Posts by Jason Vaughn482

restlesstrucker15 said:I understand he isn't prescribing it. I honestly don't get why, especially since even for Cerson, the literature states it's only intended for short-term insomnia treatment. Well, I will likely be on medical leave again for about six months due to my upcoming surgery, so perhaps I will try taking a quarter of a 15 mg Calixta/Sanval/Cerson combo just to see if I can sleep without feeling completely groggy. I'll just have to track down some Calixta.

Yes, it was at night, but it did nothing. And then there was the half tablet thirty minutes before the procedure. I'm not sure if it actually relaxed me—probably, it did—but after a sleepless night followed by a restless morning, I was already too exhausted to care about the surgery itself.

Skickas FR

Give Cerson a shot, but please don't throw in the towel immediately; when I first started, I felt like my heart was ticking like a metronome, but things have stabilized now. I take 10 mg along with Calixta, and those 7.5 mg doses don't knock me out like they used to. I feel a bit groggy in the morning until I finally sit down with a cup of coffee, but once that kicks in, everything settles down perfectly....

restlesstrucker15 said:I want to thank everyone for the kind wishes 🙂. The anesthesia went smoothly, and waking up was much the same; I’ll just be feeling a bit groggy for a few more hours. They gave me some Ambien last night to help me sleep, but honestly, I didn't feel a thing 😢
. Now begins a somewhat lengthy recovery process.
Thankfully, my liver is in perfect shape. I wasn't actually worried about my liver because of the psych meds, but rather because of the opioids I had to take for quite a while—and will have to continue for a little longer.
The doctor mentioned yesterday that for sleeping, I should use Cerson instead of Valium; apparently, there's no other way to go about it. When she checked in on me this morning, I told her everything felt pretty much the same. She emphasized that I shouldn't return to using Ambien, and according to the anesthesiologist, I really shouldn't. I assured her that I have no intention of doing so.
I once accidentally ended up with some 0.5 mg Xanax South Dakota due to a prescription error, but it just didn't work for me at all. I only take it rarely when I'm dealing with a panic attack and need immediate relief, and the South Dakota version just doesn't cut it for me.

Best, fr

It's the same story for me; I tried the SR version once and found it completely ineffective.
They gave you Ambien last night, whereas they gave me mine just thirty minutes before the procedure.
Regarding Sanval, my doctor won't prescribe it under any circumstances unless I'm paying for a private prescription; instead, we stick to Cerson. At first, I was skeptical and thought it wouldn't work, but eventually, combined with a little Calixta at 7.5 mg, I can manage to fall asleep, though it takes a frustratingly long time to kick in... that's what gets under my skin the most. Once I am finally out, however, I sleep straight through until 9 in the morning.

restlesstrucker15 said:In my experience, 🙂 nothing really worked for me from the Dormicum. They gave me three different injections in the operating room to try and get me to sleep. After the second one, everyone was staring at me because I was still wide awake, until the anesthesiologist finally admitted they needed to give me more. It was a surreal sensation. One moment you're conscious, and then suddenly, there is just a total blackout—sleep and beautiful dreams. 🙂

Skicka FR

I am truly relieved that the ordeal is finally behind you... When I underwent my surgery, they gave me something similar to Dormicum, but let me tell you, nobody actually falls asleep from it if it’s administered in the early morning hours. Usually, they just use it as a pre-anesthetic to help you calm down and settle into a sort of haze before they deliver the real stuff in the OR. Regardless of the method, the important thing is that it's over. I know how much you were dreading the whole sedation process, but they always find a way to make it work. Wishing you nothing but the best during your recovery! 👏

Kimberly Morris said:Hey guys, quick question for the group.

My stepcousin’s had a rough run lately—lost her mom, her dad, and her sister all within just a few months. It was brutal. Naturally, she spiraled into this constant state of anxiety and nerves. She’s been seeing psychiatrists left and right, basically cycling through every med on the pharmacy shelf, and honestly? She says the only thing that actually touches the nerve is Misar.

