Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 2/23/2010

Question
Sorry I was so verbose. Can someone mildly depressed then given all the drugs I talk about below become worse with the drugs? She has only had a bad result making her worse from each one. We are desperate. Do you know of anyone reputable in No Calif or anywhere in Calif that will help getting off medication? The only sources I find are Scientology related.

Your question was

My daughter became depressed Dec 08 - seemed situational. Built home, builder forged signatures, bank gave him their $$, didn't pay subs, death threats towards husband, financially ruined, had baby during this, grieving for grandparents, no support system, alone nights & several days at a time due to husband's work. Was lonely & wished for social association. OB Rx Zoloft 12.5mg. In couple of days was anxious, agitated & wanted to die. OB increased Zoloft to 25mg. Symptoms worsened - inclreased to 50 mg. OB said she was not on it long enough & would feel worse before she felt better. Increased to 75 mg & then said she needed more & referred to psychiatrist who increased to 100mg with no help. Changed to Lexipro & kept increasing the dose with no help with suicidal wishes. Agitation stopped but became lethargic & appeared drugged. Psychiatrist asked if she wanted to take Prozac. My daughter didn't know as she's not the professional. Changed psychiatrist who increased Lexipro then changed to 5HTP & then Paxil. Kept increasing Paxil dose. Added Lunesta which caused nightmares, & Remeron & still no relief from wishing to die. She appeared very drugged on Paxil & didn't care about appearance - very out of character. Referred to new psychiatrist dealing with PPD who evaluated her & referred to psychiatrist specializing in BP which further stressed my daughter. Was told Zoloft brought out BP & probably would have happened anyway. Was put on various meds with no help. Seroquel at one point caused heart rate 150+ BPM, difficulty walking, unable to swallow. Took Lithium but it drugged her & caused judgement issues. Given Lyrica & 1 pill produced agitation like Zoloft. Had weight gain & skin breakout from some of the drugs. There is no family history of BP. She never showed any mania before the Zoloft. She has never showed any signs of BP. She had never had suicidal thoughts before Zoloft which continue. She has lost a year of her life - we all have. Baby went from 4 months to now a toddler & she has missed out. Over this past year she has been given 20+ meds in various combinations with no help from wanting to die which started day 5 on Zoloft. Currently on Seroquel, Lamictal & Ativan & trying to wean down since she has had no relief with them but side effects doing this are bad too. MD wanted to change to Depakote & my daughter says enough is enough. She wasn't ill like this before meds & feels she can't go on. She went from sad & lonely to losing herself & feels like a drug addict. Can the drugs do this to a person? We have searched & searched for someone to help but everyone just wants her on more drugs.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the question.

Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D.

Answer
Hi . . .

It is always possible that the medications are making things worse. Another possibility is that your daughter was misdiagnosed and that she is receiving the wrong treatment. As you recognize, for your daughter to stop her medications without medical supervision would not be a wise thing to do.

I think the first thing to do is to have someone who knows what they are doing spend some time with your daughter and try to understand what is going on. The next step would be to try to make things better possibly by slowly stopping all the present medications and seeing if your daughter's condition improves or deteriorates.

How far are you from SF?

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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