support and advice about anti depressants

Hi. I've suffered from bouts of different types of tms for years. The most challenging is when I put out my back and am incapacitated for several days. That's what's happening now. I bent over while on vacation several days ago and felt those two classic zaps of electricity in my back and then the muscles starting to spasm . But it could easily have happened sitting down doing nothing. It got better and then worse and for the last couple of days I've been laid up in bed only getting up to go to the bathroom but with great difficulty. today I started getting a new symptom which I've never had which is severe pain in my hip and down my leg. Even the strongest painkillers only make a slight dent if at all. It's so depressing to be here again since I've worked on my tms for years including with tms therapists. It all helps but I still get these Debilitating episodes.

I've also been struggling with What seems to be menopause triggered anxiety The last few months . I've even started taking Zoloft which I never had before. I would have thought that it would help my TMS but apparently not. The doctor wants to switch me to an SNRI. I read that Cymbalta is prescribed for fibromyalgia ( which Sarno says is basically just bad TMS) But the doc thought that effexor might be a better choice.I'm not sure if he's putting the pain/TMS in the same category as anxiety or not but I look at all of it as one big anxiety disorder.. Has anyone tried an anti depressant for their tms and is there one considered more effective than another? Though I know these meds are very individual.

Anyhow, was just looking for some general support from other like-minded people who suffer from similar things. All sympathy/empathy welcome .

 

Meds or No meds... It doesn't really effect the TMS. Most of us have used meds in the past by the time we are desperate enough to be open minded about TMS. If they worked effectively at banishing pain, we probably wouldn't have ended up here.

Even Sarno was OK with painkillers. If you need a 'breather' to begin to work on your repressed ANGER which is what is causing your pain it's fine. It's kind of all in YOUR head...If you know you are not relying on them to relieve pain (ssri's or opiates) than they are helpful. If you think they are doing more than covering up, they could act like a placebo. If you feel like you need them for anxiety and they work, than take them... you won't be able to quiet down and honestly reflect inside on the very painful things we need to look at if you can't settle down.

That Pain in your hip and down your leg is Sciatica and it was the number one symptom that brought me here in '99. It is my 'number one' reminder tickler...anytime I feel some weird shit below my hips it is time to sit down and reflect...why am I angry? What am I angry about? What am I NOT angry about that Ought to provoke an emotional response?

e.g. Today I just found out my ex is remarrying. We've been divorced for 8 years. I know that since I felt 'nothing' when I heard the news I need to go sit down and write about it... or I might get a mysterious 'symptom' in the next few days.... TMS work is preventative as well!!!

 

Anti-depressants seem to work best for people for people who think they work. If you want to feel better, and believed pills can help you do that, they may help. Meds help some peolpe feel better; this temporary relief can be helpful at times.

In my opinion, the idea is that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance is a fiction utterly unsupported by science and shamelessly pushed by the drug companies.

I believe real, lasting change in how an individual feels generally involves them changing their thoughts and behaviors. The thoughts and actions we choose determine how we feel. Depression, and the physiological changes in brain chemistry that go with it, are the result if how we think and behave, and not the other way around.

 

Agreed 100%.

Imbalanced neurotransmitters are often the result of prolonged stress and elevated cortisol, which not only depletes us of inhibitory such as serotonin, but damages serotonin receptors. This damage is COMPLETELY reversible, once one learns how to manage stress and turn off their sympathetic nervous system response (AKA “fight-or-flight mode”).

SNRIs such as Effexor and Cymbalta have incredibly short half lives, sometimes making them more difficult to discontinue than other anti-depressants. It’s absolutely possible to come off of them (the body WILL heal itself after using anti-depressants, and don’t listen to anybody who says otherwise!), but it may require extra time. I’ve been there myself. Actually, I basically had to come off Cymbalta cold turkey after four and a half months - my taper barely lasted over two weeks - because my body genetically couldn’t process the medication, as evidenced by Genomind testing. It wasn't fun. This is why I always recommend genetic testing to anyone who takes these medications. What is effective for you might be very bad or ineffective for someone else, so it's ultimately impossible for us to answer your question regarding which medications are better than others.

If you really need some assistance, perhaps consider trying a natural solution like inositol - it’s non-addictive, naturally created in the body, won’t lead to withdrawal, sensitizes your serotonin receptors, and helps you actually create more serotonin. Anti-depressants desensitize serotonin receptors, only recycle existing serotonin (as opposed to creating it), down-regulate your serotonin, and can be more challenging to come off of, especially when they’re SNRIs with shorter half lives.

Additionally, if you need a natural supplement that can reduce/balance your cortisol and help with anxiety as well as better overall brain function, I recommend Phosphatidylserine. It’s non-addictive and doesn’t require tapering, so no withdrawal potential: https://www.invitehealth.com/article-phosphatidylserine-a-superhero-for-your-brain.html (Phosphatidylserine: A Superhero for Your Brain)

I had severe anxiety throughout my childhood. I wrote about wanting to die and hating myself in my diary when I was 9 years old, I wouldn’t go on field trips without my mother chaperoning because I was afraid of suffocating and not having a parent there to help me (I didn’t even have asthma), I stopped eating solid foods when I was 11 because I was afraid I’d choke to death, my parents say I was obsessed with washing my hands in preschool, etc. Neuroplasticity and retraining my brain, as well as learning how to love and accept myself, have been far more beneficial to me than any medication. Why? Because my stress response created the neurotransmitter imbalance. After many years of this, my sympathetic nervous system went into overdrive, causing my physical TMS symptoms.

I remember reading about a man who genetically cannot make any serotonin. He has symptoms such as obesity from non-stop carb cravings (low serotonin can often lead to binge eating and a desire for carbs), but depression isn’t one of them. He doesn’t experience any emotional issues. Scientists, doctors, and psychiatrists don’t understand the brain, the body, and its neurotransmitters nearly as much as they’d like us to believe.

 

The others said it already: antidepressants will not bring a miracle healing. I tried amitriptyline and I would say it helped me over the worst phase with anxiety but that's it. If I at that time already have known Claire Weekes I might not have taken them.
A word about menopause: I am in menopause - I guess I am almost finished. I had heat flushes, sometimes still have. I cannot sleep and I sometimes have mood swings. But I don't consider menopause a disease. If your hormones are totally out of balance then hormones would be better than an anti-depressant. There are also natural hormones, I don't know if they are strong enough.

And to Baseball65: oh I know! My experience: of course do I wish my ex-husband well. Somehow. Somehow not. My situation: he married two years after the divorce, has children with his younger wife - he didn't want children with me. I am still single, TMSing and no, I don't wish him too well And there is letting go, yes I do. If there still is anger and rage: let it out!