Posts by wiredharbor18

goldeneagle8 said:So, I hit up the pharmacy just two days ago looking for Normabel, but they wouldn't give me the time of day unless I had a prescription in hand... which totally threw me for a loop because why on earth was I able to grab Apaurin over the counter without any hassle, even though Normabel and Apaurin are literally the exact same thing?? I'm seriously confused about why one is treated like this and the other isn't when they're identical... anyone know what's up? Thanks

Well, look, neither of those is available without a prescription, so it's pretty obvious you just had a very kind pharmacist at the counter today.🙂>

Peter Lee6 said:Well, mine gave me Fevarin because I was feeling suicidal, and I still felt that way even after five months on it. I then spent another month on Lexapro and still had suicidal thoughts. It didn't really clear up until a year later when I started exercising, lost 45 pounds, found a job, and got a girlfriend... basically, my psychiatrist didn't actually help me with anything, even though I was paying him by the $100 hour. All he told me was to get a job and exercise, which is advice anyone could have given me. I even have a friend who was forcibly committed to a psychiatric ward for 30 days just because he got into an argument with his parents and got into a fight with his old man. I don't see the logic there; they should have just taken him to the police instead of a mental hospital.

unknown
Good grief, I just can't deal with this anymore.
Does anyone actually bother reading that damn little pamphlet inside the pill box???
All you need is to know about thirty letters of the alphabet.
Suicidality is listed as a symptom of depression.
It can increase during the initial stages of taking antidepressants—which requires medical supervision.
Antidepressants—take them for at least six months.

But seriously, I am so incredibly happy for you!!!

As for me, I’m having sex two or three times a day, whether it's with my boyfriend or on my own!
I hit the gym for at least an hour every single day!
I have tons of friends and people to talk to or grab drinks with!
I'm working toward my Master's while also maintaining a hobby!
My days are completely full from start to finish!
What else is there to say???

And yet, I can't seem to shake this depression and panic without these damn meds and a damn psychiatrist!!!
Just like most people in here.

Maybe we should all just try ditching the pills and the doctors and just stick to porn and the elliptical??
Like, a collective effort.

granitefalcon26 said:unknown

Those aren't exactly mild symptoms. Stopping antidepressants cold turkey usually triggers a massive rebound effect. It basically means those feelings of depression, anxiety, and panic can come back ten times harder than before.👍

I'm certainly not making this up; I know this area quite well due to my profession.
Not to mention that I am personally going through a rough patch myself. I just want to share my own experiences and knowledge with people (though I should clarify that I'm not claiming to be some ultimate authority or saying everything I say is gospel, since my primary focus is on influencers and cancer).
Rebound occurs when you stop taking antidepressants before the underlying condition is actually resolved—meaning, without a psychiatrist's approval. After a certain amount of time, much more severe depressive episodes (depression, anxiety, and panic) kick in. I’ve experienced this firsthand, a few months after I stopped taking them on my own.
However, I think the question was specifically about physical symptoms during a sudden stoppage, and those would be the ones I mentioned, which aren't nearly as devastating as actual depression itself. They typically last about seven days.

Regarding citalon-cipralex, studies have been conducted on several thousand individuals, both healthy and ill, including placebo groups. This makes the data highly relevant, as I pulled it directly from a prestigious scientific journal.
I wouldn't have even brought up this data if it weren't true that I transitioned from cipralex to citalon and haven't felt any changes or side effects—which aligns with almost 90% of the people in that study.
Because if I wasn't doing okay, I'd definitely still be on cipralex.

velvetsailor26 said:Look, I’ve already cycled through Celexa, then Fevarin, and then Lexapro, and honestly, none of them did a damn thing for me. At this point, I’m just exhausted by the whole process of trial and error, but I don't really have a choice because living like this isn't sustainable anymore.😢The only thing that actually hits the spot is Xanax, but there's a catch—it's still a drug, and I know I shouldn't be rushing headlong into that kind of dependency, even if it feels like the only thing providing any real relief.

Look, Celexa and Lexapro are practically the same thing. Please don't give up on trying different options until you find the right one; you aren't alone in this struggle at all. That’s honestly the hardest part of treatment—finding the right therapy. Once that's settled, everything else becomes much more manageable.
Xanax mostly just calms you down and numbs the symptoms of depression while waiting for an antidepressant to kick in. If you do use it, try to take it for as short a time as possible or in intervals (under your psychiatrist's guidance, obviously), because it's very easy to become dependent. That said, it's relatively easy to taper off if you haven't been on it for a long time (I was on it for about six months and just stopped, and I didn't even notice any issues).

