[Swansea]

Started medication today. I have done the obvious exercise, supplements, yoga, meditation, AND i even did a run of chinese medication/acupuncture. I felt calmer but still didn't feel totally back to myself. So, I started zoloft today. I started at 12.5 mg and will bump it up to 25 mg in a week. So far today I feel more anxious and a bit more disconnected from my thoughts. A bit of an increase in derealization/depersonalization. I will keep the community posted by keeping a log of this medication trial. Thanks for reading!

 

[Hosscat]

Abilify has really helped me, it took a little over a week for the groggy foggy side effect to go away.

 

[Swansea]

Did you start out with abilify or did you try an anti-depresent first?

 

[lautje]

I started lexapro 4 days ago and my anxiety and dp become also worse, today is a better day

 

[Swansea]

lautje keep me posted on the lexapro and how it works for you!

 

[Hosscat]

I tried 3 different antidepressants, over the span of 8 months and they didn't help me until I started the abilify with one.

 

[Swansea]

makes sense. My psychologist who works closely with a psychiatrist has lots of patients on abilify and said it seems to work by "making the anti-depressent work better". My psych also said that since this is a dissociative disorder and usually brought on by some type of trauma its best to be in therapy in conjunction with medication EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy, etc. because medication allows your brain to re-balance itself so one can work through the trauma better. Glad you found something that works for you!

 

[Swansea]

Yeah, my day was interesting. I took the zoloft in the morning and felt a bit "wired" from it all day. Enough energy to finally clean my room. No real anxiety. Towards the evening I started feeling more and more depersonalized. The typical thoughts of i'm never going to come out of this. Who am I etc. Looking through past journals and writing when I wasn't depersonalized and feeling so distant from that past self. Got to stay positive though! Hopefully this medicine will lesson the symptoms. I'm glad the clonazepam and celexa has worked for you

 

[Swansea]

Today is my 4th day of zoloft 12.5. I am feeling better than I did the first 3 days. But, I still feel kind of tired and spacey which is making the depersonalization worse. I feel more calm though and less anxiety. I usually am constantly bouncing my leg or fidgeting from anxiety but not so much today. I do notice that things are still feeling a bit surreal.. familiar people sometimes seems unfamiliar and surreal. I guess this is all a part of the depersonalization. I'll continue to keep positing of this medication log and trial.

 

[branl]

There was test done on two depression/ anxiety people, after 3 months the person who exercised came out better off in terms of overall anxiety and depression, the guy on zoloft beniefted much faster in the beginning, until 3 months down the line, the guy who did not take meds came out better.

Just thought I would mention as you said zoloft, I think people take meds at of pure DESPERATION, I do believe to be why 99 percent of people with dp or depression do it, to get rid of the troubling feleings.

 

[branl]

citalopram increases my dp, but it also calms me down..but then I had to take lamotrigine to counter the effects of citalopram which was causing dp, but yet calm me down.

no win situation.

 

[Swansea]

Yeah I'm hoping that my DP is mainly from anxiety so If I calm the anxiety down with the zoloft I will slowly bounce out of the DP. I am also exercising, eating healthy, and doing cognitive behavoiral therapy and EMDR.

 

[lautje]

iltayloe , how did your dp started

 

[Swansea]

iltayloe , how did your dp started

It started with anxiety/ panic attacks. I have seen in briefly in moments through out the last 5 years. But, this time it has been chronic. It started after a week long panic attacks every day where I couldn't sleep and was extremely agorophobic. During and after the panic attacks I was experiencing a lot of dissociation. And, the dissociation kind of just stayed. I am in a fog. I feel disconnected from life and 'normal ' concerns. Things feel odd and the familiar feels unfamilar. I have intense existential ruminations. And, anxious bizarre intrusive thoughts. Lots of disconnect from a sense of self I once felt I knew. Also, the typical DP symptoms.. my voice doesnt feel like my own, etc.

The way I am looking at DP is that it is acquired from trauma or a build up of trauma. I had some traumatic events in my childhood and most recently I went through a really bad break up, moved to a different state, and had a really intense ending to a friendship too. I think all of this led to a state of anxiety and DP. I think dissociation is something I learned as a habit or escape route to trauma probably in my childhood. I am using medication to stop the Panic/Anxiety/ Social isolation cycle and as my therapist says once all of that calms down I will be able to do therapy and work through the trauma and emotions that lead me to the DP state in the first place. In my humble opinion it is difficult to actually do real therapeutic work when you are in a perpetual state of anxious stress and this is where the medication comes in (to break that cycle and calm your mind enough to honestly look at trauma and work through it).

 

[Swansea]

lautje, how did your DP start? And, how is the lexapro going?

 

[lautje]

I think its going well. And with yours ?

I always had these attacks since young age.
It lasted only seconds and it was like dp bit 1000 times worse.
2.5 years ago I had to much stress and I got afraid if these attacks to much. And then it was chronic.
I recovered.
Got pregnant. She came two months to early and it was v very scary and stressful.
So now it was to much for me and again got scared of the attacks and now its chronic again.

Those attacks are liked your to conscious about your own me.
When I was a child I did get them from thinking about life.

Before my first chronic dp I also had panic attacks. I think 4 months before.

 

[Swansea]

Yeah, that makes sense. That's about how my experience has been. Today is day 5 of zoloft. I don't feel any real benefit from it yet. I still feel foggy and a bit strange. I get really sleepy during the day and have to take a nap. There is definitely and increase in DP/DR but I'm hoping this will calm down when my body adjust s to the medication.

 

[lautje]

From who did youget the medication and what does he/she say about it.

 

[Swansea]

I got it my from my psychiatrist. I also see a therapist 2x a week who helps with the medication management among other things. They both say the first week or so will be rough and it will take about a month to take effect.

 

[lautje]

yes that's tue.
Do they think its gonna help you.