damn. good luck.
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Bleed them dry!
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That’s fucked. I hope you wreck them.
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=(
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Two days until I start my new job, and instead of being happy I’ve been so anxious I haven’t been able to do…well, anything. Every time I go to eat my stomach just tightens up, trying to distract myself only makes it worse, and I’ve already read over my work materials so many times I might as well know them by memory. I’ve been a panicky, stuttering mess all day. The worst thing is that a major part of my anxiety has to do with the anxiety itself and how it will affect my performance rather than over any skills related job itself.
I just want to lie down and let it be Wednesday.
Dumb at my earlier panic but relieved, actually being in the office as an employee and doing the work managed to kill a lot of my anxiety. However, impostor syndrome will probably always haunt me --especially with the review and self-assessment heavy culture of the company. It’s also helped that I like the company itself a lot thus far, they are very equality focused, and go to lengths to be always be aware on how to proactively tackle social justice issues, both within the company and within the schools where we do our work.
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I’m coming to terms with the fact that my anxiety issues didn’t go away when I finished college. I don’t really have attacks anymore, but I on occasion I get in a bad way and I still ave to be really careful with caffeine (or really things that feel caffeinated, like decaf coffee).
SSRIs are a lot cleaner than Lamictal. I didn’t experience any trouble with Prozac and my dad did well with Lexapro. There’s a minor chance of a nasty depression hitting when going on it (like happened to my mom) but it usually hits early so you’ll know if it was a mistake or not quickly.
Incidentally I may be going of Lamictal soon. It is reduced by ingested estrogen so we’re gonna see if the reduced level hurts me in any significant way when I start hormone therapy. It’s always been questionable whether it did anything significant for me. My psychiatrist actually didn’t know this, my friend Wynne found it, but after some additional research he thought it looked legit. My psych was super impressed by Wynne’s research.
They act on fewer receptors. You’ll have fewer problems with interactions.
Extreme increase in depression at first is a sign that the medication will be ineffective. Your case may be more complicated as it’s a crosstaper. The effects of the Lamictal may retreat faster than the Lexapro kicks in (SSRIs are notoriously slow). You may feel slightly worse at the beginning of the crosstaper because of this. But if things get extreme and you feel close to hospitalization, it’s more likely to be a reaction to the Lexapro than the dip I was talking about.
Lastly, I am not a doctor and you should ask your psychiatrist for more details about what a bad reaction to Lexapro looks like.
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In the depression thread of the old forum, WUB sang praises of Lexapro.
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I haven’t done research on Lexapro specifically but other SSRIs (sertraline/zoloft) are safer in the first and second trimester and are recommended to be tapered off of in the last trimester due to possible pulmonary vein stenosis in the infant.
That being said, there’s a growing amount of research that suggests extra stress during pregnancy results in important epigenetic changes and alterations in offspring’s behavior compared to non-stressed mothers’ offspring. It is definitely important to find a medication that will help you.
It’s a horrible balance to try and maintain, but I think if you talk with your OB and psychiatrist they will do their best to get it sorted. I know in my area there is a specialist psychiatrist that specifically works with pregnant women to help them stay safely medicated during pregnancy and in the post-natal period if they want to breastfeed. I imagine if SSRIs are your best option that you could go for more ultrasounds as the third trimester progresses to check if pulmonary vein stenosis is a concern and taper off if there is evidence of narrowing.
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Since this Saturday I’ve been waking up in the morning and my eyes have been hurting with how tired I felt, that feeling hasn’t gone away. My eyes hurt right now with tiredness. You know that feeling, like exposing them to air is the problem and that simply closing them makes it feel better?
Yeah, closing them doesn’t help. I’m not sleeping well. I don’t sleep well on a good day, no formal diagnosis but I have a really hard time falling asleep, have since I was a kid. This usually means I fall asleep way later than everyone else but wake up at the same time.
So by my own standards, I’m not sleeping well. The current late is worse than the normal late.
I have no idea if this is depression or depression related. It could be literally anything where a symptom is fatigue.
I’ve not made any changes to my life otherwise, I’m still hosting my game nights, still attending and doing my work and socially interacting. I just worry that people are gonna notices I’m dead on my feet. like I’m gonna fall asleep at my desk or something. I’m not really sure what to do, tell a doctor? (My actual doctor with whom I have a relationship and history retired about 3 months ago and I’ve not gotten around to seeing who’s in my network and taking patients.)
Might it be a nutrition thing? I was noticing some similar fatigue issues and after visiting the doctor and doing some lab work, they told me my iron and protein levels were in the toilet. Working to get those back up to an acceptable level has gone a long way to making me feel more alert and more rested.
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Yeah this is basically the advice I expect. I should probably just spend the effort, do my research, and find a new doctor.
I’ve seen no eye docs, and I’ve never done anything other than mention I have trouble sleeping during yearly checkups. Mentioned in such a way as to suggest it doesn’t affect my life enough to warrant further examination, so it’s probably just a footnote in my sheet from every checkup since I was like 12.
Definitely worth a look, now that I remember it, last time I had blood work I was found to be deficient in fiber and some other fruit and veggie related nutrients. That was ~9 months ago though…
Ok this ends soon. tyty
I’m glad that so many of you are willing to share here.
I know a lot of people who hide their mental issues, even from their close friends. I respect that decision, but often it comes from fear of stigmatization.
I also know a lot of people who have found great comfort, even if they don’t share, in seeing others speaking openly about them.
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If mental health is all someone can find to stigmatize me for they’re not trying very hard.
I’ve always had a strong trend toward baseline moods, but I’ve noticed that my baseline is getting lower and lower lately, and that small events have been sparking… Let’s call them confidence issues. Now that I have some decent insurance, I’m gonna set up an appointment to look into anxiety or depression on my part.
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The importance of this point cannot be overstated. Just knowing you’re not alone helps so much.
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I have had a bad experience with Lexapro. I’ve also heard several experiences from friends with similar issues.
Basically, Lexapro triggered mania and anxiety for me. I had not had anxiety previously to taking it, and since have had panic attacks and been unable to consume coffee. While the anxiety has been subsiding for several years (since 2005ish), I have no idea why it would have had such a long term impact.
My best experience, miles away from any other, was on WellbutrinXL (SNRI). My worst was on a generic equivalent of WXL with a different sustained release mechanism (basically flooded my system, heart rate of over 150 for hours, thought I might die).
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I know that feeling. Not a good feeling.
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