Good luck in your search for that perfect "happy pill."😍

Melissa Fox46 said:Hey everyone... I’ve been on Sonalia for a few months now, but I honestly haven't felt any better. I finally went to vent to the doctor who prescribed the Zoloft, only to realize just now that they're both based on sertraline. The only real difference seems to be that the Zoloft is 50 mg while the other was only 25 mg. I guess I have to wonder if my doctor is just incompetent or if this switch might actually do something. What would you all suggest if the Zoloft doesn't work out? My boyfriend is taking Prozac, and a friend suggested I try Fevarin. Honestly, my doctor is pretty useless. Aside from the obvious advice to find a new physician 🙂 ... could anyone tell me which option is better? Even with everything else, I still have to take Xanax, which I suppose is a sign that nothing is working quite right... so please help me. 😕🙂

You’re probably right, and your doctor sounds pretty incompetent (by the way, are we talking about a psychiatrist or a GP?)
Both medications are essentially the same, and once she saw that Sonalia wasn't working, she really should have switched you to a different class of antidepressant, which is standard practice.
Regarding the Xanax, it’s quite common to need sedatives during the initial stages of treatment, so don't worry too much about that part yet.

Peter Lee6 said:I dealt with depression once and they put me on Fevarin. I took it for about five months, but honestly, I don't feel like it did anything for me at all. Eventually, I just stopped taking it, and I guess the depression just kind of cleared up on its own later on

I’m glad things worked out for you, though that really is quite an unusual outcome.
I actually went through a similar situation where I stopped my antidepressants abruptly, and I ended up making some pretty bad mistakes because of it. I truly hope your depressive episode wasn't too severe and that those symptoms don't come crawling back.

If I could, I'd just gently point out that depression is an incredibly heavy burden to carry. Medical professionals generally agree that it is one of the most difficult conditions a person can face. It isn't something to be taken lightly, and I think it can be hurtful to people currently in the thick of it when they hear that medication or psychiatrists are useless—because for many of us (myself included), finding the right treatment is often the only light at the end of the tunnel.

Regarding your experience with Fevarin not working; antidepressants are often a process of trial and error until you find the right fit. I'm honestly not sure why your doctor started you on Fevarin specifically; typically, doctors might start with other SSRIs, like Zoloft, for instance.

Peter Lee6 said:Honestly, I feel like these "medications" are nothing more than pure poison; all they really do is make you put on weight, while the big pharma companies and psychiatrists are busy raking in millions. In my opinion, psychiatry hasn't actually cured anyone—people just find their own way to recover on their own.

They aren't exactly pure poison...
I mean, alcohol is poison, cigarettes are poison, and greasy food is poison too...

I haven't gained a single pound in 6 years; I'm still sitting right at 123 lbs.

Of course they make money. Pharmacists make way more than psychiatrists, but that’s just how the system works.

I've been in training for 7 years now, putting everything I have into the development of
these types of medications and researching mental and physical illnesses—not just for fun, but because I want to help someone, and I also hope that one day my hard work will pay off!

The irony is that I ended up suffering from severe depression and panic attacks myself, even knowing all this. Since I understand the entire metabolism of this illness, I am fully aware that it's essentially something manufactured in my own head—yet I still couldn't manage to help myself (read: recover) without the help of a psychiatrist and medication.

Honestly, I don't think you truly grasp what is happening here or what people actually endure because of depression. Credit to the rare few who manage to pull through alone, but the reality is that someone in a state of severe clinical depression can barely breathe, let alone handle basic daily tasks, much less contemplate "self-healing."
Just look at the suicide statistics for people in depressive states (both untreated and treated). These aren't people with weak characters or flaws; most of them are complete, high-functioning, successful individuals whose lives simply fell apart.

Terry Mendoza80 said:Thanks for the replies, but I honestly have no idea why anyone would assume I’d just decide to quit my meds on my own whim—that’s never even crossed my mind. I was simply asking the question I asked, nothing more. For what it's worth, I've been on Lexapro for about two and a half months now and I'm feeling pretty damn good...

I really just wanted to give you a heads-up early on, just so you wouldn't end up making the same silly mistake I did. Just looking out for you, 🙂
.

Terry Mendoza80 said:I’ve been wondering—what does actually stepping off Cipralex look like? I’m nowhere near ready to pull the trigger on that just yet, but I’m curious if anyone here has navigated that particular minefield. Does everything you thought you'd left behind come rushing back? And honestly, how long are we even supposed to be on this stuff—is a year the standard, or what?