So, she’s 58 years old and has basically decided this is her life now—she’ll take it whenever she needs to and just accept that she can't function without it anymore. Okay. Whatever.

So, she finally hit the 1.5 mg daily mark. She was taking two 0.25 mg pills—splitting them up between morning, afternoon, and night—and honestly, that dose kept her running smooth for the last two or three years.

So, about a month ago, her primary doctor switched her over to Misar 1 mg SR. They told her she only needs to take it once in the morning and once at night. Apparently, they didn't see the point in letting her poison herself with six pills a day when she can get the job done with just two. 🙂 Makes total sense to me too...

But seriously, she’s telling me she feels like she’s in a total coma right now. Like, Misar isn't even doing anything for her at all. The anxiety keeps slamming back, the panic attacks are hitting, and she’s terrified to even step outside and face people—she just wants to rot in bed all day. She told her doctor about it, and honestly? He totally lost his mind. He basically told her she was making it all up, claiming that regular Misar and Misar SR are the exact same thing. He actually had the nerve to say the only difference is that the standard one hits you instantly while the other one just releases slowly throughout the day. Unbelievable.

She only told me because she knows I've actually been through this before. 🙂 Honestly, I think her whole meltdown is actually spot on... What do you guys reckon?

Well, first of all, the doctor actually increased her dose; if she's taking 1 mg twice a day, that's 2 mg total, whereas she was previously on 1.5 mg. Secondly, in my view, it is often better to take the medication only when the need arises, as she might find she doesn't always require it. Taking a full 1 mg in the morning seems quite heavy to me... I don't know, I tried that 1 mg dose once for sleep and it did absolutely nothing for me. Personally, I’d much rather take a 0.25 mg dose if that's sufficient, rather than jumping straight to 1 mg... plus, the smaller dose works much faster, which might explain why she's feeling so panicked right now. Ultimately, as always, it's a matter of how any individual body reacts.

Justin Rogers5 said:Just my thoughts on Mirzaten. It helped me quite a bit, but it took forever—nearly a year—to actually kick in. Honestly, that was the same story with Deprozel, so all those claims about feeling better in 2 to 5 weeks don't mean much to me. I actually thought about quitting, but after so many bad experiences and failed experiments, I figured I’d give it at least a year before moving on to something else. For me, it helps slightly with sleep, but it's not the miracle cure people claim. Its real value was finally giving me the drive to get out of bed early and actually use my day instead of just rotting in bed until noon. Once you start getting up early, working out, and staying active, you naturally crash around 11 PM or midnight and wake up by 8 AM. To be fair, I still wake up a few times during the night, but I don't reach for Xanax anymore; I just read a book until I drift off. That’s a win. I’m slowly tapering off the Xanax; I'm down to 0.25 mg in the morning and half a pill at night, but I'll be cutting that evening dose soon too. I've started caring more about my body—what I eat and drink (which helps with my ulcers). My one remaining vice that's bad for my stomach is coffee, but I limit myself to just one cup; any more and it hits me hard. Not that I should even have that one cup, but whatever, some things are hard to quit. I stopped drinking entirely (there was a period where I drank way too much every single day because of the depression—honestly, I'm embarrassed to even think about it), and I stopped popping painkillers for headaches. I guess my willpower has gotten stronger. Maybe it's the meds, or maybe it was just a sudden realization that I couldn't live like that anymore. I've been slowly fixing my health, teeth, sinuses... leaning more into natural stuff lately.
It's not all perfect, though. I've become hyper-aware of my body and the signals it sends when something is wrong. Now I'm actually nervous about every pill I swallow because my last two blood tests showed my liver enzymes were slightly elevated—nothing to panic over, but my doctor told me to watch it. So, I cut out everything I could, like birth control and painkillers. If those levels spike again, I’m strictly sticking to the essentials (Mirzaten 15 mg and Xanax 0.25).
Sorry for the wall of text. Just wanted to be thorough. Hope this helps someone decide if they want to try this stuff or not.🕺

