Dear Yggy
Good to talk to you again. Sad about the medication. You could be talking about my experience with an AD.
Anyway, I have been taking an SSRI medication. The maximum dose is apparently 20 mg although both GPs I have seen recently tell me they treat patients who have been prescribed higher doses by psychiatrists. After you reach the advanced age of 65 the maximum dose is 10 mg. This information is on the drug information leaflet which is sometimes put in the packet or you can ask your pharmacist for a copy.
I was taking 20 mg and not coping very well. So early this year my GP and I discussed increasing the dose to 30 mg. All went well as far as the AD was concerned, though other bits of my life started to go down the drain so we talked about going to 40mg and subsequently I started to take this amount. It was a disaster and I returned 20 mg. A little later I went back to 30 mg.
Like you I had dreams, joint pain and feeling heavy. I put much of this down to my life. However I was also prescribed a medication by an oncologist after I finished my radiation treatment. I really wish doctors of whatever persuasion would look at potential side effects of meds and also what other problems their patient has. The oncology meds listed joint ache, tiredness and depression, amongst many other potential effects. Combined with the SSRI I completely lost the plot. Bear in mind I was already having difficulties with the AD.
Talk about depression +! Eventually my GP agreed I could stop the oncology meds and after about 4-5 weeks I felt much better. Then I came off the AD for reasons I won't go into. Slow withdrawal, all going well, then the s..t hit the fan a few days after the last of the AD. Slowly at first then increasing headaches, dizziness, hot and cold sweats, utter tiredness, joint pain, depression increase. I have really been in a bad place for the past couple of weeks. Refused to go back on the AD or any other AD. I do not have a good track record with medication at the best of times.
Now you may well be taking a completely different AD and the cause of your problems may also be different, but it's worth checking out. My dizzy spells seem to be decreasing now I am taking an anti-nausea med and headaches not as bad. Tiredness is largely gone and I am begining to feel like a human again. My ambition is to take no medications of any sort in the near future, given the very often dreadful side effects I have experienced.
Sorry this is such a detailed post.
Mary
