Good Morning

[Lindsey4477]

Good Morning,

I am 37, female and single mum to 2 children, 10 & 14.

I do not know whether I have anxiety that leads to depression or it is something else. In the past I have had fluoxetine, Cipramil and Effexor.

The first two did not help at all, I just wanted to sleep, the GP then decided to try Effexor, which for the first couple of weeks made me feel full of energy and 'alive', then I felt tired all the time and I had a craving for alcohol which I gave in to, a bottle of red would not have much effect.
whilst on Effexor I gained 2 stones in weight. I have not taken this drug for almost a year now and still cannot lose the weight.

I get really anxious about things and miss out on a lot of stuff due to just shutting myself away in the house. Problems with my daughters behaviour don't help at all.
The Effexor did my relationship no favours at all and my partner ended things with me last June, I have not had the confidence to meet anyone since.
I have major issues with my body too which does not help.

I am looking forward to speaking to people who are and have also got over problems like mine because it's very lonely to feel like this.
Medication wise I really do not know whether to go back to the GPs, if I put any more weight on I really do not know how I would deal with it.

Linds x

[SADnomore]

:welcome: Lindsey!

I'm sure there are other ladies on the forum with the same problems as you, and also other ladies who are stuck where you are at and could use a pal. There are other medications which do not cause weight gain. I would speak to your doctor. Good luck, hun, hang in there. :flowers:
Marie
p.s., I think your thread got bumped by a whole flood of other threads just after you posted, so hopefully my reply will bump it up once more! :)

[Daisy Sue]

Hi Lindsey, welcome to the forum :)

It's really difficult to figure out what our symptom triggers are sometimes.. whether it's depression feeding anxiety, the other way round, or something else feeding the whole thing.

I know how hard it is to be a single mum, coping with the trials & tribulations of growing (and possibly emotionally fragile) kids, plus finding some kind of acceptance that your marriage is over and you're now solely responsible for the kids and yourself - been there, in case you didn't guess ;)

All that will sort itself out in time, we're stronger than we realise, but in the meantime I'd advise just try and take one baby step at a time... don't worry about things like excess weight just now, prioritize your goals and tackle them in order of their importance in your life. I'd probably say your medication for the way you're feeling would be the first goal.. maybe go back to the doctor and see what else they can offer you, and maybe ask if there's any support for you.

The weight and the going out issues can be sorted out once you're feeling on a more even keel, and you'll have more confidence to face those issues by then, too.

Good luck - you can do this :)

[bimmer18]

Hey Lindsey...I thought I posted when you first wrote but evidently it didn't show. So sorry you are going through this. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to try different medications, go through the side effects, not like how it feels, try a new med and repeat the cycle. I'd be going crazy too!! You should definitely go back to the doc. I'd find a therapist to talk to as well...medication doesn't always work alone.

Also hopefully you build positive, healthy relationships here and can apply that in your daily life. I doubt the medication alone was what caused the the relationship to end. ...I'm sure your partner had some issues as well. No one is perfect. And you're probably better off. But I am assuming now.

I'm so glad you're here and hope you find some comfort.
♥♡☆★