[Abbie]

Hi All!!!

I hope everyone is having a good day!!!

Since we haven't done a weekend check-in lately... I thought a mid-week check-in would be ok.

I went to the Pdoc on Tuesday. He now has me completely off of Cymbalta.

I am now on:
100mg Zoloft
25mg Amitriptyline for 10 days then completely off.
15mg Remeron
2mg Xanax
800mg Seroquel
50mcg Synthroid

I also take a couple of meds for RSD.
600mg Lyrica
40mg Baclofen

Fun Fun... I hate to have to need these meds!!


Abbie

[befuddled2]

Hi Abbie,

I have a hangover today. Did you doc give you something to replace the Cymbata?

I have a rather long update so I'll post separately.

[Abbie]

WOW... I was/am in a brain fog...

The Zoloft replaces the Cymbalta. I still don't feel any different...

Does anyone know how high of dosages I could go on the Zoloft... He's upped me from 25 to 50 to 75 and now 100mg each day.

I'm glad that I now know what my brain has been doing to me... I mean the diagnosis of Bipolar explains a lot...
I just HATE () having to recognize the changes and being able to explain this to the doctors. I really want to SCREAM as loud as I can!!!! (I would do this but the guys in the white coats would probably come to find me.)

How do all of you deal with this??? I thought I was managing but now I just don't know.


Abbie

[bizi]

I have never taken zoloft before, I get fuzzy if I don't get enough sleep.
ended up just puttering around until I had to go see my client.
will shower tonight.
I need to be really careful tonight...that is where I get into trouble staying up late on the computer....
self discipline
only I can prevent that from happening.

[waves]

Glad you have "pulled off the switch" finally.

i have taken zoloft lots, and lots of it (up to 200) and also in small doses, been on, been off, increased and decreased with mood cycles. good med for me.

the initial titration (25 mg/wk) is good - reduced side effects. and in the case of mixed episodes, very prudent as it is an activating drug.

clinical changes observable 2 - 6 weeks from time you are on a therapeutic dose. depends on individual. doc may yet decide to increase dosage further during that time, per his judgement.

zoloft takes 1 week to reach steady state. even at regime, when you are seeing benefit from it, if an increase is clinically required, the overall effect of the increase will not be 100% observable before that 1 week period. to avoid excessive doses, and possibly dangerous side effects the dose should not be modified more frequently than 1 week at a time.

100 is good therapeutic dose for starters. can increase to 125/150 if nec.

max is about 200mg...

but if you are mixed still... your pdoc will surely be very judicious about giving you that much.

if increasing dosage, from now on, be vigilant for grinding/clenching of teeth, excessive (increased) muscle tension (or exacerbation of your pain sx), and headache, and if present report it to your doc right away for safety.

if there is flushing, hyperthermia, fever, excess sweating, myoclonus, headache or other questionable symptoms, go to an urgent care center. high doses can cause serotonin syndrome which can be fatal.

((( hugs )))

~ waves ~

[waves]

you can scream - just do it into a very thick pillow.

(and i highly recommend it btw).

as for managing with the illness, keep in mind that the one thing that WILL CHANGE...

is your mood/state, so there WILL be better times. GUARANTEED.

there are lots of options out there medwise. right now, there are some time factors. but each day is finite. take it one at a time. do not think about whether the zoloft will work. just do the best you can on a moment to moment basis, to be with yourself... as you are. acknowledge and accept your mood/state... then,

try to find activities you can do - mental or gentle physical - to distract yourself, vent excess energy - by writing here, by visiting with people, by keeping a journal, by watching tv or reading (if you have the concentration for it). sometimes i can't concentrate to read a whole long book when very activated. but i can concentrate on a paragraph at a time. so just short things like magazine articles, short poems, or things that can be broken down.

also doing repetitive "mindless" activities sometimes helps soothe me... just let my mind wander and trundle on...

i am not so inspired tonight, perhaps someone else will come along with some good concrete thoughts that might help you.

Above all be kind to yourself and do not define yourself in terms of your illness. you HAVE this affliction, but YOU are MUCH MORE than the sum of these symptoms.

Show yourself compassion for your suffering, and know that you are special - in the best sense of the word.

((( more hugs )))

~ waves ~

[Abbie]

Thank you Befuddled... I am sorry to hear about your stuggles. I want you to know that you impressed me greatly when you realized that it's you that can improve your self-esteem and not to count on others to provide for your self-esteem.

Thank you Bizi!!!
I'm sure the lack of regenerating sleep is really adding to put me into this fog... I don't think I have slept more than 2hours total and rarely all of this at one time... it's been months like this.


Thank you Waves!!!
This medicine really has me in a mental spin... I was on Cymbalta for about 5 years... and knew how my body reacted to it.

I can't tell if the Zoloft is working any differently... I don't feel any relief from the depression...yet.

I haven't increased it to the 100mg yet... still have a few days at 75mg before the increase.

My body metabolizes medicine wierd--usually it metabolizes too fast... so I normally have to go longer than a week or two before an increase...

The bad side effects have me a bit concerned as I have many of these side effects as normal everyday symptoms of RSD. I guess if they get worse I will know it's the Zoloft... I hope.

I'm just really frustrated with everything.... I still feel caught in a cyclone!

I do try not to judge myself or label myself... It's just hard to not get caught up in it as the mixed, rapid cycling, and all the rest is so scary to me.

Also... I have seen 5 Pdocs in just over a year. Since I go to an outpatient clinic away from the main mental health hospital they have a hard time keeping a Pdoc for more than 2 to 3 months at a time. So I have to remember what all has gone on or changed with me so that I can let the new doc know.

for all....
Abbie

[waves]

Dear Abbie,

didn't mean to scare you about the "bad side effects" ... 100-150 mg are fairly common doses, so i would not worry. however, if you do go to 150 and especially above that... i did want you to be informed, for safety. Serotonin Syndrome is not really common.

I wish you could get some better sleep... even though Zoloft is activating, my former pdoc told me that taken in the morning it can actually promote sleep (by evening / night time).

you hang in there. i wish that darn clinic would have their darn docs KEEP CHARTS and LEAVE THEM BEHIND when they go, so clinic patients who are living a tumbleweed existence as you are right now would not have to be expected to like suddenly morph into palm pilots when they enter the office!!! argghh!! that makes me mad.

well, good job so far. I hope Zoloft works as well for you as it did for me (very well).



~ waves ~

[Abbie]

Oh... the new Pdocs have my file but so often when I go in they have NO IDEA of what is going on with me... I guess they don't take the time to read through the file.

It is pretty frustrating for me. On top of the mental health stuff... these doctors like so many others have NEVER heard of RSD and I have to explain this to them too....

There have been a couple of them in the past that I would love to see come back!!! One of them I saw talking on CNN about some case. I liked her before---she knew about RSD and that really gave me confidence in her.

Abbie

[Dmom3005]

Abbie

I sure hope you can start getting some sleep soon. I really wish we could help with that.

DOnna