I have just been prescribed Celexia by my PCP. She mentioned it to me over a month ago and told her I was unsure, that I didn't need it and I wanted to think about it. Well I have decided to give it a try in hopes that a better mental mood will alleviate some of the physical pain I have since I strongly believe that mind & body are intertwined. Have any of you had to make this choice? How did it make you feel?
Q: Feeling guilty for accepting Anti-Depressant for coping with RA.
Answers (5)
1/ 5/12 8:30pm
Hi, Sandy,
I take Lexapro. My RD prescribed it for nerve pain, and it did help my feet a lot. I am fairly certain it also helps keep me "steady", if you know what I mean. Please don't feel guilty for taking an anti-depressant. It is medicine, and if we need it, we need it. Hope it helps you. If you don't like the way it makes you feel, or if you have bothersome side effects, you can always try another med, because there are quite a few avaialbe these days.
V
1/ 5/12 7:27am
If you are depressed, please treat it, and please don't feel guilty about doing so. RA is a difficult, painful and life changing disease. Depression is certainly not an unusual reaction to such a crisis in your life and is nothing to be ashamed of. In addition to medication I would suggest that you talk to your Dr. about speaking to a counselor who might be able to help you talk through your feelings about your disease and learn some coping mechanisims for dealing with the loss and change it has brought. RA can take a lot away from us. It can be very hard to deal with. We can use all the help we can get. Make sure you get a counselor that understands the devastation of the disease and dosen't minimize or doesn't understand it or confuse it with OA.
I'm sending you some good warm thoughts, take care of yourself, you deserve it! Get the help you deserve for your depression and let yourself feel better. You deserve it! With RA, living every day is hard enough without feeling bad and sad all the time. Needing help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of human-ness. From one human with RA to another - be well!
1/ 5/12 5:37pm
Sandy,
Leslie is right, don't feel guilty. Take the help provided and thank God you have a physician who suggested it without making you feel crazy in the head, like a lot of physicians do. You need a positive outlook in order to fight the RA and cope with the changes in your life. It is as stressful as getting married, getting a divorce or having someone close die - literally "life-changing".
Good luck! Always feel like you can come and chat up some of your feelings here as you have some pretty smart people watching over this site. As Leslie also suggested, talk to a counselor. You don't need a long drawn out plan to speak with them, even one session might help...just be open going, and if you don't feel comfortable or like the person, get another.
-pat
1/18/12 1:40pm
The mind-body link is well supported not just by anecdotal evidence, but actual scientific evidence, too. Stress is very hard on your entire system - stress hormones affect your body in a negative way (e.g., stomach pains) and can make it much harder to cope. Finding a way to deal with the stress can improve your physical and emotional health. In addition, living under constant stress for an extended period of time can actually change your brain chemistry, making you more depressed. Antidepressants can be a very valuable tool in coping with a chronic illness like RA. You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. In fact, you should feel proud of yourself for recognizing that you need some help and asking for it. That is a sign of someone who is coping well.
Many people believe that coping well means that you're not really affected by the stress and challenges in your life, but this is not the case. Coping well means that you are enough in tune with your mind and body that you know what you need and then go about getting it for yourself. What you need can include help of various kinds, including medication, counseling, or assistance with shopping for groceries or accommodations at work. It can include stress reduction and meditation (check out Mindfulness for Beginners), learning to manage your energy levels and many other things.
I have received counseling several times when I felt I needed a bit of extra help to cope and this may also work for you. Someone who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy can be especially helpful when learning to cope with a chronic illness.
I would suggest one thing, though. As you can see, I am totally on board with antidepressants being a tool to help you cope better. However, if you have more pain than you feel is manageable, you may also want to consider asking for a referral to a pain management specialist. Your pain interfering with your ability to cope could mean that your pain management program is not working well for you and needs to be adjusted. What kind of pain medication are you on? Has your PCP or your rheumatologist talked to you about pain management?
1/25/12 2:52pm
Sandy,
Sometimes the decision to take an anti-depressant can be overwhelming, especially when you are in the depths of that depression, or guilt, or other overpowering feelings. Taking an anti-depressant is NOT a sign of weakness!! Without an anti-depressant, I would not be able to function without fighting the resulting difficulties.
If you find that Celexa doesn't seem to work, you can try something else. But give it several weeks first. Years down the road you may even need to change medications. I started with Zoloft about 20 years ago and switched to Wellbutrin a few years ago. They have both made a huge difference in my quality of life.
So how are you feeling lately? Have you noticed any difference?
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By sandy— Last Modified: 01/25/12, First Published: 01/04/12
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Thanks so much for all of you ladies wise understanding words.
I am on Tramadol if the pain gets too much, but I usually try to couple it with Tylenol b/c I am so young I don't want to go "bigger" until I have to since it will continuously escalate. I have heard people say that you should try to take the bare minumum since tolerance builds up and I don't want to end up on something like Morphine when I am 60. With that said, I still have days these are not enough and count down the days until my next infusion so they pain will subside. That works for about 1-2 weeks and then I am back on the roller coaster of pain ups & downs.