Psychotropic medication discussion thread

restlesstrucker15 said:If you feel up to it, you should find a new doctor. A 15-minute session is absolutely nothing, and the fact that she is preaching sleep hygiene to a patient whose struggle with insomnia she is already well aware of is reason enough to switch. Unfortunately, most psychologists working in the public health system are completely overwhelmed, so they simply don't have the time to provide proper, longer therapy sessions.😢

Well, there are two different people involved here. This psychotherapist is new; I only started seeing her two months ago, but after just a handful of visits, I haven't seen anything resembling actual psychotherapy. Then there’s the other one, the one I see for follow-ups. She’s known me for years—honestly, the only one who ever has—and yet she keeps pushing that Mirzaten on me... at this point, I think I'm just going to give up on both of them.
How is your sleep holding up lately? I'm at my wit's end; I don't even know what else I could possibly take at night, because even Sanval doesn't seem to be doing a damn thing anymore.

Paul Newman5 said:I'm on Nexium and Reglan—Lilly put me on them immediately. I dealt with the bacteria last year and went through the triple therapy then too. I'll wait until Tuesday, then check back in with Lilly. Without a gastroscopy or a breath test, they won't confirm the bacteria or hand out antibiotics without actual results. Thanks anyway. Just when I thought my anxiety might settle down, a new enemy shows up.

As for me, I’ve been living with H. pylori for years now. I’ve attempted to eradicate it three separate times, yet it remains stubbornly undefeated. Interestingly, my stomach rarely actually aches; instead, it feels more like a vague, lingering nausea centered near the gallbladder area rather than sharp pain, though I do get the occasional pang in the mornings...

Kenneth Scott41 said:I’m currently on a regimen of Effexor, Normabel, and Zoloft, and I usually take a dose of Seroquel at night just to help me get some decent sleep. However, I’ve started noticing these involuntary twitches lately. It happens when I'm lying in bed getting ready for sleep, or sometimes just while I'm sitting at my computer or going about my day. My arm will suddenly jerk, or my head or legs will twitch—it’s almost impossible to control because it feels like these sudden brain zaps, though perhaps not exactly like the sensation itself, just incredibly fast and completely unpredictable.
I can't help but wonder what might be causing this?😕

Those sound like neurological outbursts, most likely a side effect of the Seroquel.
You need to contact your doctor immediately—don't sit around waiting—as they will probably have you taper off it and switch you onto
something else.

Kevin Nguyen3 said:Side effects from medication can manifest as what we call tics—those involuntary muscle jerks. Especially given the combination of all those drugs you mentioned.
Which Seroquel are you on?☕
Those jerks might stick around for a while, or they might disappear, and there's no telling if they'll ever come back.
It would honestly be best to let your doctor know. Though, since I'm apparently on your ignore list, it would be a shame if you didn't see this.😢
Generally speaking, there are many possible causes for these so-called myoclonic jerks (uncontrolled muscle spasms), but in your case, there isn't much need for guesswork. A neurologist would definitely be able to adjust your treatment plan more effectively after running some diagnostic tests.

Kevin, you're jumping all over the place here.😁
The jerking sensations Kenneth Scott41 is describing actually happened to me when I was on Seroquel too.
Just sudden jolts in the arm, leg, or head...
And what do you mean "which Seroquel"?
They all act pretty much the same way since that's the primary active ingredient...

