Psychotropic medication discussion thread

Henry Harris6 said:Eeeeej, hold on a second. You aren't alone in this. I’ve been on Zoloft for two years at 300 mg a day, and it barely makes a dent. What’s the actual diagnosis?

The max dose is usually 200 mg...😲

anxiety and depression

The instructions say it should kick in within 2 to 6 weeks,
but again, I've been taking it for five years—just 25 mg for the last year and a half.
I'm just worried that if it isn't working the way I expected, maybe it's not just simple anxiety...

👎

Larry Howard8 said:The max dose is usually 200 mg...😲

anxiety and depression

The instructions say it should kick in within 2 to 6 weeks,
but again, I've been taking it for five years—just 25 mg for the last year and a half.
I'm just worried that if it isn't working the way I expected, maybe it's not just simple anxiety...

👎

Look. It’s not psychosis. Psychosis is a severe mental breakdown, almost on par with schizophrenia. You’re dealing with hallucinations, losing touch with reality, things like that. That is psychosis.
If you haven't seen results in five years, there is a massive flaw in your treatment plan. If you don't see any improvement after three months, the medication needs to be swapped out.
Furthermore, I have no idea why your doctor only put you on 25 mg. For what it's worth, I was prescribed 300 mg and I handle it just fine.
Right now, I’m managing three different types of antidepressants along with medication for epilepsy and schizophrenia, and I’ve been doing this for years—but we always adjusted the meds if they weren't hitting the mark.
My advice? Go back to your psychiatrist, because spending five years on an antidepressant that does nothing is a catastrophic mistake.

Henry Harris6 said:Look. It’s not psychosis. Psychosis is a severe mental breakdown, almost on par with schizophrenia. You’re dealing with hallucinations, losing touch with reality, things like that. That is psychosis.
If you haven't seen results in five years, there is a massive flaw in your treatment plan. If you don't see any improvement after three months, the medication needs to be swapped out.
Furthermore, I have no idea why your doctor only put you on 25 mg. For what it's worth, I was prescribed 300 mg and I handle it just fine.
Right now, I’m managing three different types of antidepressants along with medication for epilepsy and schizophrenia, and I’ve been doing this for years—but we always adjusted the meds if they weren't hitting the mark.
My advice? Go back to your psychiatrist, because spending five years on an antidepressant that does nothing is a catastrophic mistake.

You don't always have hallucinations during psychosis. Conditions like bipolar mania don't necessarily come with them.
You can also deal with depression involving psychotic elements where there aren't any hallucinations at all.

Larry Howard8 said:The max dose is usually 200 mg...😲

anxiety and depression

The instructions say it should kick in within 2 to 6 weeks,
but again, I've been taking it for five years—just 25 mg for the last year and a half.
I'm just worried that if it isn't working the way I expected, maybe it's not just simple anxiety...

👎

That's kind of like drinking water and wondering why you don't feel better.👎
You probably needed to be at the 300 mg max dose. If it doesn't work after 3 or 4 weeks at that top dose, then maybe you can say the med isn't doing anything.

Roger Rodriguez said:Are you staying in touch with your psychiatrist?

Unfortunately, this forum is her therapist.☕

Nathan Kim10 said:That's kind of like drinking water and wondering why you don't feel better.👎
You probably needed to be at the 300 mg max dose. If it doesn't work after 3 or 4 weeks at that top dose, then maybe you can say the med isn't doing anything.

It wasn't like I was stuck at 25 mg for five years straight. I spent some time at 75, then dropped to 50, and I felt great—so my doctor decided to scale me down to 25.
But then the depression came crashing back about a year and a half after being on that low dose...

I’ve hit 100 mg now, which is the highest I've ever gone, so I honestly don't get why I'm still struggling.

The 300 mg stuff is usually reserved for the really severe cases.
I'm out here living my life and going out like a normal person,
it's just that everything feels like total chaos inside my head.

Larry Howard8 said:It wasn't like I was stuck at 25 mg for five years straight. I spent some time at 75, then dropped to 50, and I felt great—so my doctor decided to scale me down to 25.
But then the depression came crashing back about a year and a half after being on that low dose...

I’ve hit 100 mg now, which is the highest I've ever gone, so I honestly don't get why I'm still struggling.

The 300 mg stuff is usually reserved for the really severe cases.
I'm out here living my life and going out like a normal person,
it's just that everything feels like total chaos inside my head.

Well, your doctor should have bumped your dose up. Honestly, it's better to take nothing at all than to waste time on 25 mg a day.

Nathan Kim10 said:Well, your doctor should have bumped your dose up. Honestly, it's better to take nothing at all than to waste time on 25 mg a day.

How could I not? I felt so good that she actually wanted to taper me off completely,
but we decided to keep the 25 mg going as a sort of placebo, and we stayed there for a year and a half....
I didn't deal with any depression during that whole stretch.

Things only started sliding two months ago. Now, I've been on 100 mg for about a month.

Larry Howard8 said:How could I not? I felt so good that she actually wanted to taper me off completely,
but we decided to keep the 25 mg going as a sort of placebo, and we stayed there for a year and a half....
I didn't deal with any depression during that whole stretch.

