Mood Medication

max2111

Hi Everyone,

I am about to have the double mastectomy with implant reconstruction.   I have been told that chemo will start approx. 3 weeks after.   

I really need some help with my moods.  Some days I am fine and some days I want to crawl up in a ball and cry.  

Do doctors prescribe antidepressants?

doxie

max2111,  

So sorry you have to be here with us, but we will try to help you get through this.  Yes your doctors can prescribe antidepressants.  If you feel you need help, please ask at your next visit or call for an earlier appointment.  Your BS, MO or PCP can prescribe.  I'd ask whomever you see sooner or whom you feel more confortable with.  It may take a week or so for the med to kick in.  Usually though, just because you are being proactive, you'll get relief more quickly.  

NYCchutzpah

Definitely ask for something to help you. Antidepresants take some time to work. You might want to ask for some ativan to help you get over the rough patches.

Good Luck

momoschki

As a fellow antidepressant taker and a clinical psychologist, I would suggest you seek out a psychiatrist for this. While it is true that your various breast physicians can Rx for you, a psychiatrist will be far better versed in the nuances of the various meds and possible side effects and interactions. Just my 2 cents. Also, a lot of antidepressants can take as much as 3 weeks to feel effects and dosages may need to be tweaked-- a psychiatrist is more likely to be attuned to this, in my experience. I have also found anti anxiety meds to be helpful (especially in helping me to sleep-- I was a lousy sleeper even before all this.)

vlnrph

Your clinic may have a pysch-onc specialist or perhaps a social worker who could make a referral. My cancer center has a nurse practitioner dedicated to helping people through the process. Since she is licensed to prescribe, it's a very easy way to get treatment. Make some phone calls Monday morning!  

april485

I have been prescribed wellbutrin which is a mild antidepressant and good for "situational" depression which BC has definitely qualified me for. I have a lot more going on in my life too, but this most definitely put me over the edge. Wellbutrin is good cause you can come off it fairly easily too. Have only been taking it for a few days so not sure if it works yet but if not, there are more to try.

Hugs and ask for help!

momoschki

April,



I have also been taking Wellbutrin since the whole breast debacle started. It can take up to 3 weeks to become effective and I had to gradually increase to the therapeutic dose over the course if that time (starting on a full dose can cause jumpiness, anxiety, and insomnia-- which I had to begin with!). Anyway, I have found it quite helpful . I had no SE's other than some weight loss (which I welcomed!) and when I recently had to stop it for about a week for some surgery, I was able to stop cold turkey with no ill effects at all.

Anonymous

Max - sorry you're in the club nobody wants to join.  I was taking an anti depressant for years b4 bc, and don't think I would have made it thru it all as well as I did ( or at all, really) if I wasn't still taking it.

YOU DESERVE ALL THE MEDICAL HELP, ATTENTION you want.  REALLY.  Really.  Really.  Sometimes an anti-depressant is as vital to one person, as insulin medicine for diabetes is to another.  NO difference. 

Best wishes on your treatments.  Most maor cancer centers have social workers, and where I went I met with a psychopharmaclogist to see if I needed to adjust the medication I was taking.  Again, all good wishes for a successful treatment.

cinnamonsmiles

I was already diagnosed as biploar, with severe depression and anxiety when I was diagnosed but not on meds for it at the time. I started seeing a psychiatrist at the time I was diagnosed. He saw me for months and would not subscribe a thing for me. He said he wanted to wait to see if I was going to be on Tamoxifen (which I had to tell him that a lot of psych drugs interact with Tamoxifen, he had no idea). I wasn't hardly sleeping, and actually got NO sleep whatsoever the night before my double mastectomy (the nurses felt so bad for me after I hit the hospital floor that they let me sleep without waking me for tests). 

Finally, my primary doctor suscribed me some xanax. My pyschiatrist was livid. Said that it had to be either HIM or her in charge of my psych meds. He prescribed 5 pill. That is right...5 pills for anxiety. So, I chose my my primary and fired him.

If you go to a psychiatrist and will be on anything for hormone positive cancer like Tamoxifen, make sure they are aware of the drug interactions.

My primary doctor handled my depression medicines for years and did just fine. More and more primary doctors are having to prescribe them because of a lack of pyschiatrists (told to me by two psychologists and my primary doctor).

Get the help you need and just make sure ALL your doctors and surgeons know what medications you are taking.

Anonymous

cinnamon - if you or anyone is taking an SSRI and do not wish to change that medication, instead of taking tamoxifen, you can take other medication allowing you to take an Aromatase Inhibitor ( will need to suppress the ovaries, think it's lupron, not sure)

Usually only antidepressants one can take with tamoxifen are Celexa, Effexor.

farmerlucy

I checked Drugs.com and it shows Lexapro does not interact with Tamoxifen. I had always heard our only choice is Celexa or Effexor. I just started Tamox and need to stop Prozac. Celexa is not for me. Does anyone know if Lexapro is an option? Thank you so much!

farmerlucy

Max - I had a very tough time initially and my PCP put me on an antidepressant and an antianxiety med. In addition I spoke to a counselor for several months.