One down… (content warning: discussion of SSRIs, mental & physical health issues)
So, Zoloft gave me hideous jaw tension (one of the few remaining parts of my body where I usually DON’T carry tension), low-level nausea, constant somnolence, and difficulty attaining orgasm (although, ironically, did not seem to make me less INTERESTED in sex). It was possibly making my migraines worse, although since muscle tension and nausea are also symptoms OF my migraines it was kind of hard to tell. And it seems to have been increasing my INR, the measure of blood clotting that we use to check the efficacy of my anticoagulants, but all the SSRIs can do that.
So we’re trying Luvox now. I think it might actually be a better match because I seem to have a lot of obsessiveness wrapped up in my anxiety and it’s most commonly used to treat OCD—and it’s also been used to treat PTSD. Also, it apparently has the least sexual side effects of the SSRIs, and it’s L2 for lactation which is the same rating as Zoloft (L1 is the absolute safest—practically nothing gets it, just as almost nothing is rated A—“known to be safe for human fetal development” for pregnancy). It’s also one of the most likely SSRIs to affect INR, so I’ll need to be doing frequent labs until we settle on a dose.
I really hope this works, because I really, really don’t want to take Paxil for a number of reasons but for my constellation of symptoms that’s probably the next best option available. :-/
