Antidepressants mess you up?

[Fadeawaaaay]

A couple weeks ago, for really no reason at all, I just stopped taking antidepressants. I have been on them for about 30 years.
I thought I was gonna crash really hard. Instead it was like a fog lifting.
I find Im much calmer. But…
My life is in ruins. And I wonder if the antidepressants messed with my head and poisoned my actions.
Someone I knew once said, "never confuse movement with progress. "
And I think, for the longest time, I wanted to always keep moving. And ended up making impulsive decisions with very bad consequences.
Has anyone else had a negative reaction to antidepressants and what were the consequences?

 

[Loaf of bread]

Friendly bump.

 

[FogFilledLife]

A couple weeks ago, for really no reason at all, I just stopped taking antidepressants. I have been on them for about 30 years.
I thought I was gonna crash really hard. Instead it was like a fog lifting.
I find Im much calmer. But…
My life is in ruins. And I wonder if the antidepressants messed with my head and poisoned my actions.
Someone I knew once said, "never confuse movement with progress. "
And I think, for the longest time, I wanted to always keep moving. And ended up making impulsive decisions with very bad consequences.
Has anyone else had a negative reaction to antidepressants and what were the consequences?

My mind wasn't my own when on antidepressants.

 

[Niko66]

I have only tried antidepressant a few times because the experiences have been terrible, with really shitty doctors too. One made me into a zombie who just wanted to sleep or kill themselves and had essentially no emotions, another gave me chronic physical issues that I am still dealing with to this day and made me extremely angry when I was taking them, I am not ever touching them again, they are basically experimental drugs 33/33/33 chance you get better (with "minor" side effects), straight up worse in every way and/or maybe get some form of permanent damage too while you are at it. Oh and many have terrible withdrawals which most doctors don't even bother disclosing to you, they never did me.

 

[romanholidaydionysu]

It's not technically an antidepressant, but I essentially blacked out for 6 months on Intuniv for ADHD. That was even worse than MAOIs, which put me in a horrible fugue and seem to make my depression worse

 

[fatefulstillness]

I was on antidepressants for about 10 years, I took them consistently. I wasn't myself and I couldn't feel or think clearly. I also took other meds, different kinds.

I've been off them for 3 years now. I haven't been the same. I think much clearer now, and for that I'm grateful, but I can't feel the way I used to. They never mentioned it, but I believe permanent damage is what was done to me. If this is the "fix" they promised me, psychiatrists are fucked up in the head – as if I wouldn't notice becoming another person...!

I wish I never took anything. I'm never taking anything ever again.

 

[walt]

Prozac was just the worst. I mean it absolutely worked 100% but feeling no emotions at all is no way to live, least not for me.

My therapist told me my medications could've triggered my bipolar because I didn't experience any symptoms previously, so, tough luck I guess. I trust doctors but you have to be careful with these drugs, extremely careful.

 

[Al_stargate]

Don't believe at all in them. But because a doctor said it then it must be right. It might help calm a person down temporarily but definitely not curing anything. Depression can only be cured by solving the problems people are facing and living a natural and healthy lifestyle, no pill can make you happy inside. Antidepressants are just for pharma to make money, shrinks to prescribe to make it look like they're doing something, and depressed people to make belief think they're working. A placebo effect. It might alleviate severely depressed for a short time by basically drugging to numb them emotionally and mentally.

 

[demuic]

They destroyed my memory even worse than it already was.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

I think more people don't realize how awful these drugs really are

 

[Hurt]

Never tried antidepressants but I exercise everyday which is good for mood but no matter what suicidal thoughts always come back.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

I honestly don't know anything about antidepressants, but I know something about medications in general, since i care fro both my mother and father at different times, and the one thing I've learned doing research on some of the medications is that so many medications seem to have that "asterisks" next to them. You know the one that says something like, "the exact mechanism of how this medication works is unknown". I'm pretty sure that goes for antidepressants, too, at least most of them. If the docs don't now how the meds exactly work, how on earth can they know what other effects they can have on you over time, or what other maladies they can leave you with when you get off of them? Just saying. Sorry if I hijacked.

 

[downndone2]

I was on an antidepressant off label for menopause. It started making me sick and had to come off cold turkey. The withdrawals caused me 6 months of mania and during that time I ruined my fucking life

 

[thedaywillcome]

Don't believe at all in them. But because a doctor said it then it must be right. It might help calm a person down temporarily but definitely not curing anything. Depression can only be cured by solving the problems people are facing and living a natural and healthy lifestyle, no pill can make you happy inside. Antidepressants are just for pharma to make money, shrinks to prescribe to make it look like they're doing something, and depressed people to make belief think they're working. A placebo effect. It might alleviate severely depressed for a short time by basically drugging to numb them emotionally and mentally.

