Kevin Bailey2 said:I built up a tolerance to both Klonopin and Xanax in just a few days. It didn't take long at all. I'm not feeling it at all. None of this works for me.
Klonopin is definitely my go-to. I’ve been on it for a long time now. I don't deal with any side effects, but it's not like I'm just drinking water, either—it actually helps clear the fog and gets my head straight.
I take 2mg of Klonopin three times a day, though I mostly use it as needed, and it works fine for me. My doctor prescribed Lorazepam, which is way stronger, but man, you get hooked on that stuff fast.
Eric Mitchell55 said:I have an appointment with my psychiatrist this Thursday, and I’m really hoping we can finally phase out this 10mg dose of Haldol. It’s honestly just draining the life out of me... I seem to be doing okay with the Helix, Prazosin, and Cymbalta, but this one is just brutal. In my opinion, Haldol is pretty awful. My doctor mentioned she might switch me over to Seroquel instead—has anyone here had any experience with that?
How did Haldol affect you? For me, my doctor first put me on Seroquel—just the lowest dose for sleep—but I only lasted a few days before quitting because I felt like a complete zombie the next morning. It was brutal. Then at my last check-up, they pushed Haldol and Cogentin on me. I don't even dare try the Haldol, and when I took the Cogentin, I was completely out of it. Everything went blurry, like I couldn't read anything in front of me. I tried texting a friend, but when she showed me the message the next day, I couldn't believe the nonsense I'd written. I was talking in circles, having hallucinations, just all sorts of weird things.☕
Kevin Nguyen3 said:Well, isn't that obvious? We've known that for ages. Once a patent expires, a generic version hits the market, and everyone keeps insisting—insisting!—that it's identical to the original brand-name drug (which usually held its patent for about eight years). But is it really? Is it truly the same? I don't think so... there are individual differences that matter.
I’ve definitely felt that too, noticing a real difference between Xanax and Klonopin. When I took the Klonopin, after just a few days, it felt like I was drinking nothing but water, and I actually ended up feeling more on edge. The Xanax worked way better for me, though even that felt different from my absolute favorite.🤷
Larry Lewis said:Thank God there wasn't any more blood, which means I can just keep right on smoking.🙂 Maya, look—if you think you can quit, then go for it. I've tried, believe me, but I simply don't have the willpower for it. It's just not in my nature. I actually decided that starting New Year's, I wouldn't touch alcohol at all, and I've stuck to it—watching my buddies down drinks and realizing I don't even care for it anymore—but cigarettes? That's an entirely different beast. The very first thing I do when I get up in the morning is, naturally, light one up. It's a nightmare, truly...
Anyway, I wanted to ask you all—does your health actually improve once the warm weather rolls in? For me, it does, significantly. But then late winter and autumn hit, and I'm back in a major slump.
I'm gonna try to quit, but you know how it goes... definitely starting next week for real this time.🤣So, my buddy actually quit smoking—he went two whole years without touching a cigarette—but then just a few days ago, he pulls one out. He was just doing it for the hell of it, you know? Just to see if he could still do it. He pulled the pack out of his pocket yesterday and basically told me, "Don't even ask." It kind of reminded me of when I gave up beer. I haven't had a drink in two months now, which is wild because, man, back in the day, especially during those sweltering summer months, nothing beat sitting around with a freezing cold Budweiser, just sipping on it for hours. But honestly? I don't miss it at all. I don't even think about it, and it’s probably for the best since it doesn't play nice with my meds anyway. These days, I’m basically addicted to Coke. I could seriously go through liters of it if I have enough ice and lemon. And don't even get me started on my coffee habit... I'm a bit of a monster there. I’ve realized I’m definitely one of those people who feels way better when the sun is out and it’s not freezing, though I absolutely cannot stand that heavy, sticky humidity. You know that feeling where everything just feels limp and gross? That's my nightmare. I can only really enjoy summer if I'm down at the beach or hanging out at a lake house; being stuck in the middle of a city during a heatwave is just miserable.
