Antidepressents

Wondered if anyone was placed on them for bladder issues to cope?

Not for bladder issues but was Rx Zoloft for panic disorder. They only made that worse. Didn't see anything good about em but everyone's chemistry is different

I was given Zoloft by a family doctor who browbeat me because she was convinced that I was depressed because I didn't have dozens of friends and didn't like my job, but not for any bladder issues. I noticed no difference because I wasn't depressed. My next doctor helped ween me off that crap.

What drug and what issues?

Not for bladder issues but was Rx Zoloft for panic disorder. They only made that worse. Didn't see anything good about em but everyone's chemistry is different

SSRIs seem to be the drug de jur for anything psychogenic. Often prescribed by family doctors who are not well trained to handle these issues, but are convinced by pharmaceutical reps that they are.

I was given Zoloft by a family doctor who browbeat me because she was convinced that I was depressed because I didn't have dozens of friends and didn't like my job, but not for any bladder issues. I noticed no difference because I wasn't depressed. My next doctor helped ween me off that crap.

What drug and what issues?

Why would you even listen to that crap. Your "symptoms" are very common.

I hope you weren't on it for long.

Why would you even listen to that crap. Your "symptoms" are very common.

I hope you weren't on it for long.

It took her about a year to browbeat me. There's that authority thing with doctors (I've gotten over that). I took it probably for a year. Fortunately, no noticeable side effects. Withdrawal took about a month of decreasing dosage, also nothing adverse happened.

Yes, my 'symptoms' are common. I tend to have a few close friends not dozens of aquentences. I didn't like my job because it sucked.

Isn't it amazing that there have been no significant studies done on the effects of long-term use of antidepressants? And what data there are get buried.

I think they cause chronic depression etc., and are therefore the rx equivalent of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Add in that OB-GYNs and GPs routinely dole out RXs for them (even though they are powerful psychotropic meds) and it is not shocking that so many people are on them. Which is why big pharma loves them so much and keeps inventing more without studying the effects of long-term use.

The best antidepressant in the world is a good warm colon cleaning period....... ever wonder why there is no long term study about that?

Its no surprise to me, that a lot of doctors today seem so willing to prescribe antidepressant for a multitude of complaints, especially if it is chronic. In the Uk it seems to be one of the most prescribed set or medication along with sleeping tablets ( and we all know how addictive those are).

As Sunny76 stated its amazing how often they are prescribed and how often a new antidepressants drug comes to the market and then after a few years it gets taken off because of the side effects or being linked to causing injury to a specific organ of the body.

Yes, read the comments and tend to agree, I haven't started any of them, but going in for my annual, and noticed in her notes, "anxiety issues" , in some ways I feel like she is moving me into more of a "control" situation, with her being the controller, she has recommended a cocktail of Zoloft & Lorazapam.

I was on Zoloft for awhile and my psych. took me off of it. He said that after a few months Zoloft made the patient "dull". He put me on Lexapro and it works fine. I had been on Prozac for 10 years and I was happy with it, as it energized me. ALL antidepressants will eventually lose effectiveness and require switching to another product. A yearly checkup by a psychiatrist is an excellent idea for all who take A/D's. Thank God we have a whole raft of the newer SSRI's out there to be chosen from. The older tricyclics were dangerous, as their therapeutic and toxic thresholds were very close. Newer SSRI's are almost impossible to O.D. on.

I haven't ever been given antidepressants for bladder issues, but I have been given them for colon discomfort/anxiety. It seems when I'm anxious it goes straight to my colon, which makes sense as the gut probably has nearly as many serotonin receptors as the brain.

I've never heard of using antidepressants for bladder related issues, but it could be possible...

I'm on Lexapro for GAD and an amazing thing happened...

Before meds my anxiety levels have gotten to the point I would feel nausea all the time and I would have to struggle to catch a breath. After being on this med not only I haven't had any attacks but I can work better, I can focus better, I can think clear and... my nausea is GONE!

I have no idea what's the relation between nausea and anxiety, if there is at all, but coincidentally since I've been taking Lexapro I am nausea and anxiety free.

NADYASB there is a relation between nausea and anxiety. Nausea is a common anxiety symptom and may occur with or without the urge to vomit. Nausea from anxiety can be a considerable barrier to your ability to deal with your hectic schedule. Like other symptoms of anxiety, nausea can be unpredictable, and affect your ability to perform at your best at home, work, school, and in your relationships with your friends and family.

Generally, nausea comes from the release of epinephrine, more commonly known as "adrenaline." This disrupts the acids, enzymes, and functions of your stomach and intestine, which leads to nausea-related symptoms. Anxiety can also make it more difficult for your body to process food. That's why many people with anxiety have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which also causes nausea.