Some problems cant be solved, like severe medical issues or inborn conditions.

 

[loststar]

Ive been on several diffrent ssri anti depresents and all theyve achieved is fucking with my sleep which was poor to start with

 

[Ligottian]

I used to have a very good shrink who is now retired and dead. He'd let me try different meds, but never insisted I stay on something that wasn't helping or giving me side affects. The very worst drug I ever took was something called Straterra (sp?). One pill and never again! Anyone else tried it?

 

[Smart No More]

Ive been on several diffrent ssri anti depresents and all theyve achieved is fucking with my sleep which was poor to start with

Did they make you tired or did they make you struggle to sleep.

I'm really not a fan of psych meds and more than that I'm not a fan of the unfocused manner they're prescribed in. Were a doctor to say "we've done this test and it shows this is deficient or this is out of whack and this medication is designed to fix that", much like a vitamin deficiency is diagnosed then fair enough. It makes sense to prescribe it. However no tests are done before diagnosing mental health issues. Nonw that quantify the cause of your symptoms. More often than not actual health issues are overlooked in favour of diagnosing mental health issues as its more xonveand easy to make poorly form preconceptions. It's almost prejudicial. Oh and don't question it because then you're labelled untrusting of doctor and no context is considered so wven when it's justified it's not. It's just as bad a racism, sexism and any other prejudical practices. Corrupt and sick to its core and even worse there's a whole accepting culture based around it. Even the admin workers at surgeries are indoctrinated. Nurses too. Then there's the lower tiered health workers like drug councillors and none medical prescribes who know even less but are fully indoctrinated in the mental health culture. If we as a species go on for long enough ther will come a time where this whole thing comes to light and humans will look back on these practices and resulting travesty in a different light.

I have a health condition of sorts that impacts my memory and capacity for thought. Before this I had an exeptional mental ability and it was my strongest asset. There is a clear cut reason for my condition but doctors refuse to acknowledge it and instead segregatw symptoms as thoigh they're all unrelated. Therefore I end up going to different specialists for different symptoms and there'a no cohesion. No communication between departments and no holistic or even relwvant treatment. Its been nearly two years trying to get treatment and now they're sending me to psychology after the only relevant specialists (neurology) turned down my referral because of the way the doctor wrote it up in a manner that made the referral appear unnecessary. It's an utter nightmare and every appointment further perpetuates the misconception that I have mental health issue rather than an underlying pathology that needs addressing. Broken to say the least.

God have I hijacked? I hope not! This is just an issue close to my heart and I am learning now what many of you have been dealing with for years.

Due to wanting to feel better I had been considering trying some psych meds over the last 24hrs or so because I could use the help to tie me over to getting somewhere relevant but having read this thread I've come back to my senses so thank you OP. Seriously!

 

[loststar]

Did they make you tired or did they make you struggle to sleep.

I'm really not a fan of psych meds and more than that I'm not a fan of the unfocused manner they're prescribed in. Were a doctor to say "we've done this test and it shows this is deficient or this is out of whack and this medication is designed to fix that", much like a vitamin deficiency is diagnosed then fair enough. It makes sense to prescribe it. However no tests are done before diagnosing mental health issues. Nonw that quantify the cause of your symptoms. More often than not actual health issues are overlooked in favour of diagnosing mental health issues as its more xonveand easy to make poorly form preconceptions. It's almost prejudicial. Oh and don't question it because then you're labelled untrusting of doctor and no context is considered so wven when it's justified it's not. It's just as bad a racism, sexism and any other prejudical practices. Corrupt and sick to its core and even worse there's a whole accepting culture based around it. Even the admin workers at surgeries are indoctrinated. Nurses too. Then there's the lower tiered health workers like drug councillors and none medical prescribes who know even less but are fully indoctrinated in the mental health culture. If we as a species go on for long enough ther will come a time where this whole thing comes to light and humans will look back on these practices and resulting travesty in a different light.

I have a health condition of sorts that impacts my memory and capacity for thought. Before this I had an exeptional mental ability and it was my strongest asset. There is a clear cut reason for my condition but doctors refuse to acknowledge it and instead segregatw symptoms as thoigh they're all unrelated. Therefore I end up going to different specialists for different symptoms and there'a no cohesion. No communication between departments and no holistic or even relwvant treatment. Its been nearly two years trying to get treatment and now they're sending me to psychology after the only relevant specialists (neurology) turned down my referral because of the way the doctor wrote it up in a manner that made the referral appear unnecessary. It's an utter nightmare and every appointment further perpetuates the misconception that I have mental health issue rather than an underlying pathology that needs addressing. Broken to say the least.

