Hey guys
Boy have I been busy as of late! We are right in the middle of our year end audit and we are all working very hard.
My baseball season finished yesterday and our team fiished the season on a 5 game in streak. Considering we only won one game out of 16 last year this is a huge improvement.
Wife and two dogs are doing very well and they keep us busy to say the least. We took our 4 month old puppy to the creek a few days ago (it was his first time) and he loved the water. He would back up about 20 feet from the bank of the creek, run full force and then jump into the water. Then do his doggy paddle while trying to drink as much of the water as he possibly could. (very clean water in Sedona AZ).
Winter is around the corner and it is starting to get cooler in northern AZ- soon we will be knee deep in snow!
Still doing well on my gluten and dairy free diet- still cant do a lot of chocolate or sodas but I am slowly adding new things!!
So now down to business:
I have been on wellbutrin for about two year and my DR thinks that might be the reason why I am not gaining as much weight as I would like. (I am still at 130-135 lbs which is 20 lbs more than my lowest point about 2 years ago). So we are going to try and go off the wellbutrin and ativan and try Zoloft. One thing I read about Zoloft was that it could increase the chance of GI bleeding-- and since I have microscopic colitis I am wondering if this might cause some problems.
Has anyone had any experience with Zoloft- either good or bad?
hope everyone is doing well!!
update and zoloft
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
update and zoloft
Dr Fine test shows positive for gluten and casien but negative for soy, eggs, and yeast
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Hey Andrew!
It's good to see you posting again, and I'm glad that things are going so well for you, (other than the weight gain issue). In addition to the bleeding risk, (for roughly one out of every 2,000 patients), there's another issue with the SSRIs that most docs don't seem to be aware of - it can cause colitis. Since it can cause colitis in an otherwise healthy individual, it's possible that this risk could be much higher for someone who already has MC. This is uncharted water, of course, so all we can do is speculate on what the odds might be. I honestly don't have any idea how high the risk might be for you, specificially, but I thought that you should at least be aware of it. I wrote about this a short time ago, (see post number 5 in this thread).
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... is+colitis
Thanks for the update.
Tex
It's good to see you posting again, and I'm glad that things are going so well for you, (other than the weight gain issue). In addition to the bleeding risk, (for roughly one out of every 2,000 patients), there's another issue with the SSRIs that most docs don't seem to be aware of - it can cause colitis. Since it can cause colitis in an otherwise healthy individual, it's possible that this risk could be much higher for someone who already has MC. This is uncharted water, of course, so all we can do is speculate on what the odds might be. I honestly don't have any idea how high the risk might be for you, specificially, but I thought that you should at least be aware of it. I wrote about this a short time ago, (see post number 5 in this thread).
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... is+colitis
Thanks for the update.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Wow - another country heard from - sorry my g'ma used to say that when someone pops in after a long absence! It's great to see you are doing so well! What kind of dog is #2? Did dog #1 improve health-wise? Last time you posted I think there were some health concerns!
Good luck with your continued improvement! It sounds like things are going great (except the audit part!)
Mars
Good luck with your continued improvement! It sounds like things are going great (except the audit part!)
Mars
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." -- Buddha
Hey Tex-
Thanks for the post!! I will have to read it more when I get home! If I take out all SSRIs then that leaves a short list to combat the anxiety and mild depression that I have been battling for almost 3 years now. But it might not happen to me- and I guess I would be able to figure out if I was going into a flare shortly after starting the meds.
Hey Mars-
And you say I am from another planet?? J/K
Dog #2 (Rocco) is a standard poodle. Chocolate brown with greenish brown eyes- very good looking dog (of course as is dog #1 Oakley). Oakley is actually on prednisone now and will be on for the rest of his life. He is on a very very small dose though and it seems to be doing the trick. I think he gets the pred munchies because he looks for scraps all the time and we feed him a little more than the food says. He doesnt get mood swings tho because he is still the most gentle dog ever. The vets still didnt know for sure what was wrong with him but they think it is Addissons disease (liver) that just didnt show up on the regular test. That would fit his symptoms and the med for the disease is helping him a ton. He will lead a normal life (maybe a tad shorter than average tho- but better than living less than 1 year!!).
yes audit time is stressful but when we are done- it will be great!
Thanks for the post!! I will have to read it more when I get home! If I take out all SSRIs then that leaves a short list to combat the anxiety and mild depression that I have been battling for almost 3 years now. But it might not happen to me- and I guess I would be able to figure out if I was going into a flare shortly after starting the meds.
