Depression and anxiety

[james'mommy]

Does anyone want to start a support thread?

 

[BeckyScott]

Here I am!

 

[james'mommy]

Okay so let me start my list of my issues. I am bipolar and suffer from anxiety. Currently in the process of changing my meds. I hate being around people. I have no friends since we moved to Charlotte 2 years ago. I had to quit my job because of my illness. My disability insurance ran out and I wasn't able to return to work. I still don't feel ready. I have mptivation issues so trying to leave the house and do things is really hard. Right now I'm in a low period of the bipolar cycle.

 

[BEloveDisney]

Okay so let me start my list of my issues. I am bipolar and suffer from anxiety. Currently in the process of changing my meds. I hate being around people. I have no friends since we moved to Charlotte 2 years ago. I had to quit my job because of my illness. My disability insurance ran out and I wasn't able to return to work. I still don't feel ready. I have mptivation issues so trying to leave the house and do things is really hard. Right now I'm in a low period of the bipolar cycle.

You need a hug!

 

[ecki]

Well, right now I'm kicking myself because the kids are not in school this week, therefore my daily schedule is completely screwed, so I keep forgetting to take my meds (Wellbutrin) all week. Sometimes I think that I don't need them and then I forget to take them and I realize....ummmm... yep, still need them. I have been so on edge all week. Especially since I haven't been able to exercise, either. Can't wait until the kids are in summer school and camp next week so I can get my life back on some sort of schedule! In the mean time, I just keep eating ice cream. Which just makes me more depressed because my DH has lost 20 pounds in one month and I'm just plain STUCK in spite of having exercised for 2 - 3 hours and watching what I eat each day for the whole month of June. So I'm just throwing in the towel this week. Back on track next week. Hopefully. Sorry for rambling!!

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

Can I join? I am actually doing well for the most part. I am taking Lexapro. I have no motivation though. I try really hard but I never seem to stick to anything. I have so many great ideas for things but they never seem to happen. I have a huge change coming, both of my kids will be in college in the fall so I will be alone.

 

[ecki]

I try really hard but I never seem to stick to anything. I have so many great ideas for things but they never seem to happen.

I'm like that, too. I had grand visions of doing all this disability awareness stuff at my daughter's elementary school. I got as far as sending out an email and giving the principal a couple of info packets. Just can't get around to following up on it, though. And knowing the school principal, if you're not on her butt about it, it will just get put on the back burner forever.

 

[james'mommy]

Ecki

I take all my meds at night right before bed that way I can remember. Except for my geodon which is kicking my butt. It makes me really tired and loopy. I have to take it at 7pm because it seems to have a 12 hour sleepiness thing. If I take it earlier I physically can not get up in the morning. Anyone have experience with this med?

 

[BeckyScott]

I'm on Buspar.

I'm still kinda figuring out what's going on with my body and what needs to be done to "fix" it.

The short version of the story:

I can trace the beginning back to when we got DS's autism diagnosis. Right after that I started getting really bad stomach cramps, which turned into IBS, which turned into ulcerative colitis.

During that time, I also started having anxiety attacks. I tried several different meds but since I had the UC, most of them really messed with my stomach.

Got the UC under control and the anxiety attacks started happening more often.

They seem to go in spurts. I will go a couple months with no prob at all, and then BOOM I will have 2 or 3 a day for a week or so and am a total useless wreck. No idea what is initially setting that off.

I have a theory, and please let me know if this makes sense-- when we got Justin's diagnosis, my adrenaline fight-or-flight kicked in. Big time. And now it won't shut off. First the extra chemicals ate some holes in my colon, and now it is making me have anxiety attacks. And my body builds it up until it can't handle it anymore. It's very strange, but there are things that cause a lot of people to be anxious (like for example public speaking) that I do not have a problem with. The anxiety attacks happen when I'm "not doing anything", when I'm just hanging out watching tv or something like that.

I've tried counseling and it didn't do much good at all. I have re-discovered my old love of cross-stitching, which I guess is like meditation for me. My doctor will only give me Hydroxizine for Crisis Meds, which makes me fall asleep, I guess that gets rid of the anxiety attack but it's not the greatest. We owe the hospital a small freaking fortune from me being sure I was having a heart attack.

We are in process of selling our house to move to Florida. (long story) Of course that is stressful in it's own way. It will be a good change.

Anymore, I am going in spurts of feeling really good and then not feeling really good. Some days I'm doing good to get the dishes washed and watch HGTV and get the kids fed. Some days I'm cranking out the yard work and scrubbing the kitchen floor.

 

[mechurchlady]

I have depression. No drugs or doctors just chocolate. I do not know about anxiety because I have adapted to live. I do have meltdowns and sometimes can get appehensive about stuff but dont think I have anxiety. Depression is mostly from bad gene pool, mother, celiac related malabsorbtion, low and high sugars, and quirks that get me into trouble.

My SID is most obvious with food so when I get depressed or anxious I head for them cravings like chips and crunchy food. Nothing like a ketchup and onion sandwich with mayo for comfort long ago, lol. Does not work on corn tortillas though.

 

[Schmeck]

mechurchlady, the chocolate may be doing more harm than good - I've been warned to cut back on chocolate because it can increase my anxiety/panic attacks because it has caffeine and other chemicals in it that can escalate an attack??? That's from my general practitioner, btw, not a specialist, though.

I was blessed with a colicky baby and post-partum depression at the same time That was 14+ years ago, and I still get anxiety/panic attacks. Lorazepam knocks me on my butt - I have to take a quarter of my dosage in order to be functioning the next morning. I can only take it at bedtime too. I used to take St. John's Wort, is that still out there now, or was it bad for you? I just came off of a 4 day attack - thought I was having a heart attack every morning getting out of bed...

