noahfor

Anyone want to share their experiences on antidepressants. I'm on celexa right now. I feel pretty good, but I'm also realizing that happiness, at least the feeling, is not all that it is cracked up to be. It's a gloss over what is really important. However, I feel terrible when I'm not on the medication. I'm only on the starting dose, and I'm thinking that instead of upping the dose I will add a low dose of Wellbutrin into the mix. I have no concrete rationale for that, but whatever. I have more to say. I'll say it later.

WhoaitsZ

ummmmmmm

as a person on massive meds for 24 years (avg 8 to 11 pills once, five at night) i say don't fuck with chemicals of any kind without consultation of your own research, advice from doctors and the like.

for me, in 2000 i was fucking coming unglued. i literally got so anxious one day in a dr. office due to supressed memories i was shaking almost as if siezuring and my voice dropped to a whisper. i felt beyond high and almost passed out.... so on. the doc told me i needed help. soon.


i did. and started Zoloft. 3-4 weeks later i dealt better. now in 2003 i am doing much, much better. and i control almost all of my fear.

thing is......

1) every med affects every person differently. some help, some do nothing, some make it much worse

2) placebos. if you convince yourself that a tylenol is a miracle cure, it will pretty much be one

3) we're changing chemicals. we do not know what chemicals they are and how it makes us feel in hindsight. depression is a vast mystery medical wise.

4) yer going to feel weird for a long time. Zoloft stays in your system for 3-4 weeks at least.


the worse answer you can get is the one you need. you gotta wait it out.

there is hope though. stay strong and contact me if you need to vent.


nobody at all should deal with this shit alone.

butthead

It is my opinion that SSRI and SSRI-like medication used for first-line treatment of depression and anxiety is unnecessary, expensive, and dangerous.

That said, my personal experience has been with Prozac, Paxil, and an easily obtainable proprietary antidepressant regimen.

Prozac and Paxil, at best, did nothing to help.

The antidepressants I'm on now work great without any of the risks and side-effects that come with usual antidepressants. My antidepressants protect me from deeply depressive/manic episodes. I will soon be using Klonopin daily for anxiety.

I used to preach about this regimen to people who were stuck on SSRIs and similar medication. I was bothered that people were taking drugs they knew nothing about, that didn't help them, and sometimes even made thing worse, and they continued to take them. I keep my mouth shut about it now, not many people seem to be willing to trust anyone that doesn't have an M.D., competency be damned.

World's King

I've been on Zoloft for about a year now. It's given me the drive to get out and do something with my life... Which was apparently become an alcoholic.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

Mael

i used zoloft for about 8 months or so, and it kept me from getting the panic attacks i had been getting, but did nothing with depression. one day i decided to stop taking it, and a little while after that i felt great. stayed undepressed for a while. then i got depressed again, got into a car accident (completely unrelated) and felt great. i just read an article that suggests that taking folic acid could work in prevention of depression for some people, and the hospital had me on it to raise my hemoglobin count, so i'm wondering if that had anything to do with it. we'll see...

noahfor

Butthead, could you please go into more detail about the things you discussed in your post. Why do you think ssri's are dangerous? I know celexa works for me. I could feel it kick in one day, and when I stopped taking it once for a month I could feel the horrible feelings return. I know it wasnt placebo.

butthead

I'll get back to you shortly, hopefully. I think there may be significant risk when using SSRIs period, but more especially for first-line treatment and especially if a "chemical imbalance" hasn't been determined.

SSRIs generally take 4-6 weeks for antidepressant/anxiolytic effects (with the exception of maybe Lexapro, active isomer of Celexa), although side-effects may appear on the first day. Consider that it takes time for clinical effects that you felt on the first day and your apparent belief that it was working because you felt terrible after abruptly stopping after a month (SSRIs can cause withdrawal).

But, maybe I'm wrong for some reason. A few months ago I would have been able to tell you a whole lot more right now, but due to chronic pot smoking and lack of studying (and other factors), it's going to take some time for me to check references.

Psivage

I was on Zoloft for awhile, it made me feel depress really bad. Got off it. For about a year nothing. Now I'm on Wellbutrin, never felt better. I still have bad days, but not as bad as before. Thing is my creatine went up to 1.9 after starting on it. I have a kidney transplant so having a high creatine is scary. It dropped to 1.8, but still. The doctor says the med wouldn't affect my kidney. If it doesn't go down I will asked the new doctor it it could be affecting. On the plus side I lost 10 pounds.

lurkette

Reactions to meds are so intensely individualized that any anecdotes you get are going to be completely meaningless for your own experience.

