Time for AD's?

[lchou]

Hi all,
Well it's getting a little unpleasant.  Thought I was going to breeze through this, but...getting really moody.  Started crying today and didn't want to stop.  Felt kinda good being on the pity box, but the question here is should I ask my doc about AD's?  I don't really want to take them, but I have four more months to go.  I read it takes the meds a while to kick in.

Maybe it will pass.

[epiphiny]

Sounds like a good plan :)  

Yay for holidays!  I can't wait, ours start on the 19th.  Only for 3 weeks but that is going to be 3 weeks of BLISS!  No work, OMG!

[jankar]

Hiya,

That is good advice.  The last time I took them was shot day and the day after - not my best days and I took half, plus very dizzy from lowering bloods.  I have been talking to a friend who has had a lot of experience with AD's but not treatment.  She says they (AD's) can knock you around a little at first so for me to start taking them when I do not have to go to work and to start taking quarter and then increase to half after about a week.  I will start on a Tuesday when it seems I am starting to feel better after the shot.  I do want to start taking them so I can feel a bit better and cut some of the anxiety that is beginning to build.  I stop work next Friday so will start Tuesday 16 December - I think I am not too bad - no crying yet.  She also mentioned that I could start to get restless, a sign of anxiety and depression, which I am certainly starting to feel as well.  

Good advice about the med team here - I think I will try the Citalopram again under better advice than I got from nursey.  If they do not work I will ask for something else, but ask to see the psych as you suggested.

Thanks for all the great advice Epiphiny

[epiphiny]

Oh, I forgot to say.  The depression will go away once you stop taking the tx meds and then you will be able to wean yourself off the ADs.  You're not signing up for a lifetime on ADs!!

[epiphiny]

I don't know whether the sleepiness is a common side effect from all ADs or whether it means you should try another BUT I can briefly relate my experience.

The first AD I tried was Aropax and it was evil.  I only took a half and it completely sent me silly and I never took it again.  It put me off taking ADs all together so that when I got very depressed and suicidal on my first tx I was very reluctant to take the ADs that the nurses suggested.

Finally, I had no choice - go off treatment or take the ADs so I went with the ADs.  They gave me Prozac.

I felt NO sleepiness at all, it didn't make me feel sick or dizzy or out of control like the Aropax did.  The only thing I noticed was slightly heightened dreams the first night I took it.  After that, I started to feel normal by degrees until after 5 days or so I felt like the real me again.  Not out of it, not cotton-wool like, not drowsy or drugged.

Citalopram has gained popularity lately in HCV treatment programs, I'm not sure why.  Could be that it is a 2nd generation SSRI and therefore cheaper for health boards and insurance companies.  I was offered it but decided to go with the Prozac as I knew it had worked for me in the past and I had no side effects from it.  I am very happy with my choice.

You could try the citalopram again and if still has a negative effect then try another one.  Maybe talk to your GP, rather than just your Nurse, who is obviously giving you the Citalopram because it's become standard protocol HCV treatment here in NZ.  

Or, you could ask to see a psych and get their take on it, they should be able to arrange that through the hospital where you are treating.  Remember that HCV med teams don't really know about anti-ds, they are just following protocols.

I understand the fear of taking them, but I can honestly say my treatment experience is so much more manageable with them.  As my doctor said to me "if I told you had a thyroid imbalance would you take medication to correct it?"  Absolutely!!  It's the same thing - the interferon is causing an imbalance, the anti-ds can help normalize that.

Hope this helps some, all the best with your decision!

[jankar]

Hi there - I think I am with you - I have the AD's sitting in the bedside drawer and I am thinking it is time to start taking them.  Need to wait until I stop work next week because when I did start taking them a few weeks ago they knocked me about - Citalopran. I was really sleepy, almost unconscious and couldn't go to work at all.   Is this a common side effect and should I persevere with this AD or ask for another? I  have never taken AD"s in my life and I think I fear it a little.

