Posted by wendy b. on January 16, 2003, at 22:32:01
Hello,
After *years* of working on my sister, she is finally mentally able to deal with the fact that she's depressed, she's always been depressed, that the whole family has depressive and probably some bipolar illness, etc. She just can't fight the facts that are there in front of her. She has all the classic symptoms, anhedonia, feeling worthless, irritability, angry outbursts, petulance, difficulty at work, suicidal ideation...
She has also found a dr who will probably prescribe her something. She had a hell of a time with her last GYN, who was mortified that she even asked for an anti-depressant - how lame is that? (hard to believe these kinds of dinosaurs are still out there practicing medicine).
A little history: female (obviously), 44 yrs old, underweight, previously anorexic; bulimic for about 5 yrs. when she was in her 20s. In other words, eating disorder history. She has seen a couple of therapists in her adult life, and gained some insight, but without the meds, I think there's no chance of getting rid of the underlying chemical/biological depressive tendencies. She will NOT tell anyone her age (she looks about 35, so I don't know what the big deal is, maybe because she is with a man about 10 yrs younger), and she will not allow any health-care practitioners to weigh her, hasn't been "officially" weighed at the doc's in about 15 years.
So: her girlfriend who has referred her to this new doctor, and goes to the doc herself, has been prescribed Celexa for her depression, and tells my sister she feels better. I suggested that since our mother is on Celexa currently, and is doing very well with it, that it's possible she will get good results. I've been reading about Celexa side-effects, though, and since weight-gain is a biggie, and my sister will probably go off the med if it does that to her, given her history, what else could she try?
I know Wellbutrin is a good drug (I'm on it), but it can cause weight loss, and she doesn't need weight loss at all. I've heard Prozac is slightly more 'uplifting' than some of the other SSRIs, and may not have weight gain as an issue, so what about that?
Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She is depending on me for support and help figuring out this maze of information about psych-meds... I just don't want to risk her going off something if it's helping her, but giving side-effects that are intolerable for someone like her. I know, asking for the moon, we've all had to deal with side-effects, and almost everyone has switched meds at least once, but compliance might be an issue with her...
Thanks so much,
Wendy
poster:wendy b.
thread:136197
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030113/msgs/136197.html