Sherri, this is such an emotionally intense time for you, with the book stuff happening (and that's very stressful, both good stress and bad stress) and SAD to contend with. I'm forever having to stop, close my eyes, breathe deeply and slow my pace of life down to a gentle trudge.

Put the whole book thing in perspective and don't let slow sales (if that happens) "define" you or pull you down. That's what I did, and it took me a year or so to separate "low book sales" from my self-worth. They're not connected, even though your book IS a part of you and you think that it IS connected. But slow book sales are NOT a reflection or rejection of our worth...it's just what it is, slow book sales. Even Dr Phil and JK Rowling have periods of slow book sales!

Not that I'm suggesting that Bitter Waters is going to have that problem...but I just don't want you to be pulled too far down in case it does happen.

Everyone who has taken or is taking effexor,

I was put on it because I was overdosed on seizure medicine, and having halucinations. I was not previously on anything or needed any anti-depressents.
After being on effexor for 2 yrs, I found out you need to take it in the morning, because it is known for keeping you up at night if taken at night. Well, what a surprise, since the dr who put me on it said, take it at night for sleep also. I also had weird dreams day and night-still like halucinations, night sweats, stayed up for 3 to 6 days and nights in a row, and I really now cannot remember the many symptoms it caused, but there were many. I started to have anxiety and panic attacks after I got off it. I have never needed an anti-depressent before in my life or had panic and anxiety attacks. Now I am taking Paxil 20mg for anxiety and panic attacks. What a mess! 20mg of paxil that is supposed to be hard to get off of and there is a generic for, which they say I cannot do without now, and I have no side effects from as opposed to the 75mg of effexor that is hard to get off of, and I had horrid side effects from.

I guess each of our bodies react to medicines differently, but you do know doctors get kick backs from drug companys for perscribing their drugs. My best friends brother is a neurologist in Akron, OH and she in confidence told me this and more. They get free vacations and large ticket gifts also. When I started taking effexor, it was about a 2 yr old drug. They really didn't have enough data from the general public to tell just what it was going to do, YET!
I would never take it again!

When I went off Paxil I had a horrible time. I was crying at cooking shows on tv, up for days and nights without sleep and just an emotional wreck. It was awful and I had slowly withdrawn from them too.

Dear Eagle, You are so good with words of wisdom. Thanks for being there for me. I'm gearing up for the book to get here. Have got a room for a release party, my friend Scott and I are going to debut the song "Daddy" that we wrote. I wrote the words, and he wrote the music. That will be on the same day at the same time. Still scared, but getting it together to get ready for big push of promotion. I signed up to do NaNo again this year to write the sequel to Bitter Water. Now I don't know if I can handle the extra pressure.

Right now I am so scared..it has got to the point where anxiety and panic attacks are taking over. Every drug that goes in my mouth is checked for drug interaction. Believe the depression, anxiety and panic is caused by the beta and channel blockers I take daily. Does it seem odd...having to take antidepressant to cover side effects from other med's?
Would a antidepressant even cover a medicine side effect?

Mornings are the worst...I just sit and cry. Hate to see the morning light come thru the window...knowing how I will feel. Not sleeping is another...geez.
Worse part is knowing the anxiety/panic is raising my blood pressure, this is a fact.
Which in turn can lead to a heart attack in my case.
GP prescribed xanax for anxiety, I only take that as a last resort...at the lowest dose.
Can't continue to put my family or myself through this.

Last 5 months I have been given 3 different anti-depressants Lexapro and Celexa, these two I didn't get past the first weeks on. The third prescribed was effexor, after just looking information up on the internet I decided no way.
Took Prozac for a couple of years, when my dad died, and never had any problems going on or coming off.

Called last week and made an appointment with a therapist. Last 3 rx's have been written by the clinic GP... he's the same one who let my HBP go unchecked for 3 weeks...no trust in him!
I need someone who knows what they are prescribing, what the effects are, plus someone I can see and talk to without waiting for 3 weeks.

Read a post on the internet, about anxiety and panic, being a fear of immortality.
I've always believed in eternal life...

Any thoughts, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated....

.


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[ October 23, 2005, 06:11 PM: Message edited by: Brenda ]

Brenda, you poor thing. I think you are on the right track by going to talk with someone. Maybe you should take some notes befor eyou go so you can tell him all the specific information about the meds.

I mentioned in here before that I once took Serzone for post traumatic stress symdrome after a car accident. It seemd to be a mild antidepressant that did the trick for me. I hardly hear about it but it was a miracle worker when I took it. I noticed the clouds moving within a few days.

Please keep advocating for yourself. I pray you are heading in the right direction.

Brenda, is this you? Our Speaker Mom? I'm so sorry to hear of what you are experiencing. As for anxiety and panic being related to immortality, I never heard of such a thing. That sounds stupid; what is the correlation. Perhaps one person had that connection and made a statement. Didn't we have a featured author on the topic of anxiety? Maybe you can get some answers from the archives. What were the side effects of the Celexa that caused you to stop taking it after a short time? I'm so sorry to hear that you don't like seeing the morning. What is going on? I am on Inderal to prevent migraines. These medications can cause depression, but to such a degree? I don't know. I take Xanax every night or else I cannot sleep at all. I can't take it during the day because it makes me too sleepy. When do you see a therapist? Therapy will help. L

Plan on writing notes and covering all the high-points of this previous year.
Along with what happened and when, plus the list of medications.

Read about the anxiety and panic on another forum. The man who wrote it was saying his therapist mentioned that anxiety and panic resulting in fear, had to do with not believing in immortality.

Yes, I read everything Eagle wrote as featured author. Always find alot of healing in her thoughts and words. She has been a light several times for me.

Celexa actually caused a strange gait to my left foot, took more than a month after stopping for foot to return to normal. Dry heaves, and lack of sleep, plus a feeling of being disconnected.

Beta blocker I take is Lopressor, just a few side effects that seem to effect me are depression, slow heart beat, tiredness, trouble sleeping.
Just so happens the beta blocker Inderal not only covers heart conditions it also can be used for the treatment of anxiety or nervous tension. Not all beta blockers work for that relief.

Calcium channel blocker, I take has side effects of slow heart beat, fatigue, flushing and insomnia.

When I first started taking the med's, the fatigue was unbelievable. Some days are still real slow, I was use to going non-stop most days before the heart and blood pressure kicked in. Wish it was something that would just go away, but alas it's not.

Did ask the cardiologist about changing med's...he informed me he wasn't about to. So, until we are able to avail ourselves of another insurance...this is what we have.

I see the therapist this coming Wednesday...yes, I pray it helps.

No, I am not Speaker Mom...maybe I should change my name. How do you go about that?

Appreciate the replies.

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Hi Brenda, sorry for the identity confusion. You can change your publicly displayed name via your profile, and hit edit. The other Featured Author I was referring to was The Panic Diaries, which was all about anxiety and panic attacks. Goes to show that the same medications affect individuals differently. Much luck to you on your appointment with the therapist. L