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| *Women health>>>Depression |
Based on the fact that Buspar (Buspirone) alleviates her symptoms, does she have Depression, Anxiety or both? |
My girlfriend suffers from periodic feelings of intense worthlessness, alone-ness, and existential-type crises. They have occurred occasionally since before we started dating two years ago. She tried an SSRI but stopped secondary to side effects. She asked for Buspar which was reluctantly prescribed to her. She thinks that it really helps. Whenever she stops taking it for a week or so, she has epidoses of feelings of worthlessness, utter alone-ness, crying. She denies changes in diet, sleep cycles, attention, etc. Buspar is an anxiolytic right? It shouldn't help with depression (which is what this sounds like to me) right? If it is working does that mean she suffers only from anxiety? Please help. What should we expect for the future? Is this going to be a recurring nightmare for the rest of her life? I don't think she meets DSM criteria for Major Depression or GAD but... What should we do from here? Is marrying before getting this under control a bad idea? Buspar is an anxiolytic. Some things are interlaced when it comes to anxiety and depression. They kind of go hand in hand in some people. Also, anxiety can appear to be manifesting as depression. Symptoms can appear like depression. I view anxiety as a flood of emotions that at times can make someone angry, tearful, introverted, etc., and can appear overwhelming. The two are so closely related. If the buspar helps, I would encourage her to take it faithfully. If you love her, this can be worked through. Just know that you might be dealing with it for life. But, it could be way worse so choose to look on the bright side of what she brings to the relationship. And, remember, if you have children with her, the tendency could be there for your children to experience these same things. I'm not discouraging children but this could help you know what to look for as they grow. One last thought, you don't say how old your girlfriend is, but, with age, everyday things that effect us deeply seem to become less and less important. With age we start to realize some things just aren't worth getting upset about. Good luck to you and to your girlfriend. Buspar is for anxiety if the medicine works for her i wouldn't stop taking it Buspar is prescribed to alleviate anxiety. What could be happening is that once she controls the anxiety, she feels better, and therefore feels an increase in her mood. However, your description of symptoms point to a greater problem. If she gets that depressed, she really needs to try a different type of SSRI. There are newer kinds that have hardly any side effects, and if they do, the side effects are over within two weeks. Since she is anxious, she needs to be prepared to hang in there two weeks, as most SSRIs have a stimulating effect. Again, that will recede within two weeks. There are other mood disorders that do meet DSM IV TR diagnoses for something less than depression, but it really sounds like depression. I would definitely get a handle on whats going on before you get married. Otherwise, you will end up feeling lonely, and helpless, because she is depressed and it is such a personal disorder. You will also ask yourself if you are the problem if she remains depressed. Take my advice, it is a very lonely thing being married to a depressed person. Buspar is generally prescribed for anxiety--but for most, does little unless combined with a second medication. First, your girlfriend should never stop taking it suddenly! If she wants off them, she needs to be gradually weaned off by a medical professional. Are you certain that she is not suffering with PMS, etc.? That can change a woman's whole personality--it did mine, and I had most of the symptoms you listed above. You should try to get the problem under control before the wedding--but that shouldn't take long with a medical diagnosis and proper medication. (Buspar alone did absolutely nothing for me, or for others I've known). I am shocked to learn that your girlfriend actually think it helps her--but, if it works--that's a good thing. Depression and anxiety go hand in hand. Anxiety can look like depression - depression can look like anxiety. If the buspar is working on her depression then she has anxiety related depression. An antidepressant that works for anxiety is Paxil and Effexor. She can take amino acids that work on both anxiety and depression along w/ St. John's Wort and they are very very very effective. Link below: http://www.painstresscenter.com/mall/ac.... Has your girlfriend ever had counselling? If she's having these bouts of anxiety/depression more often since you got together, then possibly something about being in a relationship is triggering them. That's not to say it's your fault - just that there are maybe issues there. I would strongly recommend that you persuade her to speak to a psychiatrist or a very experienced psychotherapist. If it's then determined that she has some form of depression, then she could benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy, or counselling. Or possibly medication - just because she hasn't responded to an SSRI, doesn't mean she should give up on this idea; there are so many other types of anti depressant. As for the marrying issue... Only you can answer that. I've seen that some people have suggested St John's Wort, and also the anti depressant Efexor. Be aware that St John's Wort can't be taken if your girlfriend is on the Pill; it also interacts with many other drugs; and it can't be taken with anti depressants. Re Efexor: many people have serious withdrawal problems when stopping this drug, so just bear it in mind. |
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