Feeling my age for the first time

[Guest]

I'm 44, and for the first time, I feel it!

The past year has been a drain, I've had little time to train, to spend with my daughter, to be here, etc. And it seems, all at once, age has hit me.

I changed up my training for the better, but work and home life got insanely stressed. And something gave.

I had a full battery of tests run and I got totally surprised. I figured I'd get a result back showing lot T or something like that. But no. I was informed I was producing almost no serotonin. WTH?

That caught me by surprise, but pleasantly, because as my doc informed me... There is a pill for that... which will kick start me and I could come off after a year or so.

Well, I got put on Lexapro, which absolutely helped almost immediately; but it brought another problem with it. Of course.

F'ing maximum overdrive gastrointestinal biological symphonic's! This stuff not only causes weight gain and bloating, it causes the f'ing shits! I cannot even begin to explain the shame felt after unstoppable sharts that either force you to run to the can, or freeze whether you want to run or not.

I'm an MMA/BJJ guy. I'm on the mats, mobility is key to everything I do. Use of breathing is critical. Well that's tough when you can't trust a deep breath, a sneeze or a fart! And then the bloated gut from meds! IT SUCKS!!!

Has anyone else had this issue?
If so, what did you do to correct it?

I've stopped taking the stuff a couple days ago, and the bloat is already starting to subside. But... I'd rather not feel how I felt when I wasn't producing any serotonin.

/rant

[black7]

When I got put on SSRI I was thrown into a whirl-wind of emotional turmoil... Horrible graphic dreams... Brain spasm... Roller coaster of emotions...

A very low spot in my life arose... I lost my grandmother (whom raised me), lost my job, my girlfirend of 5 years admitted to cheating on me, and my dog got killed all in the corse of 3 months....

I went to doc and told him what all had happened and told him I have a black cloud....

I say all of this as a warning man... SSRI's can affect folks differently... I could not take it... It push me further in.... And when i tried to stop them i would have spasms... it is noted all over as a side effect... If you do decide they are not for you... ween yourself... Do NOT for any reason cold turkey them... its fucked up man...

BTW I am fine today no drugs... Maybe the occasional xanax when my brain wont shut off to sleep...

I hope things work out for you man... Best wishes.

[black7]

Discontinuation syndrome is what its called from stopping.... How long have you taken them?

The gastric problems maybe coming from discontinuation.

[black7]

And those dreams... man I have been off the shit for over 6 years.. i can remember those fucked up dreams like yesterday...

[Darkness]

I wouldn't take thAt shit. Years ago when they released me from the nut hut they have me that shit. I tossed it in the trash after a few weeks.

[bufbiker]

I feel your pain. At my age and the daily calories I consume if I sneeze or cough I fart. It won't be too much longer and I'll be one of those old men who is a walking, talking crop duster.

[Glycomann]

Sorry man. I hope you feel better. Every friend I know that was put on that class of drug got worse. Maybe they help some people but I haven't seen it. Most of them gained a shit ton of weight and their problems that caused the anxiety or depression never got solved. Why TF did this guy look at your neurotransmitters? Is he a doc that like to script these things out? Also, another thing is these drugs fuck your endocrine system. Be careful. If you and your doc really feel you need something try something else until you find one with more tolerable side effects.

On a side note, I just went through a shit storm in my life. Gained 20 lbs of blubber in the process. Once the problems got solved I dropped the weight and got back to my old self.

[choke]

Damn ya'll.
Gotta say, it is good to know that this kind of thing is not abnormal.

As for why my doc was running tests like that; it was because I was in on a check up, and my resting heart rate was through the roof, blood pressure up, feeling tense, etc. I did not feel depressed, but I was wired really tight. To the point that it was affecting my behavior. He's a good doc, knows my military history, advised that I look into this. So he ran the tests, and sent me to a shrink that is not one who's overly into scripting drugs.

She put me on it, and asked that I make an honest effort at trying the stuff.

But while it's dialed me back, I have felt old for the first fucking time. And all the stuff listed above. 40mg day of lexapro. I haven't dropped it cold turkey, because I feared that it would mess me up. But I have been slowly backing down the doses. I'm now down to cutting a 20mg pill in half. The explosive shits have stopped... And the bloating is going away.

Which is a good thing. I'm going to Barcelona for work in a few weeks, and would rather not look f'ing bloated.

Thanks for the info guys.

[mrhtbd]

They

[choke]

I appreciate that. Fortunately, I am not a sufferer of "depression", but I suppose I "have" anxiety; but I could not tell ya why. I got put on Lexapro after my doc ran every test he could run with my blood; and he said there was an issue with seratonin production. I suppose that was the only way to explain the high resting heart rate. I dunno... Apparently you do not have to "feel" anxious all the time to have "anxiety". I'm an old Army guy; you live with tension, and being anxious. And thanks to the Army, I've got a screaming case of tinitus. The ringing in my ears.... Now that does get me anxious.

I cannot stand silence, or having an idle mind. The ringing is loud enough that I do need to get hearing aids.

I have to say, with the Lexapro, I did feel more "relaxed", and the ringing did not bother me as much. But that bloating... damn... I've been taking the guidance and dialing it down, as opposed to just dropping it. My doc did say that I can't just "quit" it; that it would mess me up if I did that.

I'll take a little bit of tension over the sensation of being bloated and the weight gain that did come from the stuff.

My daughter... That little creature makes me smile regardless of what's going on. I'll stand in a fire pit and that girl will see me smile.

[JDUB]

Im 44 as well...

Same here, I have been diagnosed twice with clinical depression. Right now Im taking 50 mg of Seroquel daily and its helps me stay mellow. Plus it allows me to get a good nights rest. I take it before bed time every night..

If you haven't tried this then ask your doc....its changed my life for the better..

jw

[mrhtbd]

tinnitus.