Posts by Timothy Wood38

Angela Patel79 said:Hey, just wondering if anyone knows... Does a standard drug test (like one for a new job) usually screen for benzos? From what I can see, they're listed as drugs... Also, does Lexapro count as an anxiolytic?
Asking because my potential employer's policy seems to think people on anxiety meds aren't a good fit for this role...
I've been trying to get off some other sleep aids for this gig, but honestly, without my usual stuff, I'm gonna struggle to stay afloat...

If we're talking about a standard urine screen, then yeah, they typically check for both benzodiazepines and barbiturates. And just to confirm, Lexapro is indeed a benzodiazepine and falls squarely into the anxiolytic group.

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hollowviper40 said:The reason I'm asking is because I'll be in a bind if I actually need more than one 20 mg tablet per day. Not to mention they're pricey—even with insurance, you're looking at nearly $10 a pop, and since the bottle only holds 14 pills, you'll run out in less than two weeks. It means constantly running back to the pharmacy counter and begging for refills. The system here is a total mess—and nothing from Mooreov's documentary "Sick" offers any comfort; it tries to suggest things are even worse in the developed West. They aren't! In places like Romania, Albania, Russia, or maybe Mexico, things are actually much worse—we just don't have a Moore to package it all up nicely and make it look cinematic. If we did, then we might finally see what's truly more sick...

So, why on earth are you sticking with the brand-name stuff? I mean, look, I get it—brand loyalty is a thing—but there are plenty of generics out there now. You could grab something like Zoloft that’s already covered by your insurance provider, which means you aren't stuck paying that massive copay like you would if you were buying Prozac. It just seems... I don't know, inefficient? Why pay the premium when the generic is right there on the formulary?

So, for about six months straight, I was on a regimen of 80 mg of Prozac daily, paired with 60 mg of Seroxat. That puts me at a total of 140 mg of SSRIs every single day. Now, if you look at standard starting doses—where 20 mg of either Prozac or Seroxat is considered an effective baseline—well, I was essentially taking seven times the usual amount. And honestly? It worked for me. So, please, spare me the judgment regarding dosage levels; everyone’s biology is different, and I trust my doctors to know exactly where the safety ceiling sits. Regarding Prozac specifically... I’ll say it again: in my experience, it has the best side-effect profile of any SSRI out there. But again, that’s just me. Medication response is intensely individual, especially when we're talking about psychotropic drugs. It's a tricky business. It's nearly impossible to engineer a truly "good" medication unless we actually pin down the underlying pathology of the condition being treated. If our theories on psychopathology are going to hold water, they need to be backed by hard, clinical facts. Until we can bridge that gap between theory and biological reality, the path toward developing truly high-quality psychiatric drugs will remain uphill.

Chris Cruz8 said:Those damn women, amen to that!😂 I totally agree!
I actually need some help from you guys. Advice...
So, back when I first started Effexor a few years ago, it was absolutely amazing for me. The panic attacks, the nerves where I felt like pulling my hair out—all of that just vanished. My God, for the first time in a long, long time, I actually felt clear-headed, calm, steady, rational, patient, kind, and genuinely happy.😍
The only side effect was having zero interest in sex, but that cleared up after a few months. It was the perfect drug.🙂
But after a while, it felt like it stopped working. So my doctor prescribed Effexor combined with Abilify. That combo is okay, but Abilify has to be bought out-of-pocket, and if I remember right, it was about $600 for a box of pills.😢
Unachievable.
Then I was told to switch over to Prozac. I've been on it for almost a year now, and I won't say it's bad because it isn't—I don't have any side effects—but I'm just not seeing any major positive changes. Honestly, I keep thinking maybe I don't even need it because I'm still irritable and depressed. I don't see much difference.
Does anyone know of any great meds that might help me feel the way I did during those first few months/years on Effexor?
I don't want to be a zombie. I just want to be "normal." I know, I know, you guys get me.
I hate Xanax because it completely, totally numbs me out. It sucks.😢
Thanks in advance!🙂🙂

What dose of Prozac are you on? Honestly, I wouldn't be so quick to pull the plug on Prozac, especially if you aren't dealing with any major side effects. I’m only bringing this up because it didn't even start doing anything for me until I hit the 60 mg daily mark—and after that, I actually bumped it up to 80 mg a day.

Quotation:

I also heard just the other day—supposedly from some independent study comparing meds for treating schizophrenia—that the older generations of drugs actually showed better results. 🤔

Honestly, that’s just nonsense. You can totally ignore it. No old-school, typical antipsychotic like chlorpromazine or haloperidol can even come close to competing with an atypical one like clozapine when it comes to actual effectiveness.

restlesstrucker15 said:Here I am again, circling back to my ongoing struggle with insomnia.
I take Ambien at night, which manages to knock me out, but I end up waking up so many times throughout the night that I feel like a zombie by morning. It feels as though my brain never actually shuts off, even while I'm asleep. This isn't a side effect from any antidepressant—I only take one dose of Alice—rather, it's a symptom of my anxiety disorder.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend an anxiolytic or a sedative that might help extend the effects of my sleeping pill? I did try 5 mg of Norvasc, but honestly, Norvasc doesn't really do much for me anyway, and I didn't notice any improvement in how long the Ambien lasted.

