Re: Depression

From: Marilyn Vaughan (mavaughan@iastate.edu)
Wed Jul 17 08:21:14 2002


Brenda:

I really feel for you. I think your doctor did a kind thing by prescribing Xanax for the anxiety. It will help immediately while an anti-depressant would take at least a month to six weeks to have some effect. Xanax is addictive, but I think this risk of addiction is overblown. You will likely not be addicted by taking it short term and if you are, then you can be weaned off.

Have you thought of having a psychiatric evaluation for the depression? I would urge you to consider going to a psychiatrist rather than your regular doctor if your insurance covers it and you continue to feel bad. My sister was on Wellbutrin and it never helped her, but then there's lots of anti-depressants available. Many women on this board with pelvic pain are on a tricyclic anti-depressant. Research has shown that tricyclics help pelvic pain without side effects when given at small doses. I take 50 mg of desapramine every night before bed. Your regular physician could prescribe this or another tricyclic for you. I don't think this small dosage would help with chronic depression, though.

I've been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) so I know what it's like living with a high level of anxiety. I was on different drugs (Paxil, Celexa, etc.), but I've found that my counselor has helped me the most. But worrying about the pain--if it will get worse or when it will come back--makes me a nervous wreck at times!

Marilyn

At Tue, 16 Jul 2002, Brenda wrote: >
>I have been a victim of adhesions for 3 years now and I have had 5
>surgeries. The last surgery was in April to remove ovarian remnants and
>clean up the adhesions, but just like in the past but a lot faster this
>time the pain is back. They did a MRI and found that they did not get
>all the ovarin tissue out again and cyst have formed. I have been
>feeling a lot anixety, I am very tense get upset real quick and feel
>tired all the time. My doctor seems to think that some of it is from
>hormones and worrying over being in so much pain. I have to take pain
>medication daily to function. I ask him the other day if maybe I should
>try an anti depressant maybe Wellbutrin, I have heard that it is one of
>the better ones with fewer side effects. He instead called in Xanax, is
>depression common with adhesion suffers and should I insist on him
>putting me on something. I hate feeeling this way I feel like I am
>wasting my life away I have to live with the pain but feel like I could
>find a way to deal with the feelings I am having. Any advice would be
>very welcome.


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