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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
OK, this one's going to sound a bit weird, but here goes...
My anxiety seems to be decreasing, however Im getting strange feelings and thoughts. I will try my best to describe them; Im getting a spacey feeling, Like when Im doing things and speaking to people Im not realy there and it just happens automatically. I dont tend to think about the situations im in as much as I used to, so Im less panicked, but at the same time I have this feeling that something just isnt right, deja vous, or a sense of a presence. Does anyone have any experience that may be similar? I dont know its really worrying me now because I just cannot put my finger on what this feeling is.
Also I know that Im feeling better, but I know its all down to my meds and cant stop from thinking that its all a bit false you know?
Posted by Dinah on April 17, 2003, at 17:28:31
In reply to Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
Posted by Sarah S on April 17, 2003, at 21:46:04
In reply to Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
Dude. I get that feeling all the time. I used to get so spaced out sometimes that I could stare at a blank wall for an hour. I don't think it's dissociation cause I'm still conscious and my personality's still there--it's just that things are kind of distant and weird. I heard the term "depersonalization" before and I've always wondered if maybe that's what that is.
Sorry, I don't know how to get rid of it. I haven't felt that way so much since I've been on Wellbutrin, but it still comes and goes.
Posted by bookgurl99 on April 17, 2003, at 23:54:55
In reply to Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
Daizy,
I had a similar feeling on Prozac, and last year on nothing.
on prozac it was -- like this stepford wife feeling. i wanted to examine what was going on more, but it was like my thoughts went down a rabbit hole. the drug made me happy nonetheless, but it felt unreal.
last year -- i had some 'depersonalization' type feelings where i felt like i was there, but wasn't. everything had that strange deja vu feeling. it went away when i got a handle on some stress.
i think that if you feel the happiness you feel right now is 'fake,' that you might be on the wrong combination of meds. you want something that lets you feel real, not drugged.
Posted by Janelle on April 17, 2003, at 23:59:25
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by bookgurl99 on April 17, 2003, at 23:54:55
Wow, I thought I was all alone with those kinds of feelings. I think mine came from EffexorXR (a side effect type thing). I would be fine, then detach so to speak, then realize I had detached, come back and get anxious about what had happened. It was awful.
Posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 5:36:54
In reply to Re: Strange feelings... » bookgurl99, posted by Janelle on April 17, 2003, at 23:59:25
> Wow, I thought I was all alone with those kinds of feelings. I think mine came from EffexorXR (a side effect type thing). I would be fine, then detach so to speak, then realize I had detached, come back and get anxious about what had happened. It was awful.
Whoo, so Im not going crazy then!!! Another thing I noticed was that it happens at night more when Im tired, I have always had worse feelings at night than in the day, so maybe it is just still another form of anxiety? I will look into Depersonalization and Dissociation. Thanx
Posted by falconman on April 18, 2003, at 10:28:47
In reply to Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
There is a depersonalization chat room if you want to find out more about it.
http://groups.msn.com/depersonalizationchatroom
Take care
Mark
Posted by jemma on April 18, 2003, at 12:49:47
In reply to Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
I know exactly what you're talking about. Apparently, it's a mild form of dissociative disorder known as derealization. And for me, it's definitely made worse by ssris. I think it has something to do with ssris downloading dopamine receptors and decreasing dopamine, because ritalin and selegiline have both helped.
There's an excellent forum at dpselfhelp.com. And you might look into replacing or augmenting your ssri with something dopaminergic.
- jemma
Posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 15:52:40
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by jemma on April 18, 2003, at 12:49:47
Thank you so much everyone who replied, I am really intrigued about Dissociation now and plan to do more research. If anyone else reads this and has experienced dissociation, please describe your feelings.......
Posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 16:06:55
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by jemma on April 18, 2003, at 12:49:47
Posted by bookgurl99 on April 18, 2003, at 16:37:37
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 15:52:40
Daizy,
AP's may work for dissasociation, but I don't think that's the issue.
If you haven't had this symptom until you started on an anti-depressant, then the anti-depressant is probably the problem, not a psychological tendency in you to 'disassociate.' If your AD is numbing you out, then you will feel disconnected, but I don't think that that odd feeling is the same as having a dissasociative identity disorder.
