YeahWhatever Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I was taking Prozac & Abilify (2mg) for about 8 months. The last two months I was taking 10mg Prozac & 2mg Abilify. I felt fine and confident I was ok. About the middle of August, I was given the green light to go off both meds. I asked to go off the meds because I was feeling flat, unemotional, tired of being fat and had zero libido. I immediately went off the Prozac, but hung on to the Abilify because it seemed to help me fall asleep. The first week of September, I ran out of Abilify and just didn't renew it. Three weeks ago, I started feeling "funny". Edgy, anxious, trouble sleeping, emotional. Two weeks ago, the crying and anxiety attacks started - this is exactly what happened 9 months ago that caused me to be on the Prozac & Abilify. I called pdoc office, was told to restart the prozac (10mg), got an appt for the following week. At the appt, I reviewed exactly what I said here. I was thinking my pdoc would just renew the same rx's, probably up the prozac to 20mg. Not at all what happened. What she wrote was for 4 drugs - Pristiq (50mg), Abilify (5mg), Gabapentin (100mg), Trazodone (50mg) So, here's my question - is it me or does this seem a bit excessive for something that was being treated just fine with low dose Prozac & Abilify? FWIW, I had a bad reaction to the higher dose of Abilify and am not taking it. (two nights of feeling like my skin was on fire and sweating buckets was enough.) The Pristiq makes me feel wired & agitated. I want to jump out of skin and I can't think straight. Haven't taken either of the other two because I'm too freaked out about taking too much medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I think it is very odd to prescribe four meds all at once in one appointment. It is not unusual to take multiple meds. Though perhaps she is looking at it as one med that you have been on, and adding the gabepentin to augment............. and the trazadone to sleep?? Frankly 100 mgs of Gabapentin is just minute. It is nothing. So don't worry about that dose~! lol I take 900 mgs to help out with Lithium/Seroquel. Why would she start you out on Pristiq and Abilify together? How can you tell if something is working if you start so many meds at once? How long was your appointment? I realize that I am asking questions in stead of answering questions. Your concerns are legitimate. I think you need to see the doctor and have a list of questions. Get the answers you need, and if not you need another doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I agree with the others, that this is something to discuss with your pdoc. I think it brings up an important point: with all of our doctors, we have to ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. If you are going to call the pdoc, write your questions down so you don't get rattled and forget something. Why can't I stay on the low doses of my original medications? Is it usual to start a patient on 4 meds, three of which are new? How would be be able to tell what is working and what is not working? What do you hope to accomplish with this regimen? I hope you learned something else during this episode. If you have a mental illness, it doesn't go away because you are taking medications. The meds help you function and reduce the symptoms of your MI, but the illness is still there. For many people, it doesn't go away in 9 months. I would think long and hard the next time someone gives you the green light to go off your meds. I don't expect to ever stop taking my antidepressant. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeahWhatever Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 The appt was about 10-15 minutes long... I've never been in the office longer than that. She said Gabapentin was "for anxiety". Trazodone "for sleep as needed". Didn't really say why the other two, but I assumed it was to treat the depression. I think you're right. I'm not comfortable with this. I need to reevaluate with her but it's probably going to take another week or two to get in... Thanks for the advice. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Gabapentin is for anxiety and also acts as a mood stabilizer. If anxiety is a problem you might want to go ahead and take that one. Some agitation upon starting Pristiq is not uncommon. Give it a couple weeks. The Gabapentin should help make it better. I don't think there's anything wrong with starting with a lower dose of Abilify and working your way up. Mixing prozac and Pristiq doesn't make a whole lot of sense, truthfully since both do serotonin reuptake inhibition. Pristiq will probably be the stronger drug in the long run and you'd be better off choosing between it and prozac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Gabapentin is for anxiety and also acts as a mood stabilizer. If anxiety is a problem you might want to go ahead and take that one. Some agitation upon starting Pristiq is not uncommon. Give it a couple weeks. The Gabapentin should help make it better. I don't think there's anything wrong with starting with a lower dose of Abilify and working your way up. Mixing prozac and Pristiq doesn't make a whole lot of sense, truthfully since both do serotonin reuptake inhibition. Pristiq will probably be the stronger drug in the long run and you'd be better off choosing between it and prozac. I agree with VE wholeheartedly. Prozac and Pristiq doesn't make sense, but Pristiq is a pretty good drug that has been, on the whole, as decent as any AD has ever been for treating my treatment resistant depression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeahWhatever Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 Gabapentin is for anxiety and also acts as a mood stabilizer. If anxiety is a problem you might want to go ahead and take that one. Some agitation upon starting Pristiq is not uncommon. Give it a couple weeks. The Gabapentin should help make it better. I don't think there's anything wrong with starting with a lower dose of Abilify and working your way up. Mixing prozac and Pristiq doesn't make a whole lot of sense, truthfully since both do serotonin reuptake inhibition. Pristiq will probably be the stronger drug in the long run and you'd be better off choosing between it and prozac. I should have clarified -- Prozac was discontinued on her orders. Might try the Gabapentin. I'd really like to take the edge off the Pristiq jolt I get in the late morning. I'm sure the people I work with would really like it if I'd stop snarling at them, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 If it's just a 3 drug cocktail, pristiq, Abilify and Gabapentin, that's not a whole lot of drugs, only one more than you were on before, and none of them contradict or counteract each other. It's a sane and logical cocktail. If the abilify is a bit rough to you starting back up, take a smaller dose but don't cut any pills. Just give the Pristiq time. It will most likely come around for you. The Gabapentin should help some with anxiety and mood stability so it will probably help some with the side effects of the other two drugs without introducing too many new side effects of its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeahWhatever Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 VE, you were right. Tried the Gabapentin yesterday and it definitely took the edge off the Pristiq jumpiness. Was the first time in a week that I've felt calm enough to think. I can't thank you enough! Going to review with pdoc next week. I had expressed to her that I just wanted to go back on the Prozac, but now I feel like maybe I can handle the Pristiq with the Gabapentin. In other news, I just found out that we will be moving out of state the end of this month. Now is probably not the time to jerk around my meds, eh? Stressed? Um, yeah, just a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catnapper Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Hopefully you will find a great pdoc in your new location. If I were you I would take the meds you've got until you start with a new pdoc in your new location, who may decide what you're on now is working fine. An initial pdoc evaluation with a new doctor should take 1 to 2 hours so they can learn your symptoms and develop a treatment plan. I've moved often for work and have had to change doctors, and it's always a bit of a crap shoot. I got lucky this time and liked the first pdoc I went to here, but one place I moved to I went through 4 or 5 before I found one I liked. I've had just as much luck with picking a name out of the yellow pages as I've had with referrals. Olga (as always!) is right, your mental illness didn't go away because you started feeling better, it just means the meds are working. Eight or nine months isn't very long to be stable enough to stop taking meds, at least in my opinion. And depending on your MI and its severity you may be looking at taking meds for the rest of your life. I am going to be on meds forever, and I don't like it, but it beats the hell out of being sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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