Discussion antidepressants made me dumb…

[deadwinter]

hi,

i've been on antidepressants for a while (they haven't helped) and i can't think clearly anymore. i read sentences over and over again and still can't comprehend the meaning. my memory is awful… i have no recollection of yesterday, and i seem to be in a constant state of brain fog.

i have mixed feelings about iq tests, but anyways… i've taken several standardized iq tests over my lifetime and after starting antidepressants my iq score dropped significantly in the processing speed area.

i really hope this can be reversed, and i plan to gradually get off the antidepressants. it feels like my brain is deteriorating, and it's so frustrating.

please let me know if anything similar has happened to you. how did you handle it? i'd love to hear your experiences, thank you for reading :)

 

[lachrymost]

When I went off antidepressants for the first time, I was shocked by what happened. I was medicated as a child so I had never rawdogged my adult brain. I became much more creative; my vocabulary and reasoning ability exploded; I was impressing myself left and right with how I could think, write, create. I have done as much creative writing this year as I had previously done in my entire life, and it shocks me how I've improved so fast. All this I accomplished with the impediment of being more suicidal than ever before, by the way. My IQ must be improved. It's really scary, but cool to meet myself for the first time. Who knows what I could have been without any of that poison at all?

Some people improve after going off, even if it takes ages, but others don't. It took about six months for me to really notice and guess at the cause. I hope you can get your brain back.

 

[NumbItAll]

Brains are very good at adapting so it is very likely you can get back to normal. A 10% slow taper is recommended to minimize the risk of withdrawal effects.

 

[WAITING TO DIE]

I no longer take meds because of the side effects. They never really helped me anyway.
I remember the withdrawal effects of coming off effexor ( venlafaxine ) were particularly nasty.

 

[losing altitude]

hi,

i've been on antidepressants for a while (they haven't helped) and i can't think clearly anymore. i read sentences over and over again and still can't comprehend the meaning. my memory is awful… i have no recollection of yesterday, and i seem to be in a constant state of brain fog.

i have mixed feelings about iq tests, but anyways… i've taken several standardized iq tests over my lifetime and after starting antidepressants my iq score dropped significantly in the processing speed area.

i really hope this can be reversed, and i plan to gradually get off the antidepressants. it feels like my brain is deteriorating, and it's so frustrating.

please let me know if anything similar has happened to you. how did you handle it? i'd love to hear your experiences, thank you for reading :)

I've had that happen to me on Prozac and Cylert as well as a few others. Not so much on Zoloft. I had trouble finding the right words and actually developed a stutter which not to knock anyone who has one but it was new for me. It stopped relatively soon-within a month- I would say. I have been on about 5 different OCD and depression meds and Zoloft has worked the best with the least side effects.

 

[deadwinter]

I became much more creative; my vocabulary and reasoning ability exploded; I was impressing myself left and right with how I could think, write, create. I have done as much creative writing this year as I had previously done in my entire life, and it shocks me how I've improved so fast.

that's absolutely amazing, and i'm so proud of you for how far you've come! thank you for sharing ^_^

i've found it impossible to have any sort of creativity since i've been on antidepressants. i can't make simple decisions and have trouble converting my thoughts into words.

maybe i'm just not a creative person, but this is so interesting, that meds can affect so much without you realizing,,