loyhargil
Figuring us out
She who perseveres
Posts: 36
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Post by loyhargil on Nov 29, 2010 6:27:47 GMT -8
Well, for what it's worth, I do really well on Lexapro, but I take it for anxiety. For me, it's made a world of difference. I actually feel like myself instead of like a tension-filled ball of nerves ready to snap at any second.
I tried Effexor and Paxil for the anxiety and got nowhere. As a matter of fact, with Effexor, I just felt completely numb. "Felt" is the wrong word for it in a way because I didn't "feel" anything really. Paxil just had no effect on me whatsoever.
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zorro
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She who cares for others
Posts: 10
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Post by zorro on Mar 8, 2011 18:55:21 GMT -8
I was on Zoloft for a while, and I think it helped somewhat, but it gave me SUCH bad sweats- we're talking daylong hotflash level. So, I'm tapering off that and starting Effexor.
I'm just so low right now- have piss-poor memory, no motivation to do anything, and am not really concerned about possibly getting laid off this June (due to downsizing). The counselor I've been seeing can only fit me in every two or three weeks, too, which I don't think is often enough, so I'm looking for a new one.
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msk
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Post by msk on Mar 16, 2011 23:16:59 GMT -8
Paxil did weird things to me. I had the feeling that there were electrical charges going across my brain, which I did NOT like at all.
I am currently on Prozac, and it does pretty well for me, but I'm not on it for depression, but for anxiety. It levels me, but doesn't make me zone out.
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Post by Pahz on Mar 17, 2011 8:25:21 GMT -8
I was just coming in here to say I don't think the Gabapentin is working as well as it should. I'm having way more worse days than I think I should be having.
No worries though, I have a follow-up in about two weeks.
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Nico
Three Digits!
burger emergency
Posts: 143
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Post by Nico on Mar 17, 2011 10:51:53 GMT -8
You may need more, or it may be that Lyrica could be a better fit. Lyrica is really the one that is specifically approved for Fibro - I think when they prescribe Gabapentin for Fibro, they're doing it off-label. I could be wrong.
When my old pain management doctor prescribed Lyrica for me, my insurance company said, "no, but you should try Gabapentin - it's like, the same." Which, no. I don't think so. If it were, they would have already approved Gabapentin for Fibro, right?
They're similar, not the same. Like, a toothbrush and a hairbrush are similar - they're both brushes.
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Post by kmcm on Mar 17, 2011 13:14:09 GMT -8
Gabapentin is an anti-seizure medication which is also used for nerve pain. It is often used for shingles, and fibro, as well as for neuropathy, such as mine. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000940/I was prescribed it for my nerve pain and golly was the measles fun! It gave me a rash, which itched so badly that i was trying to remove my skin. I think it GAVE me a slight case of shingles. If it doesn't seem to be working, get back on the Flexeril. Try the lyrica or the savella, neither of which worked for me, but hey, i don't have fibro. My pain is from trauma.
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Nico
Three Digits!
burger emergency
Posts: 143
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Post by Nico on Mar 17, 2011 17:36:39 GMT -8
Speaking of Flexeril, I think it's weird that your doctor took you off it to put you on Gabapentin, when clearly the Flexeril was helping. Why not just add the Gabapentin, since it wouldn't be like doubling up?
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Post by Pahz on Mar 18, 2011 3:13:09 GMT -8
I had to start taking more of the Flexeril for it to work and the doctor didn't want me to do that.
Also, I can't just go to Lyrica- the VA has a protocol and it has to be followed unless there is some medical reason it can't be (like an allergy to the medicine or whatnot). I have to take what they give me and see if it helps.
I do know the reason the doctor wanted to try Gabapentin was because it starts out at such a low dose that there is a lot of room to play with it before deciding it doesn't work outright.
I don't know why we didn't keep doing the Flexeril and the Gabapentin, but I did ask twice- to be sure- "take the Gabapentin INSTEAD OF the Flexeril or take it WITH..." and it was INSTEAD OF.
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Nico
Three Digits!
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Posts: 143
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Post by Nico on Mar 18, 2011 9:52:09 GMT -8
Yeah, I remember you mentioning the protocol. I just think it's a form of pointless restrictive red tape invented by someone who probably isn't even a doctor. So I don't like it. Nuts to it!
ETA: Hey, maybe now that you've been off the Flexeril for awhile, you can ask her to put you back on? You've probably lost some of the resistance you've built up.
I take drug holidays (breaks from them - "holiday" makes it sound like more fun than it is) all the time, it's the only way I can personally take painkillers - I'd never go back to just being on them long term, because trying to get off them after being on them for several months is just not worth it.