Larry Lewis said:A few years back, I used to deal with this constantly—that paralyzing fear of drifting off again. These days, my dreams are fine; it's just getting enough actual sleep that's become the struggle. Honestly, I've been walking around all day with this gnawing anxiety because I think I might have coughed up a bit of blood—though, to be fair, I can't say for certain if it actually was blood or just something else. I called everyone I know who smokes as heavily as I do, and they all tried to convince me it was nothing. I guess I'll just wait until tomorrow morning to see what happens when I cough, since it doesn't happen every single day. It would be such a cruel, twisted irony if I were diagnosed with cancer right now, just when things have finally started to stabilize for me.
God, man... you can never truly catch a break, can you?
What am I supposed to do when cigarettes are the one damn vice I have, and I simply cannot quit them.
I’ve noticed I’ve been smoking way more lately too, especially with my coffee. I even find myself lighting up in the middle of the night—like, I'll wake up, grab some water, and immediately reach for a cigarette, which is something I never used to do... And I keep telling myself I'll quit, but nothing ever happens. I really want to do it for my health, mostly, plus I'm basically just throwing money into a cloud of smoke. That thing about coughing up blood might not mean anything at all; a friend of mine used to cough up blood, and even some black stuff (probably just tar), but he went to the doctor and everything turned out fine. Though, of course, his doctor told him he needs to quit smoking—what else would they say?🙄My throat usually hurts in the morning, but thank God I'm not coughing. I heard it's good for smokers to drink plenty of milk, like at least a quart a day, but I'm not a big milk person. I really only drink it in my coffee, and I go through liters of coffee...☕
Larry Lewis said:I deal with those intrusive thoughts too, so I have a pretty good idea of what you're going through. Personally, they caused absolute chaos in my head for a long time—total wreckage—but after years of fighting them, things have stabilized somewhat. It took me years of grinding it out to finally get them under any kind of control.
Hey, does this ever happen to you? Like, you wake up in the middle of the night after a weird dream, and you’re just terrified to go back to sleep, even though you're exhausted. But then, when you close your eyes, it isn't just darkness... it's like these distorted faces start appearing, you know? Just creepy, demonic eyes everywhere. So I end up snapping my eyes open, over and over again, until I'm eventually too tired to fight it anymore...
Larry Lewis said:Maya, you’re just out here collecting "achievements" like they actually mean something—so what is even happening?😢
Man, I guess that’s just my luck lately. My headspace has been all over the place. I wouldn't say I'm feeling totally depressed anymore—well, okay, that depends on which day you catch me—but those intrusive thoughts? They’re relentless. It’s like they take over. Nighttime is always the absolute worst part of the day. As soon as I try to settle in, these thoughts start circling my brain like sharks. They’re my own thoughts, obviously, but they get so loud that I can't seem to shut them out. It's like having a radio stuck on full volume in a small room. Eventually, I just have to take some Lorsilan il Rivotril to quiet everything down so I can finally drift off.
