best anti-depressant medicine to use during treatments?
Hello Sisters --
What is the best anti-depressant that actually works while going thru treatments, and which ones go against treatments? I heard Cymbalta and similar SSI meds go against Hormone therapy.
Also, what do you take for pain and nausea -- that won't constipate ?
Comments
-
Lauryn,
I don't know that there is one best anti-depressant but you are right about some being contraindicated with other meds. I am on Arimidex and also take Effexor. This has worked well for me. This would be a great discussion to have with your mo or psychiatrist.
Caryn -
LaurynSister, I had problems also and my MO prescribed Celexa (generic citalapram). I tried Effexor for a week but suffered from bad headaches. Hope this helps.
-
Ive been taking prozac and it seems to help but I worry about being so dependent on it. My Drs saying to use till i am done with treament.
-
In general there's no "best" antidepressant. It's a trial and error approach. They put you on one, see if you respond and have tolerable side effects, if not they switch you. Lather, rinse, repeat until you hit one that works. Then hopefully it doesn't poop out on you after six months or a year.
I fell into a weird knowledge gap between my MO and my psychiatrist. I asked the which drugs are OK with chemo. She said a psychiatrist would know all that. Then I went to the psychiatrist, got put onto lamotrigine (not typically used for depression but I got it since I am bipolar). I wanted to tell him my chemo drugs, he said he'd have no way to evaluate the interactions as he's not familiar with chemo drugs. Oh well I could not find any info that it was a bad mix so I went on it, added the drug to my meds list at the MO, and the MO did finally give me an OK that it was not a problem with my treatment.
-
Ann... do you have access to a onco psychiatrist where you are being treadted for the cancer?
I am seeing one on the 28th... this has relived some of my worries because of precisly what you just said..
he said he'd have no way to evaluate the interactions as he's not familiar with chemo drugs
-
Melulv, how have you been taking prozac? My psychiatrist started me on 20 mg once a day the said we will titrate in 3-4 weeks depending on the response. Im kinda hopinh the 20mg will work. What dose are you in on?
-
Ann,
Yes, a psych specializing in cancer patients is what you need. All Kaiser (Santa Clara) patients are referred to an onco psych if they feel they need his services.
Caryn -
Don't know if it's the "best", but I use Pristiq. Was on Tamoxifen when started it. It's a "cleaner" version of Effexor according to the shrink, not processed by the liver in the same way. I figured that would be a good thing, considering how many meds we all wind up on during this journey.
Unfortunately, there's no generic yet and my co-pay if $50 for a one month supply. Thankfully, shrink gave me a rebate card for the Brand so I only pay $35.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team