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Post by kmcm on Mar 19, 2011 18:51:46 GMT -8
I'm on painkillers long term, as well as flexeril and valium. There are NO contraindicators for the cyclo and the gaba, Patty, i don't know why they wouldn't let you take both.
I also take drug "holidays" it lowers your tolerance a bit so you don't have to keep upping your dosages.
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Post by geminilee on Apr 10, 2011 10:03:40 GMT -8
Gabapentin worked wonders for me. I have peripheral neuropathy, and it has cut the pain down by a good 90%.
The neurologist recently changed me from the zonisamide for my seizures. It helped a whole lot physically but really messed my head up (which is why I went so long without posting here, at least in part). They have me on Lamictal now, which doesn't mess my head up but also doesn't fix my feet or my sleeping problems like zonisamide did. Ah well, c'est la vie.
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loyhargil
Figuring us out
She who perseveres
Posts: 36
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Post by loyhargil on Apr 25, 2011 13:01:46 GMT -8
Well, for what it's worth, I've since been taken off Lexapro and put on Cymbalta instead. Since Lexapro can increase appetite. I've put on ... oh ... about 40 pounds since I started taking fibro meds, so we're switching meds bit by bit until I can get my weight back under control. First step was Cymbalta to Lexapro. I'm now doing phentermine to get some weight off quickly (can we say, though, not working? but at least I don't fall asleep during the day as often), and once I've depleted the time period I can take that, doc's switching me from gabipentin (which also increases appetite) to ... damn, can't remember, something that starts with an s. Savella? In the meantime, I'm supposed to be taking amitriptyline at night to help me sleep, and I've discontinued it. Because it slows down your metabolism and increases your appetite.
In the meantime, I'm just in a prescription limbo, and outgrowing clothes as quickly as I can buy them. Joy.
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Post by geminilee on May 9, 2011 10:44:52 GMT -8
I have been having trouble with some side effects of my drugs lately. I have been trembling, having severe frequent nightmares (I woke up 4 times last night) and all of a sudden I have some kind of bronchial infection or inflammation. The problem is, I have had 3 drugs added/changed within the past 2 months*, and all of them list 1 or more of the above as infrequent or rare side effects. And that isn't counting the rest of the drugs I am on regularly. Do we change them one at a time? Do I complain until they are all changed? I know the doctor can tell me some things, but I want to be armed with a game plan before I go in. Even if it does end up getting altered per medical advice.
* The new drugs are Lamotrigine for seizures, a bit over a month ago; Effexor for depression almost a month ago; and Singulair about the same.
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Post by Pahz on May 13, 2011 13:00:58 GMT -8
So, it seems the Gabapentin started to cause swelling problems when I took it three times a day. I didn't realize it was Gaba-related because I already have edema. I mean, who can tell an edema session from a side effect?
I did a blog sometime in the middle of the night, like Thursday at 2 or 3 AM. It's missing now- Blogger was having some maintenance issues and they claim any missing posts will be replaced. I hope so, because it told the saga of the Gabapentin prescription fuck-up. (It was called "Snafu equals FUBAR" or something).
Anyway, I realized the day before yesterday that the Gaba was probably responsible for my swelling. The swelling that had gotten so bad that I had alien flipper feet. I called the VA today and LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER the actual doctor called me back. I almost fainted.
She told me to not take the Gaba (I'd been reducing my dose over the last two weeks because I didn't want to suddenly run out) and to go back to the Flexeril for now. I've been off it for about five or six months now. I have an appointment in Late June, and we'll "try Cymbalta or Lyrica"... which means we'll mark the Gaba as "side effects" and move on to the next option.
But since I've been off the Flexeril, it's working for me again. So that's good!
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Nico
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Post by Nico on May 13, 2011 14:55:04 GMT -8
I personally found that getting off of Cymbalta was horrible - I was on 60mg a day, and tapering down even more slowly than the doctor normally would, I was nauseated, and so dizzy my head was spinning while seated. And it was the only medication that was being changed at the time. It took weeks to feel normal again. It was particularly weird, since I felt major no side effects tapering up, or while on the medication.
Just something to think about, so that if you do take it, you're not like "wtf, am I having a stroke?" if it happens to you. I don't necessarily think that it will happen for everyone, because the doctor behaved as though I was MAKING THE WHOLE THING UP, and actually asked me if I'd stopped taking the wrong medication. No, honey, I'm still taking my painkiller, who forgets to take their painkiller? The pain is a very handy reminder.
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