Guest guest Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Hi Tigger, sorry about yoru accident i hope you feel better soon! let us know what the doc says, do you think that was realted to your fibro, or the hypo? i have been feeling soo weak, and chest tightness, and tingling on my head/arms aghh brings me bad memories of how I felt when I had myxedema coma! agh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Joan, I just started taking Elavil. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in months (or is it years?). I've had two good night's sleep and it has been heaven. Elavil is a very old-line antidepressant but somehow, it helps sleep. I have had some adrenal testing and things are off. For me, Elavil is to restore some semblance of normal sleep rhythm. I can't figure out what is going on with you. Wish I could. I have some of the same symptoms and I don't think all of yours are symptoms of depression. Hell, when you don't feel well, no wonder you get depressed! Have you had adrenal and hormone testing? What about other lab tests? The more results (with normal ranges) you can post here, the better. Val I feel like my symptoms are physical, not mental. Maybe I don't know anything anymore and I really am crazy. If anyone has experience with this drug, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 I have taken elavil for years and unfortunately the effectiveness as a sleep aid wears off very quickly. Carla Crystal, MI -- Elavil ?? Joan, I just started taking Elavil. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in months (or is it years?). I've had two good night's sleep and it has been heaven. Elavil is a very old-line antidepressant but somehow, it helps sleep. I have had some adrenal testing and things are off. For me, Elavil is to restore some semblance of normal sleep rhythm. I can't figure out what is going on with you. Wish I could. I have some of the same symptoms and I don't think all of yours are symptoms of depression. Hell, when you don't feel well, no wonder you get depressed! Have you had adrenal and hormone testing? What about other lab tests? The more results (with normal ranges) you can post here, the better. Val I feel like my symptoms are physical, not mental. Maybe I don't know anything anymore and I really am crazy. If anyone has experience with this drug, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 I had all of these symptoms with medication for thyroid, but no adrenal support. Hydrocortisone made all the difference. Carla -- Re: Elavil ?? In a message dated 1/17/2005 3:39:26 PM Eastern Standard Time, joaniedolan@... writes: > My symptoms include fatigue, > aches and pains from head to toe, muscle weakness, brain fog, lack of > concentration, drop things, temp flucuations from 96.1 to 98.3, lose balance > > and stumble into things, headaches, hot flashes, edema, acid reflux, sore > throat and hoarse voice. Are most of these signs of depression? I've > never had depression; at least, none that I've been aware of. I've never > felt moody or depressed or suicidal. > These are symptoms of hypo. I would find a doctor who prescribes Armour which will help the symptoms. I would definitely get rid of a doctor who gives me Elavil for those symptoms. Cindi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 I have experience with one of the other ones in that group, imipramine. They are the old TCAs, which increase the reuptake of serotonin and nortriptyline, and reconcentrate them in the brain. I'm not going to say that it didn't help, but they have their own set of warnings to go along with that. Depression is always chemically based, and it is the lack of thyroid hormone being utilized properly by the body that, IMHO, causes most of this, plus all the other hormonal changes that go along with it, including the female hormones, cortisol, DHEA, testosterone, and others. They all work hand in hand with each other. If one is off, they're all off, as they all depend on each other. I took imipramine for 4 solid yrs, it did help, but I believe that I took it too long a time. I had raised blood pressure, and this is the main reason I quit it, by tapering it off on my own. It did get me up and get me going, but at what cost, I often wonder. If I had to take an antidepressant, however, it would be those in that group, one evil traded for another, as the SSRIs (Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, celexa, and others in that group, the newer ones) cause nonutilization of the thyroid hormones. I got extremely ill on every single one of them, giving them all a fair amt of time to work. They made me livid, yellow, with a dead pan feeling, and almost with a suicidal ideation along with each of them. Later on I found out that I was already low thyroid (treated with Synthroid the whole time), and they were simply exacerbating the symptoms further, but if I had to be on an antidepressant TEMPORARILY, it would be one of the old TCAs. Refresh my memory, have you ever had a Free T3 run on you, or just a Free T4 only? Elavil ?? > > Does this story surprise anyone? 12/22: my Endo, after several > visits and being open to receiving and reading the articles I brought him, > gave the final verdict: go back to .125 Synthroid, but he would > condescend to add 5mcg Cytomel. I said I would think about it. No > script for Armour. He is on the Armour website but does not believe in > Armour. > > Fast forward to 1/12: primary doc, after being handed a list of my > symptoms, said most could be attributed to depression. I am feeling worse > all the time, but the only thing he will do for me right now is prescribe a > drug that he says is used for depression but also given to fibromyalgia > patients. He said to take it at bedtime and it would give me the deep sleep > that supposedly those of us with fatigue do not get. He said it would take > 2 to 3 weeks to feel a difference. The drug is Elavil, and the > generic is Amitriptyline. He said I can't help the depression any more > than someone can help having a broken leg, and that I'm not " crazy. " > > I've often read here stories of folks being treated for years with > antidepressants that didn't really help. So I question if this is the > right treatment for me. > > I'm currently taking 4 1/2 gr. Time Caps. My symptoms include fatigue, > aches and pains from head to toe, muscle weakness, brain fog, lack of > concentration, drop things, temp flucuations from 96.1 to 98.3, lose balance > and stumble into things, headaches, hot flashes, edema, acid reflux, sore > throat and hoarse voice. Are most of these signs of depression? I've > never had depression; at least, none that I've been aware of. I've never > felt moody or depressed or suicidal. > > I must also mention that about a year ago another doctor said I had 8 out of > the 10 signs of depression and she put me on Effexor, which did nothing for > me and I quit. I was on $ynthroid at the time. > > I feel like my symptoms are physical, not mental. Maybe I don't know > anything anymore and I really am crazy. > > If anyone has experience with this drug, please let me know. > > Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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