Meraviglioso

I mentioned previously that my psychiatrist had been arrested and was no longer allowed to see patients. I have been off all meds since last September but am obligated to see a psychiatrist regularly due to my custody battle. I went to see my new psychiatrist, who also does psychotherapy, this evening. I really like her and think we will work well together. I am glad to be seeing a female as I tend to get very needy with males. She recommended I start taking medication again but listened very openly to my hesitancy and the multitude of problems I have had in the past with the 30 or so different anti-depressants I have tried. She did say that some people are more sensitive to medication than others. I can drink 20 units of alcohol and still hold a conversation with someone without them knowing I am drunk but one dose of medication and I sound like a zombie, completely drugged, slurring my words, confused, etc. Obviously the anti-depressants are much better for me than the alcohol so I'd like to go that route, but need to find something that works and doesn't leave me a drooling mess.
Of course the basic disclaimer, I am not asking for medical advice. I would just like any feedback from anyone who has taken these medications to tell me about their experience. I do realise that medications differ from person to person, but any feedback would be appreciated as I research and evaluate whether or not to swallow the pills.

The meds are:

Lamictal

Anafranil

biminiblue

I have no experience with those meds, but I do have experience with taking meds that did not suit me.

Ask your doctor if she will recommend a pharmacogenetic screening for you. In the U.S. most insurance pays for it. I don't know why Italy wouldn't - but you could check. In my experience they would be worth paying out of pocket.

I used to work in genetics, and these tests pinpoint an individual's genetic metabolic ability (that's a broad definition, do some research.) For instance, I had a lot of trouble with a lot of different Rx drugs. I found out I have a genetic metabolic variation that is present in about 15%-25% of people which leads to my body (liver/metabolic pathways) not working correctly. What happened to me with alarming frequency is that after I took the drug for a while I would start to have extreme side effects. The short explanation is that since I don't have completely functional pathways that those particular drugs are metabolized through, I get a buildup of them in my system and it becomes toxic. The side effects took weeks or months to show up.

I'm a poor metabolizer on two different pathways. That doesn't bode well for a whole bunch of different drugs. When the tests are completed, there are lists of drugs that are metabolized along the different pathways. I have a whole long list of No-Go drugs now. It was a huge relief to find out I wasn't imagining things and now the doctors don't argue with me when I say, "No." Well, to be fair I don't tell them all my worries, and they don't prescribe things anymore.

Meraviglioso

Wow, thanks for that post, I had no idea! I don't necessarily suffer tremendous side-effects, but anything that touches my brain chemistry makes me a complete zombie. I feel and appear drugged, I slur my words, can't concentrate, no memory, walk funny, etc. It sound strange and unreal, but these medications have more of an effect on me than alcohol does. It goes without saying that as a member here I clearly have a problem with alcohol and staying sober is my main goal, but really, these drugs have an incredibly powerful affect on me and not in a good way.

Anna

Mera, is your new psychiatrist going to be having therapy sessions with you? If so, maybe you could wait and see if there's an improvement in how you feel with the therapy sessions, rather than starting the antidepressants now? That said, I needed to be treated for my depression, which began in my teenage years, before I could recover from alcoholism. It took me decades to ask for help and to find help that worked. I had to try a few medications, but was lucky enough to find one that levels the playing field for me. I have no side-effects and I still have to work on my mood, but the medication helps and I know I won't fall back into that dark hole.

It's good to hear from you.

Meraviglioso

Yes, she will do therapy as well. I am definitely not anti-med at all, I would LOVE to find something that worked for my depression, anxiety and PTSD but have had really bad luck. I just seem to be hyper-sensitive to medications and that has caused so many problems. She was really receptive to this and seemed to understand so she prescribed something very different than past medications and a very low dosage to start. I will try, but we agreed that I can stop it if it becomes an issue. I just want out of this depression!

biminiblue

I would call that a pretty extreme side effect, Mera.

Psyche meds are supposed to, "level the playing field," I believe, like Anna and others have stated on this site. If they are leading to a drugged effect, that's not right. You've tried a lot of them, is that right? Many of the psyche meds are problematic in the list of drugs I have.

I have two other acquaintances who had similar bad drug experiences (not specifically psyche meds) and they both found that they had genetic variations as well. Not the same variations I have, but still instructive for them. It's a pretty big important field, DNA Drug Reaction Testing (Pharmacogenetic testing.) I hope you find answers, regardless. Stand your ground and keep seeking. You deserve some relief.

biminiblue

I would add that you do need to be sober. Until you get some sober time, all the drug experimenting may not ever work. I mean TIME, like six months to a year of continuous sobriety. It takes time.

