Sertraline and any other ADs support thread

[hathorinareddress]

Following on from a suggestion by LittleWhiteMice on a thread I have going on here, I am starting a support thread for anyone taking Sertraline or any other AD.

I started taking it yesterday after eventually plucking up the courage to go to the doc on Thursday.

I feel a bit weird but not too bad.

No Loopy you're not. You are ill. Your brain has a poorly and it needs medicine and other work to help it get better.

I suggested MoodGym because it looks like you need to alter the way you look at things. It is CBT, which can help with behaviour traits like those you describe. Please discuss your thoughts with your counsellor next time you see her. There is no shame at all in being ill. You need to get better, for the sake of your family, but most importantly for you.

Loopy that last post has made me want to give you a massive Mumsnetty hug.

Today I saved somebody's life (she was choking) and didn't cut myself.

Still feel hollow and empty, and like the rage is going to take me over at any moment, but I guess you have to take the bad with the good.

I'm tapering off sertraline and about to go to cymbalta. Anyone done this before? I'm going from 200mg sertra to 50mg over the course of 10 days, then starting 30mg cymbalta. There's gonna be some funky shit going on in my head, I can tell you that.

Wow Arana, you saved a life! Brilliant. And well done on the not cutting. Good luck with the change of meds, I really hope Cymbalta works for you.

Loopy there's no shame in being ill. In your earlier post you said it might be time to try CBT again, which is positive. You're at the point where you're ready to take another step on the road to getting the old you back. There is a 'normal' person in there wanting to come back without the negativity.

Well done, Arana!

Loopy, it's funny, but I went for help because of how it was affecting others and not because I was necessarily bothered in myself about the new tendancies/new "normal form me", too but it was how it was affecting work for me, not family I assume the hollow/screaming you isn't how you've always felt, and hope that you find who that "me" person is without too much screaming, or at least, without more than you can bear (though for me, it's bouts of pure terror when I peek at my deamons... am starting to think that I might be able to poke at them soon, though. maybe)

Loopy - uncanny, I can totally relate to that hollow/screaming/'what is me?' thing... and I wish you hadn't mentioned the Roses and Rebellion thing. I am now in luff.

Am sitting here, pissed for the first time in a wee while. Had a bit of a rubbish day again, unfortunately: have had a chest infection off and on which seems to have kicked in again last night so woke up coughing and ended up spewing in the loo at 2 in the morning. Baby then woke at half 3, probably got another hour's sleep before getting up with her at 6.30. A day of barely contained fury and self loathing ensued. Plus my Mum is having a hard time just now.... my Dad died a couple of years ago, and sometimes she hits a wall with it. She drinks a fair bit (always has), and then we have long phone calls about it where she repeats herself constantly and I worry about whether she has dementia or alcoholic brain damage setting in. Hey, ho.

Having very vivid and crazy dreams at the moment. Recurrent themes are (in no particular order): running away to New York at a moment's notice (but jumping through infinite hoops to make the flight), finding myself in strange and extensive Edwardian municipal changing room/shower complexes and panicking about where I am allowed to be, and Zombie Apocalypse. Last night I found myself in a some cool hipster BDSM club in New York with my extended family (including my slightly weirded-out mother), meeting a couple of 'kerayzy' NY friends and buying over-priced cakes and sushi from the W.I., who had a stall in this club. Naturally.

Seeing a doc again on Monday. Unsure about what to say, and whether to think in terms of asking for an increase in the dose. Have been sort of level-ish in the main, but not... right. Not right at all. But then, since I have no idea what being right entails, that's possibly not the best reference point for a freak like me.

Oh, and MrsMuddy and Loopy, my main motivator in going on meds was also the fact that I was more concerned about how my mood swings/craziness were impacting on others. I was hitting myself in front of my partner and baby, and figured that trying taking pills couldn't be any worse. O what larks...

I am loving your dream-logic, world of meh! Of COURSE the WI would have a stall at a hispter BDSM thing in another country! (I have similar dream logic at times, too but sadly can't recall much. Oh, except the kangaroo-coyote the was terriozing my family once.)

loopy if it's terroizing you, then back away from it, just make sure that your councellor eventually knows that "me" time is a scary concept for you. Just because it's something that a lot of us need to stay relatively sane doesn't mean that it's what you require at this point in your life.

Thanks, MrsMuddy. Love the mental image of the terrifying kangaroo-coyote :D

Have had a slightly crappy couple of days: the baby has been a bit under the weather lately, and has been whinging a lot. It gets on my nerves at times (I feel horrible about this). A couple of times over this weekend I've lost it and screamed stuff like 'JUST SHUT UP!'. Then her wee face just crumpled. It comes out of nowhere, almost like I'm unaware of the pressure building up. The rest of the time I manage to be loving with her (I think), but then I turn into some sort of horrible demon. I'm worried she's going to be scared of me, like I was of my mother (I used to have nightmares about her trying to kill me when I was a little kid).

:(

oh meh I know that feeling! Are you getting councelling? I feel like I should remember/know that but I don't thanks to not enough sleep or food
loopy give good advice re babywearing.

loopy sorry to hear about your tummy, hope you find that miracle!