I plan to consult my doctor at my next appointment, of course, but I would truly value hearing about your own personal experiences.

Of course your brain keeps running while you sleep. Honestly, maybe look into Lorazepam, especially if you've been on Ambien for a long time, because you'll likely build up a tolerance and find yourself getting hooked. If you're looking for a supplement to pair with the Ambien, I take melatonin along with some herbal complex—things like valerian, passionflower, hops, peppermint, chamomile... it's a great combo, very effective, and the capsules aren't expensive.

fadedbear92 said:While I was looking over the details of my new medication—which falls under that "other antidepressants" category—I came across some interesting info. Apparently, recent studies suggest that sometimes you actually need to combine two different types of meds to get a truly effective response. I’m talking specifically about major clinical depression, where those episodes tend to cycle back periodically. So, right now, I’m taking one to help maintain my norepinephrine levels and another for serotonin... whereas before, I always just stuck to a single type.

If I remember correctly, you were on Cymbalta, which hits both the serotonin and norepinephrine receptors. Then there's Effexor, a textbook SNRI. If you're currently taking an SSRI plus an NRI, you're essentially doing the same thing as an SNRI. Honestly, unless the side effects from Cymbalta or Effexor were just too much to handle, I don't really see the logic in splitting them up like this.

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fadedbear92 said:It’s because after everything that went down recently, I started sinking again—and my main depression symptom, that crushing fatigue, just came right back...

So my doctor thought Wellbutrin would give me an energy boost during the day, while the Paxil helps me wind down at night...

And we aren't going to go off on a tangent about how you didn't feel anything, are we?...😍

Of course not; it can definitely help you. I was honestly just curious about the reasoning behind the prescription, so now I get it. Beyond that, what can I say? Good luck.

fadedbear92 said:So, I’ve been doing a ton of reading on this stuff—I know all about those "nightmare" side effects people warn you about—but honestly, I only care about hearing directly from people who are actually taking it...thanks...today is actually my first day, http://yoursmiles.org/bsmile/wonder/b0708.gifI'm starting Wellbutrin 150 mg in the morning and I've got Faverin at night (150 mg) plus some Ativan and Prazosin to help with that restless, tight sleep feeling... the rest is just my "old" regimen, just playing around with the dosages a bit...

What was the reason they put you on Wellbutrin in the first place? For me, I was on 300 mg a day for about two months and, frankly, I didn't feel a thing.

James Young87 said:Does anyone feel okay staying on a 10 mg dose of Paxil, assuming they aren't currently in the middle of adjusting their dosage or tapering off?
I've been taking it for about two weeks now to manage my GAD, and when I attempted to bump it up by 5 mg, the side effects were honestly pretty unbearable, so I ended up dropping back down to the 10 mg level.
I suppose I wonder if maybe this dose is actually just right for me?
Or is it possible that I simply tried to increase it a bit too soon?

Of course it’s possible, provided that the dose is actually doing its job and providing therapeutic relief.

copperheron18 said:Honestly, my situation is "unique," and it truly feels like a dead end.😢
For the most part, I have a small baby, which naturally meant constant nighttime wakings at the start. It completely wrecked my sleep-wake cycle. During the first month, I could drift back to sleep easily from a semi-conscious state, but that stopped. It’s been six months now. There are brief windows—maybe a week or two—where I can sleep normally, wake up at night, and just drift right back off, but lately, these sleepless stretches are getting longer and much worse. Last night, I took 1.5 x Xanax 0.25; I slept maybe four hours, and after that, nothing. I wasn't even close to drifting off again. I finally crashed around 9 AM, but duty calls... These constant wakings and the sheer anticipation of when I'll be jolted awake again has driven me to the brink of madness. I simply cannot sleep because of the dread. Even though I only woke once last night—meaning I actually had the chance to sleep normally—it just wouldn't happen. On top of all this, there's a mountain of other stressors: finishing college, passing my final exams, trying to catch up... and perhaps some form of postpartum depression. Everything has piled up, and the worst part is feeling like there is no way out.

