Psychotropic medication discussion thread

Timothy Wood38, what kind of meds are you even on right now?

[QUOTE=Andrew Doyle;35797240]Is it just me, or is Prozac totally gross when it dissolves in your mouth? Does it just melt instantly the second you put it in?[/QUOTE

I don't get why you're even trying to dissolve Prozac in your mouth? Is that even an orally disintegrating tablet designed for that?[/QUOTE]

Andrew Doyle said:Is it just me, or is the taste of Prozac absolutely revolting when it starts dissolving in your mouth? It feels like it just melts away the second it touches your tongue, and honestly, it’s disgusting.

So, how are you actually feeling on the Prozac? For me, being on it made me want to absolutely wreck myself. I’d get so anxious and full of guilt that I'd end up picking at my skin constantly... just tearing at my face and back until I had literal craters left behind. My skin was raw and bleeding everywhere.

urbanskipper4 said:I don't get why you're dissolving Prozac in your mouth? Is that even a tablet designed to melt like that?

I am not dissolving it! I just place it on my tongue and swallow immediately, but that split second while it’s sitting there is more than enough time for me to taste that absolutely revolting aftertaste that lingers on my tongue long after I've swallowed.

urbanskipper4 said:How are you feeling on Prozac?

This is how I feel: 🙂
It hits my head so hard that I don't even feel like myself; it’s like being drugged. I’m constantly tapping my feet, drumming my fingers, or just fidgeting with anything within reach—I'm incredibly hyperactive (which is exactly how Zoloft made me feel when I first started it). It eventually gets to the point where I have to take Helex just so I don't feel like I'm going to jump out of my own skin. The restlessness it creates is just horrific.

And what bothers me most is how I interact with people; I just don't feel "right." Look, I don't usually lose my temper easily, but right now my tolerance threshold has been slashed through the floor.😢 I find myself defending my opinions as if they were matters of life and death, even when it's just some completely trivial, insignificant nonsense.🤷

(At this rate, I should probably put this energy to good use and head down to Times Square to go demand some justice.)😁

Andrew Doyle said:I am not dissolving it! I just place it on my tongue and swallow immediately, but that split second while it’s sitting there is more than enough time for me to taste that absolutely revolting aftertaste that lingers on my tongue long after I've swallowed.

This is how I feel: 🙂
It hits my head so hard that I don't even feel like myself; it’s like being drugged. I’m constantly tapping my feet, drumming my fingers, or just fidgeting with anything within reach—I'm incredibly hyperactive (which is exactly how Zoloft made me feel when I first started it). It eventually gets to the point where I have to take Helex just so I don't feel like I'm going to jump out of my own skin. The restlessness it creates is just horrific.

And what bothers me most is how I interact with people; I just don't feel "right." Look, I don't usually lose my temper easily, but right now my tolerance threshold has been slashed through the floor.😢 I find myself defending my opinions as if they were matters of life and death, even when it's just some completely trivial, insignificant nonsense.🤷

(At this rate, I should probably put this energy to good use and head down to Times Square to go demand some justice.)😁

I went through the exact same thing. I was literally just like that.

I am currently at my therapist's office. My doctor has increased my dosage of Elice, though I am only on 10mg when I had specifically requested 15mg. He refuses to even consider anything higher than 10mg at this stage.

In my estimation, a 15mg dose would be much more effective for me.

However, it remains a significant improvement over the mere 5mg I was taking just a few days ago.

One of the members here was asking about Elice a few weeks back, inquiring about how it might affect him. I mentioned then that even a tiny 5mg dose left me feeling completely drained during those first few weeks. I felt such profound fatigue because of it. If you happen to be reading my posts, I would truly appreciate knowing how you are faring now—did you also experience that crushing exhaustion, and what dosage are you currently maintaining? Most importantly, are you still struggling with that tiredness?

urbanskipper4 said:I went through the exact same thing. I was literally just like that.

So, when did it finally stop? When did you actually quit taking it?
Did you try tapering off using Helex to ease into that adjustment phase?

I called my doctor today and told her straight up that I’m feeling, uhm, a little bit unhinged from this Prozac. Her response? She basically told me to just stick with it for a while longer and use Helex to take the edge off, claiming everything is fine as long as I don't slip into mania (mania?!😲 Seriously, she even mentioned that.)
I feel like my senses are dialed up way too high—especially my hearing. I’ve always been sensitive to noise, but now it feels absolutely overwhelming.😢 )

Prozac for an entire nation

Take note!



http://www.drugs.com/prozac.html

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002193.html

fluoxetine: This is a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor (5-HT)—essentially an SSRI antidepressant. It has very little impact on the noradrenergic or dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems. Plus, fluoxetine shows almost no anticholinergic activity, doesn't cause orthostatic hypotension, and isn't cardiotoxic.

http://depression-forum.com/t13-fluoxetine

Prozac—fluoxetine

http://medication-treatment.blogspot.com/20...fluoxetine.html

sertraline: Sertraline acts as a potent and specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor (5-HT). In controlled clinical trials involving healthy volunteers, sertraline didn't cause sedation or mess with psychomotor functions. Because it selectively inhibits 5-HT reuptake, it doesn't boost catecholaminergic activity. It also lacks affinity for muscarinic (cholinergic), serotonergic, dopaminergic, adrenergic, histaminergic, GABA, or benzodiazepine receptors.

http://depression-forum.com/t15-sertraline

Zoloft—sertraline

http://medication-treatment.blogspot.com/20...sertraline.html

Serotonin syndrome 😲is something I am genuinely terrified of.

