Pain, Depression and Obeying Doctors!

While my hubby and I think we have figured out the cause of my depression, the “cure” hasn’t kicked in quite yet and I am still down for the count so to speak.

I have no energy or desire to do anything. I sleep for hours and wake up feeling worse than when I went to bed. My attention span is that of a flea and things that I have been good at remembering are just blurs.

I should be used to all of this. I have been in depressions more often than I would like to admit. However, it has been a long time since my last one and this one just came out of nowhere.

During all the talk of strokes and mini-strokes, different doctors told me to go off my Naproxen and Cymbalta.

Naproxen is an anti-inflammatory and I have been taking it for years for my arthritis and fibromyalgia. I went off it and sure enough my muscles and joints inflamed and my pain levels went through the roof. The neurologist told me to go off it because it hampers the low-dose aspirin I am taking to ward off any stroke-like activity….even though apparently I have no signs that I have had, or will have, any. A while back my respirologist also wanted me off the Naproxen because it can mess with asthma and breathing. I am back on it and my swelling and pain levels are much better again.

Cymbalta is a new “wonder drug” that is supposed to help chronic pain and/or depression. My GP put me on it as an extra pain reliever and it has not had any adverse effect on my moods. However, I have heard through some of my fellow pain sufferers both here and in my “real” life that it can have horrible side effects. When the ER doctor suggested I go off it, it was not a difficult decision because both hubby and I had thought before I should get rid of it. I started slowly to go off it; however, when I got to one every three days is when the depression started. I am on a 60 mg dose once a day and so it is hard to do a slower paced weening off. So, I am back on it fully until I can see my doctor and get some 30 mg capsules to go slower with.

My father and grandfather were both pharmacists and I learned a lot about medications, how to take them and to be careful going off them after long periods of time. It is funny to me how doctors can seem so logical; however they often generalize and what they suggested was not good for me.