Ultimately, I have no idea what could restore a normal rhythm for me. If my Xanax is losing its efficacy, I can see where this leads: maybe another benzodiazepine, or perhaps a higher dose of Xanax (though I don't see how increasing doses can go on forever), or maybe an SSRI antidepressant. 😕😢

I don't know... it seems pretty obvious from everything you wrote that you need an anxiolytic. And look, you haven't even built up a massive tolerance yet, considering you can still drift off on less than half a milligram of Xanax. Believe me, people are taking much higher doses than that. Besides, it sounds like what you might actually need is Xanax with extended release; I suspect that might help stabilize things, though obviously, you'll have to talk to your doctor about dosages and all that. Personally, I don't think you necessarily need an AD, and some solid psychotherapy could really do wonders for you in this situation. But again, I have to stress: please talk to your physician. Don't go making any changes on your own. Good luck.

Kenneth Scott41 said:I’m just observing that doctors seem to be prescribing more and more of these newer generation medications, things like Effexor... and so on.

Well, now you've got me curious... what else would you throw into that category alongside Effexor?

urbanskipper4 said:Look, the whole "not having trouble getting off meds" thing really comes down to how you're wired mentally.
I was on small doses of Xanax for like five years because it helped kill the anxiety and fear. When my treatment plan changed, I just stopped taking it abruptly and tossed it aside.
Didn't feel a single withdrawal symptom.

That has nothing to do with "getting your head right." Look, you can't just think your way out of a physical dependency—you might manage the psychological side of things through mindset, sure, but the physical part? That isn't up for debate. It’s more a matter of pharmacogenetics.

copperheron18 said:I am reaching out for some help, advice, or even just to hear if anyone else has dealt with something similar.

For several months now, I’ve been taking Xanax 0.25 occasionally at night because I struggle with sleep—insomnia, waking up constantly throughout the night, the whole bit. It actually worked quite well initially; I could finally relax, drift off, and get decent rest. Having a young child makes everything harder, but even if I was woken up during the night, I could easily fall back asleep. That held true until recently, when it simply stopped working. Now, even after taking a pill, I might manage to nod off, but I find myself wide awake again after just three hours. Sometimes, despite having taken the medication, I can't sleep at all; it relaxes my body, sure, but my mind stays wired and sleep just won't come.

Is this just a case of building up a tolerance where I should increase the dosage or perhaps switch medications entirely? Has anyone else gone through this?😕

That is definitely drug tolerance. Honestly, since I don't know if your insomnia has some underlying psychological or physical cause, I'm hesitant to give any specific advice. You really need to sit down and talk to your doctor about this. Just keep in mind that Xanax is primarily an anxiolytic, and it's only secondarily a hypnotic. Because of that, it can absolutely lead to both tolerance and dependency.

Kenneth Scott41 said:I honestly don't understand how doctors are still prescribing Paxil; I mean, in my opinion, it’s just absolute garbage.

I have to disagree there. In my book, Paxil is easily the best SSRI out there, right up there with Prozac. Honestly, combining 60 mg of Paxil with 80 mg of Prozac lets me function perfectly fine—not a single side effect left, though I suppose I might be a bit of a statistical anomaly. If I ever needed to get off a medication, I’d just stop cold turkey. No drama, no tapering, nothing. I’ve never had any withdrawal symptoms at all. I seem to handle just about everything without any issues regarding dependency or those nasty withdrawal effects when I quit... my only real struggle is how incredibly fast I build up a tolerance.

boldpilot2 said:It exists, or perhaps it won't. Fine, it's not the meaning of life. But being a stone isn't exactly pleasant either. I am not in puberty XD having 22. I just haven't been in a relationship or had sex.

Question for everyone:

I read some things about Laurasidon (Latuda). Has anyone tried it? It seems like a solid option. It's even relatively new (late 2010). Seems like a decent antipsychotic, mostly due to the safety profile. Meaning, milder side effects. It doesn't "blunt" you like Risperdal, Olanzapine, or Quetiapine... It's from Japan XD. Regardless, I want to know if anyone here has experience with Latuda?

Edit: Don't just tell me no one has used it!!!

Why don't you put in some work? Just find a girl and everything else will fall into place naturally.

Question for everyone:

I was reading up on Laurasidon (Latuda). Has anyone actually tried it? To me, it looks like a really solid option. It's fairly new too, fresh off the press (late 2010). Seems like a decent choice for psychosis, mostly because of the safety profile. You know, the milder side effects. It doesn't "numb" you out the way things like Risperdal, Olanzapine, or Quetiapine do... It's originally from Japan XD. Not that it matters, the point is, does anyone here have experience with Latuda?

Edit: Please don't just tell me nobody uses it!!!