Meraviglioso

Thank you again for responding. Although those close to me see the difference in me (my boyfriend begged me to get off meds and drink instead saying I was much better under the influence of alcohol than I was on meds) few professionals understand. However, this new doctor does seem to accept it is an issue, so hopefully I can find the right path with her. I will definitely ask my general MD about this testing.

biminiblue

If this woman can prescribe psyche meds, then she's heard about this testing. I would ask her - she's going to understand the urgency of finding answers.

Delilah1

Hi Mera,

i dint ha e any words of wisdom regarding the meds, just wanted to let you know I’m thinking about you. I hope this new psychiatrist can help you figure out a plan for the anxiety and depression.

❤️Delilah

Atlast9999

Hi Mera,

I came to say what Bimini said. My son had a hard time with medications and we ended up doing genetic testing to match him to a proper medication. With that information, we were able to specifically tailor his meds to his body chemistry without side effects. Maybe your dr has experience with this route?

Philemon

I am a bit surprised a psychotherapist would treat you while on meds. Mine wouldn't.
Although he was a Jungian. They believe in natural homeostasis restoring the system to order. Although suffering very severe depression for decades, I never took anti depressants because I found I couldn't think on them. And I needed to be able to think, to partake in psychotherapy.

Aellyce

I've been meaning to respond to this earlier. I think psychotherapists who straight refuse to treat patients who take meds are more the minority, especially these days. There are many who are quite against them though and discourage their clients, which is quite irresponsible IMO... but that's another discussion. On the other hand, there are equally many providers who overmedicate and dispense these drugs way too lightly, causing sometimes serious and even new trouble to people. There should be a better balance, more education, and much more rational judgment in these matters.

I second (and third) bimini on the pharmacogenetic evaluation. If your psychiatrist does not do it and cannot recommend a facility, you could look for one yourself if you are interested. Many companies (often smaller ones) also offer similar services these days and you could possibly take the result to your doctor. I work in psychiatry-related research and everyone says this (and similar tests) should be routine parts of psychiatry in the future, but we are far from that future even in a hospital that has one of the leading psychiatry departments in the US. So, it is still not very common, unfortunately. Medical providers often outsource the test to companies as well, because it needs very specific, expensive equipment and procedures. You could possibly find a facility yourself and take the result to your doctor, although I'm guessing it is not automatically covered by insurance even in countries that have universal medical care.

I had the genome sequencing part done several years ago in a class I was taking, where they offered it to participants. When I went to rehab (a high-tech, science-based facility) in 2016, I took the data with me and we evaluated it together with the staff there. I specifically chose a rehab that had that expertise and interest. They told me I was a good candidate for a clinical trial drug based on my genetics and I decided to participate. It was a mood stabilizer, functionally similar to Lamictal, but very different chemistry (I tried Lamictal first but had to stop because I got that rare rash thing on it that can be quite dangerous). I loved that trial drug, but it was only for the 10 weeks of the experiment and, of course, they never told me what it was actually. I got back to them much later to ask how the trial was going and whether the drug would be available for commercial use, but not yet. I had to take it together with a low dose SSRI, which I knew what it was, because it is a commonly used one. When I had to stop the trial drug, still continued the SSRI for a few more weeks but it had no effect whatsoever that I could notice on its own, I just quickly went back to "my normal". I could have increased the dosage or tried others, but decided not to because I felt reasonably stable, sober, no serious/disruptive mood issues apart from some mild/moderate anxiety, which didn't (and doesn't) bother me too much, had it in my whole life. A couple years earlier (when I was sober for >6 months) a psychiatrist prescribed an SNRI drug, but it had very intense side effects that far outweighed the benefits for me (although it seemed to work better in the first couple weeks, maybe just placebo effect), so I stopped that after a couple months. That's my personal experience with psychotropic prescription meds.

Now I take only CBD. I work closely with researchers who study CBD for anxiety and addiction relapse prevention, so I am quite confident about using it on my own. I got very lucky because the first brand I tried worked the best for me. Others later not so much. But I don't have problems now that is anywhere close to clinical mood disorders, just the same old mild anxiety and motivation issues. CBD is perfect for me for those, very subtle but enough. I would not expect it to make very much difference for more serious psych conditions, in fact it doesn't do much in any steady way in the research study I have access to. Unfortunately, there is so much crap out there because it is not regulated much currently.

I hope what I wrote is acceptable here and does not conflict with the no medical advice rule. You could just try those two meds for a while and see if they are helpful. As you said, surely they are a better option than alcohol. I don't think you would run into similar problems with them to the benzos. I definitely agree and suggest that you do your own research before starting any new meds though, including anecdotal user experiences if there are any available on the web, because scientific studies are often limited in that they focus on addressing their hypotheses, what they aim to study, and might dismiss a lot of valuable information that people discover through their experiences.

lessgravity

Can't speak to your med questions. Just here to say it's nice to see you around.