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  1. #1
    C A P S UNLEASH THE FURY
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    Let's talk about medication

    I have been on some form of SSRI since I was nine years old. I took Paxil for about ten years, with one break for about four months where I was on Cymbalta. One day the Cymbalta just completely stopped working and I had to go back to Paxil. Recently I have decided to change my medication because the side effects of Paxil - low energy, weight gain, apathy, to name a few - were really affecting me negatively, and I started feeling helplessly depressed again.

    I switched to a combination of Lexapro and Wellbutrin and have recently increased the dosage to 30mg Lexapro and 450mg Wellbutrin. A hefty amount of drugs, to say the least. I'm concerned that this is simply too much, and am definitely feeling some uncomfortable side effects from these meds (sweating, ringing in the ears...)

    I want to know your experience with SSRIs and other prescription mental health drugs, your opinions on overmedication and stuff like that. So yeah, any input would be appreciated

  2. #2
    The Once and Future Wamoura
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    I have had very little side effects with Lexapro except minor weight gain and the occasional ear ringing. I used to get terrible electric-feeling jolts, horrid insomnia, and terrible nausea when I took Effexor. Though that is a SNRI, and not an SSRI- so I don't know if that matters.

    That being said, I've never taken more than 20mg of Effexor or Lexparo, and even when I took both I never felt apathy or low energy. Over-medication has always been my biggest fear after being prescribed these sorts of drugs, and I'm working it out with my doctors to cut back continually on them, I don't know your situation, but in most cases you can "reprogram" yourself (apparently). I'm just parroting what I was told now. I'm currently taking just 10mg of Lexapro, down from from the 20mg Effexor, 20mg Lexpaor, 2mg Alprazolam. (Which really just gave me crazy vertigo and dry mouth)

    I have no idea if this post accomplished anything.

  3. #3
    Relic Shield
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    I took Paxil for a long time when I was in my teens and it worked well for those years but then seemed to just stop suddenly around age 19. I switched to Effexor for about 2 years and the same thing happened. Getting off the Effexor was one of the worst weeks of my life. Right now I am on a low dose combination of Cymbalta and Doxepin and they seem to be working. The Doxepin is for my extreme anxiety disorder and insomnia and has been working great for insomnia for about a year. The Cymbalta I just started 4 weeks ago and so far I am pleased with it.

  4. #4

    For those of us who don't get tasty free drugs, can you explain wtf SSRI & SNRI mean/are?

  5. #5
    "Jammin'!"
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    Yeah, this post doesn't contribute much. I'm sorry.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rocl View Post
    I used to get terrible electric-feeling jolts, horrid insomnia, and terrible nausea when I took Effexor.
    Oh fucking God, I hate those. They have me on 250mg of Effexor. The withdraw kicks in if you forget to take it at the same time the next day. I get the jolts (can feel it bad in my eyes/head/teeth) and will tend to be very hostile if I forget the pill on time.

    I've always wondered about over medication. I've been on a lot of things over the past 8~ years. Welbutrin, Lexapro, Lithium, Trazodone, Seroquel and Effexor are theones I recall. I suspect the medication of giving me extreme apathy and robbing me of my memorizing skills. The only "clinic" that deals with the meds has refused to take me in anymore, so I've spent the last 7 months of Effexor without much guidance/consulting, not that I've ever asked my questions or been told much about the meds I'm on.

  6. #6
    Cerberus
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kiro View Post
    For those of us who don't get tasty free drugs, can you explain wtf SSRI & SNRI mean/are?
    SSRI- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, and Lexapro to name a few)

    SSNI- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (Effexor, Cymbalta)

    Basically they are just two forms of anti-depressants.

  7. #7
    The Once and Future Wamoura
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    Oh god, I forgot about trazodone. I had to stop it because of Tachycardia (which I just found out the name of), which means basically my heart would go fucking nuts and I'd feel like I needed to run four hundred miles really quickly. It always felt like I was going to die because I have never felt my heart beat faster than when I was on trazodone, it was scary as hell. When I started waking up like that, I got off it, because that shit was whaaaack.

  8. #8
    Vuitton
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    I love my Wellbutrin. SSRIs and MAOIs are evil things that make you fat with a limp dick and possible suicidal. Keep them away from me.

    All of the side effects I've experienced with Wellbutrin (300mg/day) have been positive. Weight loss, increased sex drive, enhanced concentration.

    For anxiety I was taking klonopin, but have since stopped. Kind of wish I was back on it.

  9. #9
    C A P S UNLEASH THE FURY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vuitton View Post
    I love my Wellbutrin. SSRIs and MAOIs are evil things that make you fat with a limp dick and possible suicidal. Keep them away from me.
    shit's different for everyone, my sex drive has been completely unaffected by any meds that i have been taking. as far as weight goes, it fluctuates severely. suicidal tendencies can be exacerbated by SSRIs but not formed on their own

  10. #10
    I'll change yer fuckin rate you derivative piece of shit
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    I was having a really shitty week, and this thread makes me feel a little better. All about perspective I guess.

