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Posted 10/30/2015 10:25 AM (GMT 0)
My depression has been getting much worse lately. My children think I need to get on a medication to help with it and I agree with them. Does anyone have any suggestions for what might be good to try? I have been reading about Effexor. Anyone have any experience with this?
Posted 10/30/2015 12:42 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hear you're dealing with this!

I'm not too crazy about pharma antidepressants especially when we know our infections are to blame.

Have you ever tried SAM-e? It's a really good supplement that can help with depression. Dr. B recommends Nature Made brand.

Buhner recommends a few herbs to treat depression. If you're interested in knowing more, please let me know. I'll take a peek in his books and post his recommendations.

Also, low thyroid can cause depression....and Lyme/co's are famous for causing low thyroid.

Have you had your thyroid checked recently? If yes, it might not be a bad idea to post the results here (with reference ranges) because not all doctors know how to interpret thyroid labs correctly (sounds like what we hear about the Western Blot - huh? ;).

And, if you haven't had your thyroid tested recently, please talk to your LLMD about FreeT4 and FreeT3 testing - those are the most reliable tests for evaluating thyroid function.

Good luck!
Posted 10/30/2015 1:10 PM (GMT 0)
I went to see a lyme literate psychologist when my depression, panic attacks, and social anxiety took over my life and pretty much kept me house bound. This Dr. was actually the president of Ilad's in the past and I went off a recommendation on this board to go see him. He was fantastic!! (thank you lovemychildren mom!!!!!)

I was concerned about taking more meds as well. He went to great lengths to explain that this is just a temporary fix to another temporary symptom caused by Lyme and the medication would lessen the energy I had to expend on these mental issues so my body could focus more energy on healing, it made sense to me.

I'm taking zoloft for depression. While it of course doesn't alleviate it, it has made it much more bearable. CD3764 makes a great point as well. I had ruled out thyroid prior to going this route and had tried several different herbal remedies, but I wasn't improving at all. Whatever you do, just don't let it get too bad before tackling it. The mind can go to some really dark places when our bodies are in the state they are in with Lyme.

Wish you the best of luck.
Posted 10/30/2015 1:21 PM (GMT 0)
I said I wouldn't bother talking here much anymore, but saw that you mentioned considering Effexor, and just had to make an effort. Please, don't. It works, but at a price. It's terribly addictive. Look up Effexor withdrawals.

I took it for a week, A WEEK, then kicked it, when I learned of its evils, and still ended up feeling like hell for about three or four days. Cycles of rage, crying spells, and a constant headache. I've seen people talk of going through months of withdrawals. Granted, they were on it for years, but still. I couldn't imagine.

Don't. Try anything else. Research it first, of course. Though, keep in mind, you'll likely find something negative about all the options out there, so go with the "safest" out the bunch. Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin. Paxil too, but I think they've gotten rid of that. Maybe not. Anyway, yeah, I've taken all those without much problem, on or off.

Effexor, no, please. Like I said, it works, but, in the end, unless you plan on being on it for life, and I can't speak on its long-term effects, I wouldn't bother.
Posted 10/30/2015 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the advice. I thought about trying Effexor since I am having horrible hot flashes. I am in a sweat when I wake up. What about lexapro? Any experience with that? I do have high reverse T3 and low free T3 but didn't do well taking cytomel/cortef. I tend to have severe herx reactions with everything I try.....magnesium, moducare, LDN, folinic acid, herbals, etc. CD3758, I'll look into Sam -e. Thanks.
Posted 10/30/2015 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
I was put on prozac before I was diagnosed with lyme, it drove me loopty, and I means proper loopty loo!

I didn't bother going near any of the other pharmaceuticals on offer.

I just started SAMe after reading about it here. No negative reports from it. I have only been taking it a few days but I hope to see some relief and benefit from it soon.
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