Hey Mars-
And you say I am from another planet?? J/K
Dog #2 (Rocco) is a standard poodle. Chocolate brown with greenish brown eyes- very good looking dog (of course as is dog #1 Oakley). Oakley is actually on prednisone now and will be on for the rest of his life. He is on a very very small dose though and it seems to be doing the trick. I think he gets the pred munchies because he looks for scraps all the time and we feed him a little more than the food says. He doesnt get mood swings tho because he is still the most gentle dog ever. The vets still didnt know for sure what was wrong with him but they think it is Addissons disease (liver) that just didnt show up on the regular test. That would fit his symptoms and the med for the disease is helping him a ton. He will lead a normal life (maybe a tad shorter than average tho- but better than living less than 1 year!!).
yes audit time is stressful but when we are done- it will be great!
Dr Fine test shows positive for gluten and casien but negative for soy, eggs, and yeast
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
TERPS! 
Good to hear an update! I didn't realize you lived in Sedona! Beautiful territory - I was there on vacation 4 years ago.
Are you going to try the Zoloft? Have you stopped gaining weight? I am wondering why you are thinking of a change now that you have gained 20 lbs. Also, your gut is probably healed to the point that you are absorbing nutrients better.
Addison's disease? Isn't that considered autoimmune? My golden developed an autoimmune problem 5 years ago - hypoparathyroidism. I did some research at that time and found that AI issues in dogs might be related to vaccines (have you noticed how vets have really cut back on them?) or to the grains in commercial dog food. The ancestor of all dogs today is the wolf, which has no grain in its diet. So, for the past 5 years Rusty has been on a raw food diet (no meat) and is thriving at age 12. He does take a hormone pill every day.
Hey, how about that FLACCO??? What a surprise, heh? I guess the Ravens gave the Phelps' family season tickets as per Michael's comments - Mom was at the first game (Michael was still away).
Cheers!
Polly
Good to hear an update! I didn't realize you lived in Sedona! Beautiful territory - I was there on vacation 4 years ago.
Are you going to try the Zoloft? Have you stopped gaining weight? I am wondering why you are thinking of a change now that you have gained 20 lbs. Also, your gut is probably healed to the point that you are absorbing nutrients better.
Addison's disease? Isn't that considered autoimmune? My golden developed an autoimmune problem 5 years ago - hypoparathyroidism. I did some research at that time and found that AI issues in dogs might be related to vaccines (have you noticed how vets have really cut back on them?) or to the grains in commercial dog food. The ancestor of all dogs today is the wolf, which has no grain in its diet. So, for the past 5 years Rusty has been on a raw food diet (no meat) and is thriving at age 12. He does take a hormone pill every day.
Hey, how about that FLACCO??? What a surprise, heh? I guess the Ravens gave the Phelps' family season tickets as per Michael's comments - Mom was at the first game (Michael was still away).
Cheers!
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Hey Polly!
I actually live in Flagstaff which is a short drive to Sedona. We go there probably 2-3 times a month when the weather is nice. Last weekend we got poured on in Sedona (monsoon season).
I was going to try the raw meat diet because I had read about the pre-civilization diet of dogs or wolves and noticed they didnt have grains. Then Oakley started to get better and we havent thought about it since. We give him a food called something like Eukabanuba or something which is one of the highest quality foods you can get. How expensive is the raw diet?
Yeah buddy Flacco looked darn good. It has been a long time since I have actually seen offensive plays run by the Ravens. Usually under Biliick it was run, run, 5 yard pass, run, run 5 yard pass. Cam Cameron has done a very good job so far with Flacco and the rest of the offense- it looks as though the future might be brighter than expected. Ii is too bad we wasted all those years with a young good defense with no offense. But the defense looks like their old selves again; stopping the run, knocking down passes, and all over the QBs. Carson Palmer looked terrible!! And if Heap would have caught the ball Flacco would have had a passing TD as well.
The reason for the switch was mainly focused on the ativan which is a bandaid for anxiety. Not getting to the root of the problem. Then DR said that the wellburtin is holding me back from gaining weight and said I would have gained more not on it. Most SSRIs are known to make people gain weight- I just dont need that extra D all day long like it does to some people. IT is known to make people lose weight and is used also for people who quit smoking so they dont gain as much weight.
I actually live in Flagstaff which is a short drive to Sedona. We go there probably 2-3 times a month when the weather is nice. Last weekend we got poured on in Sedona (monsoon season).
