131–140 of 233 posts
During taper symptoms:
- nausea
- general anxiety
After taper symptoms (continue today):
- general anxiety
- strong, brief muscle contractions anywhere in my body (myoclonus)
- weight loss (good)
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> Also, I lost interest in sex, and it took forever to reach orgasm. This is a common side effect of SSRIs. I have the same, but I very much enjoy that side effect. Saves time, and already got a child anyway. I still love pleasuring my significant other just as much as before, btw. People who have bi-polar usually get mood stabilisers such as lithium prescribed. Perhaps anti-psychotics? SSRIs are known to be problema…
Lithium sucks, or so I've heard. Modafinil (antinarcoleptic, originally) plus lamotrigine (anticonvulsant, originally) works well for me. It's easy to tweak the ratio as circumstances warrant. Edit: About sex. My wife at the time did like that I took longer to reach orgasm. However, after we separated, I discovered that wearing a condom made orgasm unreachable. And that did become a problem. Albeit an amusing one, in…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lithium sucks, or so I've heard. Modafinil (antinarcoleptic, originally) plus lamotrigine (anticonvulsant, originally) works well for me. It's easy to tweak the ratio as circumstances warrant. Edit: About sex. My wife at the time did like that I took longer to reach orgasm. However, after we separated, I discovered that wearing a condom made orgasm unreachable. And that did become a problem. Albeit an amusing one, in…
Nice to see modafinil getting a mention. I've found it to be near-miraculous as a fast acting antidepressant that helps combat the cognitive downsides of other meds.
Is there a reason why people are trying to stop taking it? If it helps your life, why not keep using it? For example, I have been taking antihistamine daily for the last 18 years for skin allergy. My QoL is significantly better with it, and unless there is some magical cure, I don't see why I should stop just because it's a "drug", "chemical" or "unnatural". For example, from the article, > "A year and a half after s…
Anecdotally I quit because I had just entered a relationship and the anti-depressants affected my sex life in a pretty big way.
I can’t take paxil, zoloft or valium, so it’s probably different.
I personally wouldn’t stop antidepressants because my physiology goes straight into depression without exception, and then the relationship would likely flounder.
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Discontinuation effects are listed on the patient information leaflet for venlafaxine. Patients, at least in the UK, are always given this leaflet with every packet of medication. https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/4487/pil > If you stop taking venlafaxine suddenly you may get withdrawal reactions (see section 3) [...] > Do not stop taking your treatment or reduce the dose without the advice of your doctor even…
And of course, all patients read the long pamphlets extensively /s. We depend on our doctors to explain risks like this. And at the time I was discontinuing (not abruptly) the concept of “brain zaps” was met with great skepticism. I am fairly certain that some of the side effects you list (electric shock sensations) were added more recently. It took years of patients being ignored for the idea to be taken seriously.
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Because depression isn't a lifelong thing, it should be at worst episodic. Because SSRIs have side effects, and you tolerate those if it's preventing depression, but you might not tolerate them if you're now taking a medication for life.
>Because depression isn't a lifelong thing, it should be at worst episodic. Says who? The DSM-5 specifically lists Persistent Depressive Disorder, formerly known as dysthymia, which is defined by chronic depressive symptoms for a period of two years or more. Many people suffer from frequent episodes of major depression; there's fairly good evidence that antidepressants can reduce the risk and severity of relapses. Pa…
But that's not most people. Most people with depression have a mild to moderate form that responds well to medication for two years and a talking therapy. These people don't need ot be on meds for life.
Is there a reason why people are trying to stop taking it? If it helps your life, why not keep using it? For example, I have been taking antihistamine daily for the last 18 years for skin allergy. My QoL is significantly better with it, and unless there is some magical cure, I don't see why I should stop just because it's a "drug", "chemical" or "unnatural". For example, from the article, > "A year and a half after s…
Anecdotally I quit because I had just entered a relationship and the anti-depressants affected my sex life in a pretty big way.
To offer the converse, I had a very traumatic event in my life and was put on an SSRI, which helped me function. After almost 2 years of taking it, I didn't think I needed it anymore and I tapered myself off very slowly but regularly, keeping logs and setting alarms. While in the beginning I felt some vertigo and other symptoms, I tapered very gradually, and was completely free at the end of my taper. My symptoms nev…
Your story of recovery is a good one (and not the only good one). The problem is that a number of people in that same system don't see any need to get people off these medications. IMHO they are best used short term (whatever that means) while you work through your issues - like you did.
For those reading, there is no "correct" timeline for working through your issues. Everyone goes at their own pace. I would just encourage you to try, and not assume a lifetime of medication is a good solution.
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Well, at least with plant medicines we have thousands of years of safe human use. Mushrooms appear to be one of the safest mind altering substances known to man, and if used responsibly, can be healing. Of course, they do show you what's inside, and for many people, they is going to terrify them. That is sort of the point though, to stare down the parts you've long ignored.
> Well, at least with plant medicines we have thousands of years of safe human use. Wow, that's the most obvious argumentum ad antiquitatem I read this year. "For thousands of years Christians have believed in Jesus Christ. Christianity must be true, to have persisted so long even in the face of persecution." Sounds familiar? Straight out of the book. [1] What's more, just because its natural or plants doesn't mean i…
I used psychedelics irresponsibly in my youth, for recreational purposes -- much like it sounds you did. I'd never take MDMA without a proper spectral analysis (which you can obtain for $100 from ecstasydata.org) and with a sitter.
Then I took a decade off until I was facing recurring suicidal depression and was not interested in deadening my emotional experience via western psychiatry.
I was fortunate enough to be given a chance to do MDMA in a therapeutic setting as well as some healing experiences with mushrooms.
No question these compounds helped me release whatever was beneath the depression and other mental issues.
“Magic mushrooms are one of the safest drugs in the world,” said Adam Winstock, a consultant addiction psychiatrist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, pointing out that the bigger risk was people picking and eating the wrong mushrooms.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/23/study-halluc...
Also, I never said they were safe because they were natural -- that is silly. There are plenty of things in nature that will kill you. We haven't had thousands of years of people using botulinum medicinally or ceremoniously.
As to your claim that "What matters is that it is standardised[sic], of known origin (traceable/provable), well studied in clinical trials, and the mechanisms well understood." We have had a draconian prohibition on psychedelics in general for several decades and the promising research was cut off.
So, if one is actually interested in healing, what matters is in finding what works -- and sometimes that means finding ways outside sanctioned medicine. But of course, we do have data on psychedelics and their safety and efficacy for healing -- and the results seem to be much more promising than the current approaches.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacred_Mushroom_and_the_Cr...
The "Chemical Imbalence Theory", although heavely popular and promoted, is largely unfounded on science: https://joannamoncrieff.com/2014/05/01/the-chemical-imbalanc...
SSRI’s are no more effective than placebo or exercise in multiple studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3674785/#