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My doc loves lexapro


[Bh...]

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So I went to my first psychiatrist appointment today and my doctor thinks I'm OCD. It makes sense...I have always had the ruminating thoughts, obsessive thinking, perfectionism, etc. Obviously it was never this bad (xanax). She also doesn't believe withdrawal lasts more than two months.  :laugh:

 

Needless to say, she wants me to try taking 5mg of lexapro to help with this. I told her I want to have children and she said it's not a big deal if I'm on the drug and get pregnant. She said the babies don't have a hard time with it....I really beg to differ with her reasoning. I truly don't think it's safe to take antidepressants when you are pregnant. I know that many risks come with it.

 

Anyways, I'm not sure what to do. I know I would benefit from the AD, but I don't want to get hooked on another drug and worry about harming my unborn child. I also don't feel like going through another withdrawal....

 

Thanks for your help!

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I thought the same thing. She told me she would have recommended that, but I already do them. I'm involved in cognitive behavorial therapy, I run/exercise and eat well.

 

I still believe what I"m experiencing is from protracted benzo withdrawal. I don't care what anyone says. I was never like this before xanax.

 

 

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Not quite. I need her to focus on that more for me since I'm officially diagnosed with that. I'm thrilled that she didn't diagnose me with more things, like bipolar or schizophrenia.

 

She say I won't even notice the drug's side effects at 2.5 mg which is what she wants me to start. I know that I will. For goodness sakes, small amounts of amino acids throw me over the edge.

 

What did you use to battle the depression/anxiety?

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[6e...]

Not quite. I need her to focus on that more for me since I'm officially diagnosed with that. I'm thrilled that she didn't diagnose me with more things, like bipolar or schizophrenia.

 

She say I won't even notice the drug's side effects at 2.5 mg which is what she wants me to start. I know that I will. For goodness sakes, small amounts of amino acids throw me over the edge.

 

What did you use to battle the depression/anxiety?

 

I'm only prone to relatively short periods of depression (days to a week or so) - even when I was in withdrawal.  While it seemed/seems intense to me at the time, I'm guessing it's only moderate on the depression scale.  I didn't use anything for that depression except therapy/mindfulness.  I really did get pretty decent at stopping the recurring negative thoughts by replacing them with more positive, more nurturing thoughts.  It's a slowly-learned skill (especially during withdrawal).  I very much benefitted from practicing meditation when I was younger. 

 

Kind of the same for anxiety (therapy, mindfulness), except at night.  I just can't get rid of the last 10% of my anxiety.  It's at a level where I don't anguish about it, but my mind tends to keep thinking about stuff that needs to be done or processing stuff that I'd recently accomplished.  So I'd smoke a bowl at night to 'quiet' my mind so that I could fall asleep.  That approach is definitely not for everyone.  It's been my observation that it can raise anxiety/paranoia in people who have significant health or safety anxiety.  My late evening anxiety is more limited to work/business stuff and the cannabis seems to work well for me.

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Hey Bhealthy,

 

I agree with your instincts of not wanting to take more drugs that mess with our brain chemistry.  Also, if your psychiatrist doesn't believe that benzo w/d lasts more than 2 months, it would call into question all of her credibility to me.

 

Who knows what one of these drugs can do to a child during pregnancy?  I am very suspect that being on such a drug would have no impact on the fetus.  My gut says there probably was not enough research done, to come up with a reliable conclusion.

 

I was told "not to worry about it" from several doctors with the 3 psych medications I have experienced, and I really feel like a jerk for not "worrying about it."  I guess, I can only question things going forward, and I am glad I have said a resounding "NO" to several attempts by my doctor to put me on other crap while I'm dealing with recovering from clonazepam and risperdal.

 

I have one more withdrawal to deal with pretty soon, and I am nervous enough about that, so I definitely wouldn't want to add anything else to the mix.. For me, where I'm at now, it's just too painful to contemplate.

 

Eric

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Eric,

I agree with you that AD and other drugs tend to cause more problems then anything. I just feel so craipy sometimes. I'm currently working on elevating my vitamin d and b-12 levels. I also just got off of my second antibiotic in three months. As a result, my microbiome is unstable. I'm going to reintroduce probiotics and continue taking my other vitamins. I hope this helps me.

 

I've decided to gut it out. I won't be taking lexapro unless I have a mental breakdown, which I would have had by now. I feel like I'm on the downward slope of withdrawal. Even though my symptoms are still all consuming, they are milder. I know if I keep plugging along, they will improve. At this point I"m not going to stress about life and focus on regaining my health back. I mean I have to heal...I haven't touched alcohol in 1 1/2 years, exercise every day, and eat gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and preservative free (2 years). My body is as healthy as it is every going to be for a child. That's all I can ask for.

 

Thank you for always providing your encouragement.  :smitten:

Bhealthy

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Badsocref,

Thank you for providing me with some options. I am seeing my therapist today and I'm going to ask her to help me with anxiety and self-coping mechanisms. I've learned that it is important to retrain your brain into thinking positive things. I used to be so good at this, now I'm struggling. I blame a lot of this on withdrawal,...my brain isn't chemically the same as it used to be. I will continue to think positive things. Thank you for the reminder.

 

I truly think we will always have that remaining anxiety. It's in our DNA...nothing we can do about it. As long as we have the skills to cope with it, we will be just fine. I am finding that I was exercising too much for my body. I would jog for 60-80 minutes 4-5 times a week. My body was actually unable to handle the stress of it. For some reason, I thought, let's see how walking for that time frame impacts your body. I felt 100x better and less anxious. Apparently I do have exercise intolerance. I'm going to really start listening to the needs of my body and mind, and only do the things I can accomplish. I'm not going to take on extra tasks and overexert myself. THis is when I have the overwelming anxiety. I blame my job for this...but I allow myself to take on these unnecessary tasks. No more.

 

It's time for us to put ourselves first. For many of us, this is the first time in our lives. Continue to take care of yourself!

Bhealthy

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