God have I hijacked? I hope not! This is just an issue close to my heart and I am learning now what many of you have been dealing with for years.

Due to wanting to feel better I had been considering trying some psych meds over the last 24hrs or so because I could use the help to tie me over to getting somewhere relevant but having read this thread I've come back to my senses so thank you OP. Seriously!

Stopped me sleeping, im lucky if i get about 4 hours of sleep a night on ssri's its even less

 

[Smart No More]

Stopped me sleeping, im lucky if i get about 4 hours of sleep a night on ssri's its even less

God that sucks. Guessing you've tried sleep meds? I've found intermittent use of ambien/zolpidem to be helpful. For me there's this weird but seemingly really beneficial period I go through as it takes effect. It's almost like waking rem sleep. Bit trippy but not in an overwhelming or scary way and it seems to have a really beneficial impact on my mind. Like an organising almost curative impact that's lacking due to my health issue. I too was having really bad issues with sleep after being someone that slept really well all their life. As I fell asleep I would wake up with a jerk/spasm and never be able to fully get to sleep. As though my mind ans body were unable to get past a certain level of falling asleep without kind of glitching out. The lack of sleep (which wasn't even sleep) was further impacting my overall health and cognition. Obviously we're different people with different issues but if you haven't been able to try it I will say it did and does help me. Just don't use it daily. Once weekly is about the most I can get away with. Otherwise tolerance and addixtion come fast. Benzos are a similar nightmare but the sleep they provide isn't like proper sleep. It's not rewarsing foe me at all so rules thwm out for that purpose.

Depensing where you live you may be able to get referred to sleep clinic. They can be pretty helpful.

Getting no sleep ia real torture man. Know your pain.

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

Well, I think I have a different experience that most people here. Actually, the antidepressants are really helping me and I don't have any side effect. If it wasn't the antidepressants I couldn't be a functional person at all, they helped me to getting out of the hole that I was.

 

[Smart No More]

Well, I think I have a different experience that most people here. Actually, the antidepressants are really helping me and I don't have any side effect. If it wasn't the antidepressants I couldn't be a functional person at all, they helped me to getting out of the hole that I was.

Glad it's working for you. At least they do help some. It's such a gamble to have to take at the worst time in life for many.

Do you mind me asking what you use and what your diagnosis is? Obviously no problem if you prefer not to say.

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

Glad it's working for you. At least they do help some. It's such a gamble to have to take at the worst time in life for many.

Do you mind me asking what you uae and what your diagnosis is? Obviously no problem if you prefer not to say.

Thank you

Yes, no problem. I'm taking sertralina (antidepressant) and benzos (cloxam). And I have depression.

 

[Smart No More]

Thank you

Yes, no problem. I'm taking sertralina (antidepressant) and benzos (cloxam). And I have depression.

Cloxam is a benzo I don't often see mentioned/prescribed. Thanks for the reply. Glad it's working for you. Bit of friendly warning, (hope not patronising) benzos tend to bottom out and stop doing their thing for many and withdrawal sucks. I don't know much of anything about cloxam and wouldn't encourage you to stop something that's working for you. I think I'm just saying be ready. Hopefully your prescriber will have a plan to bring you down gently anyway. :)

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

Cloxam is a benzo I don't often see mentioned/prescribed. Thanks for the reply. Glad it's working for you. Bit of friendly warning, benzos twnd to bottom out and stop doing their thing for many and withdrawal sucks. I don't know much of anything about cloxam and wouldn't encourage you to stop something that's working for you. I think I'm just saying be ready. Hopefully your prescriber will have a plan to bring you down gently anyway. :)

Yeah I know. Cloxam it's a benzo that I used to take and always went well. But I know that benzos are addictive. I'm no longer taking it every day, just time to time when I feel more anxious. But yeah, the medication helped me a lot. Thanks for the advice :)

 

[Fengshuiside]

Interesting how many people here have had really adverse effects. I was put on venlafaxine(SNRI) first time in 2017. I already had a panic disorder(1-3 attacks a week), but after starting the SNRI it somehow made my anxiety and panic disorder ten times worse. After starting I had 6-7 panic attacks a week, threw up from anxiety often and after 2 weeks of taking it I had become an emotionless zombie and tried to OD on multiple medications even though I had no prior suicide attempts.

The 3 weeks that I took Venlafaxine ruined my whole life and utterly destroyed my psyche, I had panic attacks almost daily for 6 months even after quitting. I still haven't recovered from what I went through that year and frankly it fucked me up so bad that even tho I no longer have panic attacks at all, I no longer want to live. My brain is so multidimensionally fucked from that year.

Can't recommend to anyone. Big Pharma is the fucking serprent, praying on peoples' illnesses and drugging the masses.