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Energy lvl ups and downs? Caused by antidepressants or psychological?

Posted , 5 users are following.

nic1234
nic1234

Not sure if anyone can help. Getting really desperate to be honest. Sorry about the essay.

I’ve been diagnosed with postnatal depression in June last year. Was put on sertraline. Dose was upped. Kept at the max for over 6 weeks. No effect. Quetiapine was added at 50 mg - 75mg to help with the sleep. Didn’t really do much neither, so got stopped at some stage in October.

On October they’ve tried the combi mirtazepine/  Venlafaxine and mirtazepine / duloxetine. Never got over the initial dose with these. 

Both SNRI meds got stopped as I developed serious agitation. Stayed on the highest dose of mirtazepine for 4 weeks. No effect whatsoever.

Psychiatrist tapered me off mirtazepine and put me onto lofepramine. That was the end of November. Now something really has been happening since then.

Approx half a week after she started me on this tricycle one my energy levels started to rise. Agitation again. But at least no aggression. I HAD to do things. Can’t sit still. Really restless. I was very irritated (not as bad as in the SNRIs though). Started to paint furniture. Organise thongs. Sleep went completely out of the window. Mood was still on the very low side.

This lasted 7 days. 

Then I literally “crashed”. 

No other word to describe it. 

Energy levels down. Can’t move. Low mood. No motivation whatsoever. This “phase” lasted around 9-10 days. Then the agitation started again. 

Since the beginning of December this has been going on.

Somewhere in between the quietiapine was added again. But from previously 75mg it’s now at 200mg. Well. This dose works with sleep. It literally knocks me out for 3 - 7 hours.

Unfortunately in one of these “high” level phases I kinda “lost” it and was about to commit suicide. Fortunately (or unfortunately - I’m still kinda racing I was stopped - sorry, but that’s how I see it hahaha) the police found me and I’ve been admitted to hospital. At this stage I’ve only slept one out of four nights. Yep. I was awake three days and was still going.

Psychiatrist started me on lithium as an augmentation therapy to the lofepramine.

Still waiting for the lithium levels to get to therapeutic level, so we don’t know if it helps.

She’s can’t explain these weird ups and downs and is insisting she’s never seen this in any of her patients. 

My partner and I are convinced it’s the meds which make me go like that. 

She is saying if there was something like it, it was for the whole period and not up and down.

Now she’s saying it’s something psychological.

Psychological? Really? Up to the stage when she tried the SNRIs I’ve been lethargic, no energy, no motivation. Typical depression. 

Then suddenly these meds are introduced and I start getting agitated and having these energy swings. Not even mood swings.

So. This means before that it wasn’t psychological? Just suddenly?

I’ve started seeing the psychologist and he’s kinda taking about childhood trauma and attachment issues. 

Ok. And these “issues” started only to affect me 5 months into treatment? 

I don’t know. My gut instinct tells me no. 

It’s not that I don’t have problems. Who hasn’t? But everything in me screams no way.

My head is wrecked. I’m confused and don’t know what to think. Which doesn’t really help getting me out of his horrible spiral of depression.

I’ve tried to get the medication stopped. But she won’t have any of neither. It would be catastrophic. Ok. 

At the end of the day I don’t care what’s causing it. Psychological. Trauma. Mood disorder. Whatever. I just want to know how to fix it again. Get an idea about the diagnose. Know what’s going on and why, so I can start dealing with it.

Does anyone have an idea what’s going on?

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • julie79608
    julie79608 nic1234

    Posted

    It’s awful when you just don’t know what to do and if you’re not sleeping either it can make things much worse . Woukd they give you some short term meds like zopiclone just to give you some sleep so you can face another day
    • Adldiane
      Adldiane julie79608

      Posted

      Hi Julie. I cannot imagine how frustrated you have to be. The silver lining here is how supportive your partner is and boy do you need it. I'm not sure that it's possible but it seems to me that you need a whole new team of doctors: psychiatrist, counselor, GP and anyone else that you can think of. Just take your medical records and start over. Don't know if that is possible or not but it seems to me you need new eyes on your case. I have never done well with combinations of drugs and I had a very good psychiatrist that understood that and we worked together closely to get my depression under control. Hope you get to sleeping better very soon and that your other symptoms get regulated quickly. Please let us know how you are. Diane

    • nic1234
      nic1234 julie79608

      Posted

      Hi Julie, We’ve actually tried Zolpidem in November. It did do f... all. I was still awake three hours later sad(

      She then wanted to try a benzo. So was  on Klonopin for a good month. Told her I wanted it stopped, so we stopped.