Jason Vaughn482 said:I am attempting to taper off my Xanax very gradually because reading all this stuff absolutely terrifies me. I started at 1.5 mg daily; right now I’m hovering at 1 mg, occasionally hitting 1.25 mg. So far, it seems manageable, but I have no idea what the road ahead holds—yesterday I even managed to drop down to just 0.75 mg.
Today was infuriating. My psychotherapist completely lost my patience, though frankly, I don't get much out of therapy anyway. I sit there for twenty minutes and she starts lecturing me on sleep hygiene for the second time. Look, I know everything there is to know about sleep hygiene, but knowing doesn't make it work. I want to fall asleep by 10 PM and wake up at 7 AM, but I can't drift off before midnight, even with 10 mg of Ambien, and then I struggle to actually function until 9 or 10 in the morning. Instead, I find myself wide awake around 5 AM, just tossing and turning. To top it off, she suggested I ramp up my Mirtazapine to 30 mg, thinking that might help, but I don't dare take more than 15 mg since it hasn't done a single thing for my anxiety. It feels pointless to just dose up solely for the sake of passing out. Besides, even last night, combining 10 mg of Ambien with Mirtazapine didn't result in any decent sleep...

If you fall asleep at midnight and wake up around 9 or 10 AM, that's still about nine hours of sleep.
That's plenty of rest...
Why are you so set on that specific 10 PM to 7 AM window? You're still getting those same nine hours of sleep.🤷
The dose she recommended sounds perfectly standard.
Your hesitation seems to be coming from a different place entirely. This type of medication is meant to sedate you and manage cortisol levels, which can spike and cause stress or anxiety when they're too high.
Maybe try Googling "cortisol and bodybuilding" to see how it works...
Why not give that 30 mg a shot? What do you really have to lose...

Eric Jackson11 said:Kevin, you're jumping all over the place here.😁
The jerking sensations Kenneth Scott41 is describing actually happened to me when I was on Seroquel too.
Just sudden jolts in the arm, leg, or head...
And what do you mean "which Seroquel"?
They all act pretty much the same way since that's the primary active ingredient...

True, Seroquel is definitely known for having side effects like that.😢
Look, there is also the drug Quetiapine, but all the AP-ov (like Seroquel, Loquen, or Q-pin) are essentially based on Quetiapine—specifically Quetiapine fumarate.
But honestly, these medications don't affect every patient in the exact same way. It's been proven. I've personally tried all three during my own treatments, and I can tell you firsthand that their mechanisms aren't identical.

Eric Jackson11 said:If you fall asleep at midnight and wake up around 9 or 10 AM, that's still about nine hours of sleep.
That's plenty of rest...
Why are you so set on that specific 10 PM to 7 AM window? You're still getting those same nine hours of sleep.🤷
The dose she recommended sounds perfectly standard.
Your hesitation seems to be coming from a different place entirely. This type of medication is meant to sedate you and manage cortisol levels, which can spike and cause stress or anxiety when they're too high.
Maybe try Googling "cortisol and bodybuilding" to see how it works...
Why not give that 30 mg a shot? What do you really have to lose...

I'm insisting because that has always been my biological rhythm. It’s summer now, and normally I’d be heading to the beach, but I can't stand being out there at 10 AM when the heat starts becoming unbearable... I used to love going out from 8 AM until noon, but now I just can't seem to shake the grogginess. Honestly, I'm quite skeptical about taking a mountain of pills, especially since I feel like I've been on Mirzaten for far too long without much effect—if I weren't using Sanofi to help me actually sleep, I would have tossed the 15 mg dose aside ages ago. And then there's the weight gain issue; everyone warns that it makes you put on pounds, and I've already seen about 7 or 8 pounds creep on over the last year.

zvonx78 said:Making adjustments isn't exactly a walk in the park, especially when you consider that it takes a significant amount of time for a second opinion—or even a new provider—to truly grasp the nuances of your situation. However, I suspect we all eventually reach a point of clarity after the third iteration of trial and error, once we finally discern whether a specific direction is actually leading toward progress or just spinning our wheels. In my estimation, the most effective clinical model would be one where the psychiatrist also provides psychotherapy to everyone currently prescribed medication. Of course, the reality of the American medical system is far more fragmented; not every psychiatrist is trained as a psychotherapist. As for myself, I find I am quite content with my current path, employing a sort of integrative approach that pulls a little bit from every discipline to create a cohesive whole.