Larry Lewis said:The only reason to take that is if you're heading out to some dance club or something similar🙂
Hehe, people would probably be wondering what's actually going on with them. A buddy told me about back in high school, he and his friend decided to mess around and snatch a couple of pills. They hopped on a subway, just grabbed onto the overhead rails, and ended up stuck in that exact same position for hours... totally out of it. And man, that thing where your eyelids roll back? I bet some people would call an exorcist if they saw that...😂
David Vaughn75 said:Usually, doctors throw Haldol at patients who are spiraling out of control or use it on seniors when nothing else seems to touch their agitation
But honestly? In most other scenarios, that stuff is just straight-up evil—it comes with a massive, nasty list of side effects that’ll make you regret ever taking it
I mean, you've got things like tremors, muscle stiffness, shaking, restlessness, spasms, or weird involuntary movements in your tongue, face, jaw, or throat—even eyes rolling back.😲No way in hell am I ever taking that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Just checking in to say hi—I finally made it to my follow-up appointment with the psychiatrist. He asked if I’ve been staying on top of my unknown, and I had to admit I’m hit or miss with it, though honestly, I’m really hoping to phase it out soon. Last time he prescribed it and noted F29 on my chart, but now looking at the paperwork, there's also F32.1 mentioned, along with F20. On top of everything, he added Haldol 5mg and Cogentin, one pill each. I haven't actually started the Haldol yet, and to be truthful, I'm having second thoughts about whether I'll even pick it up. Right now, I'm still taking Effexor, plus some unknown and Clonazepam whenever things get rough. If anyone here has experience with Haldol—or has been on it before—could you let me know how it actually feels? ☕
Kenneth Scott41 said:I was actually watching *Drug Inc.* on Max yesterday—one of those shows about the drug trade and all that. It really got me thinking about how the whole of America seems to be pivoting toward these "cleaner" substances lately. We’re seeing this massive surge in people relying on painkillers, Xanax, Valium, or methadone. It feels like a full-blown epidemic at this point, mostly because it’s just so much easier and arguably "safer" to get ahold of them now compared to the old days, when you actually had to track down some sketchy character on a street corner to score.
The thing is, stuff like OxyContin, Vicodin, or Xanax is practically flying off the shelves everywhere...
But what I’m really struggling with is how my psychiatrist could just abruptly pull the plug on the Zoloft I’d been taking for months. I tried going cold turkey, and man, it was devastating... just pure, unadulterated sadness. My depression came rushing right back. I lost interest in everything, even eating. So, I've started taking my Zoloft again in the mornings, and...😁😁😁 honestly, it’s like a relief; I feel happy again, and that old version of myself is finally resurfacing. Because of that, I suppose I’ll have to convince my primary care doctor to let me get back on that 50mg dose of Zoloft.
I haven't been keeping up, but are you on both Effexor and Zoloft right now, or just the Zoloft? How are you feeling on it? I was thinking about switching to something else, maybe taking a little break from Effexor since it makes me feel so much more aggressive and on edge. It's weird, I react so intensely to it, but at the same time, it's okay, so I don't really know...🤷
Gerald Torres2 said:Ugh, I know this feeling all too well... I also find myself overreacting in really stupid ways sometimes. It's not even that I feel agitated or irritable beforehand, I just react that way regardless. I try to stay on as few anxiolytics as possible, so I often end up in the exact same position you were in last Friday... poor guys have to deal with us
God, it’s a total disaster. If I take an anxiolytic, I’m fine and calm, but lately, I’ve noticed I just explode over the tiniest things. Every little nonsense thing just throws me completely off my game...
I’ve been on Effexor for quite a while now, but I’ve really started to notice a pattern: if I miss a dose, my mood just tanks. I get these sudden bouts of crying spells, like this past Friday 🙏where I ended up snapping at my boyfriend for no real reason—well, okay, he was being annoying about one of his opinions, but my reaction was totally out of proportion even to me. We got back to my place and I just started spiraling, getting all worked up about him walking into the room with his shoes on, just little things, you know? Then it escalated into me yelling about how he hates me and saying I can't take it anymore... 🙄After that, he just stood up and walked away. He eventually came back with something wrapped in pretty gift paper, but I was still sulking. Then I had the nerve to demand he make me some coffee and bring me a soda 🤣,but he told me he wasn't doing anything until I calmed down. That just set me off even more. I told him, "Fine, I'll do it myself, but then I'm leaving, and you won't see me again because I'm meeting someone else"—honestly, it was a total disaster 😂. Well, he just told me to go, though you could tell he was absolutely fuming inside... So, I went to make myself a Nescafe and grabbed a Coke 😂and then I just started crying again. Eventually, we made up and I actually started laughing at myself. I've realized that happens every single time I accidentally skip my meds... Generally, the stuff works for me, I've just noticed I'm a bit more irritable and forgetful lately 🤷
fadedlynx96 said:First off, regarding your grandmother, you should try to find out her actual diagnosis. In a perfect world, your doctor would have prioritized asking that question from the start. Leponex is prescribed for a massive spectrum of conditions, some of which carry a higher hereditary risk than others, though they all generally involve serious issues. That said, Leponex worked for me. The bolded part is nonsense; I have never encountered such sheer stupidity from a psychiatrist before, specifically the idea that someone else's situation is somehow more severe than yours. Whether that's professional incompetence, a flawed approach to treatment, or just basic lack of common sense, it doesn't matter. I've experienced both psychosis and mania, and while there was a brief window where it felt almost fun, it inevitably ended with me spending months in locked wards, which is how psychosis usually plays out.