Tapering off Cipralex (or most antidepressants) usually involves gradually reducing the dosage over several weeks. If you stop cold turkey, you'll likely run into milder withdrawal symptoms like dizziness, anxiety, or nausea...
The duration of treatment really depends on the individual's specific situation; that’s something your psychiatrist will determine. Unfortunately, for some people, it can be a lifelong journey (which I suspect is my case 😢).
Please, don't try to stop the medication on your own. I'm telling you this from personal experience: if you do, those episodes tend to return even more intensely.
In my case, I decided to quit on my own once I started feeling better, thinking I could just power through it with sheer willpower 😂. About two months later, everything came rushing back, and it was honestly unbearable.
I've been on antidepressants for about six years now—specifically Cipralex, which is just Citalon now.
And honestly, I feel fine. I'm functioning perfectly well.

ruggedlynx30 said:I wanted to start a thread for anyone here who actually knows their way around antipsychotics—or better yet, anyone currently navigating life on them.
So, here’s my situation: I’ve been in treatment for over six months now. Basically, after hitting a massive wall of stress and depression, I spiraled into psychosis—specifically an acute transient psychotic disorder (F23). It was pretty intense. First, I couldn't sleep for days, then things got blurry with some delirium, followed by paranoia, sensory issues, hallucinations, and illusions... basically, I ended up in a psychiatrist's office pretty quickly.
My current regimen consists of Saphris and Abilify.
For the first three months, man, I was just... out of it. Totally slowed down, zero motivation, feeling incredibly foggy and numb—just a shell of myself. Then came three months of heavy depression, but finally, after more than half a year, I’m actually starting to feel like myself again.
What I’m really wrestling with is the long game. Am I looking at taking these meds for the rest of my life? Can you actually "cure" a disorder like this, or is it more about management? And honestly, what are the chances of a relapse? It took me a long time—and a lot of mental gymnastics—to finally admit to myself that I was dealing with something real, but once I embraced the treatment and started following my doctor's orders to the letter, things finally began to stabilize.
I'll be honest, there was a period where I was mixing marijuana with my meds, but I realized pretty fast that it was just making my depression worse. I quit, and honestly, I feel way better for it. If anyone else has gone through something similar, or if you're currently on antipsychotics, please jump in... I'd love to hear your perspectives.
I’m especially curious about the science side of things—like, how exactly do these drugs go about rebalancing dopamine levels in the brain? And for those who have done it, what does the tapering process actually look like?

The brain is essentially made up of billions of neurons, all separated by tiny gaps known as synapses. Neurotransmitters—chemical messengers like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine—bridge these synapses by being released from one neuron's terminals, crossing that gap, and latching onto receptors on the neighboring cell.
That's how those neural impulses get transmitted.
When dealing with depression, this transmission process gets disrupted. Antidepressants (depending on the specific receptor mechanism involved, though generally speaking😉) work by inhibiting the reuptake of certain neurotransmitters, which effectively increases their concentration within the synaptic cleft.

If there's anything else you're wondering about, just let me know.☕

granitefalcon26 said:Is anyone here taking Lexapro? If you are, I wanted to point out something important. There’s a drug called Citadel that some doctors prescribe as a substitute for Lexapro. With Citadel, you don't have to pay an extra copay, whereas Lexapro can run you about $17 extra per box. But here's the catch: they aren't actually the same thing. Citadel uses the generic name (citalopram), while Lexapro is escitalopram. So, there really is a distinct difference between the two.
As for how well they work—honestly, I was being a bit cheap and switched over to Citadel. Big mistake. My anxiety and panic attacks actually got worse. I've since moved back to Lexapro, and I'm feeling much better now.👍

To look at the chemical difference: Escitalopram is the active isomer of citalopram.
The manufacturer claims that escitalopram is more effective than citalopram, and clinically speaking, that's actually been proven. However, the boost in efficacy isn't quite significant enough to justify those high price tags.
Because of that, many people just opt for a slightly higher dose of citalopram instead.
It’s a lot like when you go to a pharmacy and grab Advil instead of something like Bayer Aspirin, which shares the same generic name. In principle, you're mostly paying for the "brand name."

Generally speaking, my professional😁 opinion is that the most effective antidepressants belong to the Dual class of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. The prime representative here is VENLAFAKSIN, as it has demonstrated numerous advantages over SIPPS.
My wonderful psychiatrist has me on Citalon (previously I was on Cipralex)—and hey, she probably knows best 🤷—so if anyone here has experience with DIPPSN, please do reach out. ☕