That said, since you asked, I'm on Paxil and have been since December to treat panic attacks and mild depression. I'm also doing cognitive behavior therapy, which is where the real "juice" is as far as I'm concerned. The Paxil is merely there to keep my brain chemistry stable while I relearn how to think about my life and how to react to things. As soon as I can I'm going to be tapering off the Paxil. However, I've had a really great experience with it - I don't feel like it's causing "false" emotions. I feel more like I'm able to be happy when I'm happy, and not anxious about what I should be worrying about instead of being happy. I am able to feel sad, bored, angry, nervous, tense, but the emotions are appropriate to the situation I'm in. The side-effects were minimal, and this past Christmas was the first one I didn't cry at. When my brother died a few months ago I was able to be there for my family before and after my brother's death, and mourn him, and be myself instead of being a slave to my anxieties.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

Frowning Budah

Ah a subject near and dear to my heart. I never had need of them until I started this damn job. I have tried some of the more common ones mentioned. Now I am on Buspar. Seemed to do a pretty good job, but lately them seem to be slipping a little. I don't know maybe it is time for a change. Either job or pills.

WhoaitsZ

there is also one huge misconception concerning these drugs: They do not make us happy.

There is no happy pill (or at least a legal one). like lurkette said with Paxel, it hates more with chemical stability and she seems to be saying something similiar to myself.

after i gave in and started medicating and talking to friends i started 'waking up' and seeing how i had quit doing Fun Activities. i thought to myself 'reading is boring, the net is boring, games are starting to bore me... life is boring me.' i realized that that was a dangerous thought and and alien one. so i forced myself to re-introduce myself to my old hobbies.

i enjoyed them!

it was as if i were punishing myself without realizing it and simply ruining all hope for fun.

if Zoloft had to make me not be depressed then yeah i'd say it failed. it can help, not cure.

after taking Zoloft i simply started thinking more clearly and my thoughts were less dire. the rest is up to me. and it should be. our lives would suck if we could take a pill and be happy. we'de turn into sheep in a heartbeat.


wtf is an SSRI?

sierra2774

I have been on Zoloft for about three years now and for some reason thought I could just stop taking it....
Obviously I cannot function properly without it, so I am picking up my refill Tomorrow morning.
I have had good luck on it, meaning it has controlled my depression and panic attacks, but I do not like the side effects....So I guess I will have to try and deal with them again.

__________________
"Every tomorrow brings new opportunities, challenges we must address...A chance to affirm all our wishes and dreams, to seek beauty and true happiness."

butthead

Actually, the old antidepressants such as d-amphetamine elevated moods very quickly, similar to my antidepressants.

But in effect, what you are saying is very true. Most people, when seeing a psychiatrist, are likely to be put on an SSRI/TCA or similar medication which will not elevate mood similarly to amphetamine. Clinical effects are supposed to be subtle with SSRIS and TCAs.

An SSRI is a drug belonging to a group of drugs known as selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Examples of SSRIs include Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Luvox (fluvoxamine), etc. These block serotonin reuptake sites, preventing serotonin from being taken back up into the presynaptic neuron from which it was released. This increases synpatic serotonin and ideally will result in more serotonin attaching to postsynaptic receptors.

SSRIs may work for some, but they are not the only things that do.

noahfor

I am very aware of how I'm feeling. I felt it kick in at about three weeks after I started taking it, before that I was up and down. When I stopped, I tapered off, and even after I stopped taking it completely I felt pretty good, but after about three weeks of being off it I started feeling bad. I have analyzed the information and I'm sure it's not placebo. However I think there is too much serotonin in the synapse now, and that whatever feelings that causes are over shadowing other ones. I still can't feel deep emotion, like when I look at the clouds. When I was depressed I felt love. Now I don't feel it as much, but I'm happier, not over all, just the feeling of happiness is stronger. I'd rather feel the love than the happiness. That's why I'm going to see if I can get on WB instead of upping the celexa, get that norepinephrine flowing. I don't really know if it works that way.

mathias3

How did any of you know when you needed to see a psychiatrist or get on an antidepressant? I personally think I'm kinda screwed up on more than one corner.....seems like most of the time I feel ultra-overwhelmed with the world and feel like I'm drowning in simply everyday life. I'm not suicidal or anything, it's just that the overload of stress and depression is trashing my physical health (stress-related heart problems and I just turned 25) and I don't really know how or who to talk to about it. I know I stress out about things most people wouldn't, but nothing in my job or home-life would ever get done if I didn't keep on it and do it personally. I guess I'm just wondering if the antidepressants are something that would help me keep from feeling like the ocean of life isn't closing over my head faster than I can tread water. I don't think I made any sense in this post, but I appreciate being able to offload a little of this off my mind.

