Psychotropic medication discussion thread

From what you're saying, it sounds like you were prescribed this therapy specifically to deal with the panic attacks, which means the headaches and dizziness aren't being addressed separately.
The reason they put you on Xanax is because it actually targets panic attacks, unlike Ativan, which isn't quite as specific for that. Also, you can't expect Percocet to kick in after just one pill, so the idea was for the Xanax to provide coverage in the meantime—but you didn't take it!
You're overthinking things and trying to control a situation that's already spiraled, which just leads to more chaos. More control isn't always better; you need balance. You have to know when to step back. If you don't, that's how the panic attacks start in the first place.

And I'm really sorry about your dog. I totally get it.

It’s been five weeks since I started taking 100 mg of Paxil at night. Honestly? I don't feel any real shift in my mood or any clear sign the medication is even working. Can someone describe what it actually feels like when an AD finally kicks in? Right now, this feels like nothing more than a placebo. On top of that, I'm on Xanax 3 x1 (0.25 mg), which seems uselessly weak. I used to take Ativan 10 mg on my own, and frankly, it worked much better than the Xanax. I’m just exhausted by this whole situation. I need some kind of improvement, but I've got nothing. I’ve dropped about 15 pounds since early September, I can't sleep, and the depression is brutal. The only thing that's changed is that my panic attacks have decreased, but the anxiety is still there despite the Xanax. Just... ugh.

Who was on it, and why?

I want to hear about experiences with this stuff—I’ve only ever used it to trip out...

Anyone deal with side effects, or is it just me?

Is it strictly for psychotic episodes, I mean?

They ended up taking me off Risperdal because it caused my prolactin levels to spike, which led to breast milk production—definitely one of those common side effects women deal with...

I was on Risperdal about ten years ago, and honestly, it was a total nightmare. While I was taking it, I fell into this weird headspace—I don't even know how to describe it. It was like constant panic, feeling like I was literally crawling out of my own skin. My thoughts just... froze. I’d try to think about something, and nothing. Just a mental blackout. And even though I was on the smallest dose possible, my psychiatrist kept pushing me to increase it! 😠 After I dropped 12 pounds in a single month, I started having doubts, but I ended up telling her to shove it since she refused to change my meds. I walked away from them and finally felt like myself again. Why she ever put me on it, though? No clue. 🤷 She kept rambling about how I was "hypersensitive" or had "scattered thoughts," so she thought she needed to force me to focus on one thing at a time and slow everything down. I mean, sure, I was going through some serious crap back then—I was pretty much falling apart 😁—but her brilliant conclusion was that Risperdal was exactly what I needed! 🤦 I was taking it alongside Tegretol and some other pill whose name escapes me. Those two on their own were fine, but Risperdal? Absolute killer. 👎

Exactly. It’s like you’re trying to jump out of your own skin but you just can't. A deeply bizarre, unsettling sensation... plus a whole list of other side effects. What else are you guys dealing with?

I wasn't actually on Risperdal myself, but rather on Rissett—which I'm told is essentially the same thing—for about ten months, and it truly did help me. Though, I suppose the speed at which I seemed to recover is a whole separate matter entirely, so I just decided to stop taking it on my own initiative, an action my psychiatrist actually agreed with at the time... looking back on everything now, I realize I made quite a mistake, because I have started taking it again 😢

My experience followed this trajectory: Following my time in the service, I took Xanax for about two months before deciding to stop because it felt utterly trivial, almost as inconsequential as eating popcorn. For quite some time after that, I remained off any medication and everything was stable. However, things took a sudden, sharp turn for the worse toward the end of 1999 when I stumbled upon this forum. Back then, the layout was nothing like what you see today; discussions were confined to a single subforum called Chatovi. Within roughly fifteen days of joining, everything unraveled, and I slipped into a psychosis without even grasping what that term actually entailed.

It happened this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way and this way.