 

[steffali]

I am taking Lexapro and Wellbutrin for my anxiety attacks. One of the biggest problems I have is that I can eat all day.. I am getting fatter by the second but it beats having a anxiety attack!

 

[BarbieGal457]

I just got my first prescription for anti-anxiety medicine yesterday. I'd been on Prozac on and off throughout high school, but it never really worked. I suffer a lot with my health - IBS, acid reflux, bacteria, etc - as well as depression and body image issues. I take Zofran, which is for cancer patients apparently, to be able to hold down food. My stomach issues are so physically painful and after I eat I become very nauseous, therefore I starve myself to avoid it. It's become so bad, and no doctor can find any TRUE cause or help, and now it's just such a mental thing it's terrible. I haven't taken my medicine yet, but I'm excited to start. Even in Disney last January I was so hungry because I just did not want to be nauseous and sick. I did finally let myself pig out with a hot dog & Casey's before Wishes, and felt fine and was shocked!

Maybe I'm not making that much sense, but basically it is my health issues (mostly) that I constantly battle with and end up making me very anxious and depressed.

Steffali, eating is a side effect that my doctor looked for for me! I would love for this medication to work, both quelling my panic attacks and letting me eat for once!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Lorazepam knocks me on my butt - I have to take a quarter of my dosage in order to be functioning the next morning.

My mom's doctor just prescribed this for her for our upcoming Disney trip to relax her for the plane ride -- she is terrified of flying. She was given a 0.5 dosage. Do you think she'll be okay with that? Maybe we should give her half?

BTW, I think I'll be lurking on this thread. My DH has depression -- has had it for years. I think it's genetic as well as environmental. I'm really trying to understand this disease and sometimes it's just so hard. I think I lose patience because he doesn't seem to do anything to help, which I guess is part of the disease. Round and round, where we stop, no one knows.

I had my own bout of depression just as the year anniversary of 9/11 rolled around. My doctor said it was depression as well as PMDD. He prescribed Sarafem for me, which I was on for a year or so, then tried to stop. It didn't work. I went back on it for another 6 months or so, and stopped again. I haven't been on it in a few years, but I'm sure glad it was there for me when I needed it.

to all in your fight against this debilitating disease.

 

[Schmeck]

My mom's doctor just prescribed this for her for our upcoming Disney trip to relax her for the plane ride -- she is terrified of flying. She was given a 0.5 dosage. Do you think she'll be okay with that? Maybe we should give her half?

Does the prescription just cover what she needs to fly, or are there extras? Could she try a dose before the trip, just to see if it makes her too sleepy to function? It would be good to get it figured out before you get her to the airport, as it takes about 45 minutes for it to work for me, but then I'm a bit loopy/sleepy/fuzzy when it kicks in. I'd have to time it for about an hour before the plane takes off - as long as there are no delays I'm fine. If there's a delay, I could be asleep while sitting at the gate.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Thanks Schmeck

She has 10 pills. That's for the whole trip but she really only needs them for flying. Prescription says 1 every three hours, but since it's only a three hour plane trip, I think one in the morning when she gets up, then another at the airport before we fly should be fine, although I too think she should try them before then. I told her I won't carry her through the airport! I keep having visions of the movie "16 Candles" and the sister/bride being doped up on Midol! Anyway, thanks for the response and I'm sorry to others for hijacking your thread.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

Hi there! I have OCD/generalized anxiety disorder as a result of post-traumatic stress syndrome. I lost a pregnancy 2 months before 9/11 and then was pg again right away without any time to grieve. Because no one could explain the death of my baby, I worried about EVERYTHING during the second pg...doctor thought it would be OK once I had my healthy baby girl, but I had PPD and the OCD kicked in full swing. Ugh. I'm on Lexapro now...tried going off it to have baby #2 last year but the OCD came back even worse than before. Took 2x the original dose to get my anxiety back under control and even now I still struggle daily.

Anyhow...I'm feeling pretty good these days, but I've been there so I'd love to support others!!



Allison

 

[kaffinito]

Ooohhh - good idea for a thread! I've already learned about three new medications that I haven't tried yet - think I'll give my shrink a call.

I've had bi polar depression and anxiety since I was a kid. I don't struggle with it as much as an adult, because for me it's a normal part of life. I mostly relax into it now. I've tried a lot of medications but nothing has worked so far. I just have to try to maintain in the high part of my cycle and totally crash during the low part. My cycles take years, which really blows chunks. I'm in the low part right now, but not the lowest of the low. I'm kind of functional, and I'm doing ok. Not great, but ok.

I'm with you, mechurchladyon the chocolate thing! I use it as my medication too!

To all of us -

 

[james'mommy]

For the poster about their mom's fear flying pills. I would definately have her try it before flying. Some people it makes very loopy other like me it doesn't do a darn thing. I've been on so many anti anxiety meds I've lost count. Or she could she could try the drowsy kind of the motion sickness stuff.

For the rest of you guys I hope everyone is feeling okay. I'm kinda having a down period. Not sure why. Probably just a cycle. Hope I don't turn manic. That's when I tend to get into trouble. My anxiety is cranked up because I am having foot surgery in 4 weeks and am all stressed out about what if I can hear or feel the pain. So of course all I can think about is the surgery. The anxiety meds don't seem to helping all that much. I do have some new weird knee jerking side effect.

 

[steffali]

I do not fly anymore but when I did I would take Zanax. I tried it first before I took it the morning of the flight just to make sure I was ok.

How does everyone with anxiety feel about flying???? I am always afraid I will have a panic attack on the plane so I just don't do it anymore