Psychotropic medication discussion thread

Gerald Torres2 said:Well, it's definitely a win if the nausea is letting up, though I do worry it might come back in full force once you transition to the full dosage. Doubling the dose is no small jump. Just take it slow and everything will turn out fine; the main thing is don't try to play doctor and do anything on your own. Make sure you clear everything with your psychiatrist first so you're both on the same page. Those first two weeks are usually the absolute worst. My anxiety was totally unbearable at first, so I had to rely on anti-anxiety meds until the antidepressant actually kicked in, and then they gradually tapered me off those. I just really hope you've found the right medication, because some people spend years searching for the one that actually works for them. Hang in there and keep us posted on how you're doing!🙂

Oh, tell me about it—I feel like I'm constantly on edge, just a nervous wreck, feeling like a panic attack could strike at any given moment. And when it actually hits, I end up taking Xanax just to get a little relief, but even then, it’s far from being enough. I'm holding onto the hope that Paxil will help; I took it about six years ago and it truly brought me back to life. As for the nausea, I guess I'll see; maybe I'll move up to the full dose tomorrow, or perhaps I'll stick to half doses for another day or two and just see how my body reacts. I'll definitely check back in, and I hope you'll do the same. Wishing everyone here nothing but much better days ahead very soon.

David Bishop4 said:Oh, tell me about it—I feel like I'm constantly on edge, just a nervous wreck, feeling like a panic attack could strike at any given moment. And when it actually hits, I end up taking Xanax just to get a little relief, but even then, it’s far from being enough. I'm holding onto the hope that Paxil will help; I took it about six years ago and it truly brought me back to life. As for the nausea, I guess I'll see; maybe I'll move up to the full dose tomorrow, or perhaps I'll stick to half doses for another day or two and just see how my body reacts. I'll definitely check back in, and I hope you'll do the same. Wishing everyone here nothing but much better days ahead very soon.

It’s common knowledge that the first two or three weeks on antidepressants are brutal while you adjust, but hang in there—things will look up tomorrow. 😛

David Bishop4 said:Oh, tell me about it—I feel like I'm constantly on edge, just a nervous wreck, feeling like a panic attack could strike at any given moment. And when it actually hits, I end up taking Xanax just to get a little relief, but even then, it’s far from being enough. I'm holding onto the hope that Paxil will help; I took it about six years ago and it truly brought me back to life. As for the nausea, I guess I'll see; maybe I'll move up to the full dose tomorrow, or perhaps I'll stick to half doses for another day or two and just see how my body reacts. I'll definitely check back in, and I hope you'll do the same. Wishing everyone here nothing but much better days ahead very soon.

I'm right there with you—living in constant fear of when those obsessive thoughts will strike. It feels like a pendulum swinging between a few good days and a few bad ones, but finding that steady ground where everything is consistently okay feels impossible. Is anyone else struggling with intrusive thoughts? Or did they eventually fade away for you once you started medication?

Donna Torres5 said:I'm right there with you—living in constant fear of when those obsessive thoughts will strike. It feels like a pendulum swinging between a few good days and a few bad ones, but finding that steady ground where everything is consistently okay feels impossible. Is anyone else struggling with intrusive thoughts? Or did they eventually fade away for you once you started medication?

Could you clarify what you mean by "obsessive thoughts" exactly? For me, it’s this recurring fear that I’m actually losing my mind—that I’ll end up being restrained in one of those white straitjackets with sleeves that go on forever and locked away in a padded cell.🙂

Donna Torres5 said:I'm right there with you—living in constant fear of when those obsessive thoughts will strike. It feels like a pendulum swinging between a few good days and a few bad ones, but finding that steady ground where everything is consistently okay feels impossible. Is anyone else struggling with intrusive thoughts? Or did they eventually fade away for you once you started medication?

Mine actually cleared out after about 9 months on Paxil, and honestly, 9 months later, they haven't come back. 🙂

The downside is Lexapro absolutely wrecks my sleep. I’ll wake up mid-night feeling totally disconnected from reality... like I'm wide awake but my brain is still stuck in a dream state. 😢
I seriously hate it.

