Hey! Needing validation here?
I've been on SSRI's (venlafaxine) for years, and from time to time I forget to take them before bed and wake up drenched in sweat, panicked, clumbsy and like... Drunk feeling?
It throws me off for at least 24 hours and drives me crazy. Anyone else feel/live this?? #Depression #SSRI
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My doctor recently changed me from Zoloft to Lexapro. I know these meds are in the same drug family. I just started over a week ago. So far my anxiety attacks are more frequent. Irritable, unmotivated and I feel like bugs are crawling on
Me. What are your thoughts on Lexapro? #Lexapro #Antidepressant #SSRI
I finally found something that worked for me. I nearly had no intrusive thoughts, my fixation on suicide had been squashed, sadly the meds also caused akithisia. A severe side effect that causes your body to have to move uncontrollably. It's so frustrating that I've met normalcy, but then got side swiped by suffering. Now I get to go through withdrawal and have to take propranolol and lorazepam to get back to pre-meds normalcy. Ugh, I just want things to be normal. #SSRI #ObsessiveCompulsiveAndRelatedDisorder #Insomnia
I’ve been trying to give myself more credit on what I manage to accomplish on my lesser days. Today, for instance, my depression symptoms are running rapid, and rhe inconsistent weather patterns in northeastern US have been all over the place, not exactly helpful for my seasonal affective disorder. So today, it took me 2 hours to get out the bed, take my meds, and brush my teeth. 2 hours. However, I am trying to not fixate on the time and just ride myself credit for having done it. Physical and mental health issues are so draining sometimes. I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit for what we manage despite all we are constantly fighting. I have now started making some eggs for breakfast. I told myself I will be kind to myself, and take the day as it comes. Lower my expectations, and let move forward out the bed be a victory. #Depression #SeasonalAffectiveDisorder #SSRI
Has anyone had to play around with your lexapro dose? I was on 10 for a while and then tried going yup to 15. Just went back down to 10 because i was still having side effects and crying after 10 days. Curious if anyone else has had to go down after trying to go back up? #SSRI #Depression #Anxiety #Lexapro #Medication #mentalhealth
Does anyone have experience taking 15mg of lexapro? Is that too high? I recently went up from 10 to 15 and am nervous. But terrified to go back down to 10 because I don't want to have my depression and anxiety come back. I have read all the info online but want to hear from someone who is actually on it. #Lexapro #Depression #Anxiety #SSRI
I've hit another bump in a road that seems to be peppered with nothing but potholes and crumbly gravel.
I got out of the hospital last month after some suicidal ideation, and after nine days in, I felt better...and I was officially Off Lexapro, a med I never really liked in the first place, although I took it for five years, partially because I am afraid to make meds changes and partially because I am a masochist. Nine days in the hospital, and I was freed of this SSRI, and my doctor in the hospital was terrific, and I am glad that I listened to him and that we Made That Journey together. I liked him. I like him. I would have liked to work with him outside of the hospital, but that's not how it works.
"SSRIs are a bad idea for people who have bipolar disorder," hospital doctor told me. "There are exceptions, of course."
"Of course," I said, and I believed it, and him.
After several weeks home, I couldn't believe it. It seemed that fortune had finally smiled on me. I was Off Lexapro, and if there were any side effects from having done that, I couldn't see them.
"This is so weird," I told my husband. He just looked at me. Being married to a Bipolar Wife, he has learned to reserve judgment about pesky things like side effects.
And literally the very next day, the Pure O started. I was sleeping, and I awoke in the middle of the night with a very dry throat and what seemed to my sleepy mind to be a complete inability to swallow. I panicked. I was up for the next two hours freaking out. Exhaustion won out, but a nasty obsession was etched in my brain. The next night, as I settled down and was quite sleepy, I was alarmed to feel the same panic about swallowing as I lay there. I forced myself to swallow, even if I didn't need to, just to prove to myself that I could do it. If it was time for me to swallow naturally, my mind would announce to my entire body: Time To Swallow.
Time To Swallow.
Time To Swallow.
Time To Swallow.
I eventually slept, but I was distressed, and I am distressed. Especially since I've added another obsession when I go to bed: I ruminate about my breath. Breathe In, Breathe Out.
This will not do. I had an online meeting with my regular psychiatrist (I am starting to wonder if he is ever going to go back to face-to-face) and I told him about my troubles. I didn't sugarcoat it the way that I tend to do. I told him that this OCD nonsense needs to stop.
He agreed, and promptly put me on Zoloft. You know, Zoloft, an SSRI? "There are exceptions, of course," he said. "Your brain is trying to tell you something with these obsessions, and I think medication will help."
So I am back on an SSRI; as usual, the exception, not the rule. Four days in, and I feel okay. Panicky a bit, a dodgy appetite and some diarrhea. Chagrined. I am very chagrined about being An Exception, Of Course.
So, I’ve been taking my anti depressants for about 3 weeks. Tbh they aren’t helping; and have a follow up on Monday where I will discuss this. However, one thing I could use some insight/suggestions on is how to deal with the increased appetite. I’ve been trying to be more mindful with what I’m eating (basically keeping lots or salad stuff; fruit; nuts, etc in the house) to avoid gaining weight, and I am pretty active, which I know helps. But I am worried about gaining as i have hypothyroidism as well; so it’s very hard for me to lose. Probably takes me twice as long as it would a normal thyroid to lose, but takes nothing for me to gain. This does make me feel more anxious as well, as I don’t want to end up with a plethora of other issues. Any tips would be much appreciated. #Anxiety #Depression #SSRI #AnxietyMedication
I try to not fixate on my mental and physical illness as I don’t want them to be what defines me, but some days are just really tough, and today is one of them. The anti depressant I’ve been on actually makes my thyroid medication less potent, so I’m just frustrated. I know I will have to get something adjusted, the question is what. Which means more blood work. Which means more pills and more appointments. I just wish this wasn’t life, especially because both of these things could impact my ability to carry a baby at some point (please don’t tell me I could adopt or whatever—I hate when people do that). Some days it all just feels like too much because no matter what, there’s no escape from it. All the workouts and diets that don’t seem to help much, the journaling and therapy and water and yoga and endless list of things I try to do to help myself just to manage things that will never go away. It just gets to be a lot after a while because you just wanna be free from it and you know you never will be. 😫😫😫 #HypothyroidismUnderactiveThyroidDisease #Depression #Anxiety #SSRI
When I think about how much people want to go back to “normal” with the pandemic, a certain normal I could live without in the stress of the workplace. Feeling “small” or on edge over mistakes when you are trying to manage something, especially as a minority, is so overwhelming. All the components of dealing with commuting and upheavals in the office and emergencies is too much. That’s the normal I don’t miss. I don’t miss feeling so overcome that I cannot eat, focus, or be present because I’m too consumed with worry. My anxiety eating at me like a virus because things are a whirlwind, but depression also rearing it’s ugly head because I feel like a zombie. I know this post probably makes no sense, but I had a really bad day that’s got me so consumed in hopelessness that I don’t know what to do. I thought about leaving the job. Where would I go? I was given all kinds of “we will work it out” and “this is a learning experience, next time is a warning” and now I’m I can focus on is how there better not be a next time. I’m so worried about my livelihood. I do have a therapist that I’m working with, so I’m hoping she can help with this. I’m also hoping maybe she can help me see if meds are an option. I’ve never been on them; but I feel I’m losing my ability to function without them. I know something major has to change or I won’t make it much longer. Thanks for reading. #Anxiety #Depression #SSRI
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