Hey Honey…happy to hear that it went well.
If you have any questions about meds, I may be able to help…my Daddy is a PharmD at Glaxo and one of the drugs he lectures on is an anti-depressant. He’s pretty knowlegdeable on that one and it’s competitors.
Not only that, but I have some first hand experience…
E-mail me if you need anything!
Yay, Whammo! I hope you just keep feeling better & better.
Sending prayers and hugs your way, Whammo.
Much Love,
Cheri
Thinking about you Whammo and CWN. I don’t know either one of you, but you’ve got my support. I have a very good friend who went through a horrible bout with depression awhile back. I hope you have a support group, online or IRL. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.
Congrats Whammo, I hope you feel a lot better real soon.
I’m going to do my usual and ask you to see a therapist - they often can get at the root cause of the depression. At least check out a book called “Feeling Good - the New Mood Therapy” by David Burns, M.D. This helped my a lot with my depression - the only depression I get now is an occasional hormonal problem.
I know just what you mean, Whammo; I had the same problem. You will be happy to know that your meds will most likely take care of this kind of thing, too.
[hijack]
Sue, my doctor is switching me from Paxil to Wellbutrin because of weight gain. I’ve gained forty pounds in the four years I’ve been on Paxil.
If Wellbutrin makes me feel better that Paxil AND I stop gaining weight, that’ll be great.
[/hijack]
Whammo,
I’m so glad that you have taken that first, and most difficult step to a better life. It will be better. Give it time.
I agree with TN*Hippie that the depression and the alcohol problem feed on each other. It’s good you are addressing both problems at once.
Don’t worry about the weight right now. Just eat healthy foods and go for walks. This will help the depression a great deal, and your weight will start dropping on its own.
Best wishes,
Kris
Whammo, sorry I missed this.
My MD was the one who diagnosed my depression in the first place. He gave me Wellbutrin to try, and I started to feel a bit better. Then I went to a psychiatrist for a regular prescription, and he took me right off the Wellbutrin (I’m epileptic, and Wellbutrin can cause an increase in seizure activity). He switched me to Celexa.
The Celexa made me yawn. Yawn, yawn, yawn. Oh man, I was sleepy…for about two weeks. Then one day, I was in a good mood, the first genuinely good mood I’d been in for over ten years. Man, I hadn’t realized how depressed I was until I wasn’t. I’d gotten so accustomed to being in a blue funk that it just became normal.
Stay on top of the meds, my friend. If you aren’t feeling better in 6 weeks tops, tell the doctor. They do take a while for you to feel it, usually two to four weeks, but some can take a little longer. Sometimes it helps to keep a journal or diary of how you feel each day, to help you and your doctor know whether or not the medication is working.
Also, keep in mind that not all meds work for everyone. If this one doesn’t work, don’t give up. Keep trying. Please, don’t give up.
I also agree with the others who have said that treating the depression should be your top priority. Once that’s under control, the other stuff will be easier to deal with. I wouldn’t concern yourself with the weight issue just yet, unless it’s causing physical problems. Deal with the depression and the alcohol, and once you get to feeling more healthy mentally, it’ll be easier to get yourself healthy physically.
(((((Whammo))))) You know I care about you, man. If you ever need to talk, just drop me a line.
Cristi
[sub]hey, you didn’t happen to ask the doctor about your corn-chip foot problem, did ya? ;)[/sub]
Hey Purse, thanks for the encouragement. Celexa is what I am taking… and I have that yawn thing happening to. I am hoping that is one side effect that the body gets use to and goes away after awhile. Is that true, maybe?
Well, FWIW, when I was on Zoloft, I gained about ten pounds, but when they switched me to Wellbutrin, I lost 15 pounds in the first week.
Whammo, I’m really glad that you were able to speak to your doctor, Bravo! As you’re gathering from the above postings, it takes a fair amount of adjusting to find the right anti-depressant for you. I’m actually the reverse of several of the people here - I initially tried Welbutrin, but found that it exacerbated my anxiety. So, we reversed the priority - treated the anxiety by switching to Paxil, and once the anxiety abated the depression went with it.
FWIW, I also have gained some weight since I’ve been on Paxil, but I’m not certain of the cause-and-effect since during the same period I turned thirty. (That’s a pretty normal time for metabolisms to change among the men in my family.) Happily, I was seriously skinny, so whatever the cause now it’s brought me up to normal weight. I do, however, now have to be more careful about what I eat and how much I exercise I take, but I figure that’s not a bad thing anyway.
Another speculation on Paxil and weight gain: Since Paxil is particularly indicated for anxiety, and since anxious people are well known for fidgeting, jumpiness, etc., I wonder how much of the weight gain may simply be due to the fact that the patient is calmer? I recall seeing something that fidgets actually burned a remarkable number of calories over the course of a day. I wonder if at least some patients may therefore be able to counteract the weight gain by working out more.