Justin Rogers5 said:I take the lowest dose just to sleep. It doesn't do anything for my depression, but it helps the anxiety. Problem is, I get memory gaps from it. Sometimes I'll accidentally double up on the dose and have zero recollection of it. Then my joints, muscles, and bones just throb in the middle of the night. Basically, whenever I realize I doubled up, the pain starts hitting me the next day when I go back to my regular dose.🤷

Ugh, it's crazy how differently we all react to this stuff. 😢
It worked wonders for my depression, but for anxiety? Not a bit. :/
I just slept great, though. I think I’m going back on it this weekend because I’ve burned through all my Ambien, and frankly, my nerves are shot. I'm just chronically exhausted. Between the anxiety eating away at my brain and only getting maybe 4 or 5 hours of sleep with a few wake-ups here and there... it's a lot.

🙂

Are you taking any other antidepressants alongside it?

Brandon Lopez6 said:Mine actually cleared out after about 9 months on Paxil, and honestly, 9 months later, they haven't come back. 🙂

The downside is Lexapro absolutely wrecks my sleep. I’ll wake up mid-night feeling totally disconnected from reality... like I'm wide awake but my brain is still stuck in a dream state. 😢
I seriously hate it.

I experienced something very similar, though I can't quite tell if it was triggered by the Lexapro or the Paxil. Basically, I would snap awake in the middle of the night with my eyes wide open, feeling as if I had been jolted by something terrifying. It was such a haunting sensation, though it did eventually subside after a little while.

Anyway, today marks the first day I've taken a full dose of Paxil after six days of micro-dosing. I took it around 2:00 PM, and so far, I feel alright—no nausea yet. We'll see how things go, though; it's going to be a long night...

Kenneth Scott41 said:I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences regarding side effects from taking Zeldox. I realize we aren't exactly a massive group here, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask... I've been having these moments where I think I might be experiencing hallucinations, though I can't say for certain if they're actually happening or if my mind is just playing tricks on me.

😉

The whole point of an atypical antipsychotic is to suppress psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations if they were present. Therefore, you shouldn't be hallucinating while on Nexium unless your dosage is insufficient.🤷
What is your current dosage, and could you describe these "hallucinations"?
Did you experience hallucinations prior to starting Nexium, and what was the reason for your prescription?

David Bishop4 said:I experienced something very similar, though I can't quite tell if it was triggered by the Lexapro or the Paxil. Basically, I would snap awake in the middle of the night with my eyes wide open, feeling as if I had been jolted by something terrifying. It was such a haunting sensation, though it did eventually subside after a little while.

Anyway, today marks the first day I've taken a full dose of Paxil after six days of micro-dosing. I took it around 2:00 PM, and so far, I feel alright—no nausea yet. We'll see how things go, though; it's going to be a long night...

Fingers crossed you don't run into any side effects!!!! 😉

Gerald Torres2 said:Fingers crossed you don't run into any side effects!!!! 😉

Thank you so much, dear. I was actually just reading through your story over in the lounge area, and I can see how much you're struggling right now. Please, just hang in there! Between the medication and the therapy, things have to get better eventually. To be honest, I'm going through a terrible stretch myself lately; I find it hard to even leave the house most days, so I end up staying home almost constantly. I deal with this recurring fear of swallowing food or drinks, and while it isn't happening all the time, I always feel so incredibly tense. I can't bring myself to go anywhere alone without feeling completely overwhelmed by anxiety... I suppose we all have our own battles to fight, but if you combine a little bit of willpower, the right medication, and at least one person to help nudge you forward, there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong and please keep posting. Sending a big hug.

David Bishop4 said:Thank you so much, dear. I was actually just reading through your story over in the lounge area, and I can see how much you're struggling right now. Please, just hang in there! Between the medication and the therapy, things have to get better eventually. To be honest, I'm going through a terrible stretch myself lately; I find it hard to even leave the house most days, so I end up staying home almost constantly. I deal with this recurring fear of swallowing food or drinks, and while it isn't happening all the time, I always feel so incredibly tense. I can't bring myself to go anywhere alone without feeling completely overwhelmed by anxiety... I suppose we all have our own battles to fight, but if you combine a little bit of willpower, the right medication, and at least one person to help nudge you forward, there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong and please keep posting. Sending a big hug.