Posted by falconman on April 18, 2003, at 17:25:08
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by bookgurl99 on April 18, 2003, at 16:37:37
Hi,
from the research thats being done it seems that DP can be completely physiological (problems with the temporal lobes) or/and psychological. It often exists as a symptom of other problems eg migraine,panick,depression...ect, but can also be an illness in its own right. People with DP disorder will often suffer from depression, panick... ect, as symptoms of their primary DP.The drugs that seem to have been most effective and receive most attention in DP research are Klonopin + an SSRi(nearly always Ciprimil although fluoxetine has had some attention), Clomipramine(doesn't work for most, but when it does it is usually very effective) and Lamotrigine. Klonopin, although to varying degrees (as you'd expect), seems to help nearly everyone with DP. As well as reducing anxiety that often accompanies DP, it seems to attack the heart of the problem too.
So I suppose a big barrier to cross is to identify whether the DP seems to be more primary (it rarely is), or whether it is a side effect of a drug or a symptom of another problem, although either way the above meds could be useful.
Dopaminergic drugs have had little attention, which seems strange to me since DP sufferers experience anhedonia big time. The emphasis seems to be with serotonergic drugs (as per usual), and drugs related to epilepsy eg Klonopin, Lamotrogine, Trileptal.
Peace
Mark
Posted by falconman on April 18, 2003, at 17:34:16
In reply to Re: Would AP's work for dissociation? (nm), posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 16:06:55
Hi,
the research so far shows that AP's are not effective in treating depersonalization disorder, infact people often report really negative experiences with them. However if your feeling DP'd out as symptom of maybe depression, than a drug that helps the depression will be likely to help the DP also. So an AP used to augment an antidepressant in this case could be useful.
Peace
Posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 18:02:45
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by bookgurl99 on April 18, 2003, at 16:37:37
> Daizy,
>
> AP's may work for dissasociation, but I don't think that's the issue.
>
> If you haven't had this symptom until you started on an anti-depressant, then the anti-depressant is probably the problem, not a psychological tendency in you to 'disassociate.' If your AD is numbing you out, then you will feel disconnected, but I don't think that that odd feeling is the same as having a dissasociative identity disorder.
Thanx. I think Im experiencing these problems now because of My AD's, however, when I was younger I used to get these feelings a lot, but thought it was normal, thats why these feelings seem like deja Vous to me now because Ive had them before, weird I know, but Im just trying to understand these things myself, Its definitely something I will be bringing up with my pdoc.
Posted by daizy on April 18, 2003, at 18:08:11
In reply to Re: Strange feelings..., posted by falconman on April 18, 2003, at 17:25:08
> Hi,
> from the research thats being done it seems that DP can be completely physiological (problems with the temporal lobes) or/and psychological. It often exists as a symptom of other problems eg migraine,panick,depression...ect, but can also be an illness in its own right. People with DP disorder will often suffer from depression, panick... ect, as symptoms of their primary DP.
>
> The drugs that seem to have been most effective and receive most attention in DP research are Klonopin + an SSRi(nearly always Ciprimil although fluoxetine has had some attention), Clomipramine(doesn't work for most, but when it does it is usually very effective) and Lamotrigine. Klonopin, although to varying degrees (as you'd expect), seems to help nearly everyone with DP. As well as reducing anxiety that often accompanies DP, it seems to attack the heart of the problem too.
>
> So I suppose a big barrier to cross is to identify whether the DP seems to be more primary (it rarely is), or whether it is a side effect of a drug or a symptom of another problem, although either way the above meds could be useful.
>
> Dopaminergic drugs have had little attention, which seems strange to me since DP sufferers experience anhedonia big time. The emphasis seems to be with serotonergic drugs (as per usual), and drugs related to epilepsy eg Klonopin, Lamotrogine, Trileptal.
> Peace
> Mark
Yes for me the panick and DP go hand in hand, and I have been suffering 'anhedonia big time' as you put it. I will bring these meds up with my pdoc...... mmm interesting stuff! thanks
Posted by lawrence S. on April 20, 2003, at 23:18:11
In reply to Strange feelings..., posted by daizy on April 17, 2003, at 17:07:32
I have the exact feelings you described and have been fighting them for years. Some of the things that I have found to control them are: Klonopin, Fish oil, Nardil, Ritalin. Take care.
Lawrence S.
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