Psychotropic medication discussion thread

Robin Myers91 · 2006-07-02T21:58:17+00:00

Has anyone here tried that new schizophrenia med that hit the US market about two months ago? I finally managed to get my psychiatrist to prescribe it—had to f…

cosmictinker21 Active Member

242 messages
joined Jan 2009

#361 · Feb 21, 2009

Robert Reyes34 said:It truly appears that the complexities of romantic relationships are what actually keep this spinning globe turning. 🤔

Honestly, looking at this forum, one might think we were hosting an endless assembly of legendary generals, world-conquering emperors, or perhaps even those mythic Greek heroes from the old epics!
Everyone here acts like a singular, unstoppable hero, yet when you step outside into the real world—you know, the actual life we lead away from these screens—that heroic energy seems to vanish entirely into thin air. 😉

at the end of the day, you notice all those guys had some pretty nasty flaws. they were either mama's boys, dealing with serious sexual frustration, or maybe they had epilepsy, megalomania, aggression, or just zero patience... so they gathered entire armies just to go stomp on someone else's territory. probably because they were bored with their own lives, or they got kicked out, exiled, or they were just wandering aimlessly across the globe... oh, and not one of them died with a clear conscience. certainly not while being held by someone they actually loved. sigh...🤣

I was just reading this lovely book about love, the capacity to care, and self-sacrifice. Written by an American psychiatrist. I wish I could say the name publicly without looking like I'm running an ad campaign. At the same time, I got totally sucked into this other book about the cosmos. String theory, gluons, the Large Hadron Collider, Planck's constant... ugh, all those things you have to relearn over and over again.

It was gorgeous and warm outside all day today. Ran into some old acquaintances, buzzed around in a crowd... life is good.🙂 🙂 🙂just feeling grateful for another beautiful day of living🙏

fadedbear92 Veteran

1.1K messages
joined Dec 2008

#362 · Feb 21, 2009

velvetsailor26 said:I started on 50 mg of Effexor yesterday, and honestly, I’m just counting down the minutes until it actually kicks in because this anxiety is absolutely draining the life out of me.😢

If your genetics align with it—and honestly, it’s all about that biological luck—you should start feeling the difference in as little as two weeks. Have you managed to get your hands on any of that Alzheimer's medication yet?
I’ve actually been sipping on this for about six months now—it's become quite the little ritual!

velvetsailor26 Active Member

144 messages
joined Feb 2009

#363 · Feb 21, 2009

fadedbear92 said:If your genetics align with it—and honestly, it’s all about that biological luck—you should start feeling the difference in as little as two weeks. Have you managed to get your hands on any of that Alzheimer's medication yet?
I’ve actually been sipping on this for about six months now—it's become quite the little ritual!

I was on Zoloft for four months and things were finally looking up, but then I made the brilliant decision to just stop taking it on my own... real genius move there. Naturally, I ended up right back in the gutter where I started, so I went back on the Zoloft, but it didn't hit me nearly as hard as it did the first time. Now my doctor has switched me over to Paxil, and honestly, I’m just a walking mess—one minute I’m sobbing, the next I’m laughing for no reason. I am just counting down the days until this phase passes. It feels like it's taking forever.

crimsonhound80 Active Member

175 messages
joined Mar 2008

#364 · Feb 22, 2009

Honestly, I think you really should have been prescribed at least two half-milligram Xanax pills—maybe even a whole bottle—just to get you through those first few weeks until the Prozac actually kicks in. Otherwise, you're just sitting there suffering for no reason, I guess.😢

Keith Jones76 Active Member

174 messages
joined Mar 2009

#365 · Mar 4, 2009

crimsonhound80 said:I mean, look—if we're talking about the actual foundation of treating panic attacks, you’ve got things like Xanax, Ativan, or whatever other benzodiazepines they're handing out these days... I guess it really depends on what the doctor thinks is best, though I always feel like there's so much guesswork involved in these prescriptions. 😁 It’ll probably help you drift off, too—since, I mean, that's basically what all benzodiazepines do, isn't it? It's one of their core properties, after all.

So, look—if your primary diagnosis is Panic Disorder, I don't think a specialist is going to just throw Xanax at you alongside something like Normabal. It doesn't really make sense, I guess. If you’re actually struggling with serious sleep issues, they’d probably lean toward something like Sanval instead—since that stuff hits those hypnotic receptors a bit harder, if you know what I mean. 😍

It all depends on which type of sleep issue we're talking about. Lunesta or Sonata work well if you have trouble falling asleep. If you're waking up too early, something like Trazodone might be better.

Even Paxil could be an option for panic disorder. That way, you avoid getting hooked on Alprazolam entirely. It really comes down to assessing things on a case-by-case basis. Personally, I’m terrified by how many patients end up in a cycle of chronic use and develop a dependency. Very few people have the discipline to not use them for more than three or four weeks. Sadly, they seem to be the most overprescribed drugs out there, and that’s nowhere near how they were intended to be used.
Anyone have any experiences with this?