Thank you. 🙂

I’ve been an anxious person for as long as I can remember, though I don't usually dwell on it consciously. It’s more of a sudden realization—like, "Oh, wow, my entire body is clenched tight." That’s why I rely on anti-anxiety meds. Honestly, I wish we could just prescribe irony as a primary treatment for anxiety, haha. Imagine if there were actual workshops dedicated to mastering the art of being ironic; that would be incredible! I’ve even noticed that my anxiety often kicks in for absolutely no reason at all, yet my brain insists on spinning its wheels anyway...

Look, I get it—on a purely intellectual level, we all know our anxieties are irrational. But when the panic hits, why can't the brain just tap into that logic? It’s like the rational part of my mind is watching a movie of my fear, but it can't reach out and stop the projector. If my conscious self understands the truth, yet my biology keeps spinning out, then who exactly is pulling the strings here? Is it the brain, or am I something else entirely?

wiredskipper45 said:Ugh, it's crazy how differently we all react to this stuff. 😢
It worked wonders for my depression, but for anxiety? Not a bit. :/
I just slept great, though. I think I’m going back on it this weekend because I’ve burned through all my Ambien, and frankly, my nerves are shot. I'm just chronically exhausted. Between the anxiety eating away at my brain and only getting maybe 4 or 5 hours of sleep with a few wake-ups here and there... it's a lot.

🙂

Are you taking any other antidepressants alongside it?

No, I mean, isn't Mirzaten Ad the antidepressant?😕I take it with 5mg of Zoloft and a quarter of a Seroquel and I'm out—usually don't wake up until noon. I go to bed around 2 or 3 depending. When I'm unemployed, I take something extra to sleep, but when I'm working, just the 5mg of Zoloft does the trick. Last night was a disaster. I couldn't sleep at all. Took the Mirzaten Ad and a quarter of Seroquel, but nothing worked. Spent the whole night shaking like I'd swallowed a vibrator; my stomach was churning and I felt like I was gonna throw up from the nerves. Then I made the mistake of taking another quarter of Seroquel because my brain just told me to 🙂. I was shaking like a leaf all night. Barely made it to 7 AM after standing around feeling exhausted, then finally popped some Xanax and another 15mg of Mirzaten Ad and passed out. Finally.🙄

Mark Nelson said:Quote: I'm replying to your post because I want to hear from someone who was on Zoloft for a long time. You were on it for six years; I've only been on it for a year or so.

In what sense did the depression and anxiety pull back? Like, how specifically did it help, or maybe make things harder?
And regarding that sudden withdrawal—does everything eventually settle back to normal
once you start the therapy again?

I stopped my 100mg dose about 20 days ago after taking it consistently, mostly because I messed up with another medication and ended up being terrified to take anything at all.

Since yesterday, I've been taking 50mg on my doctor's advice (I won't tell you how horrified she was 🤣), but in a week, I'll be back to my old 100mg dose. For the most part, the med helped me; I became more open, more carefree... and I could actually focus on my responsibilities. 😍

Look, nobody asks me, but I'm dying to know how everyone else is handling this stuff, so I figured we might as well be on equal footing. 🙂

Zoloft Experience

I first started taking it six years ago when I was in a pretty dark, highly anxious state.
Naturally, nobody warned me that it would initially make me feel even more jittery, cause nausea, tremors, lack of focus, and all that good stuff...
After a while, I just learned to live with that initial phase, but the restlessness and dizziness have been following me around for the entire six years.
At the beginning, I took it for exactly one year and one day before dropping it, but then I had a major lapse four months later and found myself right back at square one.
Recently, I tried tapering down from 50mg daily—which I'd done for five years—by taking 0.25mg for two months before finally quitting.
The sense of relief, which I hadn't felt in six years, was absolutely incredible, but it only lasted fifteen days. Now, here I am again, dealing with the exact same symptoms I had when I first started six years ago. It turns out the real issue is finding the courage to start again, because you really have to plan your exit strategy very carefully.