It isn't available in the US, and it likely won't be for at least another 10 years. We don't even have Abilify here yet, even though it's registered in America.

boldpilot2 said:Terrible. I would kill for a fix. I have no desire and no capability. Yet, the urge is there. That is what destroys your mental state. It is like seeing a delicious meal on the table and wanting it, but being unable to eat. Regarding $83 Timothy Wood38, if we are being honest, four pills might work for a quick burst, but that does nothing for daily life. For instance, when you are bored browsing adult sites and nothing happens, or when you are with your girlfriend and feel cold as ice. I truly believe—and I know it to be true—that you need to feel some heat even just while kissing. Right now, everything feels weak. I am looking for an online Cialis meant for daily use. Something like a 30-count pack, $100. But compared to those 4 pills, $83 I suspect that won't cut it either. You mentioned brands like Pfizer or Merck? As I said, I need something for every day. It isn't like the old days where you take one and you're set for four hours XD. You need that erotic stimulation. I will talk to doctors. Whatever. This is just life. It is a disaster. Honestly, it would be better to have zero drive at all, like being castrated, rather than this halfway state. It is maddening. Truly, they don't make better antipsychotics. One makes you gain weight and sedates you, another does this, and a third does that...

You're all talking in hypotheticals here; it sounds like you just need a little more self-confidence. Maybe try to relax a bit and stop obsessing over every "what if," and just let things happen naturally. Life isn't solely about satisfying sexual urges. Besides, what you're looking for doesn't exist—there is no magic aphrodisiac pill, at least not yet, though who knows about the future. I get the impression you're still stuck in a teenage mindset. Just chill out and try to stay positive, because there is always a chance your libido will come back.

restlesstrucker15 said:That sounds like a solid plan, so I think I'll follow suit.😁 I'm planning to pick them up this Monday. I should have mentioned that I am also currently taking a quarter dose of Eglonyl, and I am somewhat concerned that it might be the primary factor impacting my libido. However, I am hopeful that we will be able to phase it out of my treatment regimen quite soon; I am certainly rooting for that outcome.

Actually, you're spot on about sulpiride—aka Eglonyl. It absolutely messes with your libido. My psychiatrist actually mentioned once that if he had patients dealing with an abnormally high drive, his go-to would usually be prescribing Eglonyl or Paxil. But if someone really wanted to completely shut a person's libido down? He'd just combine Paxil and Eglonyl.

boldpilot2 said:@Timothy Wood38

Fine, let's assume it’s more about the potency. You claim it helped you quite a bit. I'm asking because the retail price for Cialis online is ridiculous; if I could get it via prescription, would the cost be roughly the same?$117I used to get Zyprexa for free back when I was on it. How is the experience with Cialis? And do I really... ugh... have to deal with that idiot GP? 🙂He is. Family matters. I'm worried my doctor is going to spend more time philosophizing than actually treating me. He can't just show up and say:
Doctor, I need a prescription for Cialis. I am experiencing sexual dysfunction caused by Risperdal.
Can I?
I'm saying this at 55, but I'd say it even more so if I were only 22. 😲Fine. I'd swallow that too. If. It works, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Listening to the comments...

Look, Cialis isn't covered by your insurance provider, so you won't be getting it for free, and since there aren't any generics yet, you're definitely going to have to pay. Honestly, I don't know your doctor, so I can't predict his reaction, but if you explain the situation clearly and tell him what the issue is, I don't see why he wouldn't write the script. Now, regarding the cost—there's this little marketing trick people often fall for. Basically, you can get Cialis in a pack of two 20 mg tablets for about $83, or four 10 mg tablets for over $133. See what I'm getting at? If you take those two 20 mg tablets and split them, you end up with four 10 mg doses. So, exclusively ask for the 20 mg prescription; it'll be much cheaper. In my opinion, Cialis is the best because it lasts the longest, but if you want something cheaper from the same class of drugs, just grab a generic Viagra. It's cheaper than the brand-name stuff, and I think companies like Pfizer or Teva have their own generics. I'm not sure which one is actually cheaper, though; you'll have to check with the pharmacist. It's even possible one might be covered by insurance, so you could get it for free or just a small co-pay, but I can't be certain.

restlesstrucker15 said:That is excellent news, thank you 😁. It shouldn't interfere with Elice either. How much do you typically take per day—I assume just one dose—and at what time?

Don't mention it. I take two a day, and I just knock them both back in the morning.

restlesstrucker15 said:Are you recommending that Goat Weed while also being on AD? I am currently taking Elice. My libido has dropped, much like everyone else's, and I am experiencing delayed ejaculation as well. It might be worth a try provided there aren't any drug interactions. Is that stuff even available in local pharmacies here in the States?

To be perfectly honest, I don't know any other supplement that can even come close to Horny Goat Weed, at least not when you look at the ingredients. Plus, ProLab makes it, and their stuff is supposedly top-tier quality. It might actually help you, and as for interactions with Elice... I can't say for certain, but I'm guessing it's fine. I'm taking both Prozac and Paxil myself and haven't run into any issues. I won't claim I feel "amazing" now, but my libido definitely saw an uptick, and the delayed ejaculation isn't an issue for me anymore. You should be able to find it at a drugstore; I picked mine up at a pharmacy for $43 for a month's supply.