Lack of concentration/Antidepressant

[Jakob80]

I am a new member. And I do not know how can I post my questions nicely. Any ways let me try.

The history starts since my wife delivered her first baby (i.e., before 2 years). After my wife delivered a baby she was on a a birth control (BC) loop. After 1 month of the BC, she start experiencing being panic, anxious, crying a lot and feeling dark almost every day. She also disturb me every day and we usually quarrel for no reason. And then her home nurse told me that my wife is in depression state (on July 2010).

Then, I took my wife to the hospital for treatment. She took antidepressant medicines, "Lorenzepam" and "Romergon" to relieve her anxiety. And she was under these antidepressant until Dec 2011 (i.e., she took AD for 6 months).

And after Dec 2011 she was out of any AD. And I thought that everything is going well. BUT her depression starts again on Oct 2012 (she start to be panic, anxious and negative minded). Then we decide to takeoff the BC loop of my wife. And we took the BC loop on Dec 2012.

After she is off from BC loop, she is not panic, not anxious. BUT, she lost her concentration and is not able to perform any of her daily life activities. And some times she is laughing without any reason.

Now, I do not want her to start the AD medications again as they have several side effects. However, in the mean time, i would like her to regain her concentration again. And also I do not want her laughing for no reason.

So was her depression related to the BC loop only?? And is there any possibility to regain her concentration back to normal naturally??

Currently she is taking Omega 3 fish oil.

I need your help in this regard.

[shewolf176]

Please know this... all mind altering drugs can have very severe withdrawal effects.     Slow tapering will help, but even at that, it will be difficult.    Read up on David Healys website :  davidhealy.org about the difficulties with these drugs.   Also there is an organization in England called Oldham Tranx.   01457 876 355.   Ask for Barry.   He can advise you on mind altering drugs and their withdrawal.

[Jakob80]

Since her concentration is still not recovered, last week, I decided her to be hospitalized. Now she is taking Maniprex (Lithium carbonate 500 mg) and ABILIFY 10mg per day (she took these meds for 2 weeks).

Now I have seen that she become restless and agitated. Moreover, she has difficulty in sleeping (i.e., she wake up at midnigh and is not able to sleep after).

I would like her to recover from her depression gradually but without being restless, agitated, etc. Now I am also worried if she will start to be panic and anxious?

So do you think that reducing the dosage will help her sleeping problems and the feeling of restlessness?
And do you mind if you let me know what kind of meds did you took? .

Thanks

[thatquietgirl]

It can be, but it's very strongly recommended to do meds and therapy first.  This way, you are able to confront your problems more effectively.  Once a person gets under control and realizes their signs and symptoms, she may choose to get off the meds if they are causing too many problems; however, if they are not causing problems, they are likely helping more than harming and the possibility of relapse should be strongly considered.

Since she'd been on the birth control a month, I doubt it's related to the birth control without any symptoms, I'm doubting it as a cause.  Usually if birth control is going to cause mood symptoms, it begins immediately and is not delayed.  It's possible there was something going on in your wife's life at the time--whether a way she was feeling, etc.---that influenced the panic, etc.

Doctors do all sorts of things depending on the risk of the medication provided.  He or she chooses the medication because the benefits far outweigh the risks.  Since your wife was not experiencing issues, then she was probably fine to stay on them.  If there's any real huge long term risk, the doctor will constantly monitor whether by asking questions or by blood tests depending what it is and which is the more effective way.

There are definitely no lab tests for depression.  If she gets on an antidepressant than can affect kidneys, she would be given blood tests every few months for kidney function and would be instructed to consume plenty of water daily.  I was on lithium (a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder) for years, and because it is a salt, it can affect kidney fuction; I made sure I drank my water, and my kidneys were not impaired.  Many people stay on that for life with absolutely no kidney issues.  It's just something that they have to make you aware of.

Just because research says it can happen does NOT mean it WILL happen.  It's just that they have to warn you of possibilities, of things that happened during trials to cover their backs.  If the side effects of one antidepressant scares your wife, she can talk to the doctor about trying a different one or a different type.  There are different classes of drugs as well as many different drugs in each class that have different side effects.  But if one works, you don't want to stop it because as I said, it's possible for it to simply not work the second time around.  Sometimes it takes trying different meds for years to find the right one, too.  You can't allow yourself to be scared by the what ifs of, "What if my wife experiences x?" You have to look at the benefits.

The doctor knows to ask the patient about the side effects to make sure the medication is stopped before it can cause irreversible problems.  The list of side effects are given to keep the patient and doctor aware and vigilant and instruct the patient to tell a doctor or go to the ER depending what they are and what section of the "about this drug" pamphlet they're on.  The drugs we have on the market (especially those more than 10 years old) been weighted out as essentially safe.

[Anneinside]

The main question you are asking needs to be answered by your doctor. As for taking antidepressants long term... many, many people have to take them all their lives to be okay. There are no lab tests for depression. If it is something else, again, your doctor needs to decide what tests are needed. Your first step is to go to the doctor.

[Jakob80]

Thank you very much for the reply for my question.

First I would like to correct the statement below.
"And then her home nurse told me that my wife is in depression state (it was on July 2011)".

To answer your question, I did not see any severe side effect on her while she was on AD. But when I read the comments of different people, I realize that it is not safe to take AD for a long period.

By the way, on her first depression, we go for AD as she was panic and anxious (and she might hurt herself).

But now she does not have these problems.  

But I would like to know the reason why she was "Being panic with BC loop" and "not being panic after taking off the BC loop"? In my opinion, there must be some biological reason.

Could you please let me know important tests that she must carryout to know the possible reason? (like blood, neurology etc).

Is therapy without AD effective?

Thank you.

[thatquietgirl]

She could still very well be depressed.  My mom had only memory and concentration-related issues when she was depressed following the birth of my sister.  She didn't even think she was depressed.  I'm not sure about the random laughing, but it could be a stress release mechanism.  I'd have her in therapy to help her, and ask her if the antidepressants helped her and if she wants to get on them.  It seems they did, and honestly, it's better if she stays on them until she develops tactics to fight the depression on her own as no antidepressant is guaranteed to work the second time if she gets off then starts again.

Did the side effects affect her or did you read the possible side effects and determine there were "too many"?  Not everyone will experience all and most disappear after a month or so if someone has some of the nonserious ones.