Anti-depression Meds

[dionnek]

Well, I've been gluten-free for 6 months now with no improvement (just had another biopsy and still show flattened villi) and am seriously considering anti-depression medication. Does anyone have any recommendations for meds that are (obviously) gluten-free and will NOT cause sleeplessness or weight gain? I've already gained 13 pounds (NOT needed!) since going gluten-free (probably due to my thyroid going from hypo to hyper to hypo again in the past 5 months) and I hardly sleep b/c I"m in the bathroom most of the night. My sister and mom have been on and off of the meds (neither of them have been tested for celiac) but I always thought I could control my "bad moods", but now, with the celiac diagnosis, the depression and mood swings is just affecting too much of my life, and I think I need to try something! Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Canadian Karen]

Hi! I can sooooo relate..... My collagenous colitis is very nocturnal - up most of the night as that is when it decides to be most active.....

In regards to anti-depressants, it's hard to give advice unless I know what country you are in. What's gluten free in Canada may not be gluten free somewhere else. To that regard, in Canada, both Prozac and Wellbutrin are gluten free as I am on both......

Good Luck!

Karen

[Marlene]

You might want to look into a product called Anxius. I found it on the web. Please note: I do NOT know if this product is gluten free or not since I have not needed it since going gluten free. You could contact the company. I took it before I was diagnosed and it REALLY helped with my depression. My doctor had put me on Effexor but I had the most horrible side effects after just taking one half dose. They give you a little handout with the Effexor and it says in bold type "Call your doctor immediately if you begin experiencing any of the following" and goes on to list a number of side effects such as hallucinations, excessive sweating, panic attacks, vomiting, diahrea, tremors and shaking, etc. etc. I had every one and they lasted for over 24 hours. That made me look into something natural. I tried Anxius and within a few days, my mood began to lift. I was on it for about 6 months and can't say enough about it. No side effects either. Just make sure it is gluten free before you order it.

Hope this helps,

Marlene

[Budew]

I am trying Amitriptyline, 5 mg is all I can tolerate. I think it is helping but not really convinced yet, I have been on it 3 weeks.

[key]

Lexapro 10mg has worked for me well. I don't have too many noticeable side effects. If I do, I am not sure it is from the Lexapro. It has helped me have a more positive outlook about being sick all the time!! HA! It has helped me alot I think. I also quit homeschooling my oldest son, so that relieved alot of stress and responsibility.

I am sorry you are still sick. IT does stink! I would definitely try something to get you through the healing process.

MONica

[cathzozo]

If at all possible, go see a psychiatrist. They will spend more time talking to you about your actual symptoms and make the attempt to pick a medication that will actually help you. Also, please realize that it's somewhat of a guessing game with these medications. So, if it's not right - go back and talk to them again until it is the right dosage and medication combo for you.

Typically, a primary care doctor is likely to prescribe an SSRI, which is great for some people and problems, but isn't the thing for everyone.

You didn't mention it, but if you don't see a therapist, you might consider that. Therapy combined with meds made such a huge difference for me. Looking back, I can't believe I put off treatment so long. I no longer go to therapy, and I'm weaning off the meds, but it's been a couple years. It seems that if you stay on the medications longer, your brain actually "heals" itself somewhat. That doesn't mean you will necessarily need it your whole life, but at the minimum try to take the meds for 9 mos - 1 yr, to give your body that time.

Good luck!

[eleep]

I can relate to the "can't control the mood swings" aspect of starting this whole diet -- I had a terrible time with it for a number of months, although I was going through some pretty intense personal stuff at the time as well.

I have had luck in the past with Wellbutrin -- which is gluten free, but I haven't taken it since the diagnosis. I did have a couple of weeks of restless sleep when I started it, but that disappeared once my body adjusted.

