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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sweetmarie on April 10, 2001, at 16:24:27
As I don`t sleep very well (v.common. I expect), I take a sleeping tablet (prescribed) called Zopiclone.
This lifts my depression by maybe about 70 - 80%.
However, as it`s addictive, doctors and phsychiatrists (here, anyway (UK)) are very reluctant to prescribe it to anyone.
I look forward to the evenings when I can take it and feel loads better. I don`t know why this should be the case, but it certainly does the trick.
Does anyone else have similar experiences with sleeping tablets?
Could there be a similar medication that I could try?
Anna.
Posted by SalArmy4me on April 10, 2001, at 18:35:25
In reply to SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING, posted by sweetmarie on April 10, 2001, at 16:24:27
I think you are just experiencing the relief of anxiety rather than the true relief of depression.
I suggest that you can get the same feeling from something non-addictive like buspirone, mirtazapine, or gabapentin--these will have a chance at relieving the true problem (depression), rather than just the symptoms.
Posted by Anna Laura on April 11, 2001, at 3:40:33
In reply to SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING, posted by sweetmarie on April 10, 2001, at 16:24:27
> As I don`t sleep very well (v.common. I expect), I take a sleeping tablet (prescribed) called Zopiclone.
>
> This lifts my depression by maybe about 70 - 80%.
>
> However, as it`s addictive, doctors and phsychiatrists (here, anyway (UK)) are very reluctant to prescribe it to anyone.
>
> I look forward to the evenings when I can take it and feel loads better. I don`t know why this should be the case, but it certainly does the trick.
>
> Does anyone else have similar experiences with sleeping tablets?
>
> Could there be a similar medication that I could try?
>
> Anna.
I've had a similar experience with minor tranquillizers. I guess it's because anxiety and depression are somehow intertwined. The tranquillizers and sleeping pills tend to suppress the negative thinking that causes anxiety; anxiety, when it piles up, often causes depression; so it kind of interrupts this vicious cycle i guess.
But it's not worth it. I know some research did show that tranquillizers and other cns depressants tend to worsen depression in the long run.Take care
Anna Laura
Posted by sweetmarie on April 11, 2001, at 6:34:56
In reply to Re: SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING, posted by Anna Laura on April 11, 2001, at 3:40:33
Sal/Anna Laura,
Thanks for your replies.
I think that you`re right. Although it does tell me one thing, and that`s that anxiety is more of a problem that I had previously thought.
Anna.
p.s. I think Anna Laura is a really pretty name - I`m Anna Jane, which isn`t half as nice.
Posted by JahL on April 11, 2001, at 12:08:59
In reply to SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING, posted by sweetmarie on April 10, 2001, at 16:24:27
> As I don`t sleep very well (v.common. I expect), I take a sleeping tablet (prescribed) called Zopiclone.
>
> This lifts my depression by maybe about 70 - 80%.
>
> However, as it`s addictive, doctors and phsychiatrists (here, anyway (UK)) are very reluctant to prescribe it to anyone.
>
> I look forward to the evenings when I can take it and feel loads better. I don`t know why this should be the case, but it certainly does the trick.
>
> Does anyone else have similar experiences with sleeping tablets?Hi Anna.
I had a similar a similar experience with Promazine (anti-psychotic sedative) &, to a lesser extent, Sulpiride.
Promazine wld give me a sense of euphoria a couple of hrs after taking a pill (it was supposed to knock me out!). I thought it was addressing the depression but my pdoc was adamant that what I was experiencing was a sudden release from yrs of persistent anxiety, & in hindsight I think he was correct (for once). Like y'self I don't consider myself to be an anxious person, but I certainly have the physical symptoms.
Like Anna Laura I too have the suspicion that tranquilizers (minor *&* major) can worsen LT prognosis for depression. Sulipiride may control my social phobia, but in the yr I've been taking it my depression has significantly worsened...
J.
Posted by sweetmarie on April 11, 2001, at 13:37:59
In reply to Re: SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING » sweetmarie, posted by JahL on April 11, 2001, at 12:08:59
> Hi Anna.
>
> I had a similar a similar experience with Promazine (anti-psychotic sedative) &, to a lesser extent, Sulpiride.
>
> Promazine wld give me a sense of euphoria a couple of hrs after taking a pill (it was supposed to knock me out!). I thought it was addressing the depression but my pdoc was adamant that what I was experiencing was a sudden release from yrs of persistent anxiety, & in hindsight I think he was correct (for once). Like y'self I don't consider myself to be an anxious person, but I certainly have the physical symptoms.
>
> Like Anna Laura I too have the suspicion that tranquilizers (minor *&* major) can worsen LT prognosis for depression. Sulipiride may control my social phobia, but in the yr I've been taking it my depression has significantly worsened...
>
> J.Jah,
How do you distinguish social phobia from the feelings caused by depression of simply not wanting any contact with other people (friends and otherwise)?
I think you`re right about the anxiety thing - I don`t get anxiety or panic attacks as such, but I do have constant tightness in my chest, and my body is always tensed up unless I conciously try to relax it (stomach held in, shoulders hunched up, making my hands into fists etc).
Still, it`s something, I guess (the temporary relief I get from Zopiclone I mean).