Jerry Jones35 Newcomer

2 messages
joined Mar 2009

#366 · Mar 9, 2009

I’m really hoping someone can weigh in here because I’ve been obsessing over this lately 🙂

So, look—my panic attacks weren't always this constant thing. Back at the start, there was like a year and two months between the first one and the second, but lately, they’ve been hitting me left and right. It usually goes down like this: I start shaking like crazy, feel totally weak, and my heart just starts hammering against my ribs—like, seriously fast. I actually ended up in the ER a couple of times, but my EKG came back perfectly fine every single time, so the docs basically told me it was just the panic talking. Eventually, they gave me a diagnosis of anxiety and depressive disorder, so I started seeing a psychiatrist four times a month and got prescribed Cipralex.
Anyway, I feel like things are looking up a bit—honestly, today was actually one of those rare days where I felt pretty good and in a decent mood—but there’s this other thing eating at me. Just out of habit, I checked my blood pressure and heart rate today, and my pulse was sitting at 49 bpm, which feels kind of weird, right? Then, on my way to campus, I had to sprint to catch the train, and once I finally sat down, I could feel my heart absolutely pounding in my chest. Of course, I immediately spiraled into a panic, feeling all hot and sweaty, but I managed to sit tight and calm myself down. Also, I get this random pain in my left arm—not like the whole arm, just this one specific spot that fades quickly. And this little notch in my sternum—you know, the little spoon-shaped bone?—has been acting up lately too.
So, what I’m wondering is: is it possible that all this physical pain is just tied to my own head? Like, is it just my fear that something bad is going to happen? I’ve read that stress can cause all sorts of weird physical stuff, but could this be related to circulation or something else entirely? Or is there a chance it’s something more serious...

Keith Jones76 Active Member

174 messages
joined Mar 2009

#367 · Mar 9, 2009

It’s entirely possible this is all psychological—that kind of stuff happens more often than you'd think. But you really should run it by your doctor. Whether it's your psychiatrist or just your primary care physician, you need to loop them in. Honestly, if you don't tell them what's going on, how are they supposed to treat you correctly?

Donna Booth3 Newcomer

4 messages
joined Jan 2009

#368 · Mar 13, 2009

Dear Jerry Jones35, if you stick with the Lexapro consistently, you'll likely find that this health anxiety begins to subside over time. Personally, I’ve been dealing with my own bouts of irrational worry for about five or six years now. Every so often, I get hit with these intense dizzy spells; none of my doctors can pinpoint a cause, though they all suggest it might be related to circulation issues, yet every single test result comes back perfectly normal. It seems the culprit is purely psychological. I also experience that same tingling sensation in my left arm that you mentioned. My advice? Stick with the Lexapro and don't ever stop taking it abruptly. I made the mistake of quitting once, and I am still paying the price for it today.

Keith Jones76 Active Member

174 messages
joined Mar 2009

#369 · Mar 13, 2009

So, you're the one who ran the tests...

rustyharbor18 Member

18 messages
joined Mar 2009

#370 · Mar 14, 2009

Yeah, but it doesn't have to be that way. It could just be that Lexapro didn't sit right with me. Back when I was switching between Zoloft and Prozac, my blood pressure went absolutely haywire—like, totally wild—and my heart rate was hitting around 140. That's seriously sky-high. But as soon as I started on a different med, everything just leveled out and went back to normal.

Jerry Jones35 Newcomer

2 messages
joined Mar 2009

#371 · Mar 14, 2009

Yeah, my doctor mentioned that Cipralex might slow down my heart rate a bit—and my psychiatrist said the same thing. So, basically, I’m supposed to spend about a week tracking my pulse and keeping an eye on my heart rate to see what's up. She also made it pretty clear that if this stuff isn't sitting right with me, we can just pivot to a different antidepressant altogether. 🙂
Anyway, thanks for the input. 😉

Brenda Carter Newcomer

6 messages
joined Mar 2009

#372 · Mar 29, 2009

So, there’s been a ton of new info coming out about Coaxil since last year. Before 2008, nobody really had a handle on how it actually works. People used to think it just messed with serotonin—which isn't wrong—but the real kicker is its effect on GLUTAMATE.
Basically, it acts as a GLUTAMATE MODULATOR, which is why it’s in its own special category. It’s pretty much the only antidepressant that does that.
See, glutamate is a neurotransmitter just like serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine, but it’s the most excitatory one out there. They call it the "MASTER SWITCH." When you’re dealing with constant stress or deep depression, your glutamate levels spike, and then it becomes neurotoxic—meaning it starts causing actual damage to your brain, mostly hitting the amygdala, hippocampus, and cortex. Coaxil basically steps in and drags those levels back down to normal.
Because it targets the amygdala, Coaxil is killer for anxiety. In fact, recent studies show people using it need 50% less traditional anti-anxiety meds. That means fewer pills to swallow every day, and unlike those other stuff, it doesn't get you hooked. Plus, since it helps the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex—the spots that handle things like emotions, focus, and learning—you don't have to worry about the usual side effects. I mean, no erectile dysfunction, no issues with female lubrication, no libido killer, and it won't make you gain weight.
The only catch is you gotta take it three times a day (though maybe 201 works too, like twice in the morning and once at night).

