Ugh the last two weeks have been CRAP!!! But, some good has come of it. I'll share some good, bad, and ugly.
This week, I have learned:
1. Lexapro is a hell of a drug.
2. My body will crash my brain after 7 days of insomnia, and I will hallucinate by day 10.
3. My spouse has the patience of a saint.
4. The kickback of a gun is nowhere near as forceful as it looks.
5. I'm good at shooting!
6. I may or may not have a job right now.
7. I never expected to feel so indifferent regarding my employment status. It feels revealing to me to realize how unattached I feel to it. Maybe my dislike for it has really grown that much.
8. I feel like the Boy Child has suddenly grown more mature and its freaking me out a little. I know he's in the pre-teen zone, but I'm not ready for this. I find myself checking in on him often and smothering him with mama love just to make sure my boy is still my boy. *sigh* This poor child is stuck with me.
9. If you tell them to stop building....
They will.
(I find this hilarious to an inappropriate degree.)
10. The A-Hole Dog only likes the dog park if she's on her leash. She also acts like she feels incredibly violated when another dog sniffs her butt.
11. Go to the following thread. Go to top comments, find on page, type "Robb Stark". Only do this if you are caught up on GOT. Also, only do this if you are not offended by politics, and if you do not plan in any way to come back here and blast me for sharing a comment that compares Trump to Joffrey and Balon Greyjoy.
12. I like my ellipses with 4 dots, just like I like my lights (THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!!!!). Farawyn, we can take this outside if you want....
13. The spouse and I owe so much money in taxes that I can't even. We changed exemptions when we got blasted by state last year. Didn't matter. We owe thousands to federal and the state we live in. As in, we owe thousands to federal and thousands more to state. Can't wait to see how much the state I work in swindled. I swear to the Bearded Commander Riker that we had more money on one crappy income than we have now, with me working, too. Maybe I need to not work during grad school. :\
14. I am so excited for grad school!!!
I know I'm forgetting stuff. Boo! I'll remember right after the edit window closes, I'm sure!
Earlier in this conversation, you were all talking about the negatives of SSRIs. I'm not on any. I occasionally have some issues with anxiety, which journaling/exercise and occ visits to a pyschologist help to handle.
Years ago, before I figured out how to "treat" my anxiety, I briefly tried zoloft. Even at half doses taken at night, I was SO tired. The fatigue was worse than the anxiety and I quickly quit taking it. (I'm super sensitive to many meds). My dtr has some "issues" and I forsee that she may need SSRIs in her future, but my experience with them makes me very hesitant to ever consider them.
Are the side effects worth taking the meds? I'm serious. Because everything you all are saying sounds so awful that I wonder if you regret taking them in the first place?
I had PPD, so I get being in a really dark, terrifying place. I'm assuming you only went on the meds because things were. that. bad. But I'd like to know - are you glad you started taking SSRIs? Or do you wish that you had never started them in the first place?
Thanks in advance for your answers
I'm glad I started them. I wish I did not need them.
Hope they work for your daughter and she doesn't feel stigmatized taking them when you talk about her "issues" in quotes.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Earlier in this conversation, you were all talking about the negatives of SSRIs. I'm not on any. I occasionally have some issues with anxiety, which journaling/exercise and occ visits to a pyschologist help to handle.
Years ago, before I figured out how to "treat" my anxiety, I briefly tried zoloft. Even at half doses taken at night, I was SO tired. The fatigue was worse than the anxiety and I quickly quit taking it. (I'm super sensitive to many meds). My dtr has some "issues" and I forsee that she may need SSRIs in her future, but my experience with them makes me very hesitant to ever consider them.
Are the side effects worth taking the meds? I'm serious. Because everything you all are saying sounds so awful that I wonder if you regret taking them in the first place?
I had PPD, so I get being in a really dark, terrifying place. I'm assuming you only went on the meds because things were. that. bad. But I'd like to know - are you glad you started taking SSRIs? Or do you wish that you had never started them in the first place?
