PCOS Messages for June, 2002: Re: Depression/Glucose Meter/More Cysts

Re: Depression/Glucose Meter/More Cysts

From: anon (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri, 28 Jun 2002 12:02:59 -0500 (CDT)

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At Fri, 28 Jun 2002, JEG wrote: >
>So.... just got back from doctor visits with my OB/GYN and
>Endocrinologist and tests and check-ups. I had an x-ray test to see if
>my tubes were blockage-free and that hurt like hell. I cried through
>the whole test. I will spare you the details on that for now, unless
>anyone wants to know how they perform this test.
>

Hmmmmm... I think I do. :-) Do tell, in case it ever happens to me.

>I was given lots of diagnoses,so I have divided it into good news/bad
>news.
>
>Good news:
>Tubes look clear, no blockage
>It is good that after being on Glucophage (1500mg/day) that I am getting
>my periods every month on a normal schedule
>Weight loss is good
>OB/GYN said he will put me on Clomid Thanksgiving, but he "thinks I
>won't need it".
>

And these are all very good. Yay!

>Bad News:
>1-All of the side effects that I thought were associated with the
>Glucophage (grumpiness, irritability, loss of appetite, sleeplessness,
>severe PMS, etc) are not. The doctor diagnosed me with clinically
>depression. My husband was there and when the doctor said the "D" word,
>he was like "Yes, that is it." Like he knew all along. I was so
>surprised. How come I was the last to know? I blamed my bitchiness on
>the meds, when this whole time I have been depressed! That explains the
>distance that I have putting between me and friends/family and why all
>of the things that used to make me happy don't and why all of a sudden I
>am forgetful and feel like I have so much on my mind that I can't think
>straight. I guess it makes me feel better to know what it is (like
>knowing that PCOS is the reason for the missed periods, facial hair,
>etc.)but what do I do now? The doctor prescriped me an anti-depressant
>and told me to think about it before taking it. He told me that they
>were non-addictive, I could go off any time. He told me that they would
>have only one side effect: decrease in sexual drive. That is so ironic,
>not only do I not need any help in that department- I already have very
>little these days, but my husband and I are trying to get pregnant, so
>it kind of defeats the purpose.Anybody have any experiences with this?
>

Indeed.

Did he give you prozac, zoloft, or paxil? Or another ssri?

I have suffered from depression since I was an angtsy, moody, suicidal, anorexic 7th grader. I am now 25. I have been off and on of more medications than I can remember. When I was younger, Prozac worked wonders, but having something of a stubborn brat streak, I never stuck with taking it. I would take it for a while, then decided I didn't need it, and go off of it again. I would then feel ok for maybe a year or two, at which point I would hit a downward slump. I would either eventually snap out of it, or go back on meds. If I went back on meds, I would feel great after a while, decide I didn't need the meds, go back off.

This went on for many years.

As I was young and not sexually active, the worst side effect of the prozac did not make itself known. I didn't discover masturbation until I was almost 18. I didn't become sexually active until college. Since I was off and on prozac all this time, it would take until I was both having sexual relations AND taking prozac to realise something wasn't right. That something was complete lack of sexual response. It wasn't just lack of orgasm, which I think is a more common state for women than the media would have us believe... it was more like being asleep below the belt. It didn't feel like ANYTHING. If it feels good and I don't have an orgasm, I don't mind so much. But to feel NOTHING at all... ugh!

So, throughout college, I would muddle through as best as I could, now and then hit a down point, and either get through it or go back on meds. After the meds began to work, I would go off of them due to sexual side effects, and be ok for a year again.

I don't think it's really any mystery why it took me 6 years to get through college. I was depressed the entire time but didn't want to admit to it. I failed many classes and withdrew many semesters due to this fact.

Recently I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am depressed, I always will be depressed, and unless I deal with this fact, my life is always going to be something below what it could be. I have also had to admit, somewhat red-faced, the reason I have never stuck with anti-depressants in the past.

The good news is, there are antidepressants out there that do NOT have sexual side effects, but DO treat depression. I have been on Wellbutrin for about a month now and it has been a godsend. I no longer snap over stupid things, I am not moody, I don't pick fights with my housemates over trivial things and I no longer have temper tantrums in the middle of board games. :-) (Believe me, I was living the role of SuperBitch to the hilt... I should have won an Oscar )

I can't say it has done anything for or to my sex drive - I think I just naturally don't have much of one, oh well - but I can say it has not impeded my sexual response or orgasms. If anything it has improved them.

Not all people who take SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which prozac is one of...) experience sexual side effects. The first person I mentioned this problem to was my mother, and she takes prozac, and she thought I was making this up, as it doesn't happen to her. But it is one of the number one reasons people go off SSRIs.

So, it might not happen to you. If it doesn't that's great, because the SSRIs work really well and they tend to work really fast. If you do have these effects, though, you might want to consider switching to Wellbutrin, or adding a small dose of wellbutrin to the prozac (or whatever) - this has also been found to be useful.

One warning - Wellbutrin supposedly increases the risk of seizures. I have read that this risk is greatly overexxagerated, and based on ONE early study where people were taking high doses of it. Supposedly, Zoloft has a higher risk of seizures - and this fact is never publisized. (I think it was Zoloft at least... it weas another anti-dep) If you are on the lowest effective dose for you, and taking the XR version, the risk should be no greater than with any other drug. They say those with a history of an eating disorder shouldn't take it - but I have a history of an ED, and I have had no problems. (Supposedly such people are at a higher risk of seizure...)

ANYWAY. The anti-deps will make you feel much better. Depression is not just feeling SAD, it's feeling irritable, awful, bored, unmotivated... etc.

And there is help. And there is help without sexual side effects.

>He also gave me an electronic blood sugar monitor to test my levels when
>I am extremely moody/mean or cannot sleep. This is to see if there is a
>corolation between the mood changes and my blood sugar. Does anyone
>else do this?
>

Nope. It's possible that there are, but you'll have to check that out yourself.

Might be easier to eat something when you feel moody and see if that helps! I know I do get cranky when I don't eat, but I know that that was not the only source of my problems.

>2-Also, I was told my the X-ray doctor that I have ovarian cysts. I
>told him, "Yes, I have PCOS". He said, no, that these were larger cysts
>on my ovaries and to schedule an ultrasound. I already have one on
>Monday, so I will find out more then. But my question is: What are
>these???? Could they be cancerous? And how do they affect my fertility
>progress?

No idea. Let us know. Maybe the Xray tech was just a moron. :-)

>
>Man,just when you think you have made progress, they hit you over the
>head with another diagnosis of a new problem!

Next message: Katie: "Grinding, IR, and Jaw pain-a hypoglycemic problem?"
Previous message: anonymous: "Met and weight loss was Re: Just how many PCOSer's are overweight?"
In reply to: JEG: "Depression/Glucose Meter/More Cysts"
Next in thread: Sonnet: "Re: Depression/Glucose Meter/More Cysts"

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