I was going to try the raw meat diet because I had read about the pre-civilization diet of dogs or wolves and noticed they didnt have grains. Then Oakley started to get better and we havent thought about it since. We give him a food called something like Eukabanuba or something which is one of the highest quality foods you can get. How expensive is the raw diet?
Yeah buddy Flacco looked darn good. It has been a long time since I have actually seen offensive plays run by the Ravens. Usually under Biliick it was run, run, 5 yard pass, run, run 5 yard pass. Cam Cameron has done a very good job so far with Flacco and the rest of the offense- it looks as though the future might be brighter than expected. Ii is too bad we wasted all those years with a young good defense with no offense. But the defense looks like their old selves again; stopping the run, knocking down passes, and all over the QBs. Carson Palmer looked terrible!! And if Heap would have caught the ball Flacco would have had a passing TD as well.
The reason for the switch was mainly focused on the ativan which is a bandaid for anxiety. Not getting to the root of the problem. Then DR said that the wellburtin is holding me back from gaining weight and said I would have gained more not on it. Most SSRIs are known to make people gain weight- I just dont need that extra D all day long like it does to some people. IT is known to make people lose weight and is used also for people who quit smoking so they dont gain as much weight.
Dr Fine test shows positive for gluten and casien but negative for soy, eggs, and yeast
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Andrew,
If you're switching just because of the desire to gain weight, the SSRIs definitely do better in that category, than bupropion, (Welbutrin), (since bupropion is typically associated with weight loss). By comparison, for many people, bupropion seems to cause the least amount of side effects, and the the least amount of serious side effects, so it will probably not be easy to find an SSRI that is as "user-friendly" as bupropioin. As you say, though, maybe you will be one of the lucky ones.
Comparative clinical trials have demonstrated that sertraline's, (Zoloft's), efficacy in depression is similar to that of bupropion, (Wellbutrin). Here's something else to consider, though, that may be important - like other SSRIs, sertraline is associated with sexual side effects. Compared with patients on bupropion, one study showed that those taking sertraline had much higher rates of sexual dysfunction (61% vs. 10% for men and 41% vs. 7% for women), nausea, diarrhea, somnolence, (drowsiness), and sweating.
Other clinical trials show that while nefazodone (Serzone) and bupropion did not have negative effects on sexual functioning, 67% of men on sertraline experienced difficulties, vs. 18% before the treatment, and another paper showed 61% having difficulties, vs. 0%. Similarly, in a group of women who initially did not have difficulties achieving orgasm, 41% acquired this problem during treatment with sertraline.
According to some claims, Paxil appears to have the most significant impact on weight gain of all of the SSRIs. The problem with Paxil is that studies show that women patients on Paxil experience an increase in breast size as well as weight gain and increased serum prolactin, (prolactin is the hormone that triggers lactation). IOW, this stuff definitely messes with your hormones, and I'm a firm believer of the old saying, "It's not nice to mess with mother nature".
It's never an easy choice, is it. <sigh>
Tex
If you're switching just because of the desire to gain weight, the SSRIs definitely do better in that category, than bupropion, (Welbutrin), (since bupropion is typically associated with weight loss). By comparison, for many people, bupropion seems to cause the least amount of side effects, and the the least amount of serious side effects, so it will probably not be easy to find an SSRI that is as "user-friendly" as bupropioin. As you say, though, maybe you will be one of the lucky ones.
Comparative clinical trials have demonstrated that sertraline's, (Zoloft's), efficacy in depression is similar to that of bupropion, (Wellbutrin). Here's something else to consider, though, that may be important - like other SSRIs, sertraline is associated with sexual side effects. Compared with patients on bupropion, one study showed that those taking sertraline had much higher rates of sexual dysfunction (61% vs. 10% for men and 41% vs. 7% for women), nausea, diarrhea, somnolence, (drowsiness), and sweating.
Other clinical trials show that while nefazodone (Serzone) and bupropion did not have negative effects on sexual functioning, 67% of men on sertraline experienced difficulties, vs. 18% before the treatment, and another paper showed 61% having difficulties, vs. 0%. Similarly, in a group of women who initially did not have difficulties achieving orgasm, 41% acquired this problem during treatment with sertraline.
According to some claims, Paxil appears to have the most significant impact on weight gain of all of the SSRIs. The problem with Paxil is that studies show that women patients on Paxil experience an increase in breast size as well as weight gain and increased serum prolactin, (prolactin is the hormone that triggers lactation). IOW, this stuff definitely messes with your hormones, and I'm a firm believer of the old saying, "It's not nice to mess with mother nature".
