Dennis Turner6 said:Don’t get mad at me for saying this, but reading through this thread, I’m getting the feeling that it’s the exact same mess whether people are taking their meds or not. That’s just my take on it.
That's usually how it goes with people who aren't actually drowning. Most of the time, the folks who are truly struggling would swallow anything just to feel even a little bit better, let alone a couple of pills.🙂
I’m usually out for about 12 hours straight. Some days it’s 11, other times I’m hitting 14. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I myself actually woke up after just a solid 8 hours.
Dennis Turner6 said:I’ve got some lemon verbena tea on hand, and honestly, it’s not bad—it helps me chill out a bit.
But I think I'll give that motherwort a shot too.
You mentioned Aktivin H? Alright, I'm adding that to my list.😬
Anything else you guys recommend?
By the way, Brandon Lopez6... is that sleepiness from Helex or something else? I just want to be able to sleep normally.😢
Nah. Usually, I take my last dose of Xanax at least 3 or 4 hours before hitting the sack. I've noticed if I take it right before bed, I wake up feeling totally detached from reality... it's intense, almost like I was wasted the night before.🙄
People claim sleeping this much is just "depression sleeping," but honestly, I’ve always been a heavy sleeper. I've loved catching Z's for as long as I can remember.
frozenorca63 said:I've got my fingers crossed for you, hope it helps soon. Just a heads up, it usually takes a week or two before you really start feeling the difference, so I'd suggest sticking to three cups a day at first and then dropping down to two once you settle in. I used to pair mine with a couple of cups of lemon balm tea too—it's amazing for chilling out, especially right before you hit the hay.
Maybe if I stick with this stuff, I'll finally kick my coffee habit. 😁
I'm gonna skip the lemon balm for now since I've already got Lexapro for the anxiety. Plus, sleep is actually my issue—I oversleep way too much. Like, I slept straight through until 4 PM today. 🙂
frozenorca63 said:And look, I spent six months taking St. John's Wort along with some Lexapro whenever I needed it. It didn't do anything bad to me—if anything, my anxiety actually felt a lot more manageable.
I’m definitely thinking about giving that a shot. I feel pretty terrible right now, and honestly, I'm in no position to deal with the side effects of switching to a new AT&T.
I think I’ll just hit up a different pharmacy. Honestly, I don't even want to ask questions, I just want to grab what I need and get out. Or maybe I'll just send my mom to this one since I really can't face that lady again—it feels like they only have two people working there and both were out at once today, probably some shift change thing.
By any logic, if an antidepressant works alongside something like Xanax, then a natural supplement should theoretically work too. I'm willing to just wing it and try it on my own; if I mess up, I'm the one who deals with the fallout, not anyone else.😬
Paul Newman5 said:Why wouldn't they sell it to you? Seems weird. It’s in their interest to move product. A few months ago, they handed me Aktivin h and some St. John's Wort without a second thought, though I never actually took them. Not sure why. Just strange they'd refuse.
Because I asked her first if it was okay to take alongside my anxiety meds, and she said no. So I told her I was gonna take it anyway, and then she started making this big deal about how she couldn't sell it to me. People behind me in line were starting to get restless, just tapping their feet and looking at me, so I just went, "Thanks, bye," and walked out.
The pharmacy wouldn't even let me get my St. John's Wort, so now I'm pretty sure I'm about to lose my mind 🙂 I was really counting on that stuff to help me turn a corner, but nope...
redranger2 said:By any sort of rational logic, those two ought to work in tandem. If someone can manage antidepressants alongside Lexapro, then surely St. John's wort, which acts as an antidepressant itself, should play nice with Lexapro.
Just ask a pharmacist or your psychiatrist.
frozenorca63 said:It's fine 🙂. I've taken it alongside Xanax before without any issues. Just don't mix it with antidepressants. It's kind of like how you wouldn't want to drink valerian root tea if you're already taking prescription sedatives.
I was using that same logic—that St. John's Wort is basically just a natural antidepressant—but then I stumbled onto this one random link saying you shouldn't mix them, and now I'm kind of overthinking it.🙄
But since I see frogy took it with Normabrel, maybe I'll give it a shot. I'll hit up the pharmacy first just to be safe, though.
Is it safe to mix St. John's Wort with Helex? 🤔 I've been digging through a few different sites, and I only found one mention saying you shouldn't take them together, but it didn't actually explain why. Since I'm planning on starting a St. John's Wort regimen, I want to be 100% sure about what's safe to pair with it and what isn't.
My grandma passed away because of some "little thing." When she started feeling bad, they showed up with an oxygen machine that wasn't even working right. Since she struggled with asthma, her first symptom was that terrifying feeling of suffocating. None of her usual meds were touching it; she just needed pure oxygen. She didn't get it. She died two hours later at the hospital, and they didn't even tell us. Why? 🤷 We didn't find out until the next morning when my dad called to check on her. He couldn't believe she was gone just ninety minutes after he and my mom left the hospital. But yeah, those "little things" can sneak up on anyone. I think it helped my dad to tell himself that doctors are just people and that "small mistakes" happen to everyone. ☕
Paul Newman5 said:Thanks. I get it now. I just didn't expect something that was numbing me yesterday to make me jittery today. That "famous" 14-day window ends tomorrow, so hopefully it gets better. Besides, I can't exactly call my psychiatrist every five minutes to ask questions. Thanks for the input, though—honestly, I regret asking at all.