Following that initial psychotic episode, I was prescribed Lexapro, followed later by Modafinil and Cogentin, and eventually Risperdal.

Two years ago, I discontinued the Risperdal and managed to stay off it for at least a year. Then, inevitably, the intrusive thoughts and irrationalities resurfaced, leading to an eleven-day stay in a psychiatric ward. Recovery was relatively swift, and I am currently stable provided I maintain a daily dose of 1mg of Risperdal. Even at this minimal dosage, however, I feel a persistent sense of lethargy and apathy; life feels rather dull. Interestingly, if I miss a single day of that 1mg dose, I notice my mood lifts and my cognitive processes feel sharper. I am certain that I could remain off Risperdal for five months without consequence, but I always find myself needing to return to small doses. Perhaps I could sustain it longer if it weren't for the internet and forums, which can be detrimental to one's psyche; these digital spaces allow for realities that simply do not exist in the physical world, causing a certain mental disorientation. Ultimately, Risperdal isn't such a burden if it helped stabilize my mood, and I have no desire to add more mood stabilizers to the mix, as I prefer to avoid excessive chemical intervention. Consequently, I experiment slightly with the Risperdal—skipping a dose here and there. My primary objective is to avoid triggers, and there are plenty of those on this forum. I make it a point to avoid clicking on threads that might destabilize me, and as long as I do that, I manage.

Been on Lexapro for quite a while now. Depression is gone.
The anxiety from all the stress—too—has vanished (I’ve got a hyperactive kid with behavioral issues, and I’m just a 110-pound wreck stuck in bed...)
Don't need the anti-anxiety meds anymore.

But my libido? Gone. 🙂 No big O... 🙄

Just putting on an Oscar-winning performance at this point.

So, what now?

feraldrifter12 said:It’s been five weeks since I started taking 100 mg of Paxil at night. Honestly? I don't feel any real shift in my mood or any clear sign the medication is even working. Can someone describe what it actually feels like when an AD finally kicks in? Right now, this feels like nothing more than a placebo. On top of that, I'm on Xanax 3 x1 (0.25 mg), which seems uselessly weak. I used to take Ativan 10 mg on my own, and frankly, it worked much better than the Xanax. I’m just exhausted by this whole situation. I need some kind of improvement, but I've got nothing. I’ve dropped about 15 pounds since early September, I can't sleep, and the depression is brutal. The only thing that's changed is that my panic attacks have decreased, but the anxiety is still there despite the Xanax. Just... ugh.

I tried Paxil before switching to Lexapro, but it made everything worse than if I had taken nothing at all—anxiety, tremors, more tremors, more tremors... My doctor pulled me off the Paxil after about ten days and put me on Lexapro instead. It turned out great—no "special effects" or anything.🙏

Maybe consider a switch? My doctor says you shouldn't dwell on one med for more than a week or two—if it isn't working, try something else.

I’ve been on Paxil for five weeks now—did 10mg for the first three weeks, then bumped up to 20mg about ten days ago.
I actually powered through the initial side effects without needing any extra anti-anxiety meds (they weren't even that bad, honestly), but ever since I switched to the 20mg dose, everything changed. On top of the usual stuff, I am sleeping *way* too much and just feel totally wiped out all day long. For the last couple of days, I’ve been barely dragging myself out of bed by 2:00 PM!!! It’s seriously embarrassing.

Has anyone else dealt with this insane fatigue from Paxil?
Please tell me this is just temporary and it'll pass. 😢

Jessica Rivera said:I’ve been on Paxil for five weeks now—did 10mg for the first three weeks, then bumped up to 20mg about ten days ago.
I actually powered through the initial side effects without needing any extra anti-anxiety meds (they weren't even that bad, honestly), but ever since I switched to the 20mg dose, everything changed. On top of the usual stuff, I am sleeping *way* too much and just feel totally wiped out all day long. For the last couple of days, I’ve been barely dragging myself out of bed by 2:00 PM!!! It’s seriously embarrassing.

