Emerging briefly

[avevale_intelligencer]

The DC has had a heart attack and is currently recovering well in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at King's Lynn (Tilney Ward). Good thoughts or prayers would be welcome, though she's up and about so probably won't be there long. We will be going up at some point, though I'm not sure when (Jan's only been saying we should since March. I am a failure as a son-in-law as well.)

I've been prescribed Duloxetine (Cymbalta) for the depression and CFS, but I've managed to frighten myself to death by reading the information leaflet, especially the bit about possible increase in suicidal ideation in the first stages, described as a "common side effect" IIRC. Anyone who has any experience of this stuff (or might be able to explain why it's named after a percussion instrument) and might be willing to share (by email or PM if preferred) will receive my warmest gratitude.

That's it for the moment. My trip to Flowers Hill for the WCA has been put back to 4th October, as has the gissa-job interview at the Jobcentre. Life has been fraught.

Comments

[eoforyth.livejournal.com]

Hugs to you and Jan, good wishes for the DC, and hope that familial nagging and worries will be kept to a minimum.

[billroper]

I'm sorry. Good luck!

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

I am on Cymbalta now. It's helping a lot with the nerve pain and a bit with the depression and the only problem I have had was when the mail-order pharmacy was too slow to deliver, so I ran out. OTOH, that did convince me the stuff was really working.

Nothing works for everyone, but it's been great for me -- hasn't even disturbed my wonky blood pressure.

Good luck with it, and best wishes to you all.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

Suicidal thoughts is not listed as a common side effect, just as a possible one ... and it's a possible side effect whenever you start taking an antidepressant, change meds, or change dosage ... put up signs around the house saying "am I feeling depressed and suicidal? It's the bloody meds!!"

http://depression.emedtv.com/cymbalta/cymbalta-side-effects.html

Good thoughts sent, prayers said, and obviously if you're going to be anywhere near Cambridge, it would be lovely to see you both, and there's a spare bed here too :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Very best wishes.

[lexin.livejournal.com]

the_magician said everything I was going to say. All SSRI's have this as a possible side effect and it's worth being aware that it can happen, but it probably won't.

I'm thinking of the DC, I hope she gets well soon.

[coth.livejournal.com]

Condolences.

And take care.

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

I am sorry to hear about the DC. Hugs all round.

All the ADs I've looked at mention suicidal thoughts as a possible side effect - not sure why, but they've never made me feel like that.

I miss you on FB - did you leave or did they decide your name couldn't be real?

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

Hope the DC continues to recover well.

I've been on Cymbalta for a number of years. It is by far my favourite anti-depressant that I've taken, and it seems to be most side effect free drug I've taken.

I echo what everyone else says about the suicidal thoughts. They have to list every bad thing that has ever happened with a drug.

[bedlamhouse]

Trying to find a good citation but rather tired of wading through the bulk of the "antidepressants are bad for you" articles.

The anecdotal reasoning seems to be that severe depression also depresses suicidal thoughts because the patient is just too depressed to even think about ways out of the situation, including suicide - and even fleeting thoughts get driven out by the effort required. Antidepressants in the initial stages give enough of a boost to the thought processes and emotions that these things become feasible rather than ridiculously difficult.

I did find a cite that the increase in suicidality (which includes both thoughts and actions) in children and adolescents (the most affected group) goes from 2% without antidepressants to 4% with them, so it certainly isn't a common side effect at all (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-antidepressants-cause)

I also found a cite that reports no statistical difference in the overall patient population until they are grouped by age, when the entire statistical increase in suicidality can be attributed to those 25 and under (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/antidepressants-increase-suicidal-thoughts-in-under25s-1770643.html) - a population to which many of us long-in-the-tooth fen no longer belong.

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

The anecdotal reasoning seems to be that severe depression also depresses suicidal thoughts because the patient is just too depressed to even think about ways out of the situation, including suicide - and even fleeting thoughts get driven out by the effort required. Antidepressants in the initial stages give enough of a boost to the thought processes and emotions that these things become feasible rather than ridiculously difficult.

Just wanted to echo what bedlamhouse said above. I remember being taught that this was a strong possibility and needed to be kept in mind as a possible side effect of many if not most anti-depressants.

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Just off the top of my head I would add the speculation that if one is already close to being suicidal, and then starting a new drug causes *any* of the possible yucky side-effects, then the thought of "Oh God, you mean I've got to put up with this* as well?!?" might just tip one over the edge. =:o\

Best antidote is to remember "I've just changed my meds, so things are going to be a bit extra-weird for a week or so. Just bite the pillow, or play a game of (whatever absorbs your attention most effectively), and one day soon the first of the 'not so bad'-ness will arrive.

[aunty_marion]

Sympathies for the DC, and hugs for both you and Jan.

I know a lot of people (virtually speaking, mostly) who are on Cymbalta for the CFS, and as far as I know none of them have committed suicide or mentioned wanting to so far, so I think you'll be OK. Mind you, I remember reading the small print on the antibiotics which said they might cause breathing difficulties, and the steroids (for the asthma) which said they might cause a reduced immune system and increased susceptibility to infections... Well, I thought, since I was taking both at the same time, with luck they cancelled each other out leaving me no worse off!

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

My thoughts are with you. *hugs*

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

My best wishes to the DC for a quick recovery, and my sympathy to you and Jan.

I remember reading through the frequency of side effects for some drug (don't remember what anymore) and thinking "oh, this causes a lot of problems, doesn't it?" Except that being me I read through the whole thing and noticed that the frequency of problems was noticeably higher in the group of people who took the placebo instead.

Being me, I found that very reassuring. And the pills themselves gave me no problems.

[valydiarosada.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for a good recovery to the DC. I'm sure the hospital won't let her out until they think she's ready. When my mother had her heart attack, she assumed she would be out within a week, and was kept in for what seemed a very long time.

As for the possible side effects, remember they are *possible* side effects. That does not mean you will get them.

And Zander, you are *not* a failure. :)

Best of luck with the interview at the Job Centre.

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

[HUGS] and [PRAYERS] and "Oops, how did I manage to miss this when it went up?"s. =:o{

How are things going?