Allowing New Medications Adjust to Your Body

I’ve recently started a few different medications. My doctors and I are still trying to figure out what works best for all my conditions: depression, anxiety, AS, fibromyalgia, and colitis. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind the past couple of months with these meds. It feels like I’m always getting used to something new.

Starting new meds

Starting a new medication is always nerve-wracking for me. I never know what to expect, I Google the drug and the side effects about a hundred times, researching all that I can.

I’ve started Remicade and Wellbutrin in the past few months. Remicade is for my AS and colitis, and Wellbutrin is for my depression.

My worries

I always worry about side effects the most when starting something new. I’m sure we can all relate to that. That long list of side effects for every drug is always so intimidating and I worry about which ones I will feel.

I was more afraid of starting Wellbutrin, because sometimes with depression medications, it can get worse before it gets better.

Remicade is now my 4th biologic, so I knew what to expect with the side effects there. Headaches, cold & flu-like symptoms, nausea, and more. I wasn’t super worried about that.

With Wellbutrin, the side effects were anxiety, irregular heartbeats, trouble sleeping, and shakiness, among many more.

How it’s going

I’m now a month and a half into my Remicade experience and about half a month into my Wellbutrin experience. Both are going well! I haven’t had too many side effects from either drug, and I feel extremely lucky for that. I had one night of really bad sleep, which then led to me feeling other side effects, but overall, things have been very mild.

Letting your body adjust

One thing I’ve learned in my many years of trying different medications is that you always have to give the drug time to adjust to your body.

I’ve had experiences that were so bad I stopped a medication long before my system would get used to it. It happens, but you have to give it a few weeks at least. Nothing happens overnight.

Remicade is one that can take a few months to kick in. I’ve been on it for a month and a half and completed my loading doses, but I still don’t feel much of a difference. This is normal, and my nurse assured me that it could be a few more infusions until I start to feel anything.

It’s difficult

It can be really difficult to set aside weeks or months at a time to start a new medication. I know that feeling all too well. You never know which side effects you’re going to experience and when the drug will kick in.

Just know that you aren’t alone in feeling frustrated or defeated. I’ve been there too many times to count in the last 6 years. Sometimes a medication just might not be the right one for you. We continue on and try again. Remember that you’re not alone.