Has anyone else dealt with this insane fatigue from Paxil?
Please tell me this is just temporary and it'll pass. 😢

Paxil hits me similarly; I end up sleeping way more than usual (sometimes even taking hour-long naps during the day). That’s actually why I decided to stick with the starting dose of 10mg instead of moving up to the prescribed 20mg—it’s the only way I can actually get things done. Luckily, 10mg seems to be plenty for me.

Jessica Rivera said:I’ve been on Paxil for five weeks now—did 10mg for the first three weeks, then bumped up to 20mg about ten days ago.
I actually powered through the initial side effects without needing any extra anti-anxiety meds (they weren't even that bad, honestly), but ever since I switched to the 20mg dose, everything changed. On top of the usual stuff, I am sleeping *way* too much and just feel totally wiped out all day long. For the last couple of days, I’ve been barely dragging myself out of bed by 2:00 PM!!! It’s seriously embarrassing.

Has anyone else dealt with this insane fatigue from Paxil?
Please tell me this is just temporary and it'll pass. 😢

Well... it might not go away. 😬
I've been taking it for a little over three years and the fatigue hasn't lifted. I'm constantly drowsy, always yawning, and I sleep about 12 hours a day. Plus, I get so dizzy right after waking up that I often just give up and go back to sleep.

Roger Rodriguez said:Well... it might not go away. 😬
I've been taking it for a little over three years and the fatigue hasn't lifted. I'm constantly drowsy, always yawning, and I sleep about 12 hours a day. Plus, I get so dizzy right after waking up that I often just give up and go back to sleep.

Damn 😁
If it hasn't helped after 3 years, why on earth haven't you switched meds yet?
I've been dealing with this for a week and it is driving me absolutely insane.

Does Zoloft actually cause fatigue?

One more thing. One side effect I get from Paxil is that when I lie down to sleep but haven't drifted off yet, my whole body suddenly spasms—it feels like I've been hit by an electric shock. It lasts about a second and it is such a nasty sensation. It happens a few times before I actually pass out.
I know it's because of the medication because this never used to happen to me.
Anyone else dealing with this crap?

Lawrence Barnes3 said:Been on Lexapro for quite a while now. Depression is gone.
The anxiety from all the stress—too—has vanished (I’ve got a hyperactive kid with behavioral issues, and I’m just a 110-pound wreck stuck in bed...)
Don't need the anti-anxiety meds anymore.

But my libido? Gone. 🙂 No big O... 🙄

Just putting on an Oscar-winning performance at this point.

So, what now?

Just hang in there, maybe it'll come back. 😉 😁 I take Celexa (Lexapro) myself, and after the first couple of months, I was freaking out thinking I’d become totally frigid, but then I just chilled out and waited another two months. 😁
Ask my boyfriend if I seem uninterested. 😍

Week 6 on Prozac. Maybe there’s a slight improvement, though I might just be imagining things. At least I finally managed to graduate. Currently, I'm tapering off Xanax by cutting a half-tablet every three days, but my psychiatrist put me on Ambien at night since my sleep issues are still a total nightmare. Clinical assessment during my check-up: partial remission. Subjectively? I don't feel any different than when I started this whole ordeal. But hey, the doctors are supposedly the experts here—I guess they know a thing or two after six years of med school and six years of residency. For now, I’m sticking with the Prozac and seeing how it plays out. I've heard stories about people not feeling anything for two months before it finally kicks in.

Jessica Rivera said:Damn 😁
If it hasn't helped after 3 years, why on earth haven't you switched meds yet?
I've been dealing with this for a week and it is driving me absolutely insane.

Does Zoloft actually cause fatigue?