I managed to almost do a normal amount of activity this weekend, and even saw someone on Fri night that I'd been dreading seeing she's child-free and always a bit sniffy about how mothers get protected maternity leave but others can't just go on a paid career break, so I was scared that she'd be equally sniffy about me being off work with depression... she was kindness in itself, however! well, to my face at least Am paying for it now, though

Hi all, I have been finding it hard to get anytime on MNet lately cause when I turn the computer on DD always comes over and --gets in the way-- wants to sit on my lap or wants to go on the computer herself.
Also suffering from not enough sleep also caused by DD.

Moodwise I have been doing o.k. but I have been itching an awful lot. I don't know if it is caused by the recent hot weather we have had or if it is caused by the meds or anxiety. It is driving me up the wall!
If it is caused by the hot weather it should hopefully calm down a bit today as the weather looks and feels a bit cooler.

Sorry to hear your DD is being a pest, Cats.

I've been kinda up/kinda down today

Hello again, folks... happy Tuesday. :)

Thanks for the kind words (as usual) also. Loopy - my daughter is nearly 11 months. Funnily enough, I had been thinking about carrying her more, and your post prompted me to just do it. We have a 'backpack' style carrier so I popped her in that yesterday, and got some stuff done. It went ok, so I think this might actually be a great help if I can do short bursts of sorting daily. My sis is a big baby wearer, dunno why I've not gone there so much: she's a big baby, which is part of it I think. My back isn't great, so it can get tiring/painful after a while. The backpack is pretty good, though, and we've been walking the dog together as well, which both the baby and dog love. So thank you, from the three of us! Any further advice on the subject will me more than welcome.

Anyway, saw the doc yesterday and she upped my dose to 100mg- so will see how that goes.

I've decided to cut my time on the net as well as I don't think it's helping. The plan is to do more productive stuff with the time (which I think really mounts up!) by being more present for my daughter, do some studying, make stuff and get out walking more. I waste way too much time looking at crap and/or arguing with idiots about meaningless rubbish! If anyone is interested, I found a great add-on for Firefox that helps you set personal limits if, like me, you lack a spine of your own.

Cats - I'm sorry, I can't remember what meds you are on, but I'm on Sertraline and have noticed a bit of increased itchyness. It might help if you drink more water and cut back on caffeine?

Muddy - good to hear you got out and it went much better than you were dreading it might.But... a two day hangover? Ouch!

Loopy - you sound a little better now. Hope this is the beginning of an upward curve for you.

Meh sadly, wasn't drunk enough for a hangover... just tired I feel like I did when I had glandular fever.

yay for babywearing :) Just don't overdo it at first... slow and steady so you don't injure yourself

Hi all, i'm fairly new to mumsnet so i hope i'm ok to be posting this on here. I'm 12 weeks pregnant and before ttc i had a fairly hellish few months switching my antidepressants to Fluoxetine as i was told that this was the safest during pregnancy. I've been settled on that for nearly 6 months now but am worrying about whether i'm going to have to make another switch in order to breastfeed and, if so, at what point i should think about making the switch? Is fluoxetine dangerour in breastfeeding?

Sorry for bombarding with questions - my psychiatrist has left recently and they are stil trying to organise a locum so there isn't anyone i can ask in the real world!

thanks

Book marking, bit whacked right now

Hi Honey welcome. If you don't mind I'll have a bit of a dig for you in the morning, my eyes are not really taking things in properly. Don't be scared; contrary to popular opinion we're not bastards. We're luffly.

Hi Nomad, have a read and dive in. We'll help if we can.

Hi Honey and nomad

loopy, I hate it when that happens :( hope today is better for you

Oops, spaced on the breastfeeding stuff for honey!

Dr Hale is considered by many to be the world's leading expert on drug effects on breastmilk. He has a lookup book that most breastfeeders prefer it's a better resource than some doctors have to consult when thinking about taking medicine : he goes by what research there has and hasn't been done, rather than CYA type paranoia that some pharmaceutical companies and doctors prefer. A couple ladies on the breast and bottlefeeding board here have a copy if can't afford to get your own i never bothered as I'm rarely sick and should be able to look things up for you.

Here's the kellymom (a great resource, have a root around there for all sorts of info) page relating to ADs: kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/meds/antidepressants-hale10-02/ (she may have others but that seems to have the info you need).

I looked up fluoxetine because what else is there to do when you're awake well before the rest of the family and it seems that's a different name for prozac? If so, the good news is that's a very good one to be on while nursing, the bad news is that levels in your placenta + levels in your milk may be too high (one or the other would be safe, but not both) so he recommends dropping down to a lower dose before birth. Hopefully your new psych or gp will have access to the research he bases this on (or even the research the American FDA used to approve this for a nursing mother ) so as to advise you properly im just a stranger on the internet and in no way qualified to give medical advice!

Hi Honey and nomad

I'm on Fluoxetine (1 month in now). I am quite new to Antidepressants so don't know a lot about them. I have a 3 yr old and an older child at school.

The counsellor got me another appointment so I will go to it! (today)

DD slept all night which means I got a good amount of sleep which is great!

Thanks Muddy. The stuff you turned up is better than what I was able to find, far more relevant.

Yay Cats! See, A Good Nights Sleep? works wonders. Good luck with the counsellor. Remember your OP on your thread? Print it out to take with you.