So, I found out my grandma's diagnosis. She had manic-depressive psychosis—basically bipolar disorder. When she lived on her own, my dad remembers her having more frequent manic episodes. Once she sold her house and moved in with us, she started slipping into depressions more often. I remember one summer, I was maybe in sixth grade, we came back from vacation at the beach, and she had been home alone. Of course, she wasn't taking her meds, so she seemed totally fine, but she pulled me aside and whispered how terrified she was because she felt like electricity was shaking the living room. 🤷Then she ended up spending a few weeks at a psychiatric facility in Portland, and everything went back to normal for a bit. She was getting monthly injections, though I'm not sure which medication it was. My mom told me she used to work as hard as a young woman when she was a nurse, but then she got sick. She’d start claiming my grandpa was a fraud and things like that, but otherwise, she was really sweet and calm whenever she was on her treatment.
So, my doctor mentioned that starting Seroquel might help dial down the paranoia and those constant anxieties, plus it should help me actually get some sleep. He suggested that antidepressants can sometimes mess with your brain chemistry too, and he thinks that’s what triggered this, specifically because of the Wellbutrin I was on. But honestly? It feels like this was happening last year even when I wasn't taking that. I don't know. I took my first dose the other night, and man, I was a total zombie the next morning—felt like I was walking around drunk or something. Things are actually starting to feel a bit more stable now that I've kicked off the Effexor, though. I can't ever really pin down what my grandmother's exact diagnosis was since she passed away three years ago, but I remember her having hallucinations whenever she missed her meds, so I know it was something serious, even if I don't have the official name for it.
Yeah, obviously I wasn't really thinking about taking vitamins, but honestly, what did I care? I don't think I was ever much of a pill person anyway, especially when it comes to the heavy stuff. If things had gone differently, maybe I’d be living a totally normal life right now without having to swallow psych meds every day. No depression, no insomnia, no panic attacks, or whatever else you want to throw into the mix. My psychiatrist actually told me recently that it’s almost easier for people dealing with psychosis, particularly during those manic phases, than it is for those stuck in the depths of depression. Personally? I think I’d much rather deal with being manic than feeling this absolute garbage in a depressive slump.☕
That’s true, I guess, but who really sits around worrying about that stuff when they’re feeling great? Honestly, I was just thinking about it while I was hanging out at a backyard BBQ—like, is a piece of candy or a soda really going to mess me up? Everything felt awesome at the time. The idea that I could end up picking up some kind of mental health issue from that... it never even crossed my mind.🙄
Larry Lewis said:So, wiredmason56, were you out there experimenting with substances back in the day—you know, during those rebellious high school years when everything feels like a revolution?
I’ve dealt with some symptoms that look remarkably similar to yours—actually, almost identical, really—but ever since I started my current regimen, they've completely vanished.
