I would strongly recommend you talk to your gyn or endocronologist about doing hormone replacement therapy. You have nothing to lose, and you might get a jump start on things like bone loss at the same time. Hang in there and try to get some sunshine, exercise and hugs.

Hello! Glad to hear you are overall sleeping well!! The Prozac helps a bit with mood nothing groundbreaking. I still have a lot of anxiety the day after when I don’t sleep well. They recommended I go up to 30mg but not sure. I am
Gonna give it some more time. Please keep Me posted on how
You do. How
Long have you been on the lexapro?

You will get through these hard times. This is a chapter in your life and try to see it as temporary. The medication is tough I know. But, there are many psychiatrists out there that can offer second opinions if you choose to do that. Hang in there. I’m very sorry for your loss. I personally understand. You’re never alone. Remember that.

Yes, I am on meds for life! I have an immune deficiency and an auto-immune disease as well. I do struggle with anxiety and with depression at times. Lexapro didn't work for me. I am a natural type of lavender oil, called Calm Aid, I believe. Have you thought about doing something without medication- like Neuro feedback? I am exploring that, my son had it done and it really helped him. He struggled with attention issues, anxiety and depression in the past.

There's also other non-traditional therapies as opposed to medication, like counseling/therapy, TMS, exercising like walking, taking an exercise class, deep breathing, yoga, pilates, mindfulness, meditation. Natural type over the counter remedies- going to a health food store and trying anxiety/depression medicine there. There's also Melatonin for help in sleeping at night. I have seen a functional medicine Dr. and she and he have been wonderful and helped a lot. It is pricey, especially since insurance doesn't cover for everything at the Functional Medicine Dr. There is a lot of out of pocket expenses. However, I had a ton of testing done and I found out I had an auto immune disease from that testing. They also told me I was lacking in B vitamins and suggested supplements for me to take. I had extensive food testing done. Awhile back, I had it done and it showed dairy and gluten/wheat were the problem for me. My Dr. said for me to go gluten free and avoid cheese, milk/dairy. Well, I started with gluten free and it helped so much! I moved on to dairy free, yes it is way more difficult to shop, eat out and eat at other's homes/potlucks, etc... It is worth it, for me to be pain free and not deal with the diarrhea, coughing, throwing up, clearing my throat a lot and of course, tummy aches. I had no clue before then that I had food intolerances. I was using aloe vera leaf juice every morning and it helped till I forgot my aloe vera leaf juice on weekend trip we took. Then, I saw how bad I was after eating at Red Lobster! The functional medicine Dr spends way more time with you, as they are different than your traditional Dr. It wouldn't hurt to go this route, if you are able and willing to do that. They could suggest more natural type supplements for sleeping/anxiety/depression, etc... As far as traditional medicine goes, Bupropion has worked for me in the past. It made me sleepy, so I took it before bedtime. I get a lot of side effects from medicine prescribed from a Dr. Find another Dr. if that is the route you want to go, another Psychiatrist, there are some great ones out there. Get recommendations from friends or family or online reviews, etc... I hope things improve for you!

I'm sorry for this late post. Some of what I write may have been covered.

Please get a Dr's opinion - it sounds to me like you have chronic depression. I had my first panic attack at 19 back in 1972. There were no good drugs to treat. panic attacks, OCD, and of course chronic depression.

30 years later and I finally went to see a Dr again with overwhelming depression. He prescribed Paxil and it has mostly worked for the last 22 years, although I recently increased my dose to 50 mg, the max.

So please check with your Dr. To your last point, yes I believe I'lll be on anti-depressants for life. Much better than the alternative for me. Gettting regular cardio exercise has also helped me.

You are most certainly not alone! Please take some comfort that what you describe can be treated with meds and talk therapy.

All the best to you!

Joe

I was taking tryptophan and some 5htp for a short while before fully getting on lexapro. Didn’t help like in the past. I am
On Prozac 20mg now and it seems to be helping overall. Not
Perfect but better. I am also
Taking 100 progesterone and estrogen patches.

Ok thank you, very helpful. I’m glad you’re starting to feel better again and hope that continues for you! Definitely think perimenopause is playing a role in all of this for us. Take care and keep me posted on how things continue to go for you, please!

I would really want to be followed by a psychiatrist who can help you sort this out. Trying too many things at once, or changing things back and forth will confuse the issue. You need a physician to help you methodically determine what works and what doesn't. I do not believe in adding supplements - my opinion - sometimes they can hurt more than they help.

Did you experience the same shakiness/activation when you started the new med as you did when you restarted the Lexapro? Wondering if I may need to try a different med at some point. Will you share again which one are you on now?

I will have to ask the neurologist if I should take it having other drugs on board for Parkinson’s. Thank you!!