Your body just had a massive reaction to that double dose.🙂 As for the doctor situation, I totally feel you. Mine didn't even give me a direct number to call, so I was stuck dealing with side effects and wondering "is this actually gonna get better?" all by myself for days. Eventually, I just gave up on the meds entirely—well, I checked with my primary care doc instead, since at least they actually understand how this stuff works.🙂 Hang in there.🙂
shadowbear9 said:It's cognitive behavioral therapy, yes. And it's being done by my primary care physician. I highly doubt she would even suggest it if she weren't properly trained; I assume she takes specialized courses or something. It's not like I sought her out for this—she actually approached me about starting sessions. We are currently holding sessions regularly. I even mentioned this to my psychiatrist, and they didn't say a single word implying that a GP shouldn't be doing this.
Anyway, I take Mayer, but only for sleep. I don't take anything during the day...
First time I've ever heard of the VA running psychotherapy sessions.
shadowbear9 said:That is exactly it. It feels like PMS every single day. My head hurts constantly and everything just irritates me. This morning, I actually woke up feeling okay for once, but then I remembered everything I had to do and I've been a nervous wreck with zero concentration ever since. I am currently attending CBT sessions with my primary care physician, but I guess I still place more faith in the chemistry side of things...
CBT with who? From what I've gathered, CBT is handled by psychologists, not psychiatrists—and definitely not family doctors. 😕
For those of us in America navigating life on medication, the sexual landscape tends to look like this: He can’t get an erection, she can’t find any arousal, and even if by some miracle they manage to technically get things moving, neither one of them can actually reach a climax. 🤣
Honestly, we probably ought to start a dedicated thread just for this particular misery. :-)))
I mean, I don't think it's a bad topic at all. Honestly, a huge chunk of people deal with this exact thing, it’s just that most folks aren't exactly eager to talk about it openly. 🤷
I'm doing alright 🥳, but man, when I was on the pills... it was rough. 🙂
Kenneth Scott41 said:My point was more about the technical side of things—which is to say, from a physiological standpoint, it tends to be much harder for men. That seems to be the reality.
Look, there's a technical component for women too, and if that part fails, it can be incredibly, incredibly painful.
Jason Vaughn482 said:Look, my doctor did prescribe them originally, but you know I’ve always avoided taking AT&T, so they just sat there gathering dust. Now, however, I find myself spiraling into this crisis, and I'm seriously considering my options. I'm not exactly rushing back to her office immediately, though—I went by just the other day and she didn't offer me any real help at all.
Fair enough. Honestly, I can't even keep track anymore of who's actually on a prescription and who's just popping stuff from their medicine cabinet.😬 She probably didn't give you anything because you won't take the AT&T, so why bother prescribing something else?
granitefalcon26 As follows: Just keep going down that path. At this rate, you’re well on your way to becoming a full-blown junkie.🙄 Let’s be honest: Xanax is nothing more than a temporary bandage for a gaping wound. It might serve as your first line of defense when things get chaotic, but don't mistake a quick fix for a cure. In my experience, that pill hasn't actually healed a single soul; it just masks the symptoms while the underlying issues continue to fester right under the surface.🙄
I am acutely aware of the reality here—that nearly everyone on an AT&T regimen is also juggling some form of anxiolytic just to stay afloat. It is a disheartening cycle, isn't it? I see so many people who have been cycling through these medications for years, yet they remain trapped in the same mental loops, never truly finding that elusive shore of recovery. I find myself yearning for a different path, a different chemical architecture altogether, but I feel adrift without a compass. What exactly are you taking, and did you ever actually reach a state of remission? You possess a distinct advantage in this regard; being a physician means you have the agency to pivot and swap out your AT&T every single month, whereas my doctor remains stubbornly fixed in her ways. Since she refuses to budge, I am turning to you for guidance. Could you recommend an AT&T that actually targets anxiety, panic, and this relentless hypochondria? I am willing to experiment if it means finally finding relief. So far, my experience with Zoloft was a total wash, and even the small dose of Calixium I’m currently managing seems to have absolutely zero impact on my anxiety levels. I would be profoundly grateful for any insight you can offer.
P.S. And let me be perfectly clear: I am not suggesting that I have descended into the ranks of the true junkies. Regardless of how others might perceive my situation, I remain firmly convinced that there is a far more profound level of damage inflicted by consuming something like AT&T over a three-year stretch. That said, one has to tip their hat to the potency of Dawn; it’s truly something else. What is your take on Solian—or amisulpride, to be precise? I currently have a small stash sitting here at home: about twenty 100 mg tablets.
Jason Vaughn482, don't go taking stuff you have lying around the house if your psychiatrist didn't specifically prescribe it for you. You can't just swap pills with people; it doesn't matter if someone else has a prescription for them. Who knows how your body is going to react to those?
I mean, usually when people lend money to friends, it's because they're broke right then, so setting a hard deadline is always tricky. 🤷
A buddy of mine was skint for like nine months, and now he’s suddenly acting all tight with his cash. It isn't really an issue for the person lending it; it's more about the person taking it. I can't help but wonder if Chase would let him skip nine months of payments and then just wave the debt away.