Help...the perfect storm...when will all this pass??

Well, I feel as if I've hit rock bottom :-(. Lavh/bso in Nov. Things were great until the last few weeks. I wish I could take it all back...no hysto! Trying to regulate my hormones-Vivelle dot @ .150 has been a challenge. It really got bad a couple weeks ago when I went to Dr (to switch antidepressants) & found out I gained another 15 lbs (I'm 5'3"). I was so upset I marched right over to the store & bought a pack of smokes (quit in sept)...I was so upset! We decided to switch meds from effexor to wellbutrin... Now I am having serious withdrawals from effexor, I'm smoking, can't sleep, having crying meltdowns daily, periodic panic attacks, etc. It's like it's all too much!! I know I need to be patient & no more changes!!! This is all so tough, I just want to feel better! I want the effexor 'brain tracers' to go away, I want to lose weight, I want the anxiety to go away, I want to not smoke-but I feel like I need to to cope!? Misery loves company...can u tell me your stories of pain to perseverance-I would so appreciate it! DH doesn't understand, I don't think soca even understand!?!?
Thank god for this website and for the support it provides!!

what are the things that have gone so bad? is it the gaining weight and the smoking or more you are not telling us, how are you healing physcially besides your hormones? do you have any success stories to share

perhaps thinking of one good thing a day, read some of the stories here that are worse than yours, sure has helped me when i am feeling down

i too am on antidepressants and the first one made me throw up, but am getting used to the second one

keep coming here and post more often, letting us come alongside you and support you

get outside at least once a day

hi, i'm sorry you are having a bad time, i went off effexor 10 years ago cold turkey and i was a mess. called my dh at work and just kept saying it's all too much, i can't handle this and cried hysterically. so i then was told to taper off them gradually cutting them down by a quarter dose a week. i did that and them was ok. my dr wanted me to go back on and suggest ed wellbutrin because i had gained 20 pounds with the effexor. He said the wellbutrin often has a curb your appetite effect. so maybe long term this will help? i ended up using walking and talking and various diets as an allternative. I walked an hour aday with a friend or the dog and an ipod. i went on a low carb high protein diet and lost weight under dr supervision, then joined a bootcamp with some friends- which i hated but it made me feel great. then of course came all the blood and hysto- quit the gym, gained back some of the weight ...so it is a rocky road for sure.
please give the wellbutrin a chance to take over for the effexor and try walking outside. have you tried a sad lamp? that might kickstart some feelgood stuff.
hang in there and use this site as support!we care and there is always someone who undrstands

I'm so sorry you are feeling so low.

I take welbutrin. It may have the effect of appetite suppressant as a previous poster stated. It's a common "side effect". It has also been used for smoking sessation...double score!

How confident are you with your doc? Would you consider getting another opinion about what's going on with your hormones?

Something that has really helped me with the battle of the bulge is exercisetv.tv it has tons of free full length work outs. I love the walking ones with Leslie Sansome. It is literally just walking. OnDemand also has tons of free workouts. I love their morning yoga and can't wait to get back to that.

Lean on your Sister Princesses here. That's what we are here for!