Thread by @Lattesdotter11

Around 7:00 am this morning, I also took my vitamin supplements: a woman's multivitamin, vitamin D, and Black Cohosh.

Black Cohosh is in the plant family of species on this planet (a naturally growing herb that has been used for quite some time). It helps your body produce produce estrogen but doesn't take effect as quickly as synthetic estrogen. (About 2 to 3 week buildup in body).

Black Cohosh really helped me with the hot flashes related to menopause,and it still helps, although the hot flashes are not quite as bad anymore. (About nine years of peri-, during, post- menopausal hot flashes. But I have been ill for quite some time). Check with a good doctor.

I found Christine Northrup's book on menopause to be helpful, and she discusses the pluses and minuses of natural supplements. She also discusses pluses and minuses of synthetic estrogen. I don't have a history of breast cancer in my family, so synthetic estrogen is OK for me.

I did try synthetic estrogen in summer of 2013 when I had been taking Abilify for 8 months and was urgently trying to find out why I was so fatigued,somnolent and felt so sedated and sleepy all the time (after two months of Abilify). I thought the fatigue was due to menopause.

I doubt the severe fatigue I felt after two months of taking Abilify was due to menopause. But,look,I had a hypothesis (my menopause leading to extreme fatigue),and I was wrong. So,as a scientist would do,I rejected that hypothesis and continued investigating. I found Abilify. #n

#(n+1) In about August of 2013, I found published peer-reviwed article about problems with reporting of adverse symptoms when prescribing atypical anti-psychotics in combination with anti-depressants. The article mentioned problems with the FDA adverse events report for an NDA.

#(n+2) Since I had spent three years generating adverse events reports for a heart medication for Pfizer (severe coronary heart disease, trial was not a success), I knew that Bristol Myers Squibb had to have filed an adverse events report to the FDA when it filed for approval.

(n+3) At my own expense, I printed out the 164 page Adverse Event Report (NDA 21-346/S-018 Date: 5/16/07) at the Fed-Ex in Edina,MN. (My home printer is a cheaper printer). I looked through the report and there are more blacked out sections than in the Mueller report.

(n+4) In the Adverse Events listing on page 70,I found that people taking Abilify were twice as likely to experience somnolence, sedation, and fatigue when compared to the placebo group. Placebo group: 15% . In the Abilify group, 22% .

(n+5) I realize now that I mistakenly said that the extreme fatigue was in 2013. It was actually in 2014. I started taking Abilify in combination with Effexor in the fall of 2013 and started experiencing extreme fatigue in January of 2014 ( after about two months or eight weeks).

(n+6) It was in the spring and summer of 2014 that I saw a gynecologist and then 2 months later a nurse practitioner because I was very worried about my fatigue. The gynecologist gave me a tetanus shot. The nurse practitioner told me to eat more fiber. #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

(n+7) I did schedule a second visit to the nurse practitioner (I had my therapist call her and hopefully my therapist told the NP that I didn't overdramatize and that I was being truthful, and if I thought there was a serious problem, then there was a serious problem).

(n+8) So in the summer of 2014, the NP agreed to prescribe me synthetic estrogen(along with progesterone as is usual) to see if that would help with the fatigue. During that visit, a very nice pharmacist checked for any interactions of the estrogen my other medications.

(n+9) What is interesting is that in the summer of 2014, the very nice pharmacist (who I really liked and think is probably very smart) did not find an interaction effect between Abilify and Effexor. She may not have run that query in the interactions database. I don't know.

(n+9) I only started thinking about this a few years later. This very smart qualified PhD pharmacist did a query for drug interactions and didn't find the interaction between Effexor and Abilify listed. Again, she may not have run that query. But it didn't occur to her to do so.

@threadreaderapp Could you please unroll so that I can save this and save it until I can show these tweets to someone who might care. Excuse me, I have to cry for a little while. Thank you for all you do. Namaste.

For those who do care and are doing so much to make the world a better place, thank you. So many people have suffered so much, and are still suffering. I know there are many working around the world in many ways to help. I prefer to donate within my local community.

Donating to groups and organizations and individuals where I live has always been something I have done - I know the groups and organizations and what they do. I will also keep giving money to teenagers who are busking - just in case.

Also, for the pixies and wonderful chaos makers, I enjoy what you do. I get tired a lot and sad, but I am trying to think of little gifts. You are charming. (Charming is a gender neutral word, fyi).