Poll: are you on antidepressants? (anonymous answers)

[rt1989526]

Holy shit man!! What were you on, if not a secret? Just to know what to avoid!

From What I hear about antidepressants it's actually better to heal yourself with alcohol/illegal drugs than with this shit

At least all the illegal stuff gives you pleasure too....

Prozac. Stay away from these poisons!!

 

[Meditation guide]

Interesting that everyone on antidepressants has a desire to ctb. But this is a ctb site so.... maybe it's not a true representative sample.

 

[ihsdpm]

I've taken Effexor for 17 years and it has really only helped me. The only problems I have had with Effexor are when I tried to taper off of it. I'm fine with taking it for the rest of my life.

 

[Meditation guide]

off of it. I'm fine with taking it for the rest of my life.

I'm glad to hear it!
I knew as soon as I said no one on antidepressants wanted to ctb, someone would say they are on them and don't want to. I must be psychic.

 

[ihsdpm]

I'm glad to hear it!
I knew as soon as I said no one on antidepressants wanted to ctb, someone would say they are on them and don't want to. I must be psychic.

Thank you, I'm not recommending that anyone else take it, especially based on the results of this poll, but Effexor is not the reason I became suicidal. It was because of an unrelated health issue that I'm still recovering from, and at the moment I do not want to end my life.

 

[Sinkinshyp]

am I take 2 duloxetine 30mg each -prn 3 xanax 1ng- and bed 200mg seroquel and rozeren, amitritylline and trazadone. Seroquel supposedly it works vs aE I'm afraid if I ask for the ase's doc may blame it on oxy and make me quit that... So about 3 week prior start slowly increasing my seroquel

 

[Meditation guide]

am I take 2 duloxetine 30mg each -prn 3 xanax 1ng- and bed 200mg seroquel and rozeren, amitritylline and trazadone. Seroquel supposedly it works vs aE I'm afraid if I ask for the ase's doc may blame it on oxy and make me quit that... So about 3 week prior start slowly increasing my seroquel

I don't know how you manage with all those. I don't know why shrinks load people up on so many different meds at the same time. They don't know what they are doing but they just write prescriptions. They get a lot of perks from the drug companies.

 

[Sinkinshyp]

I don't know how you manage with all those. I don't know why shrinks load people up on so many different meds at the same time. They don't know what they are doing but they just write prescriptions. They get a lot of perks from the drug companies.

no shrink around takes my insurance so my pri care doc has done the best he could. The amitroip and trazadone I only take when I am sure I will have sleeping issues. On top of those I take baclofen, Oxt contin, 2 lung inhalers, 2 sinus inhalers, blood thinner shorts, thyroid, arthritis med and cant think what else lol but yeah Im beyond medicated

 

[Meditation guide]

no shrink around takes my insurance so my pri care doc has done the best he could. The amitroip and trazadone I only take when I am sure I will have sleeping issues. On top of those I take baclofen, Oxt contin, 2 lung inhalers, 2 sinus inhalers, blood thinner shorts, thyroid, arthritis med and cant think what else lol but yeah Im beyond medicated

I want the doctor you go to! I can't get anything from any doctor. They never do anything for me. I'm in a lot of pain and don't sleep etc. It sounds like you are in the US too, based on your insurance issues. Why can't I find a doctor who will try out things on me like what you get...

 

[Sinkinshyp]

if we were closer to eachother I would gladly share my pri care and pain doc

 

[Chupacabra 44]

I take Prozac 60mg/day. I don't know if it helps but I don't think it's making me more suicidal.

Have you considered switching to a different treatment option? Have you informed your doctor that you don't perceive benefit from Prozac?

I've tested on myself about 4 antidepressants. Now I take venlafaxine but it seems to make me feel only a little bit better. My disappontment that they simply don't work is one of the reasons I started to take opioids, which completely destroyed all leftovers of human being I used to have.
Sorry for the venting but I just had to.

