Posted by hildi on July 5, 2002, at 20:17:06
In reply to Re: Question for all-any advice please!!? mitch » hildi, posted by Ritch on July 5, 2002, at 14:54:56
> Hi Mitch. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.
How often do you go through these cycles of "down" and "normal"?The cycling I refer to is thoughts-obsessive words, something stupid that sticks in my head and repeats over and over again. My 'normal' state is a constant low of obsessive worrying, being socially anxious and anxious in general. Everything is just overwhelming for me. My depression is such that I don't know what to do or where to start. I easily want to hide from the world or drink/drug to feel calmer, in control.
I never have felt suicidal, just frightened, anxious, and overwhelmed by everything. A prisoner in my body. Also, I am obsessive about things, a perfectionist.If it is fairly frequently it sounds more suggestive of bipolar.
Yes, fairly frequent, but not down to normal. Just down and stuck that way.
Rejection sensitivity is also a common trait of bipolar.
Oh yes- without meds rejection just Floors me.
BUT, OTOH, there are people that have "neurotic" or "atypical" depressive spells that are "reactive" to what is going on in their lives.
What is neurotic or atypical depression? Are they the same? Neurotic sounds a lot like me!
Also, people with generalized anxiety, panic, and other anxiety disorders often obsess a lot-which might explain the "cycling thoughts".
Yep, That also sounds like me
Also, people that are in a hypomanic or manic state have tangential flights of ideas-one thought leading to thinly connected subsequent ones-not ruminative type things where the same thoughts are repeated (which is what you seem to be experiencing).Yes- mine are repeating. Nothing that even makes enough sense to link with another connecting thought.
It sounds like your pdoc is treating you for an anxiety disorder (with SSRI's), but many people who aren't bipolar and just have an anxiety disorder can't tolerate them very well.
I thought SSRI's were not right meds for bipolar?
They do help me with anxiety, and for a while on the prozac and also for a while on the zoloft they helped with depression, but now, all I feel is apathy, or more perfectionistic , obsessive tendencies. Another thing I've noticed, I have become somewhat dyslexic. When I write or talk, (or type!)things often come out backwards!! This is something new and not completely welcome!You mentioned previously that you can't take benzodiazepines due to past substance abuse. You may need to switch classes of antidepressants. If you do have a lot of anxiety, sensitivity, and your depressions tend to be reactive, and you are ruminating- an MAOI like Nardil (phenelzine), might be a good switch.
I'll check into this. I've been thinking about switching classes of meds. But also, I kind of
want to try the prozac again and see how I do this time around. The downside of this, though, is if it doesn't work I'll have to take a long time to rid my body of the prozac before I start the MAOI.I have found SSRI's to be very tough to tolerate (mainly due to gastrointestinal problems). SSRI's can have very different side-effect profiles for some people. I found Celexa to be quite "buzzy" myself. Agitation does generally subside some with continued use-but if it doesn't you may need to reduce the dose or switch. Talk to your pdoc about the Nardil.
>
Today I feel worse than ever. My body definately does not like this celexa. I am not going to keep giving it more time. This is supposed to be mild, but I find this very hard to take.
Mitch, do you think I'm better off not going the anti-seizure med route- I have the bottle of trileptal the dr gave me, untouched still.
Nardil you think a better choice than an SSRI and anti-seizure med??>
Thanks for the advice and information. I really appreciate it.
Hildi
poster:hildi
thread:111427
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111525.html