Mood changes

Hi Des--

I'm sorry this is happening to you and I don't know how you usually handle prednisone, but I'm concerned because you take lyrica and this can be very bad.  Lyrica, which is very similar chemically to neurontin and feelings of depression on these drugs can be very serious, even if you are having other odd non-depressed emotional states as well.  Often it can take several months for a person to develop an allergy or intolerance to a drug, I have many allergies or intolerances whatever you want to call them, to drugs due to my liver.  Often, the liver puts up with the overload of medication for a while, then after a while, the damage from the medications causes the liver not to be able to metabolize them as well, they back up and you sort of OD on them because you aren't metabolizing them correctly. 

That's why I harp on the liver.  It may take years for the liver to be damaged, but once you have a problem like me, its extremely hard to turn it around.  Please call the doc about the lyrica, I can't take lyrica at all, neither can my mom, who was on neurontin but is still having problems.  These meds are very strong.   Some people take them no problem, I guess.  I haven't met any that have been on it more than a year.  My doc had to up my klonopin to get me off it without having a seizure so you can't just quit it and it may not be the problem.

On another note, I get like totally!!!!! every single time from prednisone when it wears off and a shot only lasts about a day or two, just wonderful beautiful days, then I can be like that for months and I can get beligerent and it is hard for me to see it.  I don't know what your situation is with hormones, but I take estrogen and sometimes certain medicines increase the amount of estrogen you get if you are taking it, and you can have mood problems.  I think that my thyroid problem (hashimotos) has caused my problem taking prednisone and I think there is someone else here too who can't take pred that also has hashis.  I have other endo problems as well. I hate getting pred, though I love the first day or two.  The last time I got it I was hearing voices and talking gibberish to myself and was really out there, he gave me two enormous shots and I was out of it for two months of sheer misery, crying, mad, sad, depressed, angry, frightened bigtime but kept telling myself it was just the pred and when I was about to check in to the hospital, it wore off.  I 've been better the month or two following it wearing off though my arthritis and neck pain got much worse for some reason.  I don't think he will give me pred again, or at least not that much. 

Please write back and I hope you feel better.  I don't want to scare you but I really think you need to call the doc that put you on lyrica, or any doc you think would best handle this, unless you know it is from the pred.  Its just the typical precaution that is in the package insert for lyrica and you need to let your doc know, it may be a sign that you are developing a problem with it.

((((hugs)))) and I hope you feel better soon.  It's probably either hormones or possible antidepressant/medication reaction.  You might just check your meds in the pill book or online to see if these side effects are mentioned.  I know about lyrica, but not the rest.  Mood swings are normal sometimes, but if your husband thinks this is odd for you and you are having trouble realizing it but do feel he is right, then it sounds like something of concern.

Hi Des, I'm sorry you have to go thru this. I myself am a walking mood swing. But than again I'm 50 years old. That kind of comes with the terroritory. That and the fact that I sweat like a pig all the time. I agree with both the others. It could diffinently be from your meds. It could be nothing all all too. Maybe just stress. Stress can cause all kinds of symptoms. I get that way when I want people to go away and leave me alone. I hope you speak to the doctor about it. See if they can help you pinpoint what it could be.
Try not to worry too much about it. We are women we can be moody if we want to! LOL
love ya
carol

I have had periods of weird mood swings like you describe, except I am very aware of the shift and I have no reason for the mood.  I would laugh for no reason, cry for no reason, get agitated for no reason.  No matter what your reason or non-reason is, I would explain this to a doctor.  Could be many things like the medication or depression, mood instability, adapting to changes (stress) or signify something else.  I have had all these at one time or another but it was very hard to tell what was going on when it happened.  Both a doctor and a counselor need to know this information if it continues. Sometimes we all have a day or a week here or there, like PMS, which isn't a big deal.  But if it continues a couple of weeks or so (or you have other symptoms), it should be looked at - Kristin 

Both lupus and several of the lupus medications can effect our hormone levels. This is part of what causes our fevers and hot flashes, as well as our mood swings. While menopause may be an additional factor, I was thinking that if the mood swings are associated w/hormone changes, that would effect the menstrual cycle -- then these menstrual changes would help indicate hormonal changes. That's sorta the other way around than if you were menopausal, in that case any hormone changes that would effect mood swings would come from menopause rather than from lupus or lupus medications. I hope that makes sense -- please do mention it to your gyn, as there are supposed to be tests (even an OTC counter one, but I can't locate it) that use markers in the urine to identify menopause. Regardless of source (menopause or lupus/meds), there are a number of ways to control these crazy rapid mood swings. A little Xanax helped me thru mine!