Things only started sliding two months ago. Now, I've been on 100 mg for about a month.

If 100 mg isn't cutting it, you either need to bump the dose up or switch meds altogether.

Nathan Kim10 said:If 100 mg isn't cutting it, you either need to bump the dose up or switch meds altogether.

No way,
I went through the exact same thing five years ago—honestly, it was even worse back then,
and I managed to get through it on just 75 mg,
so there's no way these fucking 100 mg won't work.

Larry Howard8 said:No way,
I went through the exact same thing five years ago—honestly, it was even worse back then,
and I managed to get through it on just 75 mg,
so there's no way these fucking 100 mg won't work.

You stay on that dose for a month and still see zero progress. 🙄

Nathan Kim10 said:You stay on that dose for a month and still see zero progress. 🙄

Well, it’s not like nothing has changed,
I'm not crying like I was at the start,
the panic attacks have stopped,
and I've stopped relying on Xanax,
but I'm still terrified of developing schizophrenia or ending up in a mental asylum.

Larry Howard8 said:No way,
I went through the exact same thing five years ago—honestly, it was even worse back then,
and I managed to get through it on just 75 mg,
so there's no way these fucking 100 mg won't work.

So, what else is there to do besides wait??
Look, you keep saying things aren't quite right with the Zoloft, yet you aren't willing to switch.
If I were in your shoes, I’d definitely look into changing my antidepressant; five years is a long time to feel like things are slipping, especially if you're feeling worse now. But if you're set against switching... why even ask for advice? We can't tell you why you're struggling. Ultimately, your psychiatrist should be able to help you figure that out, especially if you've been in therapy for a while.
Just don't tell me you aren't seeing anyone, or I might just have to slap myself for even suggesting it!

Roger Rodriguez said:So, what else is there to do besides wait??
Look, you keep saying things aren't quite right with the Zoloft, yet you aren't willing to switch.
If I were in your shoes, I’d definitely look into changing my antidepressant; five years is a long time to feel like things are slipping, especially if you're feeling worse now. But if you're set against switching... why even ask for advice? We can't tell you why you're struggling. Ultimately, your psychiatrist should be able to help you figure that out, especially if you've been in therapy for a while.
Just don't tell me you aren't seeing anyone, or I might just have to slap myself for even suggesting it!

I actually go to therapy every two weeks.
Zoloft really helped me during these five years I've been on it,
so I just don't get why the 100 mg dose isn't working the way I expected.

My therapist told me I'd change anything under the sun—
the pills, the doctors—just to avoid having to change myself.
She said the Zoloft started working, but I didn't.
Because I think I'm hoping the pill will fix my actual problems for me.

The second phase of my quitting Zoloft journey kicks off this Monday. 👋 👋 👋
Now that I'm feeling let down by it once again... 😬

I was actually planning on tapering off my Zoloft,
but here I am, still taking 100 mg....

Ugh... 😠

It’s pretty clear there’s some kind of dependency with these antidepressants,
almost like we're too afraid to take a single step without them acting as our "crutches."

🤷

Look, there’s no such thing as a physical addiction here—at least not in your case. You’re dealing with a psychological dependency, plain and simple. You’re just terrified of letting go of those crutches...

Yeah, it's both the pills and the old folks holding me back from just doing my thing.

Do antidepressants actually cause addiction?

Look, some people end up on depression meds for the rest of their lives, but that doesn't mean they're addicted. If a doctor decides it's time to stop, you don't just quit cold turkey—you taper off the dosage slowly to stay safe.

Antidepressants aren't like stimulants, like speed or amphetamines. They work by gradually lifting the fog over four to six weeks until your mood stabilizes out again. That whole fear of being "hooked" is mostly just baseless anxiety; true addiction—where you're obsessively craving the drug, abusing it, or needing massive doses just to feel normal—just isn't how these medications work, even if someone takes them for months or years on end.

And when it comes to breaking those old habits... well, if you're looking for an excuse to ditch them because they don't fit your vibe anymore, clearly you're pretty comfortable with the way things are, especially since the older generation keeps enabling you...

Robert Collins2 said:

Do antidepressants actually cause addiction?

Look, some people end up on depression meds for the rest of their lives, but that doesn't mean they're addicted. If a doctor decides it's time to stop, you don't just quit cold turkey—you taper off the dosage slowly to stay safe.

Antidepressants aren't like stimulants, like speed or amphetamines. They work by gradually lifting the fog over four to six weeks until your mood stabilizes out again. That whole fear of being "hooked" is mostly just baseless anxiety; true addiction—where you're obsessively craving the drug, abusing it, or needing massive doses just to feel normal—just isn't how these medications work, even if someone takes them for months or years on end.

And when it comes to breaking those old habits... well, if you're looking for an excuse to ditch them because they don't fit your vibe anymore, clearly you're pretty comfortable with the way things are, especially since the older generation keeps enabling you...

The truth is, part of me really wants to change that,
which is exactly why I'm feeling so down lately.