Medication -

[Jimmy1]

Yeah mate. The mind can also be tricked into believing you are not getting sleep when in actual fact you are, its just not quality sleep and because of depression, we want more and more.
A few years after I got back the nightmares stopped happening due to therapy. Every now and then something would trigger me and I would have one, but the majority were gone.
I would still wake up in the middle of the night and feel shagged the next day so would blame it on something, thinking bad dreams in the subconsious.

How about insomnia due to military training. Hyper alert, sleep with one eye open, rouse at the first noise.
You have to train your body to get into a proper pattern again. No caffeine after a certain time, good matress, good pillow etc, etc and this is where the valdoxan is meant to work. It works on the melatonin levels whatever they are and gets you into the right sleep cycle. Its 3.12 am, not working yet. lmao. But I won't give up trying.

 

[Jimmy1]

Have any of you guys or gals actually read the product information on anti depressants. It makes me laugh.

Their common use is for treating major depression and anxiety.

Their side effects. Suicidal thoughts, agitation, anxiety. lmao.

 

[anthony]

Most anti-depressants side effect is depression... hence they're primarily useless.

SSRI's and SNRI's are near identical... they just target a different catalyst and method to treat it. If one doesn't work, they try the other to see if it works. One or the other "may" work...

Benzo's won't help if your symptoms are just too severe... and they have long term health issues if taken in large doses. Benzo's should be used to treat only mild symptoms IMO... ie. when you have got things under control for the most part through therapy and behaviour changes, but just can't get rid of some minor anxiety and depression struggles. That is where Benzo's at a low dose really come good.

Major symptoms... much more robust solutions required if going the medication route.... ie. SSRI's / SNRI's.

I like the route of, work your arse of to know everything you can about PTSD, symptoms, techniques, etc, and knock one at a time out.

 

[Sarg]

Thank you for your imput, Anthony. I only just recall that we had a short discussion with SSRI's and Tartive Dysphoria. The VA went through the whole gamut of SSRIs and not one worked for me. He had me try Gabapentin, which eased the symptoms very slightly but is was better than nothing at all. I also have been taking a trycyclic, Doxepin for many years but it only allows me a few hours of sleep, not much more.

I am fortunate that there is a cross section of nationalities here, where meds not in use in the US are in others that would be of help. I've learned a lot from both you and Jimmy and I thank you for it.

Sarg

 

[Jimmy1]

I was speaking to the pharmacist and my GP today. He said the major difference between the new drug I am taking Pristiq, and other SNRI's like Efexor and SSRI's such as Zoloft has to do with the liver. Those two have to be broken down by the liver. Primarily Efexor contains venlafaxine and the liver breaks it down to produce Desvenlafaxine which is then absorbed by the body. The bonus about Pristiq is that it already contains desvenlafaxine and can immediately be broken down and not absorbed by the liver. This helps the elderley with poor liver function or veterans like me who have been on numerous medications for a prolonged period.

Don't get me wrong, I have been striving to learn all I can about PTSD and how to manage it. I go to therapy every fortnight to work on my demons and hate taking medication, but right now, its the only way I can cope.

I hope one day, once I remove a lot of the stressors in my life, namely move to the country away from this military presence and once the teenagers have moved out of home, I hope to be able to remove the medication from my life.

one can only hope.

 

[SpentRound]

Most anti-depressants side effect is depression... hence they're primarily useless.

I disagree. Granted I'm new to the medication and may eat my words later, but I'm an Afghan vet whose had multiple PTSD symptoms for about a year and a half now. Symptoms also created depression that made me pretty pathetic. I got to the point I wouldn't even brush my own teeth cuz I was that lazy! Contemplated suicide regularly. Stayed up all night cuz i didn't want to lay in bed and think or fall asleep and dream. Eventually go to bed the next morning and stay there until late afternoon even though I wasn't sleeping. Then I'd get up and sit on the couch all day, not talk to anyone, not go anywhere, not accomplish anything. I'm still a Sgt in the Marine Corps... I can't live like this. Didn't want to start meds but finally got desperate enough. Been on some Prozac knock-off for about a month. So far working great. I feel more like myself - calmer, happier, more productive. Unfortunately it does nothing for the actual PTSD symptoms, but they don't bring me down so much now.

