Posted by KayJay on February 26, 2001, at 22:26:20
In reply to Re: Lasting effects after many years on Prozac » KayJay, posted by iGradiva on February 25, 2001, at 18:06:44
Howdy again, I'm afraid that I'm not coping very well these days. When I go off the antidepressants, the lupus symptoms eventually go away and I become less tired, but the depression is worse. I am taking Zoloft right now in spite of the joint pain, etc. because I thought maybe the stimulants I was taking was what what causing the lupus symptoms. Since I started the Zoloft, I have had a few flare ups, but not very bad ones. However, I'm very tired most of the time, sleep at least 12 hrs. a day, and have not really worked in 4 years. Before the lupus stuff, I was doing quite well on my meds, was working hard, had many projects going in the house, etc.(although, I noticed my memory was poor). Now I'm lucky if I do the dishes.
I really don't know if I would be like this anyway either, but I wish I could have found some other way to beat the depression early on. I certainly was not this depressed before I started taking antidepressants, and I definitely never had any arthritis symptoms or muscle pain. But maybe the depression has just gotten worse over the years. I have a lot of trouble thinking and remembering, and my motivation is at an all time low. Before I started with the SSRIs, I had tried many other meds, and couldn't tolerate the side effects.
I've done quite a bit of research on the web(not finding much) because the first docs I saw were brushing me off about the medication connection. They kept telling me that it was not possible for the meds to be causing the joint pain, breathing difficulties, and other problems I was having. I know now that the meds were causing those symptoms, because over the last few years I've gone off of them, and back on 4 or 5 times, and the symptoms go away off the meds, and come back when I go back on. I also have had numbness and tingling in hands, feet, and legs when I stopped taking them, but it has been fairly mild, and has gone away for the most part after being off the meds for a few months.
To be honest, I'm pretty worried about remaining on the SSRIs. So little seems to be known about long term effects. None of the docs I've seen have even been able to tell me what might be the consequences of staying on them if they are causing a drug induced lupus, or aggravating a pre-existing lupus, yet they recommend that I stay on them, because of the depression.( which by the way, the meds don't seem to work very well for me anymore, anyway). Right now, I guess I'll try the Zoloft for a few more weeks, and see what happens.
KayJay
poster:KayJay
thread:54447
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010221/msgs/54958.html