rascal0821

On Celexa also. Have been on for a few years and honestly can't remember why I didn't like the others (Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft were tried and discarded). In any case, Celexa seems to work the best for me though I go through occasional periods of noncompliance i.e. suddenly wake up convinced that I don't need it (a very common phase of taking any sort of mood stabilizing meds, in my limited experience). Haven't run across anyone on Celexa (rarely met anyone who even heard of it) so, startled as I am, thought I'd make this my first ever post to TFP -- be glad to trade notes anytime.

bing bing

I've just started celexa 20mg dose. The side effects so far haven't been too bad although I’ve got some nasty insomnia and it's messed up my sleeping patterns big time.

I was on paxil for a year and became thoroughly "addicted". Tapering off from that shit was the worst time of my life.

boredjerk

i think they are way fucking over-prescribed.

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Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

bing bing

your thought is based on what? someone elses? statistics?

Sleepyjack

i've stayed away from as many chemicals as possible, and find that music is a great as an anti-depresant. And i am glad that i have this medium which i can get so much out of.
its important to not become reliant on chemicals and take them moderatly. I've also heard from people that some yoga or other stress relief technique is very good for clearing the mind and becoming at peace with yourself, and generally happy. Also excercising is good way to release some natural chemicals in your system (i think they're endorphins, tho i dunno) and they do make you feel "good"
Never fill the void in your life with a product!
my adviece is to try to use more natural outlets on relieving the metaphorical pain that is life

bing bing

Your post juxtaposed with your signature made me laugh . But i do agree with what you've said. I've tried, and still do everything to try and fix my depression naturally but it just didn't cut and i felt that if i didn't start with the meds again, i wouldn't be around much longer.

lurkette

This is the kind of judgment I would pass on people on meds before I discovered that I "needed" them myself. For some people, these methods you describe work. However, for many others there is an actual chemical imbalance in the brain that is too severe to be dealt with with yoga and music. Much of depression and anxiety are cognitive and so can be dealt with through therapy or spiritual methods; however, for some people the therapy or yoga or whatever are simply not effective if you've passed some critical point, and you need the drugs to "reset" your brain chemistry to the point where you can function and get back on track. Exercise plus therapy has been shown to be as effective as SSRIs alone for people with MILD depression; however, for people with severe depression, chemicals are often the only option. I know you didn't intend it this way, but your statement simply makes people who have chosen medications to treat depression feel worse - there's already this horrible feeling of being out of control of your own thoughts and emotions, and to have someone say "if only you tried harder to control things through yoga and music you wouldn't need the drugs"....well, you might as well tack on "you losers" to the end of the sentence. Do you think we don't TRY those things first? Do you think we say "oh goodie, I'm clinical now, I can have drugs!!!" Drugs are often the course of last resort for people who have tried everything else. This is not simply a case of the "blah's" that we are treating, turning to drugs because we can't deal with life. This is an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness and panic that persists despite the fact that we know better! So don't be so quick to judge us.

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

Sleepyjack

no, no sorry. That was not my intention. Its just i was reading through and no one was really talking about any kind of natural or common everyday things to help you become at peace with yourself (other than thearpy). And i kinda naively assumed that no one had thought of anything else and just jumped to a last case scenario. sorry.
I appreciate that for some people, they need treatment because there is actually an imabalance in the brain which needs to be artifically corrected, or that its so serve that its a last case scenario. Fortunalty thats not the case for me, and i am empathetic with you and everyone else.

Also i am not judging anyone, and thats not my agenda. I was just saying what helps me and what works for me. Using judgement and judging has a connatations of some level of superiority on my part, and i remind you and everyone that i am not better than you and your not better than me.

lol, i am not sure if you're familar with bill hick's musings and concepts, but that little cut refers to a "positive" drug story. And yeah, no one seem to be disscussing other methods of anti-depressants, so yeah i was just saying what i use. I don't and never want to come across with a holier than thou attitude.

i'll finish off with another quote from the great man bill hicks.

"Here is my final point. About drugs, about alcohol, about pornography and smoking and everything else. What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I fuck, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?"

bing bing

Mr Hicks was full of much wisdom.

i8one2

I am fortunate not to have to need the help of medicine to be "Normal" I know first hand the difficulties with the medicines, levels, types and dosages needed to be "Normal" I have seen the effects of over perscribed, underprescribed and wrong meds, non working meds from those close to me. And I know first hand it no joke or laughing matter, but a difficult process to find the right mix or medicine that works for the individual, because they work so differently on each of them. I can just theorize the reason the medicine is so over prescribed is that they don't have enough information to be able to say, hey just take this one and wall-la..
All I know when they work, it gives my friends and loved ones the ability to function, and when they don't they have a difficult time. I am just blessed that I don't have to go though this process.

