i have been prescribed anti depressants, for pain- and my mood which i dont feel there is a problem has anyone had these prescribved

[mojo]

my pain has got more severe over last few month , ie. mucles acking from head to toe,daily, as with all thge joint pain, doctors suggested i go on anti depressants, for this has anyone else been prescribes these...????

[traceyd]

hi there ..yes i was given anti-depressants 3months ago for the mood changes and mine has a sleepping tablet conbined i have felt that thay haved helped a little with the fatigue you get ,thay take about 6 weeks to kick in. i dont find it helps with the pain in your mucels and joints or the shakes you get, but give them ago see how you get on xx

[mojo in reply to traceyd]

hi there tracey thank you,

well iam probably the same as you, thats all i feel it has helped , i have been on them for 4 weeks and will continue as long as i need to, got hospital again on fri as blood test came back negative so will see wot else is going on, thanx again and i wish you well too, takecare,,xx

[Lorelei in reply to mojo]

Mojo, I have taken an antidepressant for almost as long as I have had SLE and fibro. I have found that the antidepressant does not make the pain go away but it does change your attitude toward the pain you feel. I still feel pain in all the same places but I seem to cope with it better. I am more resilient and more positive in response to all the challenges I have to face including the pain & how hard it is to move around. I really do think that an SSRI type of antidepressant is worth a try. They are the newer antidepressants that block serotonin reuptake in the brain. There is one that is highly recommended for people with fibromaylgia: Cymbalta. I have taken it but Celexa works even better for me. I've never had any side effects from anti-depressants. I understand they can cause some weight gain but I take so much prednisone that I think my excess weight is due to prednisone and inactivity. I was overweight long before I ever took Cymbalta or Celexa.

I am sure that your doctor will tell you that you need to stay on the antidepressant for 6-8 weeks before you feel its full effect. Don't give up on it yet! I really hope that it will help you as much as it has helped me!! I hope you will feel better soon!!

[Yols]

Hi. I am on antidepressants - 5mg Escitalopram daily. Have also been prescribed 10mg Amitriptyline (which is also an antidepressant) this is to be taken for the joint pain at bedtime, it really helps relax painful muscles/joints - although it is not a painkiller. I only take the Amitriptyline when I need it to help me sleep.

Good luck with the hospital on Friday.

Yols x

[mojo in reply to Yols]

Hiya. thank you, i was on 20 mg of amitriptyline for the past year it did work with my sleeping initially but hasnt worked for a while so hence the my consultantant changed it to, nortriptyline 20 mg, so hoping to see results soon,

Yeh roll on fri think there gona be a change again to my meds so keeping positive, Hope you keep well to takecare .Mo..x

[traceyd]

hi there, the anit-depressant i was given was 50mg sertraline-aurobindo with 30mg of amitriptyline (at night)and 30mg fo propranolol( daily), thay are all for painfull muscles and joints aswell as i nice relaxing sleep !!!!!thay seem to work but i still feel the pain but hot water bottles seem to help warm mybody even when i have the fever it seems to work for me ..give it a go i think its try anything to help with this crazy illness i also go back to the hospital on wednesday so here we go again think if he say's go swimming again i will screem with frustrartion .. good luck on friday hope that have a few answere's for you tracey xx

[mojo in reply to traceyd]

Thanx again tracey ,as i said above the amatriptyline stoped working for me so just hope these do and wot ever changes they make on fri,,,

And i know how you feel re swimming am sick of hearing it too, yeh it is a horrible illness eh, av had it for 18 yrs but its just the last five it has severly escilated, but we will keep geting on with it eh, hope all goes well with you on wed too, keep smiling n good luck Mo..xx

[irenestephen]

Hi

I have been on anti-depressants for a while now - as more and more organs get targeted and don't work as they should I find the whole aspect of this disease scary. As with you the last three years organ failure has escallated and it scary/hard to live with - as is the whole illness. Getting epelepsy diagnosed (caused by cerebral lupus) was the last straw for me!