Who knows if this good streak will continue or if it would work for you. Only way to know is to try. If you try and your side effect is depression, try a different one or another treatment. I agree with being cautious about meds because the wrong meds can encourage suicide, but don't rule them out. As long as you proceed with caution, the only serious downside I see is I don't want to end up one of those ppl still on meds in 10 yrs. Guess thats the risk you take.

If I do eat my words, I'll keep you posted! ;)

 

[Jimmy1]

I agree with what your saying SpentRound.
Some of us need a little help in the short term to deal with the symptoms.
For me, medication is only short term, which could mean 5 years plus. IMO it all depends on the therapy.
How long does it take to deal with just one traumatic incident?, I don't know, it depends on the circumstances and whether you live surrounded by things that remind you of it every day. You still serving will have its triggers mate.
I am a firm believer that if you can deal with every single traumatic incident and work on managing the symptoms day in day out eventually you might be able to survive on minimal medication. But everyone is different, that is why there are some people out there that can go through combat without a hitch, yet others suffer from this demon, and what medication and therapy works for one person, might not work for the others.

Another thing SpentRound is that you will find that we all did not want to get on medication and don't want to be on medication, we all have contemplated suicide and we all have been in combat. Everyone's symptoms can be different, like everyone's triggers can be different.

I hope you are on a good streak and don't have to eat your words.

 

[anthony]

Its not everyone, but it is proven to be a majority... hence why anti-depressants have a huge warning at the top of their safety data sheets that they may make you more depressed.

 

[Jimmy1]

I do agree with you to mate, nearly every antidepressant has suicide warnings and anxiety warnings, and sleeping tablets have a warning about feeling drowsy and I suppose some medications have a placebo effect too, but right now, I am doing what it takes. One day I hope to be as far forward in my treatment as you.

 

[Jimmy1]

Hey guys and gals,

I just spent a good half hour discussing SSRI's v anti-anxiety medication with my psychiatrist.
My psychiatrist is the head of the PTSD Unit here and is pretty renowned for his knowledge on combat related PTSD.

Anyway, there is a relatively new medication out there which not only treats major depressive disorders associated with PTSD, but also helps with anxiety, and aids in sleep.
Of the people who are trialing it for him, the only side effect that has shown up so far is one person with a headache for a day or two, but we have all had those.
This drug is so new over here, that he could not just prescribe it by making a phone call to the VA, he had to actually write a letter and I have to wait a few days.

Its called Valdoxan or Agomelatine

It all sounds great to me and the best part is that because it works totally differently to the other SSRI's, It can be used in conjunction with my current antidepressant without the risk of Seratonin overdose. I will also be able to slowly remove the other antidepressant totally.

I had a liver function test today and I will also have one six weeks and then 12 weeks and then 12 months if it works. This of course is only to be cautious.

And the best news to quote my psych 'I never thought I would ever say this, but it has no real side effects'. It also has no withdrawl effects.

Just putting it out there for you guys.

This was my post in June last year. I had just started one 25 mg tablet before bed.

So, 11 months on. I now take two 25 mg tablets between 6 and 7 pm. By 10 pm I am ready for sleep. I then take my Avanza and off to sleep I go.

My psych told me that Valdoxan helps stabilise your sleep cycle. So you guys that are still having problems with your sleep, research it and give it a go. It can't hurt.

I was sceptical at first, but the night before last I just plain forgot to take the Valdoxan with the other tablets I take in the evening. So at 10 pm I was still wide awake, took them, but they did not really start working till 1 am and my Avanza had already kicked in. It screwed the whole sleep cycle.

Another thing I ensure is that I don't have any coffee after 5 pm.