Posted by llrrrpp on June 9, 2006, at 18:26:46
Hi All,
I don't hang out much on this board, because I'm not sure I have a lot to offer. A little over a month ago, I started medication to treat major depression. I have never been medicated before, although this is probably my 2nd or 3rd episode of MDD. I'm 27, female.I promised myself several weeks ago that I would post an update on how my new meds are working once I got to the therapeutic dose for a couple of weeks. I would have liked to see a post like this when I was freaking out about being on an anti-depressant, and thinking I was the only one in the world who felt like a zombified wierdo.
Here's a link to one of my first posts on psycho-babble, where I mention my early impressions of llrrrpp on cymbalta
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060504/msgs/640817.html
Since then, I sent my pdoc a panicked email about my insomnia, and he prescribed a small dose of seroquel (25 mg).
I now take the seroquel, and 60mg cymbalta, for the last 4 weeks (both meds at bedtime)
The side effects have mostly worn off. They were pretty wicked for the first 5 days or so.
Muscle tension, jaw clenching, spasms and shivers
dysphagia- feeling of a lump in the throat, making it unpleasant or painful to swallow
hot and cold flashes
nausea
anxiety
3 suicidal crises, plenty of suicidal ideation (I'm not sure if this is directly attributable to the meds, but it's a possibility, I just wanted to mention it) Mostly in the first 3 weeks of my treatment.
Drugged, intoxicated feelings, disorientation, particularly in the morning.
Once, I took my medicine about 4 hours later than usual, I started getting strange spasms and also hot and cold flashes. I guess cymbalta has a very short halflife and so dose timing is probably quite important.
Positive effects
better mood
MUCH better concentration- attention and memory, being able to follow a conversation, noticing the big picture, instead of focusing on a tiny little part of the visual field (really helps when crossing the street!)
anhedonia (the inability to feel or anticipate feeling pleasure) mostly gone. This particular symptom was making it hard to enjoy eating, sex, love, life. Now I can eat chocolate again.
more energy
better sleep (probably due to seroquel)
less anxious rumination (obsessive thoughts and worries), probably because I do this in the middle of the night, and I sleep through the night now
responding better to therapy. my therapist (psychologist) says that I look brighter, and that I'm more coherent, that now I'm stronger, so we can start to really work on some stuff.
******
My closing thoughts are that having to take medication is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign that something is not quite right. I was incredibly anxious about being drugged. Actually, since I've been taking the medicine, I feel more like the real llrrrpp than I did when I was in the midst of the serious depression (friends and family say the same).
I've been seeing a therapist for about 11 weeks now. He's the one that first recommended that I see a pdoc. He basically said that at some point, depression becomes a biochemical 'event' in the brain and the body, and at that point, effective treatment needs to address these signs.
I hope this helps. Again, I don't have a lot to offer concerning whether cymbalta is better than _____, because I've never taken any other medicine on a regular basis (besides antihistamines, that is)
-ll
poster:llrrrpp
thread:654975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060604/msgs/654975.html