It's never an easy choice, is it. <sigh>
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks Tex-
I think I have more of the anxiety problem than depression- and SSRIs are supposed to help with both anxiety and depression while wellbutrin only helps the depression side. And I know all about the sexual side effects as well- paxil it is more difficult to achieve orgasm while Zoloft and some others it is more difficult to even get ready for intimacy.
I was thinking about Xanax or Klonopin to try next but they fall into the Benzo's that I am trying to get off of- highly addicting- but I havent had to change my dose at all on ativan for the past 2 years. I have actually been able to cut the dose in half.
How would paxil effect my hormones since I am not a woman- did a study talk about that? I have a "bird chest" so maybe a little definition would be nice... haha! Honestly i wouldnt mind the "difficulty" as much as not functioning at all. The "difficulty" would actually help me out a bit-- and hopefully the weight gain will come with it.
As always thanks for your input and suggestions!
I think I have more of the anxiety problem than depression- and SSRIs are supposed to help with both anxiety and depression while wellbutrin only helps the depression side. And I know all about the sexual side effects as well- paxil it is more difficult to achieve orgasm while Zoloft and some others it is more difficult to even get ready for intimacy.
I was thinking about Xanax or Klonopin to try next but they fall into the Benzo's that I am trying to get off of- highly addicting- but I havent had to change my dose at all on ativan for the past 2 years. I have actually been able to cut the dose in half.
How would paxil effect my hormones since I am not a woman- did a study talk about that? I have a "bird chest" so maybe a little definition would be nice... haha! Honestly i wouldnt mind the "difficulty" as much as not functioning at all. The "difficulty" would actually help me out a bit-- and hopefully the weight gain will come with it.
As always thanks for your input and suggestions!
Dr Fine test shows positive for gluten and casien but negative for soy, eggs, and yeast
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Maybe its UC maybe its MC? Who knows at this point, but at least I know my intollerances now... so heres to the road to healing!
Andrew,
I don't know of any research projects specifically devoted to that topic, but here's one which found that in antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction, (ASD), 75% of both men and women were low on testosterone.
http://priory.com/psych/sexdys.htm
I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but both sexes have virtually the same hormones, and they are essential for the proper functioning of the body in both genders. IOW, you and I have to have a certain amount of estrogen and females have to have a certain level of testosterone, for one example. The body regulates the respective levels of the various hormones, (depending on gender), so as to end up with everything looking right, and working right, hopefully. Did you know that both estrogen and testosterone are necessary to prevent osteoporosis in both sexes, for example? The relative levels are quite different, obviously, between opposite genders, but it is equally important for helping to prevent osteoporosis. T also plays a very important role in helping to prevent heart attacks and stoke. Since T is considered to be a male hormone, though, it's often overlooked when a doctor is trying to figure out why a female is having certain unexplained problems.
On the other hand, estrogen is just as important as T, when it comes to male fertility, and bone development. Too much, though, will cause problems, such as a heightened risk of prostate cancer. While the purpose of prolactin in the male is not yet understood, it's known that too much prolactin in males, will cause infertility, and if untreated, it can lead to permanent infertility. Those are just a few examples, but they show why using meds which distort the levels of various hormones, should not to be taken lightly.
Tex
I don't know of any research projects specifically devoted to that topic, but here's one which found that in antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction, (ASD), 75% of both men and women were low on testosterone.
http://priory.com/psych/sexdys.htm
I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but both sexes have virtually the same hormones, and they are essential for the proper functioning of the body in both genders. IOW, you and I have to have a certain amount of estrogen and females have to have a certain level of testosterone, for one example. The body regulates the respective levels of the various hormones, (depending on gender), so as to end up with everything looking right, and working right, hopefully. Did you know that both estrogen and testosterone are necessary to prevent osteoporosis in both sexes, for example? The relative levels are quite different, obviously, between opposite genders, but it is equally important for helping to prevent osteoporosis. T also plays a very important role in helping to prevent heart attacks and stoke. Since T is considered to be a male hormone, though, it's often overlooked when a doctor is trying to figure out why a female is having certain unexplained problems.
On the other hand, estrogen is just as important as T, when it comes to male fertility, and bone development. Too much, though, will cause problems, such as a heightened risk of prostate cancer. While the purpose of prolactin in the male is not yet understood, it's known that too much prolactin in males, will cause infertility, and if untreated, it can lead to permanent infertility. Those are just a few examples, but they show why using meds which distort the levels of various hormones, should not to be taken lightly.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.