A New Aloneness

[Gwenivere]

Karen, I've never taken Zoloft, but when I first started on Paxil I was a mess for weeks.  It made me dizzy and anxious.  I'm sure it affected my digestion too.  I fun get used to it, but switched to Celaxa as it was much kinder on side effects.  Steve took Effexor with no probe, but he could take anything sans side effects.  You are right, you know your body.  Did you do any research about Zoloft and blood pressure?   The list of side effects for all these fancy 'brain drugs' are daunting.  I hope you find done relief soon.  Maybe an SSRI is not for you.  My personal opinion is if faced with taking them again, I would pass.  They might be helping me, doesn't feel like it and then it becomes a cycle that you can't miss a day with most without side effects.  I've tried to get off mine with no success.   So I feel I am stuck taking a med to avoid withdrawl.  Just my experience.  

[enna]

Hi Karen, I am so sorry you are going through health issues. It makes our grieving so much more difficult. I wish we didn't live so far for it would be good to sit and chat over coffee. Keep us updated. Anne

[KarenK]

The dizziness has been around for over a month. I related it to the terrible headache, which is gone now, but the dizziness stayed. It is even there when I sit up in bed. The nausea is new & seems to occur sporadically. The bloodwork done today will show the blood sugar. I only took two of the Zoloft before I decided it wasn't for me. I asked the doctor to wait on prescribing a different med until I have tried this 3rd BP med.

All of this sounds like "It's in your head", but it is real. I told my grandson to watch over me when I start the additional med in case I pass out. Isolated Systolic Hypertension is difficult to treat as in attempting to lower it, the diastolic is also lowered too much. It is a common ailment in those over 65 You are damned if you do & damned if you don't. Will keep you posted.

[kayc]

Karen,

I feel for you, I remember going through the blood sugar swings last summer, very scary, and all the more so when you live alone!  You're smart to tackle one medicine change at a time.

Common side effects of Zoloft include sleepiness, nervousness, insomnia,dizziness, nausea, skin rash, headache, diarrhea, constipation, upset stomach, stomach pain, changes in appetite, abnormal ejaculation, impotence, decreased sex drive, difficulty having an orgasm, dry mouth, and weight loss.

Am not sure if you'd still be having side effects after only two doses. That'd be something to ask your doctor about.  For people who have been on it a while, these side effects upon withdrawal are common.

[brat#2]

Karen,

So sorry you are going through all this health scare, like it was said above, it's so scary when you are alone.  Hoping you can get it all worked out with your doctors and that your blood work will show what is going on.  Keep us updated!

[Margm]

I took Prozac from the first time it came on the market.  I even picked at reading "Prozac Nation."  People made jokes about it being a "happy pill."  There was no "happy."  It was not a high that came with a biphetamine.  Getting off a medicine you have spent nearly a lifetime on will cause withdrawal. Don't go "cold turkey" off anything you have been on for a long time.  If you can find a doctor you trust, stay with him.  Medical care is so expensive.  I know lack of care hastened Billy's death.  If I had called an ambulance, he would have been seen fast.  I fussed at him for calling an ambulance for me, (I had lost consciousness).  It saved my life so I could lose his later.  Hindsight is 20/20.  

When I was a little girl we had general practitioners.  Dr. Garret delivered me and then I went to Dr. Gray all my life until a while after I was married.  When I fought that ether mask before a tonsillectomy at age seven,, he spanked me to calm me down.  We don't have Marcus Welby or Doc Adams anymore.  . I don't have Obamacare, I have Medicare and Blue Cross for years and years.  Medical care is still a crap shoot.

I am not exaggerating, many admissions had 25 medications.  The most that I typed was 36.  Also, people in our small town are known to treat themselves with antibiotics bought from a farm store. How do you measure your weight to that of a chicken?   

[KarenK]

Back to square one. The doctor's office just called and my blood sugar is fine. My sodium level is low. This is not new. It has been for years. The remedy is to add more salt to your diet, which in turn would run your BP up. I just use a normal amount. I am more of a pepper person. My money is on exhaustion which could be the root of it all.

Marg, I remember when doctors made office calls. I remember one in California when Debbie was a baby. That was 50 years ago. I like my doctor. He is a young HIspanic with a Family Practice. He listens to my concerns, even if I baffle him sometimes. He is still a five minute visit man as they all are today.

Perhaps there is merit in the farm store approach. I love Tractor Supply.

[Margm]

If you have a physician you trust, you are doing good.  I had a wonderful surgeon that saved my life.  He was always mean sounding to all his patients.  They finally sent him for anger management.  I loved him, but he told Billy on one of my visits that he was not a huggable person.  And, when he patched me up, he was through with me.  He told me I scared him.  I understood.  Still he bought me two more years.  Not sure right now if that makes me happy. If you can find that medical caretaker you trust, hang on to them.

[KarenK]

Ron had seen many doctors over the years. Most are standoffish. Some are just plain rude. I know they are not there to make friends and influence patients, but a little compassion goes a long way. During his last days in ICU when death was imminent, I remember clearly the Pulmonary doctor who walked up to me and said "Can I give you a hug?' A complete stranger to me, but it was so welcome. On the other hand, the man who had been his Cardio for 10 years never said "boo" to me the whole time. He was a cold fish. The nurse from his office that managed his defibrilator called and sent me a card, but not this doctor. Heck, even the emergency vet where I took my poor cat sent me a sympathy card after the cat died.

[kevin]

I partnered in all medical decisions after my Wife  had the second TIA. We were told to begin with aggressive control on blood pressure and diet. We used Plavixx and abandoned the Aspirin regime and after six months saw a dramatic improvement.. I trust you will have a  CT's or an MRI to check for stroke/highPB  complications....Yearly is good 

[Guest]

Karen - Have you thought of the Mayo?  The doctors I've dealt with are so amazingly kind and thoughtful and between Deedo and I we have dealt with doctors in almost every department.  They have a Community Intern group so your PCP can be Mayo and then a World class specialty group.  I was so impressed with them that when my GI retired Oct 2014 I switched all of my care there.  Thing I like most is rarely having to wait past appointment time to be seen.  Most of the time I'm taken back early.  They could be a life saver for you.

[Gwenivere]

2 hours ago, KarenK said:

 The nurse from his office that managed his defibrilator called and sent me a card, but not this doctor. Heck, even the emergency vet where I took my poor cat sent me a sympathy card after the cat died.

The doctors that performed Steve's 2nd surgery that was not successful in the way promised (tarnished thier success rate) pretty much dropped contacting him about how he was doing.  I know that hurt him terribly feeling he was now seen as a 'failure' on thier record.  I also saw more compassion from the 2 vets that cared for our dog who died from cancer.   Both sent cards and one flowers.  Not a peep from the specialists when Steve died.  

[Gwenivere]

Kevin, if you were addressing my TIA, I did have an MRI in the ER.   There was nothing to confirm it.  Arteries and such all were normal.  Bloodwork was all superb.  Just waiting on a heart echo test.  They want to see if there are any abnormalities.  It's been weeks now and A week til the test and days for the results.  Looking for a possible source if indeed it was a TIA or possibly the mother of all panic attacks maybe combined with a procedure I had the day before which involved cortisone which I react very badly to.  The irony is I am sure the stress is not helping.  

[Guest]

I received condolence cards from the Ocology, Radiology, Palliative Care, and Emergency departments with hand written notes from each of the doctors and nurses who got to know Deedo over the seventeen months.  I was shocked as I wasn't expecting anything.