Jason Hughes51 Member

23 messages
joined Mar 2009

#373 · Mar 29, 2009

It’s been three weeks on the Coaxil 🙂. I have to say, it feels quite wonderful, especially considering how much I was struggling before this.
The combination of Coaxil and Xanax—well, it numbs those painful memories just enough, which I suppose is a relief, and I am actually more than satisfied with the results.

I haven't been overeating, I feel significantly calmer, and those panic attacks haven't returned. My mouth feels somewhat dry, though the one thing that is truly, deeply bothering me is a strange odor in my urine. 🤷

velvetsailor26 Active Member

144 messages
joined Feb 2009

#374 · Apr 1, 2009

Do antidepressants actually do anything? I’ve been on Paxil for about six weeks now and honestly, I’m feeling absolutely nothing—not even a tiny bit of progress. For the first month, I was sticking to 50 mg, but I’ve bumped it up to 100 mg recently. For those of you who are currently on these meds, how long did it actually take before you started feeling some kind of shift?

crimsonheron80 Active Member

103 messages
joined Apr 2009

#375 · Apr 1, 2009

Three months of nothing. Depends entirely on what you're taking it for...☕

Jerry Martinez5 Regular

278 messages
joined Apr 2009

#376 · Apr 1, 2009

velvetsailor26, did you actually bother reading the instructions for that medication? It usually says they take a few weeks to even start working, I guess.

velvetsailor26 Active Member

144 messages
joined Feb 2009

#377 · Apr 1, 2009

So, I read through that... it mentions four weeks, but honestly, I’ve been at this much longer than that already. I get that everyone’s biology is different and one medication doesn't fit all, but I just don't have the energy to go through the whole cycle of trial and error with something new right now. At the same time, if this current stuff doesn't start kicking in soon, I’m really not sure what my next move is going to be.

velvetsailor26 Active Member

144 messages
joined Feb 2009

#378 · Apr 1, 2009

crimsonheron80 said:Three months of nothing. Depends entirely on what you're taking it for...☕

Three months? Honestly, I’d wait even longer if it meant finally feeling like myself again. When you're just desperate to feel better, time starts to lose all meaning.

fadedbear92 Veteran

1.1K messages
joined Dec 2008

#379 · Apr 2, 2009

velvetsailor26 said:Three months? Honestly, I’d wait even longer if it meant finally feeling like myself again. When you're just desperate to feel better, time starts to lose all meaning.

I'm currently on it. For me, the effects kicked in pretty fast—it actually helped me almost (just a little bit more to go!) get off the Xanax that I was both mentally and physically dependent on. My therapist prescribed it after I went through a really rough depressive episode; before that, I was taking about 5mg of Zoloft.
Fevarin is a potent antidepressant that basically keeps you from wanting to hurt yourself. Anyway... I'd love to hear if anyone else has tried it. Right now, I take 50 mg in the morning and 100 mg right before bed.

Brian Wells Member

21 messages
joined Apr 2009

#380 · Apr 6, 2009

Jason Hughes51 said:It’s been three weeks on the Coaxil 🙂. I have to say, it feels quite wonderful, especially considering how much I was struggling before this.
The combination of Coaxil and Xanax—well, it numbs those painful memories just enough, which I suppose is a relief, and I am actually more than satisfied with the results.

I haven't been overeating, I feel significantly calmer, and those panic attacks haven't returned. My mouth feels somewhat dry, though the one thing that is truly, deeply bothering me is a strange odor in my urine. 🤷

Back during the war, I dealt with some minor stressors, but I've always been a hyper-sensitive person. Everything eventually culminated in anxiety and depression, which I managed for 15 years using Lrosilan. I lived relatively well—finished two degrees, got married, have two kids, and run my own business. However, my tolerance grew along with my dependency, so for the past year, I've been in a process of total lifestyle overhaul and self-healing. At one point, I was taking over 10 mg of Lrosilan. Through a complete life change (private CBT therapy, advanced yoga, a vegetarian diet, studying psychology, increasing my spirituality through reading and meditation, more exercise, taking Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium, and Omega-3s, plus autosuggestion, self-control, and some acupuncture), I managed to drop my dosage back down to an initial level of 1.5+1.5+1 mg of Lrosilan.

I definitely feel withdrawal symptoms, but I also still feel the unhealed root causes of my anxiety and depression. That's why I researched antidepressants extensively and reached the conclusion that I might supplement my treatment with Coaxil. I've never taken an antidepressant before.

I'm not expecting miracles. I'm playing the long game. I guess I'm looking for advice, experts, or anyone who has had similar experiences or dilemmas.

P.P.

Psychotropic medication discussion thread

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