Anna.
Posted by JahL on April 11, 2001, at 17:43:48
In reply to Re: SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING » JahL, posted by sweetmarie on April 11, 2001, at 13:37:59
> > How do you distinguish social phobia from the feelings caused by depression of simply not wanting any contact with other people (friends and otherwise)?The two do kinda intermesh; the social phobia makes me uncomfortable round people (hence avoidance), whilst the depression leaves me with little inclination to socialise; in fact people tend to irritate me (hence avoidance also).
Social phobia differs from mere unsociability in that it resembles a kind of inner-panic; you become gripped by symptoms of anxiety in social situations. This stems from a kind of paranoia, a (n irrational) conviction that others are forever scrutinising & judging you.
> > I think you`re right about the anxiety thing - I don`t get anxiety or panic attacks as such, but I do have constant tightness in my chest, and my body is always tensed up unless I conciously try to relax it (stomach held in, shoulders hunched up, making my hands into fists etc).Just the sort of thing I was thinking of-especially the fists!
J.
Posted by sweetmarie on April 12, 2001, at 10:48:27
In reply to Re: SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING » sweetmarie, posted by JahL on April 11, 2001, at 17:43:48
> Social phobia differs from mere unsociability in that it resembles a kind of inner-panic; you become gripped by symptoms of anxiety in social situations. This stems from a kind of paranoia, a (n irrational) conviction that others are forever scrutinising & judging you.
Your description fits that of someone I used to know (my ex-boyfriend), although I don`t think he called it `social phobia`. He would become convinced that people (on the bus, on the train, in the street - even his best friends and me) were talking about him, judging him and planned to do him some kind of harm - not necessarily physical harm, but have a go at him in some way.
I know how he suffered with this, despite reassurances by me or whoever that this wasn`t the case. So, you have my sympathies (well, you would have done anyway).
> > > I think you`re right about the anxiety thing - I don`t get anxiety or panic attacks as such, but I do have constant tightness in my chest, and my body is always tensed up unless I conciously try to relax it (stomach held in, shoulders hunched up, making my hands into fists etc).
>
> Just the sort of thing I was thinking of-especially the fists!This depression business is a right barrel of laughs, isn`t it ??
Anna.
Posted by JahL on April 12, 2001, at 16:39:07
In reply to Re: SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING » JahL, posted by sweetmarie on April 12, 2001, at 10:48:27
> > Your description fits that of someone I used to know (my ex-boyfriend), although I don`t think he called it `social phobia`. He would become convinced that people (on the bus, on the train, in the street - even his best friends and me) were talking about him, judging him and planned to do him some kind of harm - not necessarily physical harm, but have a go at him in some way.I don't really think of it as social phobia either; nobody wld guess I have it; people just see me as kinda mean & moody.
Being a Brit I'm sure you're aware of our most famous convict, Charles Bronson. After years of knocking both civilians & screws out, & of the authorities pumping him full of APs, turns out he's less sociopathic than socially phobic! He's spent his life convinced others are taunting & laughing @ him.
I think it's a little different for us guys. Like yr ex., when I come across fellas my own age, I anticipate *highly* confrontational situations (since I'm not the sort to back down, & can handle myself). Fortunately it almost never comes to that but this doesn't stop my paranoid mind from imagining it will (& that others are provoking me).
> > This depression business is a right barrel of laughs, isn`t it ??
You said it.
J.
Posted by sweetmarie on April 13, 2001, at 5:17:53
In reply to Re: SOMETHING WORKS, BUT ITS THE WRONG THING » sweetmarie, posted by JahL on April 12, 2001, at 16:39:07
> I don't really think of it as social phobia either; nobody wld guess I have it; people just see me as kinda mean & moody.
Yes, sounds very familiar (esp `mean and moody` bit`. Sadly, I`m a bit of a sucker for this ... )
> Being a Brit I'm sure you're aware of our most famous convict, Charles Bronson. After years of knocking both civilians & screws out, & of the authorities pumping him full of APs, turns out he's less sociopathic than socially phobic! He's spent his life convinced others are taunting & laughing @ him.
That`s really interesting - the way he`s `painted` is that of a total and utter hard case. He looks like he could eat several people for breakfast and not the kind of person you`d like to meet on a dark night. I wonder how many others are like him (i.e. incarcerated and `fed` stuff that makes the situation worse)? Scary. >
> I think it's a little different for us guys. Like yr ex., when I come across fellas my own age, I anticipate *highly* confrontational situations (since I'm not the sort to back down, & can handle myself). Fortunately it almost never comes to that but this doesn't stop my paranoid mind from imagining it will (& that others are provoking me).
Gosh. This really does sound very familiar. He used to scare me, because whilst he looked like he couldn`t harm a flea, he had a hell of a temper on him. I met him during a group therapy course, and for the first 3 weeks he was absolutely convinced that another (male) member of the group was a `plant`, just put there to spy on him. Maybe you`re not THAT bad, but I guess there are similarities.
> This depression business is a right barrel of laughs, isn`t it ??
>
> You said it.`... you don`t see me laughing` as Jarvis Cocker puts it. >
Anna.
This is the end of the thread.
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