Right. I started taking Zoloft again. Perhaps my body isn't used to it after being off of it for so long, but it revs you up at first apparently (how ironic is that?). It got so bad that on Friday night around 1 am, my pulse was 100+, which isn't good. I ended up going to the ER, where they did a battery of tests - blood, X-rays, CAT scan. They gave me an IV of Ativan, which brought my heart rate down a bit, but not enough, so then they gave me an IV of atenolol, which a beta blocker, and that brought my heart rate down more satisfactorily. So now I'm on a beta blocker, an SSRI (the Zoloft, which probably put me in the ER in the first place), and a benzodiazapine. My body is definitely not used to being on that much medication.
All the bloodwork looked fine, although I'm still waiting to hear about my thyroid levels. Hyperthyroidism could cause the symptoms that I have. So could hypoglycemia, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, mitral valve prolapse (my mom has this). I suspect I will be having some more tests done to rule all of those things out to make sure it is just plain old panic.
At the moment, I'm assuming it's just panic attacks, although this latest round seems to be holding on longer than usual, and I'm jittery off and on during the day, which again, is probably the Zoloft. It can take 4 to 6 weeks for the SSRI to really kick in. I seem to have a relapse/remission type of panic. I'll be fine for awhile, no panic at all for months at a time, and then they suddenly show up again. Yuck.
I'm still managing to keep working, and I've kept up with my classes, so that's good. I also have an amazing support system. My sister took me to the ER and stayed with me the whole time - she only got a couple of hours of sleep and then had to work all day Saturday. My mom, my sister, and my acupuncturist have all called me daily to check on me. My acupuncturist gave me a late-night treatment and didn't charge me for it, and my sister gave me a manicure/pedicure/haircut on Saturday to make me feel better, which it did. Sitting in the massage chair while getting the pedicure definitely helped too. I've also decided to go for acupuncture on a weekly basis for awhile until I settle down again.
My acupuncturist also says to start taking fish oil as that can offset the side effects of the Zoloft. Apparently, when people are trying to get off antidepressants, they should take massive amounts of fish oil. Who knew?
I would really like to feel normal and healthy again soon, so prayers and good thoughts are appreciated.
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