My therapist actually didn't want to put me on meds after the diagnosis, but instead referred me to an amazing acupuncturist after I finally begged him to -- which has had an amazing effect on both my overall mood state and my ability to control moods. I wouldn't want to recommend it instead of meds since you're the best judge of what you can/want to deal with, but I could definitely see it as a good adjunct to meds.

At the moment, I'm only really feeling the need for meds when I've been glutened and then it's a short-term anti-anxiety type thing.

eleep

[dionnek]

Thanks everyone for all the info! I am in the U.S. My thyroid meds need to be adjusted again, so I am going to talk to my endo about some of these antidepressants. I'm so glad to have found this group

[plantime]

I second the Lexapro. My dosage was upped to 20 mg when the seasons changed, and the difference in my mood and 'tude is spectacular! By all means, talk to your doc. You might also want to talk to a therapist, as drugs are not the answer for everyone.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I'm not sure this can help your situation, but the one time I was depressed, my doctor switched me form Synthroid to Levothroid (exact same dosage!), saying that many of her patients did not do well on Synthroid. I then felt well enough to go first for walks and then for jogs, and that helped ENORMOUSLY.

The odd thing, though, is that after that doctor retired, the new one put me back on Synthroid--and so far, I seem to be fine (it's been 2 years).

[Mayster]

I am on Cymbalta. It is also gluten free and a newer drug on the market.

[StrongerToday]

Ditto the Lexapro! I've had very good luck with it and one of the pleasant side effects for me is that it's really helped to control my stressed induced IBS! I did work with a therapist when I started taking it, that helped me a lot too. I'd recommend doing both.

[key]

StrongerToday,

yeah, I went on the Lexapro for IBS. It has helped with the IBS part. Although I am having some fun reflux right now.

Monica

[wolfie]

Another vote for Lexapro. I am on 20 mg and it has done wonders for me. I am much less stressed, anxious and generally much nicer to be around! LOL! I thought about going off of it, but my dr talked me out of it until after winter and I am glad she did.

[sillyken]

I'm taking Cymbalta and Klonapin (Clonazapan) which are both Gluten Free. I always check with my Pharmasist. They should have a way of looking things up.

Ken

[jerseyangel]

I"m very interested in this topic. Yesterday, I spoke to my doctor about possibly trying something for my anxiety.

I'm leaning towards trying Zoloft--in a small dose to begin with. I'm a little nervous about it, but after talking to the doctor, my husband and a friend who takes this, and doing some research on my own, I'm thinking I will give it a try.

[GFinVA]

Jerseyangel - I have been dealing with anxiety issues for many years and have had great luck with Prozac. If you are going to explore this route I would HIGHLY recommend starting with a 10mg dose for 3-4 weeks and then increasing to the 20mg (which seems to be the "normal" dosage). I have taken it for about 6 years with great results and no notable side effects. I also felt strange about talking to my doctor at first, but the medicine has really increased my quality of life. I know meds are not right for everyone, but they're definitely right for me!

Good luck!

[jesscarmel]

hi

i have been on a bunch of such meds inclouding paxil, effexor and now celexa. for anyone who is thinking of trying any please be aware of the difficulty you can have when you want to go on them. i, like many others, have had major withdrawl symptoms when trying to taper off.

jess

[Amanda L]

Everyone reacts differently to anti depressants, so what works for one may not work for another. Like, my dad took Paxil. Worked great, and no problems starting or stopping it. I took it, and was miserably sick the first 2 weeks, then suddenly the icky feeling went away. But, it made me shake really bad. As in, I couldn't write or anything. So I had to wean off of it. That was pure hell. Went to Celexa, which helped greatly, but once again, coming off it was awful. I also took Remeron and Effexor, and I've heard nasty stories about those, but had no problems. I took all this for post partum depression after having my kids.

Now, I take Celexa and Seroquel because I am bipolar. Celexa works okay, not as good as it did when I took it for PPD. Seroquel is God to me. LOVE that stuff.

Good luck. Depression sucks.

