What You Should Know About the Drug Zoloft

Zoloft is a type of antidepressant drug that falls into a category known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Zoloft works with the brain's chemicals that cause anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic attacks as well as post-traumatic stress and premenstrual dysphoric disorders. Zoloft may also be used for other purposes as well.

Zoloft should never be taken within fourteen days of taking a MAOI. Anti-depressants have been reported to induce suicidal thoughts in patients under the age of twenty-four. Zoloft has been approved for treating children with OCD, but has not been approved for depression treatment in children.

Your doctor should be contacted immediately if you experience any new or worsened symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks or changes in behavior or mood. Also, notify your doctor if you experience feelings of impulse, irritability, agitation, hostility, aggression, restlessness, mental or physical hyperactivity, increased depression, or thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Babies born to mothers who used Zoloft during pregnancy are at a higher risk of experiencing lung problems. On the contrary, a relapse into depression is a possibility if antidepressant usage is halted during pregnancy. If you plan to become pregnant, speak with your doctor before stopping treatment.

Facts about Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral Neuropathy is a disorder of the peripheral nervous system. There are two parts to the human nervous system, the central nervous system, which is made up of the spinal cord and the brain, and the peripheral nervous system, which is all of the other nerves in the body. The peripheral nervous system is responsible for the sensory nerves that we use to recognize touch, heat and pain. Another part of the peripheral nervous system is the motor nerves that control the muscles. Autonomic nerves that control heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and functions of the bladder are also part of the peripheral nervous system.

Numbness and pain in your feet and hands may be a symptom of Peripheral Neuropathy. Peripheral Neuropathy pain is usually described as a burning or tingling sensation with a loss of feeling that compares with wearing a glove or thin sock.

Peripheral Neuropathy can be caused by problems with metabolism, toxin exposure, traumatic injury, or infection. Among the most popular causes of Peripheral Neuropathy is diabetes.
In most cases, symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy will get better with time, particularly if an underlying condition found to be the cause and is treated. The symptoms of pain caused by Peripheral Neuropathy have also been known to be treated with the same medications used to treat other disorders such as depression and epilepsy.

Letter to a Friend

Hi there Mark,

(snip)

I am sorry to hear your diagnosis of FMS. It is a horror condition – it took about 10 years for me to be diagnosed (even as a child I had ‘growing pains’), and coupled with the other things I have wrong, the pain is multiplied. I am also suffering from depression (diagnosed postnatal but again, I have had it for years) so the tablets for me are a double blessing – they keep my mood on an even keel, and help me sleep (which is good for the FMS). My FMS primarily presents as multiple joint pain, inflammation and swelling, as well as problems with my tendons and ligaments and bursae. But I also have skin sensations (it feels like someone has put dry ice on the backs of my hands), brain fog (not being with it, extreme forgetfulness) and fatigue (needing to collapse on the lounge of an afternoon). I have digestive problems (ulcers, reflux and excess acid production, which has affected my teeth), and I also grind my teeth of a night time (which has caused the enamel to wear off my back teeth – FMS also leeches calcium from your teeth first, which can cause enamel problems), and I get bad hay fever (and even when I don’t have hay fever, I have a blocked or runny nose and gunky eyes). Muscle twitches, panic attacks, Raynaud’s (cold and blotchy hands), and flare ups in bad weather also drive me mad. There are so many symptoms that go hand in hand with FMS, or that can be directly attributed to it.

Before I fell pregnant with Erin I was taking Epilim by itself, and it took the edge off the pain. I suspect if I had have taken them for longer they’d have worked better, but you can’t take them when you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, and I have not gone back to them once I stopped. You don’t have to take them with anything else – they are actually a medication for epilepsy, but doctors discovered that they inhibit the chemical in your brain that ‘feels’ pain, so after a period of time your pain sensations are lessened. Being male, you can’t get pregnant or breastfeed, so I’d definitely give them a go for a few months and see what happens. You’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

I now take painkillers for flare-ups, and I deal with the day to day pain without medication. I am on tablets for insulin resistance (I have PCOS) and that helps with the brain fog and forgetfulness, so I’m only on two medications at the moment. I usually take digesic but I am currently out of them, and I have endone but they are not doing much good (apart from helping me sleep). I used to take tramadol, but you can’t take it with Zoloft, unfortunately.

I am on Zoloft (the antidepressant, or AD) and although it is not addictive as such, I am a little scared to come off it, as I don’t like how I was before I was taking it. I was a bit of a mess, and I feel so much better on it, so there’s no real reason to stop. You can even take it when you’re pregnant and breastfeeding, which is good. You don’t have to take them with the Epilim. But, if you’re on antidepressants, DON’T stop them suddenly – you need to start and stop them gradually, and any changes to your dose need to be monitored. You can get a rush of symptoms when you alter the dosage, so see you doctor if you want to stop them. But it is not addictive like cigarettes or heroin ha ha.

As for getting sleep, I don’t know what you’ve tried so I’ll pretend you’ve tried nothing yet.