As for me, I've been on Mirzaten for three years now, with a brief hiatus included. I spent a year on 15 mg, stopped, and then because I couldn't sleep without something like Ambien, I returned to the fold—though this time it was actually Calixt, which is essentially the same thing. I've transitioned to a half-dose, so I'm currently taking 7.5 mg twice a day along with either Ambien or Cerston. During the day, I take Xanax only as needed; in fact, I didn't even think to take it today. So, in my experience, the idea that you can't get off it or that tolerance builds up instantly doesn't quite hold true—I suppose it depends on the individual's biology. I've been using it for five years, never exceeding 1.5 mg at a time, and I take 20 mg of Portal every other day. That might sound like a lot, especially since I'm also managing blood pressure medication, but despite all of this, my liver function tests always come back clean. I get my blood drawn frequently specifically to monitor my liver markers, so I find it quite strange that your values increased from 15 mg of Mirzaten. Exactly how much did they rise? And are you taking anything else? Those elevations could easily be attributed to painkillers or even alcohol.

George Sullivan7 said:Hey everyone, quick question for you 🙂

So, like most people here, I deal with ups and downs, and right now, I'm back in a phase where I seriously need my meds. When it comes to antidepressants, Zoloft is the one that actually works for me—it’s basically somewhere between an antipsychotic and an antidepressant. In low doses, it hits the depression and anxiety, but ramp up the dose and it acts more like an antipsychotic. My massive headache right now is that along with this depressive slump, I’m dealing with some brutal, chronic insomnia. My doctor tried giving me Valium and Halcion, but honestly? Zero effect. It works for a tiny bit and then nothing. We end up back at square one. Even bumping up the Lexapro didn't help much either. For instance, the Xanax I take regularly doesn't even touch my sleep issues, whereas Lexapro used to help a little because it relaxes my muscles, but even that stopped working. And I refuse to just keep cranking up the doses. I've tried Valium and Ambien too, and still nothing. I'm wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

I saw someone mention on this thread that Qypine helps some people with stubborn, long-term insomnia, so I wanted to ask: has anyone ever combined Zoloft with Qypine? Logic tells me you probably shouldn't mix two antipsychotics, even if Zoloft isn't a "classic" one depending on how much you take. Usually, people mix antipsychotics and antidepressants, but I really don't want to give up my Zoloft because it's genuinely great for me, yet I'm dying to actually get some sleep. My doctor is a total hard-ass about antipsychotics; she thinks they're a huge "no-no" unless it's an absolute emergency with severe depression. It took months of arguing just to get her to let me try Zoloft after Effexor, Faverin, and Lexapro all failed me—and those are supposed to help with sleep, right?

If I already asked this somewhere else in the thread, my bad. I seriously don't have the time to read through every single page. So, any advice, suggestions, or personal experiences? 🙂

You might consider trying Claritin, though I suspect it won’t do much for you. A mere fraction of a 15 mg dose is unlikely to touch a case of insomnia as severe as yours, especially considering that even Valium and Halcion haven't provided any relief. To give you some perspective, I personally have to take half of a 15 mg dose combined with either 10 mg of Valium or Cercon; even then, I endure an agonizing struggle just to drift off. It can take me an hour, two hours, sometimes even longer just to find sleep. Once I finally succumb, however, I tend to sleep for a solid nine hours straight. The true battle isn't staying asleep—it's the sheer difficulty of falling asleep in the first place. When I first started taking 15 mg of Claritin, I was out like a light within fifteen minutes without any extra help, but unfortunately, that initial window of efficacy has long since vanished.

Kimberly Morris said:I went through something almost identical to you. I was on Fluval 20 mg every single day for over a year. Honestly, I didn't even graduate until I finally got off it, and then just two months later, I landed a job. At first, everything was golden, but once my manager gave me a raise because she loved my work right out of the gate, some jealous coworkers started playing dirty. I spiraled again and ended up back on Fluval. If I hadn't, who knows? I probably would've lashed out at someone or done something stupid to myself 🙂

I know Fluval is one thing and your Mirzaten is another, but if you're only taking 1/6 of a pill, that seems like such a tiny dose... honestly, is it even worth the struggle?