      Def too many meds for my taste. The only other medication I used before was paracetamol :o

    • nic1234
      nic1234 Adldiane

      Posted

      Hi Diane, Def sound like a plan. My partner thinks we should go to Germany (I’m original German) as they just have more experienced than here in Ireland. Won’t have many options here and as I’m on illness benefit at the moment we can’t afford going private. It’s just a lot of hassle going back into the German system and also not looking forward to doing it all in German neither. They also have mother and baby units over there. Not like here. Would really be much easier for us. 

      Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Was still ruminating at 3am sad(

      Let’s see how tonight goes.

      It’s not good when I “win over” 200mg quetiapine. It means it’s  only a matter of time before the agitation starts again. Can’t stand it. I’d like to get out of my skin and can barely sit still. It’s just horrible.

      At the moment every muscle feels sore and I’m very low.

      If I wouldn’t know it any better Is say I’ve been doing a marathon.

      Won’t be long until the agitation starts again and I wish to be at rock bottom again. It’s too exhausting. Unfortunately.

      Will be meeting the psychiatrist again on Monday. Will try again running against the brick wall. Probably more ouch. Not sure what I can actually ask her. She will insist on psychological whatever I’m saying.

      But still hoping the lithium might work. At the end it’s also a mood stabilizer and she’s always talking about getting me stable.

      I think I’ve seen her nearly every week for the past 8 months. She must be getting sick of me lol

  • Adldiane
    Adldiane nic1234

    Posted

    Don't worry about the psychiatrist it's her job to help you get help and find answers to your problem. I would sit down with your partner and a pin and paper. Draw a line down the middle of the paper. On one side write pros (good reasons to move back to Germany) the other side write Cons (reasons to stay in Ireland. See which side is greater the decide whether to stay or move. What do you think? Diane

  • borderriever
    borderriever nic1234

    Posted

    It sound like a mania with the ups and downs, the Lithium should settle you down and level your mood, it will be important you keep taking the Lithium and accept any side effects as you become used to them.

    It would seem reading above the medications you were introduced to were not given the chance to work, each one takes about five weeks before you would possibly feel positive changes.

    You are where you are, keep taking your Lithium give it plenty of time to work, keep at it, eventually the Lithium should settle you and stop the manic mood changes

    BOB

    • nic1234
      nic1234 borderriever

      Posted

      Bob? Do you think this is actually mania?

      I don’t know how I’ve done it, but I got her to reduce the Lofepramine. Big relief from my side. I’m very, very agitated this time around. I didn’t held back. I’m normally the opposite. Calm, collected.

  • Adldiane
    Adldiane nic1234

    Posted

    Nix I agree with Bob that's what I've been thinking. He's very smart. Diane

  • isabella82120
    isabella82120 nic1234

    Posted

    Reducing that tablets and listen to your body...see psychologist that’s what you should do!
  • nic1234
    nic1234

    Posted

    thanks Bob and Diane

    Looks like I just wait it out for the moment. 

    Feeling completely paralyzed and shuttered. Zero energy. Shouldn’t last too long neither. Thought leaves some scary taste of what is to come. But ok. I am where I am.

    And I should be glad enough to be in a safe environment.

    She did have me on lofepramine for around 6 weeks on the highest dose when I’ve completely lost it and tried to end things. 

    Lithium lvls were at 0.27 last week, so too low to tell more.

    Psych is insisting on psychological reasons. 

    I know she’s been puzzled with me.

    On the other hand she’s a clever woman and might not want to say too much neither.

    I really don’t know what to think.

    Just maybe by having a baby I might accidentally opened Pandora’s box.

    Great I’m getting philosophically again 🤣

    • Adldiane
      Adldiane nic1234

      Posted

      Nix how are you are things settling down? Diane
    • nic1234
      nic1234 Adldiane

      Posted

      Thanks for asking.

      I’m so tired of it.

      Energy levels have been up, but at least not on the high end. 

      Maybe the lithium is starting to work?

      Still getting this weird buzz and “high” feeling. In this round I’m really having trouble with agitation.

      Never had to deal with these emotions before.  All very alien. I can manage ok-ish most of the time, but little things can set me off. Which is scary. I’m like a different person altogether. Impulsive, out of control.

      I thought I’d never say it, but tbh I’d rather be purely depressed again.

      It least it’s not as exhausting. And scary.

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