Hi all,

Boy am I glad I was fishing thru posts here and I just posted on Lyrica today, and saw these, gosh same thing is happeneing to me on estrogen and a ton of stomach meds, and been trying antidepressants due to anxiety,dep. and pains from lupus, so now I think you guys might have answered my question let me give a little back up here: I started on 10mg of elavil only at night on that 3 mo, and was just soooooo sedating was great for sleep but not that great for pain so doc had me try cymbalta 20mg then got a severe@ allergic reaction after 10 days on it so I had to stop so then doc talked of symbyax or Lyrica he has samples so that will save $ but my biggest problem is mostly pains and depression now like I said on my post today I had a question on Lyrica it seems like most of the websites on it its mostly for pain not anx./depression so I see doc tom. and was going to have  a LONG talk about these 2 drugs. For my problem Im glad you posted about Lyrica as it MAY be the wrong drug to go on as Prednisone does control pain for me alittle.  Sorry to babble on here but seems like Iwill be trying symbyax (antdeprssant combo of  olanzapine/fluoxetine) unless doc comes up with something on the Lyrica.  Iwill keep you informed on it tx so much for listening and informing me of things on drugs.   I know we are not docs but sometimes coming here helps us even more.  Tx  Jonny (female)

Hi Des--
My doc gives me extra klonopin every month for that very reason. She doesn't want me freaking out and calling the office, LOL. Might be a rebound from stopping the hormones, just be careful if you have bad thoughts you need to tell someone right away. I'm glad you are talking to the doc. I got polycystic ovary disease and endometriosis before thirty with the onset of this lovely condition I have and very gratefully received a hysterectomy at 35. It started out with hormonal craziness. Also, perimenopause starts in some women as young as thirty, possibly earlier in some.

I just hope you feel better and whatever happens just know it will change again!

Janet,

I had never heard of PCOS so I googled it and found the following interesting websites. If you read through these and if she's willing to do the same, it may help her realize that something can be done to help her. It sounds like a miserable situation, and if taking birth control pills could help she might find that her life settles down. As a young woman I suffered greatly from PMS and it felt like I was bipolar. Just before my periods I would get so depressed and irritable and would convince myself that during the times that I was happy I was just fooling myself. Then two days later I'd be not just happy, but joyful. It was completely tied to my periods, which were always 28 days apart and I'm sure my family suffered from my mood swings. Since menopause my mood is very mellow and stable. I just hope that your daughter can find a good doctor who will help her understand the need for treatment.



www.4women.gov/faq/pcos.htm


women.webmd.com/tc/Polycystic-Ovary-Syndrome-PCOS-Topic-Overview

Good luck,

Pat

Hi Janet--
PCOS definitely causes mood swing because the ovaries are not producing proper amounts of hormones, they may work one day, too well, and then not again for months. This causes fluctuations in hormones. I don't know what bcps are but estrogen and other hormones really help. The behavior you describe is more indicative of hormonal behavior. I am very hypothyroid (though my TSH looks normal ro barely high, I have antibodies to my thyroid called TPOs and they are extremely high--like 1000 when they should be at most 60). High TPOs mean I have autoimmune thyroid disease. Because my pituitary is also effected, my TSH does not rise like others, but my thyroid hardly functions and I have all the symptoms. Fluctuations in one hormone creates fluctuations in all of them, so behavior and bloodwork may be off and hard to read. I would suggest she be check for autoimmune thyroid disease (hashimotos) since it often occurs with PCOS and several other diseases may also occur with it. You daughter is ill and working, but obviously not feeling really great, so you need to take it with a grain of salt. To jump to the conclusion that whe has mental illness when it has been determined that she has a hormonal imbalance probably isn't a good idea. I know you probably just want her to behave and be happy, but perhaps she needs encouragement to relax and take care of herself. PCOS can be extremely painful, doctors are jerks about making sure you get pain relief and proper hormones. Also know that patches are better for hormone replacement than pills or injections because they deliver and even amount through the day. When a woman takes estrogen by pill, as in birth control pills, they get eight times the amount they need within the first hour of taking it and they have less than half what they by the last half of the day. Also, the behavior you are describing sounds like too much estrogen possibly, so maybe she needs different mixture with more progesterone or a lower dose and definitely suggest a patch, I think everyone will be happier without the daily rollercoaster. I cannot take estrogen by pill because my liver doesn't like some ingredient in it and I get the behavior you describe and eventually a rash, though I can take a patch perfectly fine. At any rate, she needs to go back to the gyn and get better regulated. Adding more drugs, like psych drugs will just make things worse, even possibly increasing a risk for suicide.

