Depression Talk

Hi, all. I’ll give you an advance warning — I’m curently getting over an attack of the flu, so this post might be a bit wackier than usual. But, as we barrel along with flu season, an important question comes to mind — should you take your meds with an upset stomach? These medicines cost enough as it is — you really don’t want to waste them by tossing them back up.

Don’t fool yourself — as soon as your meds get in the least bit wet, they’re usless. Trust me — I once tried to get a fluoxetine capsule out of my vomit because it wasn’t discolored in any way. But it still dissolved in my fingers. Once down the hatch, there’s no going back.

Call Your Doctor

If you do wake up with the flu and feel queasy but haven’t vomited yet, if you can, call your doctor or therapist to ask if it’s okay to skip a dose. I always seem to get sick on my doctor’s day off, so I have to wing it.

Know Your Meds

The two prescription medicines I have to take everyday are fluoxetine (for depression) and verapamil (for migraine prevention). I’ve been taking fluoexetine since April, 2003. This is more than enough time for me to not the quirks of this drug on my system. Skipping a couple of days is not going to mess me up. But if I skip for a week, then I’m in trouble and start to think suicidal thoughts again.

But I have only been taking verapamil since the spring. I don’t know what would happen to me if I missed a couple of days of it. So, I decided to wait until my stomach calmed down before taking verapamil.

Sometimes, You Have To Experiment

Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the Internet. I’m also only talking about depression medicines and verapamil. With some classes of medications — like insulin — you don’t have a choice. Take it, no matter what gymnastics your stomach is doing.

But sometimes you can’t get a hold of a doctor or therapist about your own meds when you have an upset stomach. In these cases, sometimes all you can do is experiment. Cross your fingers, swallow the meds (or however you take them) and note the results.

Hope this helps.