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Don't know which way to go....advice please

Posted , 8 users are following.

deb50
deb50

Hi people, for 7 years I've been on antidepressants following the diagnosis and death of my husband.

ive managed to now come off theses tablets but  now I've developed limb pain particularly my hips and legs, general fatigue lack of interest ( usually excercise) feel a little down forgetfulness and anxiety theses are the main ones.

thoughts please Thankyou 

my periods are regular but I feel detached and not my self before and during my period.

ive managed to finally get a Gps appointment tomorrow and am fearful they ll suggest I need to be back on the antidepressants.

Do you feel my symptoms are like the menopause or depression ?

 

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • susan21149
    susan21149 deb50

    Posted

    Hi Deb 50

    Sorry for your loss of your husband. I am on antidepressant and an antianxiety pill. 

    I am taking trazodone and ativan 

    I feel that you should go back on you antidepressant because being off can contribute to how your feeling plus anxieties too. 

    I would advise that you stay on your antidepresaant because with menopause it can get worse with the anxieties and depression 

  • roseanne_90819
    roseanne_90819 deb50

    Posted

    Hi deb50, so sorry to hear about your husband. Personally I think youve done really well comming off the antidepression tablets, it cant have been easy with everything thats happened. Your symptoms sound like the menopause to me... I had all these but I had to return to my antidepressents because my depression increased so much as well,you do seem to be managing it but at the same time if your doctor feels you would benefit from going back on tablets again dont feel like youve failed.good luck and keep us updated.
  • laurie93043
    laurie93043 deb50

    Posted

    Good to know you will have an appointment tomorrow, to help look into these symptoms that appear to have begun after stopping antidepressants. There's probably some wisdom in tapering off slowly, rather than quitting them quickly (or suddenly.) 7 years, that's a lot of time to have to go through your husband's diagnosis and his passing. So sorry, Deb.
    • rhondapacificnw
      rhondapacificnw laurie93043

      Posted

      Though some women I’ve met online report enjoying the heck out of menopause I’ve never met anyone in real life whose depression improved during the change, in fact many women I’ve known managed to go their whole lives without depression until menopause came along.

      That doesn’t mean you need to be back on antidepressants it’s just to point out if you do wind up back on meds it wouldn’t be unusual nor would it mean in any way shape or form you have somehow failed. I know it’s difficult but try and not think if it like “have” to go back on medication.

      Medication is sometimes just a part of self-care. We know to be healthy we have to wash our hands, shower, eat right, avoid drugs and so  on and generally as adults we don’t feel like we have to do these things. We simply do them when we need to because we know despite the inconvenience it’s in our best interest.

      Just like we don’t always have to wear warm clothing - I do when it’s winter. Sometimes it’s appropriate, sometimes it isn’t. When it is appropriate I do, when it isn’t then I don’t. You had a time when being on meds was appropriate for you, you had a time when it wasn’t. Now you might be at a place in your life again where it might be appropriate.

      I’m not a doctor and don’t know you well enough to say whether you are at that place for certain or not but if it turns out you are then rather than dreading it, it’s going to be a lot more helpful to choose to look at it like this is something you are going to do again because at this moment in terms of loving yourself and giving good self-care that is what you choose to do, as opposed to have to do. 

  • 00Spitfire
    00Spitfire deb50

    Posted

    When I stopped taking antidepressants I also had unexplained pain in the same areas you mentioned. It was weird it moved around, in other words not in the same spots all the time but generally in the same areas. It took me a year to pinpoint the cause. The cause for me was inactivity. I was tested and MRI etc. nothing was wrong with me. Physical Therapy worked for me. It took about 6-8 weeks. I'm still in it, but will eventually continue my exercises at home and then go back to the gym. My fear was it was Fibromyalgia and they would put me back on antidepressants, thank God it wasn't. I have had sporadic menses for a couple of years, so hormones could also be a factor. I'm not a doctor but I think antidepressants are over prescribed. Personally I feel better mentally off of them. But it took a few months after discontinuation. If your anxiety is only around your period I would just suffer through it. Good luck at the doctors office. Don't give up, find the answer to your pain no matter how long it takes. My hips now feel normal. And if you are in pain that can cause depression and anxiety, keep that in mind. After you solve the pain problem you will feel like you have a new life. Hang in there, I totally get it.
  • sheryl37154
    sheryl37154 deb50

    Posted

    Blood tests first please.  Don't let dr make assumptions.  Ask for Hormones, Iron Studies/Panels, Vit B12 and Vit D.

    Be assertive if you have to (I don't mean aggressive) smile

     

  • deb50
    deb50

    Posted

    Thankyou everyone for your  replys I feel understood x

    im at the docs later today so I'll  let you know the out come

  • deb50
    deb50

    Posted

    Hi everyone, my update.

    ive been so lucky today I got  a doctor I trust and who sorts things out.

    she requested a full range of blood test which include my FSH LH  Oestogen hormones vit D which apparently lots of people are defiant in and thyroid function.

    she wants to see me next week with the results and then make a decision on HRT etc but thankfully she didn't suggest going back onto antidepressants which I was relieved  about.

    Can't wait for the bloods to get the results just don't feel like myself at the minute, doesn't it get you down ? 

     

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