Many/most people with mental illness tend to self medicate, myself included. I take Zyprexa prn (as needed) for bipolar disorder when I mindfully perceive I'm heading into mania.

After trying about 12 different meds with my psychiatrist, I told her "I get way more benefit from a six pack of beer than I have from any of the psychiatric meds, thus far". Luckily, I finally found that Zyprexa helps me and that I only have to take it when needed. The side effect profile is one the nastiest of any pharmaceutical, so I'm lucky not needing daily dosages.

I don't know how you manage with all those. I don't know why shrinks load people up on so many different meds at the same time. They don't know what they are doing but they just write prescriptions. They get a lot of perks from the drug companies.

Agree with most of this, but I've found two outstanding psychiatrists in my city, who were both relatively younger and each was not just a big pharma med pusher. One told me that my best changes for myself would NOT be medications, but instead would be a combination of mindfulness and mediatation. Both help me. Highly recommend.

The other psychiatrist is educated in functional medicine, so she is not a huge medication advocate.

Obviously, my experience was anecdotal, and my sample size is tiny, but I pray that the approach of these two younger psychiatrists is indicative of a shifting of how students are taught in med school. Fingers crossed.

I don't know how you manage with all those. I don't know why shrinks load people up on so many different meds at the same time. They don't know what they are doing but they just write prescriptions. They get a lot of perks from the drug companies.

Agree completely and especially if one is given multiple new medications without one having adequate time to fully understand what impact each med has on one's body independent of the other. Lots of meds taken equals too many variables to identify and isolate; an impossible task.

no shrink around takes my insurance so my pri care doc has done the best he could. The amitroip and trazadone I only take when I am sure I will have sleeping issues. On top of those I take baclofen, Oxt contin, 2 lung inhalers, 2 sinus inhalers, blood thinner shorts, thyroid, arthritis med and cant think what else lol but yeah Im beyond medicated

You have a lot going on. Sorry to see this.

I want the doctor you go to! I can't get anything from any doctor. They never do anything for me. I'm in a lot of pain and don't sleep etc. It sounds like you are in the US too, based on your insurance issues. Why can't I find a doctor who will try out things on me like what you get...

Maybe, try to take the same approach that I do - I'm the coach and quarterback of my own team. I view my psychiatrist as my medical consultant (same for all my medical specialists) and I make the decisions for myself.

Consider telling your doctor this, "I have been thinking about my treatment options and this is how I would like to proceed. Today, I would like you to prescribe "x", so we can learn if it will help my symptoms of "y"". This strategy works great for me.

 

[whywere]

I have been on celexa for 7 years and at least for me it helps. I can tell by midafternoon if I forgot to take it. I have always thought that, everyone has their own ideas and opinions and the same thing with all bio processes in each and everyone of us. Now with that said some people can not probably take something and othes are just fine, so it is a crap shoot. My true wish for everyone of my global family members is to find , where ever that journey takes them, love, peace and happiness. To ALL global family members THANK YOU for being there for everyone.

 

[JSRF]

Was on two different antidepressants for several months. Wellbutrin (NDRI) and Sertraline (SSRI). Neither of those two had any noticeable effect on depression. For some they work wonders apparently while others get worse and some don't feel anything at all. Its a bit of a gamble

 

[Wayfaerer]

I hope that I am not the only one who would rather CTB than get back on SSRI's again. That's not crazy, right? If I were to have gotten back on them, It'd probably be for life and that along with everything else I'd have to live with indefinitely... It just doesn't seem worth it at all.

 

[BitterlyAlive]

Prozac. Stay away from these poisons!!

Fuck Prozac. It gave me horrific anxiety for 4 months before I finally quit it cold turkey.

 

[Ghost2211]

I hope that I am not the only one who would rather CTB than get back on SSRI's again. That's not crazy, right? If I were to have gotten back on them, It'd probably be for life and that along with everything else I'd have to live with indefinitely... It just doesn't seem worth it at all.

Yeah, I look at it this way too. If we need meds to be even somewhat stable what's the point? The meds have a lot of drawbacks.