[Budew]

I recently began 5 mg of Amitripyline. I feel better but don't know if it is the meds or the diet changes.

Effexor was a horrible story for me with long term use.

Zyprexa was the absolute worst. Huge weight gain. 70 lbs in 2 months. I did not eat more.

Quitting them both was an awful 5 week adjustment period. Lost all 70lbs.

[lindalee]

I just took melatonin and it helped me. No meds.

[jknnej]

I recommend Effexor or Cymbalta. I've tried both but I'm on Cymbalta now. Lexapro is mainly for anxiety and did nothing for my depression when I was on it.

[Rebecca47]

I have been on Zoloft since January of 2006, I started at 50 mg a day and slowly worked up to 150mg a day. I feel better some days i think I need more, but I do feel better. I call them my Happy pills.

rebecca

[Shalia]

Well, I've been gluten-free for 6 months now with no improvement (just had another biopsy and still show flattened villi) and am seriously considering anti-depression medication. Does anyone have any recommendations for meds that are (obviously) gluten-free and will NOT cause sleeplessness or weight gain? I've already gained 13 pounds (NOT needed!) since going gluten-free (probably due to my thyroid going from hypo to hyper to hypo again in the past 5 months) and I hardly sleep b/c I"m in the bathroom most of the night. My sister and mom have been on and off of the meds (neither of them have been tested for celiac) but I always thought I could control my "bad moods", but now, with the celiac diagnosis, the depression and mood swings is just affecting too much of my life, and I think I need to try something! Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

If you can swing it, Lamictal. It's weight neutral, won't cause sleeplessness, and is good as an antidepressant if you are having mood swings. It's generally only given to bipolars, though. It's technically an anti-convulsant (aka for epilepsy) but it's FDA approved for bipolar depression and "treatment resistant unipolar depression". It'll also cause headaches from hell and can in very rare cases cause a life threatening rash. So grain of salt there. But it's exactly what you are asking for. It'll make you sleepy and it won't make you fat.

Everything else people have suggested can make you fatter. Especially if you are already prone. Lexapro is an SSRI. Effexor and Cymbalta screw with EVERYTHING mentally, seratonin, norepinephrine, AND dopamine. I wouldn't touch them with 30 foot poles. (But everything makes me manic, so... I mean, sudafed makes me manic. I won't TOUCH Effexor.)

Outside that? Strattera. It may cause mild sleeplessness, but nowhere near the level of Wellbutrin, which is the other weight neutral (actually, weight losing) drug. Strattera is a fight to get, because everyone will want to give you an SSRI first. But they can make you fat. *shrug*

You can also go uber-natural, and get 5-HTP from the health food store. It'll help your body CREATE more seratonin from scratch, rather than needing to reuptake what you already have. That'll likely at least tell you two things: whether or not you are seratonin deficient and whether or not you are bipolar. Because trust me, if you are bipolar, you'll know it in days of taking 5-HTP. Mania inducing stuff THAT is. Without a good "downer" you'd be to the moon.

If you want weight neutral, stay away from the SSRI's. And don't let them give you Effexor. It has a harsher withdrawl profile than HEROIN. Evil drug. (I can find a link if you'd like.)

For good info on mental health meds (although the language can be kinda harsh) check out Open Original Shared Link and read there. They have tons of info. Kassiane (from that site) posted on here a few times. She's a friend of mine. Jerod is the owner of the site and she helps with research.

Good luck. Angle for Lamictal. It's honestly a good antidepressant. It's what you are looking for. It's what *I'd* ask for. (Except Lamictal makes me manic.) Hope you get the help you need!

[Amanda L]

See, I took Lamictal before trying Seroquel, and I was sicker than a dog. I was SO DIZZY I couldn't walk down the stairs without feeling like I was going to fall down. It was horrible. The only side effects I've had on the Seroquel is tiredness after beginning it and after increasing the dose (but that went away after about 3 days or so).