I really think you’ll crush it at this new job, make some actual friends, and eventually reach a point where you don't even need that 1/6 anymore.

Sending kisses, hang in there 🎉

Microsoft is also an antidepressant

restlesstrucker15 said:Thank you 🙂 I am of the same opinion 🙂
I simply wish to avoid jinxing things by speaking too soon 🙂

Sent fr

Don't sweat it; everything is going to work out fine, and you'll sleep like a baby

Michael Hill2 said:Hey experienced folks, I could really use some advice here.

Quick recap: I’ve been on Fevarin for about 7 months now to deal with anxiety, which mostly showed up as insomnia. For the first two months, Fevarin didn't quite get me through the whole night, so my therapist added a tiny dose of Mirzaten (just 1/6 of a 15 mg pill). Once we introduced Mirzaten, I was sleeping like a baby for months. Honestly, I felt amazing—never better.

Just so you know, I’m also doing KBT.

About a month ago, I decided to stop taking the Mirzaten for sleep. I’d managed to drift off before even taking it, and I wasn't waking up in the middle of the night anymore. I was sleeping just as well without it, so I quit spontaneously, which I honestly felt was a huge win for me.

But then, a week ago, I started a new job. It’s been a massive shock to the system. Even though I’ve been working for years, I feel like a total rookie here. Everything is brand new, I'm learning from scratch, and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the change and leaving my old coworkers behind—they had actually become real friends.

Ever since I started this new gig, the middle-of-the-night wakeups are back. After maybe four hours of sleep, I’ll snap awake and just... stay awake. It’s this weird mix of half-panic and reliving those awful days when my insomnia was at its worst and I barely slept at all.

For this past week, I've been just trying to scrape by. When I wake up in the night and realize after an hour of tossing and turning that sleep isn't coming, I've been taking half a Xanax. It calms me down enough to sleep until morning.

I get that these wakeups are just my initial reaction to the stress of switching jobs. I talked it over with my therapist during KBT, and she said it’s completely normal.

The thing is, I know how much my therapist dislikes Xanax. So, I wanted to ask you guys: should I just hang in there while I adjust to the new job and keep using the Xanax to patch things up at night? Or should I go back to Mirzaten? Going back feels like such a setback, especially since I felt like I had successfully moved past it.😢

Thanks for any input.🙂

Since you were only taking 1/6th of a 15 mg dose of Miller, which is practically nothing in my book, yet it was enough to send you to sleep, I say go ahead and return to it. Personally, I take half of a 15 mg pill, and my own mind tells me that isn't even a real dose... so there is no harm in continuing with it. Honestly, alongside that 7.5 mg, I sometimes find myself needing a glass of wine just to finally drift off.

Brandon Lopez6 said:First time mixing booze with this stuff. I had some Ambien, Ativan, and two shots of pear brandy. Honestly, I was terrified I’d get knocked out cold because everyone says Ambien is brutal, especially when you toss it back with alcohol, but I ended up wide awake until 5 AM. Didn't feel sleepy at all. No side effects or anything weird.
Just feeling pretty bummed about how little it takes for me to get "drunk." As soon as I felt that sensation creeping in, I stopped drinking immediately because that feeling—it's basically straight-up derealization for me. Since I love drinking so much, I usually just take my pills to make it stop, so there's really no point in touching alcohol if it's just going to trigger that headspace anyway.

I went through the same thing during the holidays and New Year's... just one beer for Christmas and maybe two ounces of wine for New Year's Eve... neither of them sat right with me. To echo what you said, it hit me instantly and left me feeling sort of numb and lifeless after just a short while... though I didn't feel sleepy either. In the past, I could handle four beers without breaking a sweat, but it seems like long-term sobriety—or perhaps the medication itself—has completely changed the equation.

restlesstiger49 said:Since you guys are bringing up Calixta, does she actually "elevate" things?