Listen, since I’m mostly staying put at home these days, my anxiety regarding sleep hasn't been nearly as paralyzing as it used to be. My approach is somewhat situational; if I feel like I can avoid spiraling into deep thought before hitting the pillow, I might just take 10 mg of Sanofi and call it a night. However, if my mind starts racing uncontrollably, I find that a mere 50 mg of Trazodone is usually enough to pull me under. I'll admit, there is a certain degree of disorientation that lingers until midday, but honestly, I’d much rather deal with a bit of morning fog than resort to heavy-handed doses of hypnotics that fail to provide relief exactly when you need them most. It feels like a necessary trade-off.

My doctor suggested that I attempt a total transition over to Trazodone, provided the morning grogginess doesn't become too overwhelming. If I can manage that, I might just stick exclusively to it during my upcoming vacation. There is a glimmer of hope that my system might eventually adjust to that slight morning sedation—which, frankly, feels like a minor nuisance compared to the absolute sledgehammer effect of Calista or those godforsaken APs.

I truly empathize with the struggles you're facing. Relying on hypnotics is hardly a sustainable solution to such a deep-seated issue. Please, do let me know what happens when you increase your dosage of Calista, and what your doctor’s specific take was on that adjustment. Dealing with chronic sleep deprivation is an absolute nightmare—it’s a relentless, exhausting cycle that can break anyone.

During the daylight hours, I don't touch a single pill; honestly, there isn't even a craving for it. My routine remains strictly limited to my morning antidepressant, yet this relentless insomnia refuses to yield. It has reached a point where I’m forced to wonder if I’ve crossed a line—whether I’ve actually developed a dependency on these tablets, perhaps more significantly than the insomnia itself is a symptom of my underlying disorder. 🤷

Haha, the idea of increasing my dosage hasn't even crossed my mind; in fact, my entire objective is to phase it out completely. It is honestly soul-crushing to spend my days trapped in this perpetual, hazy stupor where I lack the slightest spark of motivation to move, all while the beautiful summer sun is shining outside my window. I’ve already managed to scale my Xanax down to 0.75, so we shall see if that proves to be a viable strategy or just another setback. By the way, which antidepressant are you currently taking in the mornings?

Kevin Bailey2 said:When it comes to tapering off benzos (in my case, Xanax)... I once had this total fixation. After being on the max dose of Xanax for months, I just decided I was done with all the meds. I went rogue and—stupidly enough—flushed everything down the toilet just so I wouldn't be tempted to take more.

Withdrawal...
Day one... alright, maybe there was still enough concentration in my blood to function somewhat, but by evening, sleep was out of the question.
Day two... the shakes and aches started kicking in. Sleep? Not happening.
Day three... I’m just lying in bed, twitching my leg muscles because they feel so incredibly restless. The pain is everywhere, from my head down. It felt like a massive flu, except even a box of Advil didn't touch it.
Day four... my vision is blurring... I lost at least 50% of my sight. My limbs literally feel like they're giving out. I scramble to the ER at a major hospital and tell them exactly what I did. They hook me up to an IV with Xanax mixed in just to stabilize me, then write me a new prescription to pick up at the pharmacy later. That night, I go back on the Xanax per the doctor's orders.

It took me a few more days to recover from that withdrawal crash, even though I stayed on the same Xanax dosage I was on before.

Total disaster.

I honestly don't know how people survive heroin withdrawal or why people quit heroin so abruptly (I mean when people actually *want* to be clean, not when they're just using Exelon as a substitute for heroin)... but with anxiolytics, you have to taper for months. You go from three pills to two and a half... then eventually two and a half to two... then one and a half... and so on. This can drag on for months. From what I've heard, the physical withdrawal from heavy drugs lasts about a week.

The truth is... what we're taking is clearly a much stronger, heavier drug than damn heroin.

So now I'm wondering... is it actually possible to get off anxiolytics quickly, like within a week, and somehow endure the pain? Like, following the heroin model. You lock yourself in a room for a week and just suffer through it.

Is that too dangerous?