Look, nobody wakes up in the morning feeling thrilled about the realization that they need antipsychotics to function, but if you ask me, you might need to move past a baseline dose and try something a bit more substantial.😢
I'll be honest, there was a time when I was really into partying—doing ecstasy, LSD, speed, and smoking weed. That was just my whole circle, we were always high on something. But that was a few years ago, and I haven't touched anything since. I used to smoke occasionally, but I know how much weed can trigger psychosis, so I've stayed away from it. Looking back, my grandmother—my mom's mom—was on Rexulti and Cogentin, so she was dealing with some kind of psychosis, which makes me realize I probably have a genetic risk for something like that. I started noticing these specific symptoms while I was on Wellbutrin, so I stopped taking it, and now my doctor has me on Effexor, which is working really well for me. My doctor mentioned that certain antidepressants can mess with your brain chemistry, especially if you're juggling multiple meds at once. I don't know, the idea of taking antipsychotics isn't exactly appealing to me, but if things take a turn for the worse, God forbid, I guess I'll have to.☕
So, I had my follow-up appointment with my psychiatrist about a week ago. He ended up diagnosing me with F29 alongside the F32 I’ve been dealing with for a while now. I told him things have really taken a turn for the worse over the last few weeks—lots of paranoia and those intrusive, racing thoughts. Like, at the Whole Foods where I work, I kept getting this intense feeling that someone had hidden a camera inside a lightbulb just to film me. It happened a couple of times. Same thing with my laptop; I felt like someone was watching me through the tiny webcam while I was scrolling through Facebook. Sleep has been a total disaster too. I can’t drift off, and my head just spins with all these thoughts... 🙄 it’s honestly terrifying. And when I finally do pass out, the dreams just loop. A few times when I woke up to light a cigarette, I actually had hallucinations. I heard rustling coming from the freezer in my dresser, or felt like someone was standing right there in the room with me. Even when I close my eyes, I see these ugly, distorted, demonic faces and eyes staring from everywhere, and then I’m too scared to go back to sleep. The worst night ever was back in April of last year. I woke up in the middle of the night and checked the clock—it was exactly 3:00 AM. I got up to grab some water and light a cigarette, but when I went back to bed, I suddenly heard this horrific noise coming from inside the wall, like the whole structure was about to collapse. Images of total catastrophe, like a city in ruins, just flashed before my eyes. When I opened my closets, they seemed to be moving, and I became convinced there were dead people inside or that the wardrobe was going to leap out at me. I was completely paralyzed, just gripping the bedsheets for dear life. My heart was racing like crazy, my ears were ringing so loud, and I felt totally underwater. I was certain I was either going to die right there or end up in the ER at a psychiatric ward. Eventually, I managed to calm down after taking 2 Xanax and praying to God to help me find some peace. Things didn't settle until about 4:30, and then I finally drifted off. I’ll never forget that night. My doctor prescribed 25 mg of Brintellix to take before bed. He actually wanted to put me on Risperdal, but I feel like Brintellix is gentler and has fewer side effects, so he went with that. He thinks it'll help clear up the paranoia and help me sleep, though I’ve never really been a big fan of antipsychotics. On top of that, I’m still on 75mg of Effexor, plus Clonazepam 2mg and Lorazepam 2mg three times a day, though I mostly just take those as needed. Does anyone here know much more about what F29 actually entails?
So, I just got back from my follow-up appointment. As soon as I walked into the office, the doctor immediately lit up a cigarette😁 and asked how things were going. I told him honestly, "not great," and then he actually suggested I check into the ward for a little while to rest up.🤣 I told him no thanks—I’ve got work to do, and stepping away wouldn't really help my situation. He asked why, but didn't push it too hard. Anyway, I walked him through everything that happened with the Wellbutrin—the paranoia, the insomnia, and those other major issues. His immediate reaction was basically to tell me to toss the stuff in the trash. Then he asked if I’d ever been on anything a bit stronger, like Prozac, Haldol, Risperdal, or Stelazine. I told him no, I haven't really gone down that road. He mentioned he could put me on 1mg of Risperdal since it isn't anything too intense. That reminded me of Seroquel, so I brought it up, and he ended up prescribing Seroquel 25 mg to take before bed; apparently, it’ll help dial down the paranoia. He also added Effexor 75 mg and either Lustral or Klonopin 3 x1 to the mix. On top of my usual diagnosis, he’s adding a second one to the chart because of the Seroquel. I’m heading to my primary care doctor tomorrow morning to get the actual prescriptions sent over. My next check-in is in a month, which is sooner than my usual every two or three months. He did say if things start feeling heavy again, I should reach out about being admitted to the hospital for a bit.☕