Thanks in advance for your answers
YES I am glad because without them I would be a in a fetal position, laying on my bed 24/7. When I am deeply depressed, I cannot cry, I cannot get angry, I cannot feel. The apathy is horrifying and frightening for my family to witness. Seriously. I am not kidding. It gets that bad for me.
And the body aches, so bad, I can barely move some days. With the meds, I feel human and much less aching. Huge difference.
SSRIs are no joke and not appropriate for everyone, but they are sure necessary for me, esp in winter.
YES I am glad because without them I would be a in a fetal position, laying on my bed 24/7. When I am deeply depressed, I cannot cry, I cannot get angry, I cannot feel. The apathy is horrifying and frightening for my family to witness. Seriously. I am not kidding. It gets that bad for me.
And the body aches, so bad, I can barely move some days. With the meds, I feel human and much less aching. Huge difference.
SSRIs are no joke and not appropriate for everyone, but they are sure necessary for me, esp in winter.
That's how my daughter describes a depressive episode; not bad or sad feelings, but NO feelings.
Are the side effects worth taking the meds? I'm serious. Because everything you all are saying sounds so awful that I wonder if you regret taking them in the first place?
I'm very sensitive to atypical antipsychotics-the worst was falling out of bed or in the shower or having atypical convulsions or posturing while sleeping. I found one with a low dose that they had less side effects except for increased hunger and weight gain-I gained about 30 lbs, but they are the only remedy to my PTSD; my exacerbations are less and I have effectively tapered off them and loss the weight.
I say all this to say my hands thank me for not shoving them down my garbage disposal as a means to "stop the hurting". I can at least thank Zyprexa for that.
It sounds like things have been rough lately for everyone
I'm a new grad and even with the totally insane shifts I've had the last couple of weeks, I found my breaking point last night. It was a perfect storm of contributing factors, but my workload was so crazy and I got so overwhelmed that I cried at work for the first time. I've had times where I've been close and I've been told how great I've been doing with insane patient loads, but it was just too much last night. I was incredibly supported by my charge (who was told by another nurse) and got some help for a bit and then things turned around for the night, but for a long time it didn't look like it would happen (especially based on my previous 2 shifts). I was kind of embarrassed, but it was also very cathartic. My facility has been at critical for the past 2 weeks or so, so things have been pretty rough in general. I really work on a unit with great staff though :)
Earlier in this conversation, you were all talking about the negatives of SSRIs. I'm not on any. I occasionally have some issues with anxiety, which journaling/exercise and occ visits to a pyschologist help to handle.
Years ago, before I figured out how to "treat" my anxiety, I briefly tried zoloft. Even at half doses taken at night, I was SO tired. The fatigue was worse than the anxiety and I quickly quit taking it. (I'm super sensitive to many meds). My dtr has some "issues" and I forsee that she may need SSRIs in her future, but my experience with them makes me very hesitant to ever consider them.
Are the side effects worth taking the meds? I'm serious. Because everything you all are saying sounds so awful that I wonder if you regret taking them in the first place?
I had PPD, so I get being in a really dark, terrifying place. I'm assuming you only went on the meds because things were. that. bad. But I'd like to know - are you glad you started taking SSRIs? Or do you wish that you had never started them in the first place?
Thanks in advance for your answers
Have you tried psychotherapy? CBT is as effective as medication for mild to moderate depression, and can be done for 12-20 sessions and then stopped (unlike a medication). The standard of care these days is combined psychotherapy and medication, especially for more significant depression. So, seeing a specialist (such as a counselor) may give you a better idea which direction to go.
The nice thing about SSRIs is there are a lot of them. Your daughter may share your sensitivity to sertraline, she may not. A qualified professional can help you make that decision.
For what it's worth, I work in a psychiatric practice and see a ton of people on SSRIs. They're not one of the most prescribed classes of medications for nothing: lots of people take them without significant side effects. Millions of people. You just have to be willing to try more than one before you get it right.
I sympathize, cracker. The process of getting the first job is the worst. I wish you luck, though. Do you network? I hate networking - hate hate, not an emphatic dislike - but it's how I got half of my jobs.
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
Oh and am on Team Lexapro.....................
But I am beginning to feel my light box is just as, if not more, effective.