PCS folks - do antidepressants help?
 

I am wondering if anyone has found that antidepressants have helped them?

As I have begun to recover, I have become more aware of my trigger symptoms. Over the weekend additional stressors have been added and this resulted in a postcussion headache and I needed migraine meds. The last time I took them was 8th Feb. I have insominia, fatigue, tension waves through body, head pressure, light/noise sensitivity and my mood is flat. The headaches and other symptoms have without doubt reduced. I am wondering if tension/stress is a trigger, do I need to try antidepressants or other meds, and have others found that this helps recovery?

Mouse~,

For me, heck yes.

I was really having a difficult time with headaches, then the brain fog, dizziness set it, then the anxiety, my doc had me try a low dose of Nortiptyline, and we adjusted it till I was able to keep calm consistently.

I figured that if my brain had to heal, I'd rather it heal in a calm state, than trying to fight pain, anxiety. We are all experiements of one, so you have to discuss with your doctor who listens to you and find the best med to help you heal.

Good luck!


Mike

Hey Mike,

How are you doing ?

Have you tried Melatonin for the ice pick head aches ? I have been having momentary bouts with 'primary spiking head aches' as Mayo defines them. The web site suggests Melatonin as helpful for some.

I get my spiking head aches in the same right temple spot, never anywhere else.

Saved me
 

Antidepressants have saved my life since I suffer from PCS & PTSD.But they have also helped me with all my symptoms even cognitive!!!I greatly recommend if your emotions are on a roller coaster:hug:

Paxil so far, is helping me a bit even on my low dose. The side effects were mild compared to anything I have tried. It's been only 2 weeks, but so far its helping just a bit. It definitely helps calm down the anxiety. Its definitely an improvement from having constant anxiety with horrible symptoms. I am hoping that it kicks in fully soon, psych said 4-6 weeks. Just waiting it out patiently.

Thanks for this. I have been told that people with PCS have raised tension and arousal levels, it seems therefore that coping with stress is going to be more difficult. Especially if you have insomnia and noise/light sensitivity, not to mention all the worry about what the future holds. The stress of the weekend provoked my symptoms (all be it to a lesser extent than previously) and with it the migraine headaches. I thought it was just physical exercise and over exerting myself which caused this, but clearly too much stress is a factor also. Therefore have seen my GP today and got an antidepressant called Cymbalta 30mg, it also helps with neurological pain also. Has anyone used Cymbalta and found it helpful?

I didn't like Cymbalta, I gave it two chances. The start up effects were horrid. I was an emotional roller coaster that week and was begging my psych to get me off. But, everyone is different, so it may not be as bad for you. A lot of people though really like Cymbalta once you get past the side effects. I just couldn't, and I was very disappointed because I loved how the pain went away from the Occipital Neuralgia. But the nausea, oh dear god, was something to be desired. I hope it works better for you though. So don't let me scare you, it may help you better than me, we are all different.

Early days, but so far so good, feel a bit spaced out on it, but it has definately taken my mind away/distracted me away from my symptoms and has also nulled my headache a bit, this can all only help, and will also hopefully help me sleep. The longer PCS goes on the more you worry about outcomes, so perhaps this will help me deal with my situation better.

Glad to hear so far its working out for ya! :)

I take Pristiq 100mg cymbata was not good for me either.:grouphug:

I was prescribed a low dose - 10mg - of amitrytiline - have not yet taken it, as I am afraid to. I am not a drug person at all. Afraid of the side effects as I am very sensitive to meds. I much prefer to try "natural" methods - such as the melatonin - first time I have heard about that.

Has anyone taken this amitryptilline?

I am not depressed or anxious. My main symptoms are headache - daily and throughout the day night (I am migrane prone anyway), trouble remembering things, and slow processing time.

The ER doc - 2nd time I was in 2 days after the concussion - fearful because I felt worse and my neurologist never told me about PCS and the symptoms - gave me Fiorocet, which I used to take years ago for migrane, so I am familiar with it. But it is not something I can take during the day because it makes me spacey.

I work in financial services, so do a lot of number crunching, so can't be in any way "out of it", especially after my boss essentially threatened me about any mistakes and there would be an "issue".

Right now I am taking Excedrin - only 1/2 dose as I worry about the acetaminophen. But it does cut the headache enough that I can work.

Would love to hear from anyone that takes or has taken amitryptilline.

long time Amitriptyline user
 

I wouldn't be afraid of trying amitriptyline especially at 10mg's. I have been on it for probably almost 20 years to help with my fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome. I have stopped taking it a few times in that period but rarely for long. I do have a few pieces of advice with it:

Take it about 2 hours before you want to go to bed. This medication works best taken that way and you will fall asleep easier and have less chance of grogginess in the morning.

If you're worried about side effects you can cut the pill in half with a pill splitter and start out with 5mg's. I am very sensitive to medications too and started out this way. I currently take 10mg's but I've even tried taking 15 so you cut them to go up too if needed. You want to take the lowest possible dose that does what you need.

It might take a couple weeks to start noticing anything (didn't take that long for me) but keep taking them to give them a good chance. I was actually off of them again at the time of my concussion and just started taking them again at about 4 months into my concussion. They helped greatly with the headaches and sleep issues!

If you ever need or want to stop taking them make sure you wean yourself off them VERY slowly. Even at that small of a dose they have nasty withdrawal type symptoms and can be dangerous if stopped abruptly. I've stopped taking them a few times in the past for trials to see if I still needed them (I did!) and also for certain blood tests that require you to not take antihistamines (yes Amitriptyline is an antihistamine too).

The only other thing I notice when taking amitriptyline is my restless legs get worse. I am faithfully taking my magnesium and have noticed it's helping.This is currently the only medication I take because, like you, I do not want to be taking pills. Sometimes we just have to though in order to function in the most basic of things.

When I was originally seeking help for my fibromyalgia they tried all of the newer and better drugs on me and the side effects were horrendous! I was having hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, nightmares, it was terrible. I finally convinced them to let me try this OLD drug (very cheap too!) and it was my saviour back then. Returned me from sleeping 20+ hours a day, in pain constantly and missing out on the life of my (then) 1 year old to working full time, going to school part time and taking care of my family. The fibromyalgia has rarely been an issue since.

Give it a shot and you might be pleasantly surprised! Good luck!

CC