I spent an entire year grinding through 15 mg doses, and let me tell you, there was nothing "uplifting" about it; rather than lifting you up, it felt more like being dragged straight to the bottom of a dark well, leaving nothing behind but constant lethargy, a perpetual fog, and a lingering sense of a hangover. Now that I've scaled back to 7.5 mg, things feel manageable, but I never even dared to touch those higher dosages because the warnings about massive weight gain are simply too terrifying to ignore.

Michael Hill2 said:😁😁😁👍

I feel you, sis :klap:

My brain is way too loud, too. I’m on a sedative antidepressant, and there was a stretch where I was taking Ambien to sleep (and everyone knows how much that just knocks you out initially). Back then, my brain was running at maybe 1-2% capacity, and it was this blissful, numb silence. I actually liked being that mindless.🙂

Even the heavy hitters aren't cutting it for me anymore. I find that even at a mere 7.5 mg, the Lexapro doesn't provide that specific morning fog I used to rely on to numb the edges of the day. It’s a bit ironic, really; when I was taking the standard 15 mg dose, I would wake up feeling completely lethargic and spaced out, like I was wading through molasses just to reach the coffee pot. Now, despite knowing the typical therapeutic range spans anywhere from 15 to 45 mg, my current micro-dose leaves me feeling far too alert for my own comfort.

Michael Hill2 said:I didn't mean to scare you, Jason Vaughn482. I'm sure you're taking Xanax exactly how your doctor prescribed it, and they definitely know your medical history better than I ever could. 🙂

Everything is different for everyone. Personally, I nearly lost it reading through American forums like Benzobuddies.org, where people describe massive cognitive issues after long-term use—memory gaps, trouble concentrating, stuff like that. That’s all I meant by my stupid phrase "fried brain."

Again, your doctor knows best, and I'm really not trying to second-guess their treatment plan. 😉

Oh, please, let’s be realistic here. While I certainly wouldn't object to having a little extra help if the situation ever demanded it, my own focus and memory remain absolutely razor-sharp for the time being. In fact, I can’t help but notice that my cognitive faculties are functioning significantly better than those of my own daughter. It is quite frankly a marvel; she struggles to recall even the most basic details of her day, like what she had for dinner last night, whereas I possess a mental ledger that would put an accountant to shame. I can tell you precisely what an item cost, exactly which store I picked it up from, and the specific date of purchase—even if that transaction took place a decade ago. For now, I have no reason to complain about my mental acuity, regardless of how many birthdays I've celebrated.
To be perfectly honest, I find myself paralyzed by a profound apprehension regarding antipsychotics; it is a truly harrowing sensation. There was a brief period in my life when I was prescribed Elavil at 50 mg, and the experience was nothing short of neurotic. I would spend upwards of half an hour just staring at a single pill, turning it over in my hands, inspecting it like some sort of suspicious artifact before I could even consider swallowing it. Once the act was finally done, I would sit there in a state of sheer dread, bracing myself for whatever psychological upheaval or physical catastrophe might follow. In retrospect, that entire ordeal felt utterly futile—a grueling exercise in futility. Contrast that with Xanax, which I can take with the casual indifference one might reserve for a piece of saltwater taffy. Yet, despite that relative ease, the underlying anxiety remains a persistent shadow. I’ve been reliving those same fears in my dreams lately, and the insomnia has become quite relentless. Consequently, I’ve found myself leaning on a bit of Lunesta and Cersan to bridge the gap, simply because sleep has become such an elusive luxury. It is a wearying cycle, truly.
My therapist seems to be leaning more toward AD or AP herself lately, though she’s smart enough to realize I have absolutely no intention of touching the AP stuff; she doesn't even bother suggesting it anymore. If you ask me, based on everything I've dug up and read, that AP medication feels like a ticking time bomb for your internal organs—it strikes me as being far more hazardous to one's physical health than the alternatives.

