SSRI dampening suicidal thoughts but it just feels like a bandaid has been put over it. Have you any experiences with this?

[lemohemo]

Ive been on meds a few years for bipolar, seroquel, molipaxin and lithium.

Id been asking my my psych for an SSRI or something more for panic for months and since ive started it in April it just feels like it un healthly supressing the thoughts.

What have your experiences been like?

 

[SpottedPanda]

I became somewhat happy go lucky on Sertraline. It seemed to pick me up somewhat, curbed my anxiety a little, and boosted my mood. For a while I put suicide on the back burner.

Since then I've been refused the drug after my mood skyrocketed, for fear it'll make me manic, I assume.

 

[KiraLittleOwl]

Escitalopram numbs me, I don't cry as much,
I have less suicidal thoughts.
But in the end it's just a bandaid for me too.
My problems are still there and making my life miserable.
And it doesn't help with ruminating which is torture on its own.
Medication only can do that much.

 

[TotallyIsolated]

Venlafaxine 300mg. I can pay the bills now and the suicidal thoughts are quieter, but it's all still there. Therapy is going nowhere and I have nothing in my life. I felt more *alive* when I was actually making plans to CTB to be honest. What I have now isn't recovery, it's just living.

 

[FriendofDeath]

I tried many meds and we've come to the conclusion I have drug resistant depression. I was taking Pristiq, which numbed me, and we decided that's where I needed to be. Had some bad side effects, so recently switched again and am surprised I am still numb. I still have many suicidal thoughts, but don't feel as compelled to act on them.

 

[Lastsauce]

What I have now isn't recovery, it's just living.

Exactly the same with me. Sertraline numbs my anxiousness somewhat but doesn't help with rumination at all.

 

[Bardia]

Venlafaxine 300mg. I can pay the bills now and the suicidal thoughts are quieter, but it's all still there. Therapy is going nowhere and I have nothing in my life. I felt more *alive* when I was actually making plans to CTB to be honest. What I have now isn't recovery, it's just living.

Desvenlafaxine for me. And, same. Just keeping alive, for now. Just.

 

[giles corey]

ssris just make me tired and apathetic. gained a ton of weight because i just didn't care. time passes and my situation worsens, but the drugs render me incapable of giving a fuck.

 

[Evermore]

Sertraline has numbed my emotions to an extent . I'm not crying as much but I'm still suicidal. I'm kind of hoping the lack of emotions will give me the final push I need.

 

[AngelGirl]

I am on Escitalopram and lithium and I've been on it since last year. I do agree that it's a bandaid, but I feel that you have to wait for sometime with your bandaid on. If you start to feel relatively better over a long period of time, you might have have different points of view over your life, and I think that's how they should work.

My psychiatrist friend told me patients have to be on meds ideally for more than a year, and no less than 6 months.

 

[montana007]

ssris just make me tired and apathetic

This is also my experience. And was very disappointing as I'd been on them many years ago and never had the same problem.

This time around: I reckon it was the dosage that was too high. 40mg per day in the morning of Prozac. Just about finished me off both mentally and physically. The sad irony is that for the first few days I felt great and had energy and there was a noticeable change in my mood and antics and energy (noticeable to others around me that is and to the extent where I was pissed at myself for not going down this road some two years ago because that's when my shit started). It lasted about two weeks and then I hit the wall again and with an absolute vengeance. Then asked to try Wellbutrin. Nothing doing. Gave it up as a bad job too. Given its supposed pharmacological action: in theory it should have given me the requisite hop, skip, and jump required. But that didn't happen unfortunately. Do yourself a favor and go look up Prozac or Flouxetine side-effects. You'll be amazed and shocked. I didn't bother because as I said: the shit worked for me before no problem. This time around: the first warning sign (and what made me actually bother to look up the side-effects) was being constantly tired and fucked and yawning my head off all day for no good reason and certainly not due to a lack of sleep in my case. Just got to a point before throwing in the towel with them that I couldn't be arsed to get off of my arse to actually do anything constructive (even basic shit). And it feeds on itself and makes depression even worse. Quite the irony I'd say given that these are supposed to be anti-fucking-depressants!

 

[subj]

I became somewhat happy go lucky on Sertraline. It seemed to pick me up somewhat, curbed my anxiety a little, and boosted my mood. For a while I put suicide on the back burner.

Since then I've been refused the drug after my mood skyrocketed, for fear it'll make me manic, I assume.

it could push u into mania but how about carefully adding a mood stabilizer like neurontin or other anticonvulsant. alternatively one of the newer atypical antipsychotics.. you need a careful, thoughtful, knowledgeaable psychiatrist to carefully monitor until the right mix is found