One more thing. One side effect I get from Paxil is that when I lie down to sleep but haven't drifted off yet, my whole body suddenly spasms—it feels like I've been hit by an electric shock. It lasts about a second and it is such a nasty sensation. It happens a few times before I actually pass out.
I know it's because of the medication because this never used to happen to me.
Anyone else dealing with this crap?

I didn't switch because the panic attacks finally stopped, which was the whole reason I started taking it. Honestly, I've gained 20 pounds, I'm sleeping all the time, and I just feel sluggish and totally out of it—but I'd much rather deal with that than be back in the state I was in before Paxil.
If you ask me, my advice would be to try not to focus too much on all those side effects and just attempt to ignore them.
It's hard to find an AT&T that works perfectly to solve all your problems without causing any changes along the way, isn't it? Don't let what you described above worry you too much; those are quite common side effects that will most likely fade over time, or you'll simply get used to them.

I'm curious if—and maybe this isn't even a legitimate medical question—certain benzodiazepines (though I know some don't work this way) can actually take effect if you just pop a pill under your tongue and wait for sublingual absorption. Which ones do, and which ones don't?

So, I’ve been on this routine for seven weeks now. It involves some light stuff—cannabis, coffee, cigarettes, and sometimes linden tea, though occasionally I skip the tea and just stick to the rest. Along with that, I’ve been taking Lorazepam, though not every single day.

For these past seven weeks, my daily oral intake has been at least 2 mg of Lorazepam, peaking at maybe 10 mg on certain days.

Work life? Great.
Side effects? Well,
I deal with some bladder issues occasionally. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. I guess it depends on the timing, whether I take it before or during the act, and if I used cannabis that day.

Fatigue? Not really.

I can fall asleep on it, wake up, go hiking, meet new people, study, follow conversations or TV shows... everything feels normal, just significantly more patient.

I bolded that because that’s exactly why I’m taking it.

But here’s what I’m actually wondering: when am I going to hit addiction?
(I’m actually trying to induce it.)

Right now, I don't even have a tolerance.

The reason I'm using it is that I wasn't a fan of the psychoactive treatment my dermatologist prescribed for a few things, and Lorazepam helps tremendously with that. Plus, my skin issues—which haven't been great so far—are actually clearing up. I’ll practically be done with this skin condition (and maybe there's a psychological component here too) by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

My plan is to keep going until I'm hooked, just to see what else it's good for. Once I start feeling the withdrawals, then I'll quit; it won't be useful anymore. (Meaning, I'll taper off eventually, even though I don't have a set dosing schedule right now. I'll establish one, obviously—how else am I supposed to taper?) But honestly, I'm not planning much, because I've heard rumors about this "incurable lifelong benzodiazepine crisis." I want to know if that's a real thing and what it actually entails.

feraldrifter12 said:It’s been five weeks since I started taking 100 mg of Paxil at night. Honestly? I don't feel any real shift in my mood or any clear sign the medication is even working. Can someone describe what it actually feels like when an AD finally kicks in? Right now, this feels like nothing more than a placebo. On top of that, I'm on Xanax 3 x1 (0.25 mg), which seems uselessly weak. I used to take Ativan 10 mg on my own, and frankly, it worked much better than the Xanax. I’m just exhausted by this whole situation. I need some kind of improvement, but I've got nothing. I’ve dropped about 15 pounds since early September, I can't sleep, and the depression is brutal. The only thing that's changed is that my panic attacks have decreased, but the anxiety is still there despite the Xanax. Just... ugh.

Using it helped me cut down on the high doses of valium I was addicted to, and it really smoothed out those heavy depressive relapses. I’ve been on it for nearly a year now, though at a higher dose—50, 50, 100 mg. My anxiety has definitely dialed down; it hasn't vanished entirely, since that usually depends on whatever life throws at you, but most importantly, I have a genetic predisposition to depression and will likely be on an antidepressant for life.
Go see your psychiatrist and tell them exactly how you're feeling on those pills.http://imdoc.fr/forum/images/perso/ali-13.gif