[coolbreezegirl]

Bill 1954

I am curious as to which other anti-d's you took b/4 Lexapro.    I have tried so many of them over the past 20+ yrs.  On effexor now and for some reason it seems to have stopped working.  Did you ever have one that worked and then stopped?

[lchou]

Hi All,
Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.  I got prescribed lexapro last night, so hopefully in about a week things will level off.

Epi,
thanks for the link.

Lauren

[epiphiny]

The antidepressants make my experience on tx bearable, some days better than bearable.  I would absolutely recommend them.

I am on Prozac and when I first took them I started feeling better within 5 days.  Now I feel like the person I was (emotionally) before I started tx.  Actually in a lot of ways I feel even more positive.

All the best!

Epi.

PS:  Here's a link to a study you may find interesting:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/41144?personal_page_id=387

[Marcia2202]

If I remember correctly, the main difference between Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) is that the latter is as much and anti anxiety as it is an anti depressant.

[LindaC1207]

Before my doctor prescribed Celexa (Citalopram), she gave me a prescription for Lexapro but my insurance company wouldn't pay for that one, not sure why but from what I've heard, they are both pretty good and not to hard to come off of at the end of treatment.

Linda

[Bill1954]

My experience mirrors Marcia’s; I was prescribed escitalopram (Lexapro); a close cousin of citalopram. It took approximately 5 or 6 days to begin to notice a difference. While the problems obviously don’t resolve themselves, they appear much more manageable; and my quality of life improved dramatically. I had been prescribed AD’s on and off for many years; this was the first one to actually make a marked difference. Good luck, and I hope you feel better soon—

Bill

[pilgrim1951]

I started having really days around the third or fourth week after starting tx.  Along with insomnia, it was making life pretty black at times.  My Dr gave me Celexa and Ambien and around seven days later the Celexa started to kick in and made things much better.  I was resistant to taking anything other than tx drugs, but I am glad that I did.  It does seem that some people need different ADs than others and some of us don't respond to them much at all.  If you think things are getting too difficult and you decide to try something, I would do it asap since they do take a while to kick in.  Hope you feel better soon and best of luck with tx.

Pilgrim

[LindaC1207]

I would speak with your doctor about them, they can't hurt and may make you feel a lot better.  I started on 10 mgs of Celexa two weeks before I started treatment and haven't had one day where I was depressed.  My doctor upped the dose to 20 mgs a couple of weeks ago, she calls in preventive maintenance, just in case my system begins to get use to the does I'm on.   She told me that 10 mgs is a baby dose and going up to 20 mgs won't bother me at all.

I am extremely glad that I decided to take them, it's a tough treatment to begin with and if there's something out there to make is a little less stressful, then I'm all for it.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do but do let your doctor know what your going through, he/she can advise you better than anyone.

Linda

[Marcia2202]

It took me only 6 days for them to work. I was a mess in a total dark whole at week 2. I have also always been reluctant to taking AD's. I recognized the signs and called my doctor right away. She prescribed 10mg citalopram and I have not had any mood swings since they worked 6 days later. But I react very fast and on small doses of any meds, so in a way I am lucky. But I also react strongly to the peg and riba, so in that regard not so lucky.  :-)

Everyone is different... but if you feel it is not going away or getting worse, I would consider taking AD's. You will have to be prepared to maybe have to try different ones. And also that you will have to wean yourself off them at a certain time after completing tx.

[Trinity4]

I have days where I think my world is going to crash around me.  But it does pass and things go back to as normal as tx will allow.  Comes and goes in waves.  If you think you can benefit from an AD then see your doctor.  In my case no, but many do. It isn't that I'm opposed to them, they just don't work for me.  Unfortunately, AD's are not a cure all for everyone, depends on the individual. Good luck
Trinity

[Marc1955]

It does take 3 weeks for them to kick in. I don't know why you wouldn't take them. I was also resistant to taking them at first. But I also began to experience psychological symptoms that clearly related to the treatment. In my case the ADs helped a lot.

BTW, I also spent a few weeks hoping the symptoms would pass and toughing it out. That was clearly not working for me.