 

[BitterlyAlive]

I hope that I am not the only one who would rather CTB than get back on SSRI's again. That's not crazy, right? If I were to have gotten back on them, It'd probably be for life and that along with everything else I'd have to live with indefinitely... It just doesn't seem worth it at all.

Not at all. SSRIs take months to work if they even work at all, have blunting side effects to make you a robot, and you have to be on them for a very long time just in general.

I have been on celexa for 7 years and at least for me it helps. I can tell by midafternoon if I forgot to take it. I have always thought that, everyone has their own ideas and opinions and the same thing with all bio processes in each and everyone of us. Now with that said some people can not probably take something and othes are just fine, so it is a crap shoot. My true wish for everyone of my global family members is to find , where ever that journey takes them, love, peace and happiness. To ALL global family members THANK YOU for being there for everyone.

Hey mate, I'm really glad Celexa works for you :) That's awesome that you found help! And thank YOU for being here.

 

[Wayfaerer]

Okay good, just checking to make sure that I wasn't totally insane. They are so mind-numbing and emasculating (for men) that I would dread to live the rest of my life like that. I feel like I cannot truly be myself while on them. The irony in my case is that an SSRI I was taking years ago was the impetus for the mistake that I had made which landed me on this forum in the first place.

Never again.

 

[BitterlyAlive]

Okay good, just checking to make sure that I wasn't totally insane. They are so mind-numbing and emasculating (for men) that I would dread to live the rest of my life like that. I feel like I cannot truly be myself while on them. The irony in my case is that an SSRI I was taking years ago was the impetus for the mistake that I had made which landed me on this forum in the first place.

Never again.

Oof, that reminds me of how I didn't really have a sex drive before ADs anyway but I've heard that reduced sex drive (or just flat out gone) is an awful side effect for many. And sometimes it persists even after discontinuation. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be :(

 

[rt1989526]

Oof, that reminds me of how I didn't really have a sex drive before ADs anyway but I've heard that reduced sex drive (or just flat out gone) is an awful side effect for many. And sometimes it persists even after discontinuation. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be :(

It is why I will ctb.

 

[Wayfaerer]

Oof, that reminds me of how I didn't really have a sex drive before ADs anyway but I've heard that reduced sex drive (or just flat out gone) is an awful side effect for many. And sometimes it persists even after discontinuation. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be :(

even worse in my case (excl. PSSD, which was my worst nightmare). Imagine having a high sex drive but being unable to satisfy it

In my experience, they were effective right away but tolerance develops not too long after and then they're not as effective. So, I increase the dose and then the same thing happens again but the side-effects are even worse at the higher doses and tolerance still develops. So I then change the drug and it happens all over again. They had also slowed my thinking and made me apathetic. They are just awful to be on let alone over such long stretches of time.

After two SSRI's, I didn't want to go experimenting with all the others because I heard doing that stuff is terrible for your brain.

 

[Marauder]

Zoloft at the moment. But there is no antidepressant like "magic pill" that would really save my miserable life.

 

[muffin222]

No. I was on them for a few months, but I decided to stop because my suicidal thoughts only increased while on them. I don't believe in antidepressants for myself personally because I don't see how they actually help in the long run. They just mask the symptoms without touching upon the root cause of the depression and emotional pain. Then, your body becomes dependent on the medication to continue masking the symptoms and you have to keep taking it in order to keep the depression at bay.


Yet, the longer you take most antidepressants, the harder it is to finally wean off of them because the withdrawal symptoms become more intense and uncomfortable the longer you use the drug and the higher the dosage you use. It's a trap, in my opinion. Of course, I can't speak for everyone. I know some people are greatly helped by antidepressants, but personally I question how effective they truly are in the long run at actually solving the core issue of depression.

I'm of the belief system that depression is a natural and normal response to emotional pain, loss, trauma, or dissatisfying and misaligned life circumstances (jobs, living situations, etc). I'm highly skeptical of the chemical imbalance theory of depression. Sure, in some cases people may legitimately have a chemical imbalance in the brain that's causing depression.

