Posted by Lorraine on July 26, 2001, at 18:45:59
In reply to Re: Handholding Shelli » Lorraine, posted by shelliR on July 26, 2001, at 15:44:31
> > > I don't think you need to worry about Elizabeth. I looked back and her pdoc is not leaving unti August. Maybe she just went away for a few days.
I'm sure you're right. I don't think I so much worry about her ability to handle things (because she really seems to be an old hand at this). I suppose I wish that I could be more helpful to her. She does a ton of giving on this board. I'd like to be able to reciprocate on some meaningful level.
By the way, looking back over some old posts, I see that you have been very helpful in responding to my posts. I don't know how to describe it, but when I first went on psychobabble--all the names were a blur. It is only recently that the names have separated for me and I've come to identify posts with names. Anyway, I want to thank you for all the support you have given me in the past when I didn't know who you were. It really did help.
(Lord, can you see where I am in this depression? Slipping down--I become all soppy even though the sentiment is true. I tear up with gratitude--which I guess is one of the good things--that I can still feel "touched".)
> > > I'm doing well with the meds, although I have felt physically sick, migraines etc. all week;I did tell you that they now believe that migraine are associated with seizure like activity in the brain and that intestinal migrains also exist? I had migraines for years. They left when I went through menopause, and, like yours, were hormonally related. I'm now on unopposed estrogen and no migraines so my hunch is that they are related to progesterin changes. I have also read (and my pdoc confirmed to me today) that panic attacks can be associated with estrogen dominance--which given my unopposed estrogen is certainly my situation. So when I go see my functional med doctor at the end of this month a full hormone level panel is in order. Also, apparently panic attacks can be associated with hypothyroidism. Turns out I quit taking T3 augmentation around the time the panic attacks started--so who knows. New avenues to explore.
> > >Finally today I just started my period, so my body hopefully will demand less of my attention.
Well, I know what you mean about "finally"--it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop, isn't it and for me at least was such a physical feeling-a prenumbra?
> > > The only thing about the oxycontin is that I am still on the original dose and the feeling of a little bit of high has never left. It's not a big problem, just better to decide when I want to get high, not start out my day that way.
The feeling of being "high" is very unsettling to me as well. You've been on this med long enough that you would think that side effect would have evaporated if that's what its intent was. That's unfortunate.
> > > My doctor sort of has this attitude that you mix a bunch of stuff together and if it works there's no need to dissect it.
The lack of a scientific basis makes me uneasy too. Though my hunch is that nobody really knows what they are doing with these meds--it's all trial and error with a bit of hunch thrown into it. (elizabeth would disagree I think.) But I have this fantasy that one day I'll walk into someone's office and they will say "let's see here--there's a pattern of dopamine responsiveness and it appears to be D2 rather than D3---let's try such and such. It just fits the bill."
> > >I sort of disagree because I would rather put less than more into my body. (BTW, I didn't have this attitude when I was feeling suicidally depressed; I started segeligine and oxycontin at the same time.)
Yeah, but, don't you think that first you manage the depression, then you worry about simplifying?
> > >But now I think I'll do the oxycontin and estradiol, add natural progesterone and see what happens.
You know they say to do the progesterone on a constant basis as opposed to following the menstrual cycle when you have depression?
> > >I've just done the estradiol for a couple of days now. I had two pretty bad migraines this week and I couldn't have taken the pill I took for them (forget the name, dissolves under the tongue) if I was on an MAOI.
That's unfortunate that you can't take this pill when you are on an MAO. An there is no substitute? (There was never anything that I could take that helped at all.)
> > > Anyway, I'm feeling stable enough to wait, if a bit drugged. Maybe the estradiol will be my miracle and I could drop the oxy.Wouldn't that be lovely? Let's hope.
> > >Probably not though, since I have a long history of depression. But maybe estradiol and nardil, oxy prn. I'll see.
Let me know.
> > > Has your pdoc been encouraging you to take nardil over parnate or vice-versa. Let me know what he said and which you've choosen.Well, we decided to go with parnate. My guy is an odd duck--he bases everything pretty much on your QEEG. So when I say, Nardil is associated with weight gain and sexual dysfunction, he says "I've never had anyone with your QEEG gain weight or have sexual dsyfunction on Nardil". The problem is I only half (or less than half) believe in his methodology--so I believe the weight gain has to do with histamine receptors and so forth. Anyway, I'm officially off selegiline and start a very low dose (5mg) of Parnate in 3 days--which I know is a short wash-out period, but he bases these things of my QEEG (and, of course, I'll be very careful to look for problems).
I also asked him if I have temporal lobe epilepsy that didn't manifest itself in physical seizures. He looked at my chart, explained that these things are continuums and then said that I did have temporal lobe epilepsy. Well, one more thing to think about. I think that I remember reading that Tegretal has a very high rate of success with depressed people who have temporal lobe epilepsy. Another option, anyway.
I went to my first DMDA meeting on Tuesday. I went with Neal, another psychobabbler who happens to live in Los Angeles. It was helpful to me to see how others cope. I may go back. I'm still thinking it through.
All my best to you Shelli. You are a jewel, truly.
>
> Shelli
poster:Lorraine
thread:67742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/71945.html