Hogweed
06-08-13, 13:57
Just saying hello and adding myself to the pile here – I’m to talk to my GP about pregabalin tomorrow. I’ve lived with anxiety all my life (I’m 58), and have a had a very bad 4 years on in my personal life, which means I’m really a bit of a wreck now.
My stance is that I REALLY don’t want to go on medication – (a) because I’m a recovering alcoholic (6 years sober), and my instinct over the years has been to avoid drugs as the answer to any of my problems, as I tend to abuse them, and use them as a substitute to dealing with my problems; (b) because of the side effects.
However, I’m in such pain now that I nearly took a drink last week, and that would do more harm to me than any drug, so I’ve run out of options.
I can’t tolerate SSRI’s – I’ve tried almost all of them, and get very bad side-effects. I was on Dothiepin on and off for about 15 years, but the side effects got so bad I had to stop about a year ago. To be honest, no antidepressant has ever done anything good for me anyway – the Dothiepin had a mild anxiolytic effect, that’s all. I think that’s because I’m only depressed through having to battle hard with the anxiety all the time – at those little times when it subsides, I don’t feel at all depressed.
So… side effects. As with most drugs, there are pages of them – but I know most of them probably don’t affect most people.
But I AM worried about weight gain and “sexual dysfunction”. I’ve always battled with my weight, and have managed to keep it 2 stone below what it had been for many years, for 5 years now. I’d be really upset if it started going back up again.
And the sexual dysfunction… do they mean anorgasmia, like you get with Prozac, or actual impotence? If anybody knows, but doesn't want to share it publically, maybe PM me :)
My stance is that I REALLY don’t want to go on medication – (a) because I’m a recovering alcoholic (6 years sober), and my instinct over the years has been to avoid drugs as the answer to any of my problems, as I tend to abuse them, and use them as a substitute to dealing with my problems; (b) because of the side effects.
However, I’m in such pain now that I nearly took a drink last week, and that would do more harm to me than any drug, so I’ve run out of options.
I can’t tolerate SSRI’s – I’ve tried almost all of them, and get very bad side-effects. I was on Dothiepin on and off for about 15 years, but the side effects got so bad I had to stop about a year ago. To be honest, no antidepressant has ever done anything good for me anyway – the Dothiepin had a mild anxiolytic effect, that’s all. I think that’s because I’m only depressed through having to battle hard with the anxiety all the time – at those little times when it subsides, I don’t feel at all depressed.
So… side effects. As with most drugs, there are pages of them – but I know most of them probably don’t affect most people.
But I AM worried about weight gain and “sexual dysfunction”. I’ve always battled with my weight, and have managed to keep it 2 stone below what it had been for many years, for 5 years now. I’d be really upset if it started going back up again.
And the sexual dysfunction… do they mean anorgasmia, like you get with Prozac, or actual impotence? If anybody knows, but doesn't want to share it publically, maybe PM me :)