Both anxiety and stress also have an effect on hormones, which regulate the acids and enzymes in your stomach and gut. Stress can also cause muscle tension in your abdomen, and that added tension may be squeezing your stomach in a way that leads to anxiety.

However, make sure you eat. An empty stomach can lead to more nausea than a full stomach when you suffer from anxiety. Like healthy eating, water can help keep your body nourished without any ingredients that exacerbate your upset stomach. In addition, it's not uncommon for dehydration to lead to more anxiety, so drinking water can actually be its own anxiety treatment.

With regards to using antidepressants for bladder related issues Some antidepressants also reduce symptoms of urinary urgency and frequency. Some selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor can help but the exact mechanism is not fully understood .

Other known as tricyclic has anticholinergic side effects. This means that it relaxes the smooth muscle of the bladder. It also causes the muscles at the bladder neck to contract.

Jimmy, I love you to death but I could not disagree with you more with your statement that everyone should go and see their shrink once a year.

It's no secret that medical folks and psych folks often do not see eye to eye. They think we are pill pushers, and we think they think everyone is bat shit crazy and needs to have a dx supporting that. I went to one a few years back for an over all psych eval. I had been through quite a bit at that time and I talked to the woman for almost 3 hours. A week later when I got my report she had diagnosed me with 3 different psych diagnoses.

I had the two biggies that I consider "umbrella dx's" which they slap on every single person that goes to see a shrink which were anxiety and depression, and of all things, alcoholism in remission. Now you know the saying, lawyers who represent themselves have a fool as a client, well medical professionals are sort of the same way. We should never diagnose ourselves because we either under diagnose or over diagnose. I was no exception, however, this woman was way off base.

Yes I will admit that I probably was having a small amount of both anxiety and depression, but so would have anyone else going through the same things I was going through at that time. But, I felt I was handling it pretty well all things considered. Everyone has periods when anxiety and depression happens, but that doesn't mean they need a formal diagnosis. It's normal, and that also doesn't mean you need to be on medications for either of them either.

Now for the third diagnosis, the alcoholism in remission. I told her that I had a half of a beer when I was 20 on a hot summer day after I mowed the lawn, I hated it and tossed the other half can. Then on my 21st birthday I had 3 drinks and then I had not had a drop of alcohol since, which at that time was the truth. I hate drinking, the taste and the way it makes me feel, I just can't stand it. So I drank twice, never got drunk, didn't black out, didn't have a hang over. It was when I was 21 and at the time of that meeting I was 43. Not a drop in over 20 years. Her dx was absolutely not founded nor was it even close to being medically accurate. Needless to say I had a fit! If a nurse gets a diagnosis of any sort of alcoholism and it gets on her record and the board finds out about it they can and often do mandate you to drug testing and AA meetings for the rest of your career. I was not going to stand for that.

With all this being said, she asked me for my medication list and history. Well that was a total of my synthroid, birth control pills, and Ambien because I have sever insomnia. Insomnia is both a psych and a medical diagnosis. She never even mentioned anyplace in that report that I had insomnia and was taking Ambien for it. Which would have been the accurate and true qualifying diagnosis if that's what they needed so that the insurance company would have paid the claim had I filed it with my insurance. She totally missed it.

Also, because the diagnosis' of anxiety and depression were written as "true" diagnosis'" and not "rule out" I would have thought treatment and or medications would have been prescribed. At least she should have written for further sessions. Given this information she knew the diagnosis' were bogas. I mentioned to Mary later on that with those diagnosis' had I walked out of that building and walked in front of a bus to commit suicide that would make them liable. If the diagnosis' were accurate then it was their place to put a treatment plan in place to prevent such events from happening. Just sayin..

So, I went back in and demanded a meeting with the head of the facility. She stood there in the lobby and talked to me. She was lucky there wasn't anyone else in ear shot because I could have sited her on HIPAA, and technically I still can. I told her my story and how and why my diagnosis' were wrong. Doc had even sent them a letter with my medical history and also sited their own DSM4/5 guidelines for those diagnosis' and how much I didn't fit them and how and why they were medically inappropriate, especially the alcoholism diagnosis. So, Mary (real name here) stood there and looked me in the face and said, "well we have to have some sort of psych diagnosis or we can't bill the insurance and get paid". Hello, insurance fraud!!!!! I also reminded her that I paid with cash. She didn't know what to say to that.