My takeaway: if you're coming off Prozac, expect it to take at least 6 to 12 months.

Prozac

I'm looking for some firsthand accounts regarding Prozac, if anyone has them—specifically how it stacks up against Zoloft or Effexor?

Justin Rogers5 said:No, I mean, isn't Mirzaten Ad the antidepressant?😕I take it with 5mg of Zoloft and a quarter of a Seroquel and I'm out—usually don't wake up until noon. I go to bed around 2 or 3 depending. When I'm unemployed, I take something extra to sleep, but when I'm working, just the 5mg of Zoloft does the trick. Last night was a disaster. I couldn't sleep at all. Took the Mirzaten Ad and a quarter of Seroquel, but nothing worked. Spent the whole night shaking like I'd swallowed a vibrator; my stomach was churning and I felt like I was gonna throw up from the nerves. Then I made the mistake of taking another quarter of Seroquel because my brain just told me to 🙂. I was shaking like a leaf all night. Barely made it to 7 AM after standing around feeling exhausted, then finally popped some Xanax and another 15mg of Mirzaten Ad and passed out. Finally.🙄

Yeah, it is an AD, but they often bundle it with other ADs because apparently, it doesn't quite hit the mark for depression and anxiety. 😢From what I hear from others, it's mostly just good for sleep. Though, if you ask me, my depression didn't hit quite as hard while I was on it; now that I've stopped, it feels like a daily thing. :/
I feel for you regarding the insomnia. What you described sounds brutal. 😢I was lucky enough that 15 mg would knock me out every single night, even when I was feeling super tense. Maybe once or twice I couldn't sleep (full moon, daylight savings, whatever), but it would only last a night or two before it started working again.
But if I'm reading you right, besides the lack of sleep, are you still dealing with the depression? That's why I'm thinking maybe they should throw another AD into the mix for you.

Scott Alvarez22 said:Prozac

I'm looking for some firsthand accounts regarding Prozac, if anyone has them—specifically how it stacks up against Zoloft or Effexor?

I feel like I’ve already rambled on about Prozac quite a bit here. 🙂
For me, it actually had the fewest side effects. Well, except for that first time I took it—I think I slept for like 36 hours straight. After a week, though, that heavy feeling was gone. I was sleeping like a baby, and the depression finally started backing off after a few months of use (mostly, anyway). Sadly, the anxiety ended up ramping up over time, but honestly, that was mostly just due to some stuff going on in my life...
With Effexor and Zoloft, I was constantly nauseous. I felt aggressive, restless, wired, and my heart would just race... the anxiety was physically painful. And that was after only taking one dose of each. I don't think I could have survived two days of those side effects.

Scott Alvarez22 said:Zoloft Experience

I first started taking it six years ago when I was in a pretty dark, highly anxious state.
Naturally, nobody warned me that it would initially make me feel even more jittery, cause nausea, tremors, lack of focus, and all that good stuff...
After a while, I just learned to live with that initial phase, but the restlessness and dizziness have been following me around for the entire six years.
At the beginning, I took it for exactly one year and one day before dropping it, but then I had a major lapse four months later and found myself right back at square one.
Recently, I tried tapering down from 50mg daily—which I'd done for five years—by taking 0.25mg for two months before finally quitting.
The sense of relief, which I hadn't felt in six years, was absolutely incredible, but it only lasted fifteen days. Now, here I am again, dealing with the exact same symptoms I had when I first started six years ago. It turns out the real issue is finding the courage to start again, because you really have to plan your exit strategy very carefully.

My takeaway: if you're coming off Prozac, expect it to take at least 6 to 12 months.

So, what’s it like when you start taking it again? Are the side effects way worse than they were the first time, or does things eventually level out?
And did you actually feel that sense of relief after you quit, or was it after you started the Zoloft again?

Mark Nelson said:So, what’s it like when you start taking it again? Are the side effects way worse than they were the first time, or does things eventually level out?
And did you actually feel that sense of relief after you quit, or was it after you started the Zoloft again?

Unfortunately, for me, it feels exactly like I'm starting from scratch all over again.