Michael Hill2 said:

fadedbear92 I can't even begin to explain how much this situation sucks. It’s just one of those things where you look around and realize everything is slightly broken, isn't it? Honestly, I'm just sitting here trying to make sense of it all, but my brain feels like it's running on low battery. Sometimes you just have to laugh so you don't end up reaching for the Xanax before noon. Just one of those days.
I honestly don't get how you could expect anything remotely intelligent from this guy. The only thing I can actually agree with him on is...
We’re basically just lab rats at this point. Until medicine figures out a way to actually see what's happening inside our heads, we're stuck guessing. I mean, regarding choosing an antidepressant—if we could just get a real-time look at our neurotransmitter levels, we wouldn't be playing this game of trial and error. We could actually pick the right med on day one instead of wasting months feeling like garbage.
People around here already struggle enough just to get through the door of a psychiatrist's office. I can't even imagine how they took his little rant. According to him, you should probably consult everyone from pop stars to various non-profits before you even think about seeing a doctor. He didn't say much about psychotherapy, though—not that anyone was asking. Look, if he’s really not cut out for the job, thank Bog there are actual professionals out there who are. He even claimed he should just quit psychiatry and specialize in orthopedics because "they're all jealous of him anyway." Typical. 🤮

Dr. Torre always knows exactly how to get under my skin. Honestly, I’d love to see his professional peers slap him with some kind of disciplinary action—maybe even pull his license altogether—just to shut down those ridiculous takes of his.

Look, we can't exactly run a blood test to get an exact count of neurotransmitters or whatever, but calling depression just "melancholy" is a massive slap in the face to everyone struggling here and everywhere else.

If Dr. Torre spent half as much time browsing the web as he does staring at his textbooks, he’d realize that diagnosing depression isn't just some vague guesswork. You can actually see the science behind it on a CT scan—you look for that increased amygdala activity and all that other clinical stuff. It’s right there if you bother to look. 🙄

He basically shut me down. He said something along the lines of how insomnia isn't even a real issue—certainly not a psychiatric one—and that I should just lean harder into prayer and seek more support from my community. Honestly, the guy clearly hasn't spent a single month without sleep. I’ve been at the point where I was literally calling on Bog to just take me, because by that stage, I wasn't even a functioning human being anymore. I was just a wreck.

Then there’s his big claim that anxiolytics are totally harmless—that it's all just some massive Big Pharma conspiracy to push antidepressants on anyone with a pulse. He thinks people should just stick to popping Xanax instead. As if you won't be choking down a handful of Xanax a day within a year, or ending up with a completely fried brain five years down the line. Real genius stuff.

Ugh, I really wish I hadn't watched that. Honestly, I have no idea why I even bothered getting worked up over it. 🤦

And I wasn't even worked up, I just watched it and moved on...
but then again, Xanax doesn't affect everyone the same way; I've been taking it for five years and it works perfectly for me. I haven't reached a pill-a-day habit—in fact, I haven't even crossed the 1.5 mg threshold, and I can even go fifteen days on just 0.5 mg... but it still scares me whenever someone mentions having a "fried brain." What is that actually supposed to mean? Am I supposed to get a CT scan or something? Because I haven't felt anything unusual since I started taking it five years ago, and there isn't any antidepressant out there that can calm me down when my hypochondria kicks in and I start panicking over every little symptom... though I do take a small dose of Calixte for sleep and a little something else every other day... but seriously, just explain the "fried brain" thing to me, because I see it written everywhere and I need to know what I'm potentially facing.

fadedbear92 said:Honestly, I don't know why anyone would expect anything intelligent from this guy. The only point I can actually get behind is
how we’re all essentially guinea pigs—at least until medical science develops better screening methods to check our neurotransmitter levels so doctors can prescribe the right medication immediately.
In the US, people are already incredibly hesitant to even see a psychiatrist, so imagine how they took his comments! According to him, everyone should probably visit a GP, a counselor, and various support groups before ever stepping foot in a psych clinic. Plus, he barely even mentioned psychotherapy. If he isn't cut out for the job he's doing, thank Bog there are others who actually are. He should just step away from psychiatry and specialize in orthopedics instead—since he clearly thinks they're jealous of him anyway.🤮