I just got another bill from them for the other half of that evaluation. It's only 65 dollars but I will not pay it. As a matter of fact, after the holidays I will march my tush in there and tell the director she had better make that bill go away because my statute of limitations for a sever misdiagnosis isn't over for another 5 years and it will probably be a lot cheaper for them to just make that bill go away nice and quietly.

So that is why I would never suggest that anyone go see a shrink unless they really have a very obvious and or debilitating psych condition that they need help with so that they can live a somewhat normal existence.

That's just my two cents worth on this topic lol.

Mashie

Mashie, I agree with you, that my statement about shrinks was a poor one. I should have said to see your FAMILY DOC at least annually for a check on how you are doing with your A/D.

My actual opinion of 'shrinks' from calling on them for 12-15 years is that most of them are useless, they are "F___ed up" themselves. They only Rx a few meds. in their practice and they routinely OVER prescribe. Like the old med. school saying goes. "Surgeons Do EVERYTHING, bot KNOW nothing; Internists KNOW everything, but DO nothing and; psychiatrists KNOW nothing and DO nothing". (And as liquidskly said, "Pathologists KNOW everything and DO everything, but it's too late.")

Personally, I had to visit about 6 "shrinks", before I found one that knew what he was truly doing pharmacologically; and he was one of the most unfriendly docs I ever met.

I am really glad to hear that you somewhat agree, I was getting worried about you my friend, lol.

For this last post I could not agree with you more! I can't tell you how many time I have personally seen and heard from other medical professionals how messed up shrinks are, most of them anyway. There are the exceptions. Yes, the tend to get comfortable with a certain few meds and just hand them out like crazy, needed or not. Part of that is their fault and part of it isn't. Lets face it, most patients when they go to the doctor expect to walk out with a script for that "magical" pill that is going to fix whatever they think their problem is. While I again agree that there are a lot of people who actually need pharmaceutical assistance, there are just as many if not more than really just need someone to listen.

Mashie

Yeah Mashie, my experience over many years with alcoholism and drug abuse has been that the very best folks to work with are PHd., clinical psychologists. They HAVE to do "couch therapy", because they cannot Rx drugs. But most of my visits to mental health professionals have been concerning depression, dealing with my child's death, my SO's death and divorces.

I've seen M.D (shrinks), PHd psychs., LISW's, certified alcoholism counselors. The very best have always been the PHd's. Most PHd's have a relationship with some Fam. Pract. Doc's and if the PHd. feels the patient needs medication, they will contact the M.D. for an Rx. Notice I did NOT say they had relationships with Psychiatrists to get Rx's. I get the distinct impression that the PHd's. don't think very highly of "shrinks".

In the past few years, a change in mental health professionals has happened. Psychiatrists have become more "medication managers". The decent one I saw did 15 min. appt's with me to talk about my medication experience ONLY; NO COUCH THERAPY. He told me to talk about my problems to my PHd., not him. This was the "shrink" that was so unfriendly, but knew his stuff about meds. I could have never done couch therapy with him, because of his anti-social ways.

The amount of time psychiatrists spend on studying personality, cognitive development, child development, abnormal psychology, clinical psychology, mental disorders, behavioral development, and on and on - is zero. Compared to the PhD? No comparison. Same with the LSW's except they do spend some time on behavioral issues but it is limited. Now when things get really messed up and electroshock therapy or drug intervention therapy is called for, the psychiatrist has a definite role. Enough from me.

Actually, Rain, a decent psychiatry residency is fairly intense, and they do indeed spend a lot of time learning all of the things you listed.

The best shrinks I know, though, aren't PhD's, they're PsyD's. It is a PhD level postgraduate degree, with the focus on therapy rather than research.

I am currently on Lexapro which works well for me - 10 mg per day. Previously I was on Paxil, but it lost effectiveness after many years and jacking up the dose was not good.

My initial SSRI was Zoloft. Awful - bad GI issues.

All three definitely modify my sexuality. Discourages masturbation frequency, encourages edging. Tamed my libido but lots still left. Require more mental stimulation to get erect. Climax is very difficult but prostate stimulation is the ticket for a release. Did a nice job at easing anxiety and OCD.

I do find I am sleeping through the nights not having to get up to pee. My family doctor feels this is related to a lessening of my anxiety and thus more relaxed and more completely voiding before I go to bed. I think she may be right.

In the past, my enema play resulted in a wonderful calm and feeling of peace that lasted for several days. My theory is that a relaxing enema may boost seritonin levels. For anyone who has mild anxiety but is not in any way depressed there might be merit in a weekly enema.

My family doctor is aware I have an occasional enema. She says that she does not recommend them, but practiced careful and infrequently they are very unlikely to do harm.