Amatryptoline is working for me to help me relax more and get a sleep the majority of the time. With taking so many steroids daily I need something to bring me down again!

Hope Friday goes well - and yes - I have been told to go swimming and when I can manage to get this tired old body to take me there I have found it good for me - only draw back is that I return super tired and usually have to spend the next day trying to recover!!!

[mojo in reply to irenestephen]

Hi there,

thank you it is a very scary illness at times and the progression with me has realy shooken me, as its constant now no breaks at all with pain n sleepless nyts, i feel very confused at times sometimes i think iam going mad, but as av said got hosp on fri so hope to get things sorted, As you said i also feel beter wen iam in swimming but sometimes its not worth it afterward , its like robing peter to pay paul, you just cant win eh. wishinbg you well...Mo

[Lupoid]

I've been on various anti-depressants all of them in the effort to help me sleep (although it is 01:36 while I write this). Amitriptyline had me sleeping for more than 12 hours at a time though, even on the lowest dose. I'm now trying Mirtazapine which is apparently stronger (but in a different way?!?)

[mojo in reply to Lupoid]

Thanx again for this, i havnty slept at all last nyt, realy not much over the last few weeks, so iam hopeing to get something re this on fri at the hosp, As Amitriptyline stoped working for me, and am just 4 weeks on this new antidepressant so maby not had full effect of that yet, so will see how it goes

[janiceray]

Yes I am,i take Amitriptline,not only does it help you with moods that i did not think i had, it help with the joint pain, thay don.t know why this is so, did trust me it does

Hope this helps

[mojo in reply to janiceray]

Hi thanx, yeh i was on them for that reason to they did work for a while but stoped, things got worse and my dr, recomended i went on antidepressnts for my mood, i didnt think my mood was a concern to be honest, but a went on them starting wk 5 just now but still no change so hopefully they work...

[Sue2803]

I was put on Fluoxetine (prozac), believe it or not for my Reynauds, could take normal nifedipine because my blood pressure is so low cos I am on Propanalol for headaches and tremor, it has helped the reynauds immensley but has also made me quite jolly, even though I have loads of joint and muscle pain.

[mojo in reply to Sue2803]

Awe thats one of the things thats realy giving me sever pain just now, but it always seems to be pushed aside wen i mention it to my consultant, al need to be more prepared nxt time re this thanx for that. Mo

[LynseyH in reply to mojo]

hey - just in reply to ur last response - its really important 4 u to push the raynauds issue, i didnt...and have just had my finger amputated. i didnt really understand the illness as it started suddenly and was very aggressive. necrosis set in almost immediately, followed by bone disease - hence the amputation. i now have regular infusions of flolan or illoprost and am much more careful!! please push it with ur doc. keep smiling x

[LynseyH in reply to Sue2803]

hi - iv had SLE 4 a few yes now but in the last few months it has become aggressive and uncontrollable - the tremors u get, r they like sudden severe muscle spasms? this has been happening to me 4 about 2wks now, severe to the point of me falling down or dropping plates etc. does this sound similar? at other times its just noticable as a huge twitch e.g my mouth x

[vonni]

Hi, yeah im on Amitryptiline 40 mgs, I was told by my doc they are to help stop me getting stressed(so helps with the pain) and to hopefully get some decent sleep x

[mojo]

thanx lynsey,

yes i am going to make sure something is done this time, as i said its so severe at times i reaaly feal like cutting my hands of my self i know thats preety drastic but its so painfull i cant bare it at times, i will push for more answers nxt time even from my gp too,,thanx again and a will smile through it all takecare of u too. x

[LynseyH in reply to mojo]

i understand totally the pain can be impossible to live with. I got battery operated heat gloves that hav helped keep my hand temp constant when going between hot and cold. But really the morphine injections wer all that eased my pain - and even then it was only for a few hrs. Nifedipine etc did nothing for me as my raynauds is too severe, so my rheum put me on ketanserin...its a dutch (i think) red listed drug that has to be ordered in - sumthin else u cud mention 2ur doc. make a list and dont be afraid to push him 4 answers!! the customer is always right lol. xx