Posted by polarbear206 on October 2, 2002, at 20:04:39
In reply to Help, please! PMDD, cyclothymia, Prozac? (long), posted by Saragram on October 2, 2002, at 14:03:11
> I tried this before but got hung up in the registration process and lost the post -- my apologies if it turns up twice.
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> My 32-year-old daughter sought help about 6 months after the birth of her first child 2 1/2 years ago because she felt depressed. Her primary physician put her on Zoloft. Although this and counseling (individual and with her husband) helped, she kept talking for months afterward about divorce and said she felt like a "single parent." This struck me as creepily irrational since her husband is extremely solicitous to her, has ALWAYS done all the shopping and cooking, and is far more involved in child rearing (diapers, feeding, baths, general nurturing) than any man I've ever seen (and I have a son and friends that are exceptional fathers). At the time I was doing most of their dishes and laundry and she did virtually no housework: She claimed her job as a Registered Nurse in invasive cardiology was so much more important and stressful than his job or my job that it was insulting for us to expect her to do anything but spend time with the baby on her 4 days per week off.
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> She got pregnant again and seemed delighted. About 2 months ago when her second baby was 6 months old she went to her gyn complaining of dry vagina and mood swings. He decided it was a hormone imbalance and PMDD and put her on estrogen and Prozac (labelled as Sarafem). At about the same time she was complaining of a lot of pain from pinched nerve problems in her back and had stopped breast-feeding so she could take Vioxx.
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> She sought counseling with a different practitioner because she said the one from 2 years before "sided with" her husband. They are seeing yet a third counselor as a couple, and at first things looked better: She was sharing cooking chores with him instead of sitting in the living room waiting to be served, folding more laundry, and telling friends they were working their problems out. They now have had 3 of the 8 couples meetings they are entitled to under a charity program (They have good incomes but lots of credit card debt). It has been about 6 weeks since she started the Prozac and she suddenly threw her husband out, told him she doesn't love him anymore, and that she is determined to get a divorce.
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> He says that as recently as Father's Day and their anniversary in late June, she was writing him very tender love notes on her greeting cards to him and being quite affectionate, although she did express frustration at his 2-month period of unemployment (which ended shortly thereafter). He says she was affectionate, although a little distant, until the day before she threw him out. She also has an IUD (copper) and her husband says she's been bleeding for 2-3 weeks each cycle and having worse cramps.
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> I suspect a bipolar element here, especially because her mood swings are, if anything, worse since the Prozac and estrogen than before. Also, her expressed feelings of superiority to her husband and her sudden borrowing of $3,000 against her 401K to set herself up in a new apartment seem to have an element of grandiosity. She's taking a sudden renewed interest in a creative hobby (drawing) that she hasn't done in years. Isn't this a sometimes a sign of a manic episode coming on?
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> Since early adulthood she has been short tempered, difficult to please, and critical of others, and for many years has tended to sit or lie and read or watch TV for most of her non-working, non-sleeping hours. She has left at least 4 jobs (both before and since becoming an RN) because of interpersonal problems with co-workers or supervisors: She was fired once, was asked to quit once, quit on her own once, and requested a transfer once. She has episodes of inertia and hopelessness/helplessness: She never could make up her mind on how to find a good babysitter, so 5 times in 2 years I have had to do all the networking, phoning, and pre-screening for her: She checks references, interviews and makes final decisions: She doesn't seem to trust anyone else's judgment. Whenever she job-hunts she seems to have exaggerated reactions to getting, or especially NOT getting, call-backs.
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> Her husband is distraught at losing her, and at losing the day-to-day relationship he's enjoyed with his children. I was afraid he was suicidal for the first few days. Now he is going to AA and to church and reading a lot about depression and drug reactions and his mood is much improved because at least he's doing something proactive. As for the AA, he averaged probably less than 2 beers a day, occasionally smoked marijuana, and I have NEVER seen him intoxicated. She convinced him he is an addict. She also became furious when he sought help for his pain at her rejection at the same church they had attended as a couple -- claimed he was "violating her sanctuary."
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> Please let me know what you think. I would hate to see this 12-year marriage with a toddler and an infant go down the tubes because of a long-undiagnosed problem, wrong diagnoses and/or wrong medication. I really worry about the babies: the 2-year-old seemed so fragile when her father had her for visitation last weekend, and her mom has been increasingly impatient with her, too lately. I also saw a mention of light exposure being related to bipolar: her current work schedule in surgery (a pretty bright area of the hospital) involves two 12 hour shifts until nearly midnight each week.
I cant't begin to tell you how much of that story above reminds me of my journey to the right diagnosis. I am a geri-psych nurse. I have a soft form of bipolar (cyclothemia). You daughter needs to see a good Psychiatrist for proper diagnosis and treatment. Antidepressants used alone and in high doses will exacerbate mood cycling. My depression started after the birth of my son. Many bipolar women will cycle worse after child birth. I had this before I got pregnant, but it was so subtle. My mood cycling just escalted after taking and trying different antidepressants. I had a 4 month affair and left my husband after I got hypomanic on 40mg of Paxil one summer. I accused him of being and alcoholic and thought the reason I was unhappy and depressed was because of my marriage. This is what this illness can do to the mind. I'm happy to say that we got back together shortly after all this. Just educate yourself as much as possible about this illness. A good book for you to read is "Why Your Depression Isn't getting better", br Dr. M. Bartos. This is an excellent book about the epidemic of undiagnosed bipolar disorders. There is a very broad spectrum to this illness. I'll post some good web sites for you to check out too. Good luck. I hope this helps you.Laura.
poster:polarbear206
thread:121980
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/122016.html