Anti-Depressants and DES

[Eli]

I just met with a corneal specialist that confirmed what I'd feared all along. He said that if dry mouth is listed as a possible side effect than dry eye is certainly a risk too, though it may not be specifically stated. This is the same claim made by Dr. Abel in his book The Eyecare Revolution (Which is excellent by the way-). Of course, everyone is different and there are no guarantees. Still, if you take them, they may be aggravating your condition.

[cherrybrandy]

I just met with a corneal specialist that confirmed what I'd feared all along. He said that if dry mouth is listed as a possible side effect than dry eye is certainly a risk too, though it may not be specifically stated. This is the same claim made by Dr. Abel in his book The Eyecare Revolution (Which is excellent by the way-). Of course, everyone is different and there are no guarantees. Still, if you take them, they may be aggravating your condition.

Hi Eli that confirms my suspicions of co-codamol i was taking in large doses before my des flared up..that causes dry mouth, i know its not an antidepressant but its a med all the same.. Im off escitalapram now by the way but will need to start something else tho butorried that the next antideppressant will cause same probs..Any suggestions..I hope you are well today..cb

[Eli]

DES and Ant-Depressants

Hi Cherrybrandy,
Unfotunately not being an actual doctor (its fun to pretend sometimes ) I don't really have any specific medications that you might try. I will do a little research for you though, as I am curious myself.
Lexapro (which I guess didn't work for you) and Wellbutrin are claimed to have very low side effect profiles, and I'm sure that there are others. my pyschiatrist told me that they are constantly trying to improve the efficacy of pyschological medications so that they do just what you want them to do and nothing else. We aren't quite to that point yet, but today's anti-depressants are generally much less likely to cause nasty side effects than some of the older ones. Also, I think this bears repeating, everyone seems to respond a little differently to a given medication. For some people it's a slam-dunk right off the bat, others have to experiment a little but. I was one of the ones that had to experiment a little to find the right ones for me. i remember that I was in High School when the whole Ritalin craze began and since I was borderline (I think ) ADD, I was given Ritalin. The problem was they gave me so much that my hands trembled so badly that I had problems bringing food to my mouth without it falling off of the fork! We fixed that quickly by lowering the dose. Anyway one other consideration with choosing an anti-depressant is whether or not it tends to cause strong withdrawal symptoms if you were to stop taking it someday. Just a thought. i have a feeling thatI will be taking them for most of my life, so that isn't an issue for me so much. Some people though might take them for a relatively short period of time just to help deal with a specific event or situation in their lives, and therefore its worth asking your doctor if A)you're someone that may not be taking these pills forever and B) If yes, are withdrawal symptoms going to be an issue if and when you decide to stop the meds. (There are ways to lessen the effects anyway with dietary supplements etc...) But still worth asking. I'll look around a little for you.
Be Well,
Eli

[cherrybrandy]

HI eli thanks for letter about meds.

I am one of these people who has been on antidepressants all my adult life and will ask if i can try wellbutrin next week when i go to gp as i feel very strange not being on anything now infact my anxiety has returned big time.. The pain in my bad eye is intense today seems to be coming out of my eyelid area.the worst aspect of this is the weird blinking patterns ive got since i got this anything from fluttering to a full on spasm i get so distressed when this happens in public and reading is no longer an option..thank you for researching about for me.had some news that im going into hospital for a discectomy in a few weeks and am worried how to manage my eye pain in hospital for at home i use rice bag and hot compress..any suggestions..bye for now then.. did i tell you im in uk..not many people on this site from here i see...cb.

[Rebecca Petris]

Cherrybrandy,
Wellbutrin is not distributed in the UK under that name (at least it wasn't when I lived there). The drug name is bupropion so ask your doc for it under that name. However, I remember checking into this for someone a few years ago and I believe it was not on the formulary there as an antidepressant - it was listed for some other use (I forget what) so it may or may not be possible to get it. Just an FYI.

[cherrybrandy]

wellbutrin.

Cherrybrandy,
Wellbutrin is not distributed in the UK under that name (at least it wasn't when I lived there). The drug name is bupropion so ask your doc for it under that name. However, I remember checking into this for someone a few years ago and I believe it was not on the formulary there as an antidepressant - it was listed for some other use (I forget what) so it may or may not be possible to get it. Just an FYI.

Thanks for that rebecca i will just get an alternative i think..take care.