Posted by coral on October 14, 2000, at 10:02:25
In reply to Re: Just OK isn't good enough, posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 6:36:24
> "...your symptoms are caused by one, or a couple, of ten different general categories of brain chemical imbalance..." I don't totally agree - the old chicken/egg syndrome. Yes, a chemical imbalance occurs and it is concurrent with the depression/anxiety/panic attacks. I see it as a combination of cause and effect so success/healing for me is a combination of meds and therapy.
Xanax - like being wrapped up in thick cotton batting with a complete memory wipe
Valium - god-awful nightmares that would keep Stephen King awake
Valerian - agitation
Tofranil - no effect at the highest dosages
Same is true w/the other tri's
Elavil - enraged me
Thorazine - hyperdelay in response - someone would ask me something on Tuesday and I'd answer on Wednesday
Talwin - incredible hallucinations, both awake and sleeping
Traxene - moderate delay -
Seconal - intense sleep for two hours then wide awake
Synthroid - extreme agitation, increased bp,
Etrafon - no effect
Tenuate - no ability to concentrate but I could do menial tasks
Dexamine - agitation
Percodan - a sense of unreality
Herbals - zippo
There are more meds for this list, but the side effects were so intense that I couldn't tolerate them for more than a day or two.
I realize this is an unorthodox list - I went through 11 docs before finding the right one. I wasn't doc-hopping, but when their particular "regimen" left me off worse than before, I found another doc. From what I've learned, I'm astonished at the particular meds that were prescribed.My trip to hell started with tachycardia at 3 am, heart rate of 155. I had a severe endocrine imbalance that wasn't diagnosed for three and a half years. Due to the damage to my system, I'll be on estrogen for the rest of my life, and probably tenormin as well. I received such incredibly poor medical treatment that I still feel rage at two of the docs. who blithely ignored the lab tests and continued upping doses of meds. that were harming me. Had the statutes not run out by the time I was well, I would've sued. In my case, it was desperation and luck that saved me. I was at work (I'm a consultant) and everything collapsed. The pain in my head was so bad, I was so disoriented, I thought I was stroking out. The ONLY doc I trusted at that point was my gynecologist and I FLEW into his office, hysterical. He took one look at me as I was bouncing off the walls in his office and said, "You're not stroking out. You're carrying 20 lbs of water weight and whatever the HELL you're on is driving you crazy. STOP taking everything," and he sent me to a marvelous endocrinologist. After a two-hour consultation with the endocrinologist, his review of my thick medical file, a full lab work-up, he found the endocrine imbalance.
My "winning" combination that kicked both depressive episodes was: zoloft, librium and ambien in conjunction with an incredible therapist.
So, that's a snapshot of my story. So, I'm leery of the pill-pushers who do so without proper diagnostics.
Thank you for your kind words. As I said, I'm not going to settle for "just ok." I have the ability to life a full, rich life and am going to do so, depression/anxiety/panic be damned.
Coral
> I'm curious. Could you share with us 1)What medications have you tried, and 2)What were the responses to each?
> John
poster:coral
thread:46290
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001012/msgs/46341.html