more aware of the negatives about antidepressants. I have to say that FOOD, yes Food sensitivities and allergies are a BIG part of how our immune systems handle stress, moods, coping and living happy healthy lives. To this day, I have discovered so many foods, alcohol, and meds I am literally allergic/sensitive to and have to avoid them. Please Try everything you can to detox and avoid anything that makes you feel poorly. So, that's my story and I hope that even if there's ONE person out there that might say.....hmmmmmm, to all of this, I hope that it is some assistance, support or encouragement to help you through this LEARNING stage of your life. Please Stay healthy and Don't have any vaccines if you can avoid it. Sorry, just had to throw that in. God Bless and Keep on fightin.
  3. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Menopause/43478
  4. Saw this on the news tonight and looked up an article on it. On Friday the FDA approved Brisdelle for moderate to severe hot flashes. Brisdelle is low dose paroxetine or Paxil. The committee that studied it recommended against approving it ... but the FDA thought it was a good idea. This is marketed to women who are afraid of cancer due to hormone replacement therapy - I wonder if they bother to tell the patients that there is a risk of withdrawal syndrome when they no longer have hot flashes. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/28/science/la-sci-fda-antidepressant-hot-flashes-20130628 I think this is a really BAD idea. I predict that over some time we will see more visitors to our site looking for help getting off of Brisdelle ... very sad. Karma
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