I don't think there is a woman alive that hasn't been through what your daughter has gone through and though we may not be proud of it, but we were all like this and we can deny it all we want, but we all have our glitches. I understand your concern, but obviously her hormones are raging and she needs to go back the gyn and get fixed up. It may only take a phone call to a nurse to get a different prescription done. Its funny, mothers are very intolerant of their daughters, but they went through menopause once and were very very catty, and we had to deal with that, as teenagers or young adults and it wasn't very fun for us either. And mom's don't need to raise their voice to be really mean, we want so much to please them. Just try to avoid her if you can't deal with her and tell her in a friendly way that she's acting a loony and see how she likes the pills, how she thinks they are working, and tell her you think they can do a better job treating her condition and she needs to go back and get on something different, push the patches, they really work much much better if she can take them. I can sympathize, but you can tell from the post I've been on the other end, I went through a rollercoaster, but my mom was just a b**** all the time, very cold, though now we get along great. We both had problems. Just try not to judge her but to help her, and remind her that if you are seeing this behavior, it is likely coming out at work as well. I'm sure with the right hormone mixture and delivery whe will even out and be just fine. I hope both of you feel better soon and don't let this ruin your relationship. Its the doctors responsibiility to get this right, though she must communicate. Let us know what happens. I'm sure you'll do the right thing. Don't you remember ever feeling like she does, through menopause, postpartum, teenage years, ever?

Hi Janet,
Yes, and she is definitely working very hard. When I worked that hard, especially when I did computer work, just the sitting all the time and focusing so much can really make you stiff, painful in the back and wrists and eyes and give you tremendous headaches. I used to say that computer work causes depression (as a joke) because its like sitting and doing math all day, you have to focus so much and it saps all your serotonin and other brain chemicals. I'm not so sure that that isnt true. The gym is good, I did that while I could still do it. You're right fatigue and everything can come from the PCOS, I just think that the patches are better at delivering estrogen than the pills, because patches give you an even dose all day, while the pill is up and down. I would get very tired and grouchy when my pill wore off and in the morning I was really energetic, though somewhat thinskinned, due to tons of estrogen. I did better on the pills with more progesterone in them. As far as I know this is a trial and error thing, but there is no reason why she shouldn't be getting a more even and effective response from the hormones. I'm glad she can still have kids and all and that she saw some good doctors and bf can be real jerks, especially when she works so many hours, you just aren't in the mood after that for any pettty crap from the bf. Been there too long ago. Anyway, I'm glad you are helping you and she has you as a sane mirror of sorts to help her. Her body is changing now due to the pcos, and maybe not for the best, it might just get worse regardless, mine did. Didn't mean I wasn't fertile, was very, when I did have a period. Hopefully they did a good check on the thyroid, sounds like they tested everything, so maybe just a call to the doc to see if maybe she should wait and see if these moods go away or try a different one. It took me three or four to get set, before I developed an allergy to them, then when I went on patches they had to up it for me and I changed patches a couple times too. I'm sure you will help her get this straightened out, and the good thing is that YOU realize that she shouldn't be suffering so much, and that you care enough to help her. I always stick up for the kids, I just think young women have it so hard these days, men aren't what they used to be, in many cases, only want a woman for a paycheck or whatever their game is. Chivalry is all but dead. But she's very lucky to have you and I trust that you will gently steer her towards doing the right thing, whatever that is.

The endocrinologist told her that she can always change to another type of birth control pill if/when need be.

Thanks... yes I am doing much better... 99.999% sure it was hormones because I hit my cycle 2 days later. Never had PMS this bad but I just got off of hormonal birth control and that probably regulated my moods. Can't have that anymore though so I will just hang a sign around my neck a few days before I'm due as a warning to my husband. I was pretty awful. Missed the IUD since my cycle ended right before my appt so I have to wait almost another month. I just want to get it over with.

Hi Des,

I'm also glad to hear you're doing better and know what's been causing your mood swings. I can sympathize so much with you because now that I have finally gotten over that part of my life, I know what it is to feel normal all the time. When I had PMS what I wanted most was to get away from myself. When I would try to brush my hair I'd want to scream because I couldn't do anything with it. When someone would walk into the room, I'd want to scream at them and would look for reasons to do so. If anyone were to ask me if I was going through PMS, I'd want to scream louder because I'd think they didn't understand me. In other words, I would become totally irrational. I learned to admit what was going on with me and forewarn my family. I can remember my husband getting the deer in the floodlights look on his face and asking my daughter if she wanted to go to the movies with him. They would practically run out of the house.

I don't quite know why we women are chosen to go through this. One remedy that did help was to take water pills. I was prescribed triamterene by a gyn many years ago. She explained to me that just prior to your period your body begins to retain more water, and that includes your brain. So if you get rid of the excess water on your brain it can help with the feelings of irritability. Sounds strange, but it really did help.

I'm glad you're through the worst of it this month Des and hope you get a handle on it. My heart goes out to you.

Take care.

Love,

Pat

Des,

Yes, it's a diuretic. lol. I've just always called them water pills. The doctor who first prescribed them was a professor of gynocology at the med school and seemed to know her stuff.

Let me know what your GYN has to say about your pms.

Pat