I've detailed how far I got by day four... but would things have just gotten even worse by day five?
I'm not sure.
I genuinely thought I was going to die. That's why I bolted to the ER.
Can the body even handle a sudden withdrawal crisis like that?

It really is true what they say about every body being different. I was on 0.5mg of Xanax once a day for three years, and I just decided I was done. I haven't taken it in nine months, and I didn't experience any withdrawal symptoms at all.

velvetsailor26 said:It really is true what they say about every body being different. I was on 0.5mg of Xanax once a day for three years, and I just decided I was done. I haven't taken it in nine months, and I didn't experience any withdrawal symptoms at all.

Going cold turkey on half a milligram is one thing, but trying it with 6 milligrams? That's night and day.

Loxapine works great for me when I need to sleep—and if I manage to get enough hours in, I don't really feel any side effects the next day. A few times, though, I had to get up after maybe 4 or 5 or 6 hours, and I was just totally wiped out until the afternoon. I guess I just don't take it on those nights anymore.

Melissa Sanchez59 said:Loxapine works great for me when I need to sleep—and if I manage to get enough hours in, I don't really feel any side effects the next day. A few times, though, I had to get up after maybe 4 or 5 or 6 hours, and I was just totally wiped out until the afternoon. I guess I just don't take it on those nights anymore.

It is the exact same story with Q-pin. If you are aiming to be awake by 6:00 AM, the best bet is to take it by 9:30 PM—which is honestly pushing it, but habits are hard to break, right? Anything outside of that window? Well, you really don't want to know how miserable you'll feel.
As for Seroquel, I won't even go there. It’s a complete disaster in the morning; your head feels heavy, your legs feel even heavier, and you're just... absent for that first half hour.

So, that was how bad things got. My psychiatrist put me on the Associated Press, Zoloft. A 12 mg dose.
The anxiety? Gone. My OCD isn't running wild anymore, the depression isn't hitting quite as hard, and I actually feel more level-headed.
The only issue is my appetite has kicked up a notch, but I’m really hoping it’s just a temporary thing at the start. I've already put on about 6 or 7 pounds.
But honestly, when I look back at where I was before, I am incomparable—way better now.

Worst part of all though is that this stuff messes with my blood pressure, so I get these dizzy spells.
Best,

Jason Vaughn482 said:Haha, the idea of increasing my dosage hasn't even crossed my mind; in fact, my entire objective is to phase it out completely. It is honestly soul-crushing to spend my days trapped in this perpetual, hazy stupor where I lack the slightest spark of motivation to move, all while the beautiful summer sun is shining outside my window. I’ve already managed to scale my Xanax down to 0.75, so we shall see if that proves to be a viable strategy or just another setback. By the way, which antidepressant are you currently taking in the mornings?

I am currently taking 15 mg of Eli Lilly. I was on Paxil quite some time ago. Nothing else seems to work for me because depression isn't my primary struggle; it's strictly panic disorder and anxiety. Consequently, anything that attempts to boost my mood—like Prozac or Effexor, for example—just completely wrecks me within an hour. This medication feels manageable; it keeps those terrible panic attacks at bay. While the anxiety still surfaces, it remains tolerable. That is the specific aspect I am working to reduce to a manageable level. I am trying, but there really is no such thing as a magic pill.😢

urbanskipper4 said:So, that was how bad things got. My psychiatrist put me on the Associated Press, Zoloft. A 12 mg dose.
The anxiety? Gone. My OCD isn't running wild anymore, the depression isn't hitting quite as hard, and I actually feel more level-headed.
The only issue is my appetite has kicked up a notch, but I’m really hoping it’s just a temporary thing at the start. I've already put on about 6 or 7 pounds.
But honestly, when I look back at where I was before, I am incomparable—way better now.

