Tuesday I had my doctor’s appointment and started my new meds. I’m tapering down my current SSRI and tapering up my new SSRI. The doctor also suggested that I take a partial dose of an older anti-depressant as a sleeping pill, since she thought that might be exacerbating my depression.

Wednesday I spent most of the day foggy and tired–perhaps even worse off than I was before.

So Wednesday night I kept the same dosages of the SSRI but skipped the “sleeping pill.”
I woke up before the alarm feeling more alert than I have in months–but with a headache.

Two aspirin helped, and after some discussion and consideration decided that the headache came from my TMJ. Lucky me. SSRIs give me TMJ, so when I’m on them I have to wear a mouth guard while I sleep. And off and on today I caught myself gritting my teeth, which of course didn’t help any.

But aspirin helps, and hopefully once I finish the transition, the TMJ will get a little better.

But mostly, today, for the first time in a very long time, I felt clear headed and with some optimism for the future.