I find myself compelled to add my signature to this sentiment. 👍
While I was wading through those articles, several points really gave me pause and left me deep in thought, yet during yesterday’s session, it felt as though every single question was being masterfully sidestepped. He spent the entire time mumbling incoherently, fluttering through his words with such a lack of clarity that I could barely make sense of half of what he was saying—it was truly maddening. And yet, despite this frustrating display of evasion and verbal clutter, we are expected to just soldier on and move forward.🙂

Carol Barrett50 said:Make sure to tune in to HRT1 at 2:00 PM. We'll have psychiatrist Robert Torre joining us as a guest, and I think we’re going to get into some pretty deep discussions about psychotropic drugs—specifically how they're being overprescribed lately, almost as if they were just Tic Tac candies.

I had such high hopes for this, but honestly, he barely said anything of substance.

restlesstrucker15 said:Just try to be patient; everything will eventually settle down. 🙂))
The nausea is likely just from the pregnancy.
It has been a very long time since I personally tapered myself off Paxil. At the time, I didn't know anyone else taking medication, nor did I bother reading the instructions. For two weeks, I felt as though I were coming down with a bad flu combined with these strange electric shocks running through my body, but I had absolutely no idea what was happening to me. I didn't realize it then. It was a case of naive ignorance.

Best regards,

I was taking Prozac about six months ago and simply stopped cold turkey without any issues whatsoever. Now, I’ve started again, though I’m only taking it every other day... mainly because I'm also on 7.5 mg of Lexapro and I don't want to overdo it. Last year, I also stopped taking 15 mg of Lexapro abruptly and felt nothing at all, but I ended up returning to it because my sleep was suffering.

shadowbear9 said:It seems like Seroquel caused weight gain for me too, I guess. But I am certainly not going to reject it as a treatment option because, for once, I am actually sleeping normally. Besides, there isn't anyone in my life right now that I would care to look good for anyway. I only eat twice a day—early in the morning (IF I EVEN GET OUT OF BED), usually two crackers and maybe three donuts, and that’s it. Other than that, I eat vegetables, so there is no way that's making me gain weight. I've been on birth control for three years and it hasn't changed my weight at all; it is just the Seroquel. Regardless, I sacrificed so much just to get prescribed this, so I am sticking with it... even if I get fat. Honestly, my life doesn't exactly have some grand higher purpose right now anyway...

Why would you say your life lacks a higher purpose? If that's the case, then what is the point of all these heavy-duty medications? Is it just to poison yourself, or is it to actually heal? To reach a point where you can start believing that life actually holds some kind of meaning?

Brian Young5 said:Here’s the real kicker: the meds saved my life. They stabilized me, and honestly, I haven't been this calm or happy in years. But now, the weight gain is kicking in and dragging me straight back into depression. So, what’s the move? It feels like one of those damn vicious cycles.

I want to actually live my life, not just hide away at home. And I can't just sit here and swallow the intense shame of showing up looking like a completely different person.

Perhaps there is an antidepressant out there that doesn't carry such a heavy metabolic tax; I recall seeing someone mention a specific option once... personally, I haven't had the chance to test the waters myself, though the common consensus seems to be that even something like Lexapro can cause a massive 30 to 40-pound surge. In my case, I've only put on about five pounds, and that's after three years of intermittent use.

restlesstrucker15 said:From what I understand, every psychiatrist I've encountered advises against mixing hypnotics. It's considered a major red flag. My doctor wouldn't even consider it under any circumstances. She mentioned that if I have a single beer in the evening—and not just any beer—followed by Sanval, that’s a hard no. She actually said she'd rather see someone deal with a hangover than make a habit of mixing alcohol with a hypnotic.

Skicka

I didn't quite follow that part about the "green light" followed by "not in a million years"?
And you still haven't actually answered my question regarding the mixing itself—are we talking about combining them within the same night, or taking one thing and then following it up with Sanval later on? I never actually asked for clarification on that specific timing.