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LEATHER, LATEX and LACE "SSC"
"Nothing That Gives Pleasure is Bad"

Quality is for those who know
what they want and are at peace with what they have.

"S/M is about emotion; the erotic tension between my impulse toward something and my resistance against it."-- Virginia Barker

WhoaitsZ

you can get off of it, dudette, it just can't be done cold turkey.

best of luck!

WhoaitsZ

butthead.... um. i asked wtf did it mean. now.. wtf did YOU mean? english, dude!

music is a major, major way to mix emotions up. i have been meaning to post a thread related to this over a month.


all of these posters who 'have the right answer' worry me... i know you throw in your opinion, but this is a very, very delicate subject.


medication can work. medication can kill. it all varies: this is why you start low and pay attention.


what amuses me in a sad way is so many people avoid the 'happy pills' and then oftentimes drink excessive amounts of alcohol. yeah. that's safe and smart...

butthead

For a basic explanation, the Zoloft commerical does a fair job.

For people taking SSRIs are considering taking SSRIs: be sure to have your doctor find out as much as possible what your serotonin levels are and to remember that there is no set standard for serotonin levels. Remember that SSRI drugs like Prozac are there to correct a supposed chemical problem and that taking an SSRI before making sure of those two things is little more than quackery.

butthead

And that 5HTP, an over the counter protein, is comparable in efficacy to SSRIs and in many countries is held in favor over SSRIs because of this and its lack of SSRI-like side-effects.

cdwonderful

now, I feel better. Thanks Baby!

butthead

riptide4070

I take paxell, it works, no bad side affects, it's all good

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laxative

seems like everybody that goes to the doctor, or gets arrested, or has trouble in school, or gets married, or has children gets antidepressants. it's like antibiotics for every cold. doctors don't wanna fuck with people, don't really know what's wrong with them, and can't make them happy so they give 'em a prescription.

darksparkles

agreed.
i was on paxil for five months and prozac for seven... i went off them and hated them for a long fucking time and now consider getting back on them once in a while. still, for the first-line treatment, no way, especially since one can't be entirely sure that depression is what's the matter at that point.

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"I could be the walrus ... I'd still have to bum rides off people." -Ferris Bueller.

darksparkles

paxil?
i got some horrible side effects from paxil. the withdrawal's even worse.
i have a friend who's on it that it works well for, but...
every medication works on everyone differently.

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"I could be the walrus ... I'd still have to bum rides off people." -Ferris Bueller.

darksparkles

if you feel like you need the meds but don't like the side effects, maybe you should switch to another ssri.
good luck!

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"I could be the walrus ... I'd still have to bum rides off people." -Ferris Bueller.

bing bing

You got that right. I'm NEVER touching that shit again. I went through 2 weeks of torture coming off it.

lurkette

Curious - did your doctor step down your dosage, or did you go cold turkey? If you stepped down, how gradually? I'm on Paxil CR, which is an extended release drug and supposedly doesn't have the same severity of side effects, but I'm still concerned about the effects of going off, which I will be doing in the next few months.

__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

Frowning Budah

Sleepyjack, if you can use music to pull you out of the doldrum you ain't clinically depressed and your right you shouldn't be on anti depressants. When you are truly depressed music won't help, money won't help, sex won't help nothing helps. I always stayed away from any kind of drugs. I had to be hurting bad to take an aspirin. In the job I had before this one, half the staff was taking some kind of meds, but I took what they threw at me and continued to function with out any kind of medical help. Then I started a new job. The only think I wanted to do was sleep. I had to force myself to do even the simplest of tasks. I had a lot of physical symptoms to go with it. Suicide became one of the primary thoughts in my head. Finally I got so bad I had to do something so I allowed my wife to make an appointment for me. I am much better now. So even though anti-depressants are over used and abused they are a true life saver to some.

Sleepyjack

ok, i didn't realise the magnitude of some problems here. I never said i was clinically depressed, i just say whenever i am feeling down or whatever i use that stuff to help make everything better. I am sorry to have naivley said i try to stay away from chemicals, implying that evryone should, but again i didn't realise the magnitude. I let you know that i am empathetic with everyone tho and am sorry if i came across as a prick or something