• Warm milk works, and we have a milk additive here called Horlicks – it is a malted barley drink that can help you get to sleep (you put it in warm milk), you might have something similar over there.
• You can get herbal medications, but if you’re on ADs you need to check with the place you get the herbal medicines from (for example you can’t take St John’s Wort with ADs) .Valerian is good for sleep.
• Limit afternoon naps to less than 40 minutes, and try not to nap at all.
• If you are in bed and can’t sleep, get up and sit in dim lighting for a little while, then go back to bed when you start getting tired. Lying in bed when you can’t sleep is not only frustrating, but counter productive.
• If you need to get up during the night because you can’t sleep, read a book quietly (don’t put on the tv) and don’t get too stimulated.
• Don’t go to bed if you are not tired, but when you feel tired (even if this is earlier or later than your normal bedtime) – don’t go to bed at 10pm just because it’s your normal bedtime.
• But don’t vary your bedtime too much – try to get a good 9 hours, between the same times (don’t go to bed at 9pm one night and midnight the next, try to keep to the same hours). My Mark can’t go to bed early because, well, “It’s too early”, even if he is dog tired. He thinks he needs to sit up until 11pm!
• No alcohol or caffeine before bedtime (some people suggest three hours before bed) and no physical or strenuous activity.
• No computer and television – turn them off a bit before bed.
• And the bed is for sleep (and sex ha ha) – don’t read or watch tv in bed.

Exercise is highly recommended for FMS, but it is easier said than done. I am normally too tired or too sore, although I know if will help a lot of other conditions I have.

Anyway this got a little long – I only just said to my Mark you forget how much you know until you need to remember it. I hope you managed to read this far, and I hope even more than you got something out of it.

All the best for a great New Year and 2008. Please, feel free to write any time. I have a business writing content and articles for websites, so if I don’t know the answer, it normally takes me only a few seconds to find it!

L

How Much Longer Do I Have to Wait?

For this injection to work? Went on the biennial post Boxing Day shopping trip with my family, and I am in sooooo much pain. Admittedly, the pain is an iota less than it normally would be, so I suppose I should be thankful for small mercies - but the pain is definitely still there. I probably should not have been expecting a miracle.

I Am Officially Either an Old Lady or a Hypochondriac

I got a pair of crutches the other day, the kind with the brace that goes around the arm. The funny thing is, they actually make me hurt more to use them - my whole side cramps and my arm aches for a day afterwards. Ha!
And I got an injection into my thigh; to be more specific, a cortisone injection into my greater trochanteric bursae. The local they gave with the cortisone worked after about 10 minutes (try and figure the logic in that) and now it feels as though my hip has been smacked by a cricket bat. I hope this works (in the long run)!

Grandma Shoes

Hurrah! Thank goodness for Grandma shoes! I can now shop for more than 17 minutes and be pain free! I LOVE Homey Peds, and when I can find the same shoe in my size in black, I'll get them too! I can't believe how comfortable they are!

Endone and Coke

So I took two the other night as the pain was excruciating, and all it did was make me wake up every 20 minutes thinking to myself "Has the pain gone yet?". And then in the wee hours of the morning I lay awake waiting for the pain to come back. So the fact I was waiting for it to come back must have meant it actually went away at some stage, so perhaps it did work after all. I was going to complain about how the Endone didn't work, but now the point is moot.
Did housework today and after about 40 minutes my feet were burning and the pain from my hips had wrapped itself around my thigh again, but it is okay now. I don't suppose the Coke Zero I am drinking will help the pain in my hands and the headache that is threatening to take over, but will that stop me drinking it?

Shoes and Achey Feet

Went to the shopping centre today at Parramatta, with the aim of looking in a shoe shop that is reputed to have very comfortable and 'healthy' shoes. The shoes are meant to be good for bad feet, joints, hips etc. Well, for the price tag they'd want to be. They were about $180 a pair. So mum and I turned around and walked right back out again, and we went to the chemist downstairs where I got a lovely pair of Homey Peds for $100. Now, most of the time I put on a pair of shoes and they hurt straight away, so I was very surprised to slip the Homeys on and find there were no sore bits, nothing rubbing, just padded bliss. I am looking forward to my next shopping day with them on, and although my feet will probably burn at some stage, I am sure it won't be as quickly as they normally do. The shoes are a little on the grandmotherly side, but not overly so, and they're comfortable! Joy!

Plantar Fasciitis

One of the most common causes of heel pain is known as Plantar Fasciitis. Anybody can develop this condition; it affects men and women equally. Mainly young people get affected. It may cause severe pain while getting out of the bed or while starting any activity; pain disappears as soon as body gets warm.

As a result of overnight tightening of the fascia, pain usually gets worse in the morning, and starts to decrease once you are up and moving; pain may return in the evening because of long hours of standing or long hours of sitting.

Some of the common causes of Planter Fasciitis are: Shoes that do not fit, long hours of standing or sitting in the one position, wrong athletic training, tightness of foot, high heeled shoes etc.

Most common symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis are:

Severe pain in the inner part of the bottom of your heel.
Swollen heels; the swelling is usually mild.
Heel pain while getting out of the bed.
Pain in the heel in the evening, when going to bed.
Heel pain while playing sports etc.

