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Comforting words needed
Hello! I am a 47 year old mom of 4 kids. When my last daughter was born I went on lexapro due to very upsetting insomnia, anxiety and depression postpartum. I had this issue of insomnia and anxiety before my first was born as well but thankfully I was ok for many years while my kids were little and was on no meds. I was prescribed lexapro after my last daughter born, rough startup but eventually It overall worked for 8 years at 10mg. I would still have flare ups of insomnia which I wasn’t crazy about occasionally still once or twice a month. I slowly weaned to 5 went off and had no issues other then some crying spells. 4 months have gone by. I went off because I didn’t want to be on meds longer and felt overall better and was hoping to loose some stuck weight. I did loose my dad in February and have a very stressful issue with my 16 year old behaviorally so perhaps wasn’t best decision.
2 weeks ago I started to spiral with depression and anxiety I was waking up at 5am often I think brought on by stress. Decided to go back on 5mg lexapro a week ago. My insomnia got much worse after trying to restart 5mg lexapro I wake up at 1:30 and can’t go back to bed. Freaked me out and stopped it. My new symptom is panic attacks which I didn’t have in the past where adrenaline rushes through my
Body multiple times a day. I am now trying tryptophan, theanine, valerian, and cbd and thc gummies is my next option.the last 3 nights I have slept 3- 4 hrs last night I popped a Xanax because woke up after one hr and couldn’t go back to bed. Not sure what
To do. I also am getting to premenopausal age so perhaps some of this factors in. I’m thinking this is a relapse and will need meds for life 😭
Has anyone restarted lexapro or there drugs and had a success story? Scared to go through side effects startup and have to switch meds. Anyone here on meds for life?
Thank you in advance 😊
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@katnewton thanks for these kind words. Not even sure who they’re for but I’m taking comfort in them! ❤️❤️
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