Antidepressants that work well for you

[Diandra]

Hi All,
This is a topic that has been discussed many times before. My pain doc wants to add an antidepressant because I sleep so poorly and it will help with pain and I have some depression and stress.

He gave me Cymbalta to try one at night before bed and then I read all the horror stories about withdrawal/brain zaps. I told him I was afraid to take it for that reason and he said that only happens when it is suddenly withdrawn.

Could I hear your opinions on anti-d's that you LIKE and work well for you. Please don't post about all the ones you dislike and had horrible side effects from as I know those stories are numerous. I really just want to hear some success stories. I know everyone is different but, I was hoping if I heard some good success from many of you about the same one I could try it. I tried Paxil and got bad headaches, Elavil is too sedating. Other than that, have not tried anything else. I do take Ambien at night when I need it but my pain doc would like me to get away from that and switch to an anti-d.

Thanks so much for your success stories.

Wishing you all well today. Sorry I have not been around much to support you all more but have been in Boston helping my Dad through cancer treatment and support and that is zapping my limited energy. Any
and all prayers for him welcome.

Diandra

[A.K.]

Hi,
I am on Cymbalta and have been for going on three years. I have taken a couple of drug holidays during that time. Cymbalta was not a problem for me to work off of at all. I take 90mg a day for nerve pain.

I got very depressed WHILE taking Cymbalta. I take Lexapro 20mg a day for that and have a very low dose Xanax script for anxiety and or sleep, I currently take 0.5 twice a day.

This combination had worked wonders for me. I am resting better, no more panic attacks, agrophobia is much better and I no longer walk around my house with a box of tissues under my arm. I have no side effects that I realize.

I pray they find the perfect combo for you immediately. You will feel better soon! A.K.

[Diandra]

Hi A.K.
Thanks for all the great info. I want to ask you a question but, if it is too personal please just disregard it. You said you took Cymbalta for nerve pain and that is part of the reason my doc wants me on it. Did you take it for nerve pain and not depression,
meaning you did not have depression and it caused it?

My doc is hoping it helps alot of things. I am currently on Norco, Lyrica and Soma daily
for various types of pain but neuro pain is my worst. I have been having alot of stress lately that has increased my pain and my doc said, since I have never taken anti-d's before and my sleep cycle is so messed up(I never sleep, up roaming the house til all hours) and he thinks even though I don't exhibit much depression that sleeplessness and anxiety are parts of depression, hence wanting me to start Cymbalta.

I am very happy for your success with your drug regimen. Thanks so much for the advice. It was really helpful.
Diandra

[Mark N]

Diandra, I have also taken Cymbalta for nerve pain the last four years. I haven't had any trouble getting off it when I tried but I know others have had a terrible time working off it. It has been a great pain med for me and I have noticed that my moods have leveled out. I don't take it for the AD aspect of it so I can't tell you how that works.

[Mary Diane]

Just wanted to give you my two cents worth... I think that it makes a difference as to what all meds you are currently taking, before deciding what anti-d would be best. I take topamax, welbutrin, and neurontin for nerve pain, but since the topamax and welbutrin work as anti-ds, I also take Prozac to help them out. We have found that this combination works well for me. I have lots of allergies, and sometimes the s/e really get to me.


Right now I take 14 pills per day, and I would seriously love to drop that to a whole lot less. Maybe someday they'll come up with a combo pill for those of us who need them :D . BTW, some people think that depression causes people to sleep more than normal. I don't, but some do.

Talk to you soon, love and one-armed hugs,

Mary Diane *cg06

[Nana4&cntn]

Diandra,

I have been taking AD's since my early 20's and turn 50 in a few months. Since I had the diagnosis of Depression prior to my MVA, I have had to try different things from a very different angle than many here.

I take Trazadone for help to sleep. That in turn helps me sleep, which helps the pain, which helps the depression. This is how my pdoc and PM keep me from falling into the pain cycle. I hope I explained that clear enough. If you don't get sleep the whole apple cart goes to crap, at least for me.

[cindybear]

I take prozac, I have for many years,,Sometimes I had to asdjust , up or down,,but it is now a very low dose, 10 mg dose. I am also on topamax which helps as for depression, so I lowered my dosage of prosac when I got on topamax, ( a larger dose ) I just now started on 300 mgs of topamax a couple of weeks ago,,I might have to see if I need to go down again,,But I doubt it,,I feel really good,,not depressed for a very long time,,and I have alot to be depressed about..But I am OK with it..Good luck on what you decide to do, Hugs Cindy

[LKAHMS]

I had good results with Effexor and then moved onto Wellbutrin with even better results.
Hope you find one that works for you. I have not heard anything bad about cymbalta.

[Spiney]

I have had terrible luck with the anti-Ds. They either didn't help at any dosage or the side effects were prohibitive. Cymbalta did not help my pain or depression but there were no side effects. I forget what dosage I was on when the doc decided to dc it. I did a 30 day taper with no problems what so ever. Best wishes.

[Kathi49]

Ditto what Spiney said including Cymbalta...sad to say. I don't know why it is that some can handle the AD's and others can't. But I will say my mom and sister are the same way. I wish you the best in finding the right one. :)

[mrsdoubtfyre]

antidepressants are extremely variable from person to person.

Asking for recommendations is not going to tell YOU, Diandra how any of them may work for YOU.

That is if they work at all. There are studies showing antidepressants equal to placebo and also there are people who are high serotonergic types who cannot tolerate them at all.

So it is still going to be an experiment of sorts for you in the end.

[Pamster]

I too take trazadone for help sleeping and that is in place of the elavil I was taking. I also take abilify and paxil for Bi Polar II and with lorazepam for anxiety I am pretty well covered, though I am going to drop the dosage on the paxil due to some side effects. It's hard to find the right combination of meds, but once you do it's so much better then before when you were struggling. Hang in there Diandra! I hope our posts have helped you to think about what might work for you. Trazadone is an AD and it is a little less sedating for me then Elavil was. Though I think the elavil did more for nerve pain...