The above symptoms may differ person to person, If you notice these symptoms, do not avoid them and seek medical attention.

New Additions...

Went off to the doctor's today to see about the scans I had done yesterday.
I have a ganglion in my left hand. A ganglion is a cyst that forms in a joint, most usually due to wear and tear and sometimes due to an injury. I think mine occurred because my daughter likes to pull on my fingers and she probably tore the tendon. The cyst is filled with a clear jelly like goop, and is not always painful (although mine is - very painful!) and they can sometimes go away on their own. Since mine's been there since at least the beginning of the year, if not before, I don't like my chances of the ganglion just disappearing. My options then are surgery (not a chance) or to have the ganglion injected with cortisone. In any case, both have to be done by an orthopedic surgeon, so it's money we don't have yet. I will just have to put up with it for the time being.
My left foot is another story. I have arthritis there, and a spur on the heel. A spur is extra growth of bone, and it occurs around a site of inflammation or injury - in my case, the inflammation is because I have both Achilles tendonitis (inflammation where the Achilles tendon joins the heel bone) and plantar fasciitis (inflammation of the thick band of tissues that stretch across the bottom of your foot, joining to your heel at the bottom). Nothing I can do about that but get comfortable shoes ('daggy shoes' my doctor calls them lol) and exercise. When we first moved into our home, I used to spend the whole day doing housework and by the time I finished, my heels were burning. I put it down to the fact I was brought up in a house with floorboards, which have lot more give than our new house with a concrete foundation.
Now at least I know some of my pain has a name and a reason. So, I am getting some answers for the aches I have had for so many years - although, I still put the unknown down the the fibromyalgia LOL.

Bursitis

Bursitis is the inflammation of a tiny sac that is filled with fluid and works to reduce the amount of friction within the body's tissues, known as bursa. There are one hundred sixty of these sacs of fluid located throughout the human body. The major ones are found in large joints adjacent to the tendons in the knees, elbows, shoulders and hips.

The bursa in the joints becomes inflamed due to infection, injury or an underlying condition. Bursitis can come from not much stimuli at all. You could get Bursitis in your shoulder simply by lifting groceries into you vehicle. A scrape on your knee could cause Bursitis in that area. Gout crystals can cause Bursitis in the elbow.

Bursitis can be diagnosed for pain, swelling and tenderness in the tissues around the area. X-rays can be used to diagnose recurrent or chronic pain from Bursitis.
The presence of infection helps to determine the treatment for Bursitis. If no infection is present, the treatment is simply rest, cold compresses and medication. In some cases, removal of the bursa fluid is necessary. If infection is present, treatment that is more aggressive is required, such as surgery to drain the fluid or remove the infected sac and intravenous medication. Joints generally function properly after healing.

Hoorah!

and Huzzah! Not a lot of pain today. Just the annoying soreness in my left hand, where my daughter pulled on my finger and tore the tendon. I am going back to the docs today and I will see if I can get another cortisone injection, into the back of the knuckle. But the fibromyalgia is sleeping...

Pain Tolerance

I know that FMS can lower your pain tolerance, and I am pretty sure that's why with
the bursitis in my thighs/hips, I am in so much pain at the moment. But I don't
know why the bursitis is so bad. I am sleeping okay, and for a change in the morning
I am (almost) bounding out of bed. Well, I don't need to sit on the edge of the bed for a few minutes before I can walk, like I normally do. I will have to start doing my exercises again, and try to stretch the joint and surrounding area so it's not as painful.
Having said all of that, the general pain I feel all over my body is lessening, and I think I can put it down to losing a bit of weight. We went to the doctor's the other day (when I got the cool painkillers) and I saw a new doctor, who told me that there is growing evidence to support the theory that excess weight can lead to more things that people first thought, including depression and fibromyalgia. It stands to reason then, that if I lose a little more 
weight the FMS should start to get better, and we already know the link between depression and FMS. And it will definitely help the insulin resistance and PCOS, so I am well on my way to being tablet free!

Slight Reprieve

I was not too bad today - the pain held off, and only popped its head up when I got out of the chair (we were visiting for lunch). Only one hip played up, but then the other started just as the first settled down! And my hands were aching as well. Odd, but not unexpected. I am going to try and get to sleep earlier tonight, as I am getting my hair done tomorrow and need to be up earlier! I hope the chair at the salon doesn't make my neck sore. I don't want to be suffering while trying to enjoy my new hair style!

The Pain of it All

We went to a local street fair today, and I am in so much pain now it is not funny. FMS rears its ugly head! Last night my hips killed, and I was back to hobbling. Today, oddly enough, my hands and knuckles are sore. I can only assume that I overdid it yesterday and my tolerance is down.

I slept pretty well, although I did get to sleep late (after midnight) so maybe that has something to do with it. But I didn't have a nap in the afternoon, so I should be okay.
It is so hard balancing sleep and not sleeping.
There should be a definitive manual on fibromyalgia.
Alas, it is just a matter of trial and error - and even then it doesn't always work!