However, I don't believe that to be the case for most people. I think that depression, like all emotions, serves a purpose in the sense that it's trying to alert us that something in our life is misaligned or causing us pain, or that something in our past has hurt us and that hurt has yet to be fully resolved. I don't see how drugging people to mask this feeling truly helps them in the grand scheme, but it's become the social norm at this point to just pop pills in people's mouths as a fix to their problems, sadly.

The irony is that the side effects of antidepressants often create new problems for people physically where there weren't any before

 

[TimeToBiteTheDust]

Anyone here takes Prozac?

 

[FriendofDeath]

Anyone here takes Prozac?

Yes, that is what I first tried many years ago and what I have now ended up on.

 

[BPD Barbie]

I am currently on Sertraline 200mg but considering weening myself off them slowly as I'm starting to think they are contributing to my lack of enjoyment in things and I don't like how it feels.

 

[FriendofDeath]

No. I was on them for a few months, but I decided to stop because my suicidal thoughts only increased while on them. I don't believe in antidepressants for myself personally because I don't see how they actually help in the long run. They just mask the symptoms without touching upon the root cause of the depression and emotional pain. Then, your body becomes dependent on the medication to continue masking the symptoms and you have to keep taking it in order to keep the depression at bay.


Yet, the longer you take most antidepressants, the harder it is to finally wean off of them because the withdrawal symptoms become more intense and uncomfortable the longer you use the drug and the higher the dosage you use. It's a trap, in my opinion. Of course, I can't speak for everyone. I know some people are greatly helped by antidepressants, but personally I question how effective they truly are in the long run at actually solving the core issue of depression.

I'm of the belief system that depression is a natural and normal response to emotional pain, loss, trauma, or dissatisfying and misaligned life circumstances (jobs, living situations, etc). I'm highly skeptical of the chemical imbalance theory of depression. Sure, in some cases people may legitimately have a chemical imbalance in the brain that's causing depression.

However, I don't believe that to be the case for most people. I think that depression, like all emotions, serves a purpose in the sense that it's trying to alert us that something in our life is misaligned or causing us pain, or that something in our past has hurt us and that hurt has yet to be fully resolved. I don't see how drugging people to mask this feeling truly helps them in the grand scheme, but it's become the social norm at this point to just pop pills in people's mouths as a fix to their problems, sadly.

The irony is that the side effects of antidepressants often create new problems for people physically where there weren't any before

When I was 21, I tried Prozac for the first time, and it affected me in a positive way almost immediately. Not a happy pill, but gave me some relief. I believe I am one of those with a messed up system. Maybe it's because I'm very empathetic and take on or see things going on around me. I stopped the medications due to insurance. I wonder now how things might have been different (before Prozac became generic).

When I was in 3rd grade, I was in line to take an eye test. I tried to memorize the letters the person said ahead of me, not really realizing my own eyesight was horrendous. The first time I had glasses on, I was surprised I could see every strand of grass. It's sort of the same story with me and depression. I thought my feelings and moods were normal. Like many have said, who really knows what normal is. If my normal is depression 24/7, I don't want it.

 

[TimeToBiteTheDust]

Yes, that is what I first tried many years ago and what I have now ended up on.

Did you feel suicidal while on Prozac?

 

[FriendofDeath]

Did you feel suicidal while on Prozac?

When I first took Prozac, I think it was helpful. I was not making plans to CTB. I was on and off of it and felt it took the edge off of my depression. There was a difference when I wasn't on something. This time on it, I am actually numb, but that's what happened to me when I took Pristiq right before going back on it, and maybe now I'm just messed up. I was asked if I wanted to hurt myself last week, and I said not seriously, so I guess it has helped me personally with my feelings to ctb. I will say, however, thoughts are in my head often, and if I need to go, I'm going to go, and medication won't stop me unless I'm knocked out.

 

[VSAA]

It didnt help me one bit.