  11. #11
    Old Merits
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    my wife went off paxil over a year ago. How long since you stopped the SSRI? Much of what you are describing (sweats, ringing, electric jolts) have nothing to do with your new meds but are very common withdrawal effects from SSRIs. While it would be wrong to say you become addicted to paxil you definitely become dependent. There is a lot of stuff out there about SSRI withdrawal effects, just do a basic google search and you'll be amazed.

    It's something that anyone with a basic neurobiology education would see coming but was denied and dismissed in the scientific community (well, the part of the community that was tied to SSRI drug companies) for a while. SSRI withdrawal is finally getting some legitimate research and understanding.

  12. #12

    Firstly, I wish you the best of luck in your choices.

    One of the hardest things to do is choose to use or not use a medication that will effect your quality of life. It is stressful wondering if it will work, if you can afford it the whole time if it does. The fact that you are asking for info is one measure towards taking control.

    My closest friend used Prozac for a long long time and after weight gain, sexual side effects and other issues, she finally tried Welbutin and she is extremely happy right now on it. I do not use them myself but I can at least say I am very happy for her and I can completely see the difference.

    Also you might consider asking your doc if there is counseling + medication options for you even if it is treating a chemical imbalance. I say this because it is my personal belief that both are the best method. Learning the helpful emotional habits that assist with the issues that come along with medication use is essential.

    Before you stop using one or both of your two meds, ask your doctor if there is a safe way to do this and explain why you are asking. Make a check list for doctor, of all your questions and be firm about getting them all answered.

    One final thing, just like you are doing here on BG, continue to check out forums and maybe look for online support groups related to the medication you are on and the ones you might be trying. Try reading different trustworthy information sources. While everyone's situation is entirely different, it helps to see what they do and how they fared.

  13. #13
    Title: "HUBBLE GOTCHU!" (without the quotes, of course [and without "(without the quotes, of course)", of course], etc)
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    They've been trying to get me on an SSRI for a long time for my OCD. They problem is that I wont take anything that destroys my sleep. I quit lexapro and two other medications that I can't pronounce (one of them is spelled paroxetine)

    I did take effexor like 5 or 6 years ago. Then I broke out in rashes, and they didn't know if I was having some strange reaction to the effexor or not (and it turns out, I wasn't. I get those rashes every year at the same time, and that just happen to be the first year it happened).

    I also tried welbutrin (right after effexor), and didn't have any issues with it. Within a year of welbutrin + therapy, I was already completely out of my depression, and they took me off the welbutrin and took me out of therapy.

    Of course, I'm back in therapy now, but it's because of my learning disability and my OCD this time.

    Edit: I just realized peroxatine is generic paxil. I hate this crap. It's the only medicine to ever both make me sleepy and keep me from being able to sleep at the same time.

  14. #14
    Banned.

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    Xanax purple 2-3 a day.
    Highly recommended.

  15. #15
    I Have The Clap Again
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    Quote Originally Posted by wop View Post
    Xanax 1mg 2-3 a day.
    Highly recommended.
    fify

  16. #16
    29 in magical dog years
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    I accidentally (and by accidentally I mean I didn't realize they were what they were) took two Narcos before I went to work yesterday, and it totally makes me understand why some people become junkies. Made a boring day at work go by fast.

  17. #17
    I Have The Clap Again
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    ya Norco is just Hydrocodone dunno why they call it that think because they have less acetaminophen

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanss View Post
    fify
    Yea coz white 0.25 and pink 0.5 are for whimps.

    I remembered having to down 12 white ones just to get the same effect lol

    I have a friend that does 8mg of Xanax a day... imagine how many white pills he has to take instead of purple lol

  19. #19
    I Have The Clap Again
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    ya he needs to switch to the bar xaneys

  20. #20
    CoP Dynamis
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    I take 200 MG Wellbutrin and 1.5 pills (Because I forgot dosage, and don't have the script on me.) of Lexapro a day. My doctor's been trying to get me adjusted to a place where I'm stable (Suffer from depression alongside mood swings, some days I'll be extremely happy, and other days I'll wonder what the best way to die is.).

    Before my last visit, I took 300 MG Wellbutrin and 1 Lexapro a day, and before that was 300 MG Wellbutrin and 100 MG Zoloft. She changed to the 300 MG Wellbutrin and 1 Lexapro because I was slipping back to how I was before I started on any antidepressants. I got switched to what I was on currently because I was still a bit down, plus I had about a day and a morning that I had been hearing voices (None of them bad voices, just people that couldn't have been heard where I was at, like people on my Vent server when I'm out driving.).

    My sister and mom both told me when I started the Lexapro that it caused them to have murderous thoughts and dreams, so they got off of it quick. I'm the first person they know that's been on it that hasn't.

    I would say as long as you're not experiencing any side effects, you should be good with what you're taking. If you do have anything that seems funny, talk to your doctor, especially if it's something that could impact your life in bad ways.

    As for the "low energy, weight gain, apathy" issues, take the Wellbutrin in the morning/early afternoon because it'll help with the first two (My doctor gave me that as the first med because of that, she didn't want me gaining weight after my gastric bypass surgery.), the Lexapro is a sedative so take that at night, but I'm sure your doctor told you that. The apathy should be taken care of between the two.

    And the mentions of Xanax by people, I only take that if I'm having extreme mood swings, mostly if something great happens or if someone really pisses me off.

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