Worst part of all though is that this stuff messes with my blood pressure, so I get these dizzy spells.
Best,

Less depression, more laughter.
They say laughter is medicine, right? Because when you're laughing, you simply can't feel fear. Who knows...
As for the appetite, that's really just a matter of habit. You aren't inherently hungrier because of a pill... a little self-control and everything will be fine.
At least things are better for someone...😉
Take care.🙂

Kevin Nguyen3 said:Less depression, more laughter.
They say laughter is medicine, right? Because when you're laughing, you simply can't feel fear. Who knows...
As for the appetite, that's really just a matter of habit. You aren't inherently hungrier because of a pill... a little self-control and everything will be fine.
At least things are better for someone...😉
Take care.🙂

almost every antipsychotic out there is going to spike your appetite

David Vaughn75 said:almost every antipsychotic out there is going to spike your appetite

But isn't the kicker right there in those two little words... "most"?
I've been on the Associated Press meds for ages upon ages, and have I gained an ounce? Not a single one... or maybe just a tiny bit, who can say?😁
Breaking a bad habit is such an uphill battle, isn't it? And let's be honest, our diet is one of those hardest ones to fix.

restlesstrucker15 said:I am currently taking 15 mg of Eli Lilly. I was on Paxil quite some time ago. Nothing else seems to work for me because depression isn't my primary struggle; it's strictly panic disorder and anxiety. Consequently, anything that attempts to boost my mood—like Prozac or Effexor, for example—just completely wrecks me within an hour. This medication feels manageable; it keeps those terrible panic attacks at bay. While the anxiety still surfaces, it remains tolerable. That is the specific aspect I am working to reduce to a manageable level. I am trying, but there really is no such thing as a magic pill.😢

For me, Prozac actually worked quite well; I appreciate having a bit of an upward lift because otherwise, I feel completely numb. God, last night was an absolute nightmare. I went to bed with 10 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Eli Lilly, but... I ended up wide awake at 3:30 AM just staring at the ceiling until dawn. Then, at 6:00 AM, I had to take another 5 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Eli Lilly just to limp my way to 10:30. I absolutely loathe doing that. I think I'll ask my doctor if I can take Prozac in the morning and then this small dose of Eli Lilly at night just to help me sleep. I'm terrified of messing with the dosage on my own since I don't know how they interact. Just like you, I'm not dealing with depression; it's all anxiety, panic, and insomnia. 🙂

Jason Vaughn482 said:For me, Prozac actually worked quite well; I appreciate having a bit of an upward lift because otherwise, I feel completely numb. God, last night was an absolute nightmare. I went to bed with 10 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Eli Lilly, but... I ended up wide awake at 3:30 AM just staring at the ceiling until dawn. Then, at 6:00 AM, I had to take another 5 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Eli Lilly just to limp my way to 10:30. I absolutely loathe doing that. I think I'll ask my doctor if I can take Prozac in the morning and then this small dose of Eli Lilly at night just to help me sleep. I'm terrified of messing with the dosage on my own since I don't know how they interact. Just like you, I'm not dealing with depression; it's all anxiety, panic, and insomnia. 🙂

I am not sure how long you have been using Zoloft, but honestly, it loses its effectiveness after a while. And realistically? If your goal is actually getting some rest, that amount of Eli Lilly you're taking seems quite low. I am not suggesting you should increase it—absolutely not without medical advice—but a dose like that (I assume it's half of 15 mg?) is just too weak for that purpose.
I take 45 mg and I have no intention of cutting back, mostly because it helps me sleep. I don't know exactly how much of an impact the Eli Lilly has, but it certainly plays a role, doesn't it?🙂

Kevin Nguyen3 said:But isn't the kicker right there in those two little words... "most"?
I've been on the Associated Press meds for ages upon ages, and have I gained an ounce? Not a single one... or maybe just a tiny bit, who can say?😁
Breaking a bad habit is such an uphill battle, isn't it? And let's be honest, our diet is one of those hardest ones to fix.

You didn't stay thin because you're eating less—it's just that most patients eventually cave once those APs kick in and the hunger hits them like a freight train.