This is my first time mentioning Zoloft here, but now that I’ve switched to Prozac, I feel like I’m on amphetamines. It’s not even just an energy boost; the Prozac actually makes me feel unsteady, and there is this bizarre tingling sensation across my entire head—it’s so intense that if I touch my face, it feels like I can't even feel my own skin. That is exactly why I had to call my doctor yesterday!

I have been scouring some American forums, and the stories are chilling. People are describing full-blown serotonin syndrome—cases where they ended up hospitalized just to survive. From what I can gather, almost every single one of those people was mixing different medications at once.

Honestly? I would go right back to Zoloft in a heartbeat. I don't care how much hair I lose in the process; I just want to feel normal again.😢

Help!
For the last two days, I’ve been taking 1/4 of a Prozac tablet before bed, along with 0.25 mg of Xanax..
My plan is to gradually work my way up to 10 mg.

However, I woke up today feeling absolutely terrified. All my symptoms—the anxiety, the intrusive thoughts—are dialed up to eleven! I know the beginning phase is always rough and the body needs time to adjust, but I honestly didn't expect this much intensity from such a tiny starting dose.
I am also genuinely worried about becoming dependent on Xanax if I end up needing to take it three times a day.

I just took another 0.25 mg, but it hasn't fully calmed me down. I'm panicking a little... is this medication actually going to help me at all? 🙂🙂
What has your experience been like?

fadedbear92 said:Serotonin Syndrome

http://dl.glitter-graphics.net/pub/5...zem2f5vw6x.gif

Serotonin syndrome can be a life-threatening reaction! Symptoms can kick in anywhere from a few minutes to several hours later. It generally involves shifts in mental state, increased neuromuscular activity, and autonomic nervous system instability.

Mental state changes include things like confusion, agitation, hallucinations, delirium, drowsiness—and even coma in up to 40% of patients. About half of patients show signs of heightened neuromuscular activity, such as severe shivering, tremors, teeth grinding, ocular clonus, myoclonus, spontaneous clonus, and hyperreflexia.

http://news.cnn.com/health/serotonin_syndrome

http://dl.glitter-graphics.net/pub/5...zem2f5vw6x.gif

"...Serotonin syndrome can be an extremely dangerous and serious condition—most often occurring when different classes of antidepressants (like MAOIs and SSRIs) are combined. If you were actually dealing with serotonin syndrome, the symptoms would likely be intense enough that you wouldn't even have to wonder; you'd just head straight to the ER. Generally, it leads to intense dizziness, euphoria, uncontrolled eye movements (like twitching), exaggerated reflexes, muscle contractions, leg shaking (or shaking elsewhere), hyperactivity, high fever, confusion, fainting, and in rare cases, death. As long as you're taking just one type of antidepressant at moderate or standard doses, you shouldn't have any issues—but if you ever suspect something is wrong, please just go see a doctor and get checked out...." http://www.mayoclinic.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=495

Look, that’s fine. It’s a comforting thought, I suppose. But honestly, I don't doubt for a second that something more serious is going on. My doctor was reacting quite strongly yesterday when I laid out exactly how much the Prozac has been messing with my head. :zen:

frozengardener57 said:Help!
For the last two days, I’ve been taking 1/4 of a Prozac tablet before bed, along with 0.25 mg of Xanax..
My plan is to gradually work my way up to 10 mg.

However, I woke up today feeling absolutely terrified. All my symptoms—the anxiety, the intrusive thoughts—are dialed up to eleven! I know the beginning phase is always rough and the body needs time to adjust, but I honestly didn't expect this much intensity from such a tiny starting dose.
I am also genuinely worried about becoming dependent on Xanax if I end up needing to take it three times a day.

I just took another 0.25 mg, but it hasn't fully calmed me down. I'm panicking a little... is this medication actually going to help me at all? 🙂🙂
What has your experience been like?

It's escitalopram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escitalopram
http://www1.serbiancafe.com/lat/disk...eko-pio.html?5

http://www.depresija.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=232

http://www.depression-doctor.com/med.../cipralex.html

I stuck with it for three weeks before I quit—I just couldn't deal with that constant "spaced out" feeling.

Hopefully someone else reaches out to you soon...😉

frozengardener57 said:Help!
For the last two days, I’ve been taking 1/4 of a Prozac tablet before bed, along with 0.25 mg of Xanax..
My plan is to gradually work my way up to 10 mg.

However, I woke up today feeling absolutely terrified. All my symptoms—the anxiety, the intrusive thoughts—are dialed up to eleven! I know the beginning phase is always rough and the body needs time to adjust, but I honestly didn't expect this much intensity from such a tiny starting dose.
I am also genuinely worried about becoming dependent on Xanax if I end up needing to take it three times a day.

I just took another 0.25 mg, but it hasn't fully calmed me down. I'm panicking a little... is this medication actually going to help me at all? 🙂🙂
What has your experience been like?

One quarter of how many milligrams are we talking about here—5, 10, 15, or 20mg? Regardless, what you're feeling is totally normal at the start of treatment.

The standard approach is usually a gradual taper—maybe three days at a quarter dose, then four days at half a dose, followed by another four days at three-quarters—before finally moving up to that full 10 mg dose you were prescribed...

Most of us tend to panic when switching medications—honestly, I’ve been there myself—so just bump your Xanax up to 0.5 until those rough patch days pass...

Andrew Doyle said:So, when did it finally stop? When did you actually quit taking it?
Did you try tapering off using Helex to ease into that adjustment phase?

I called my doctor today and told her straight up that I’m feeling, uhm, a little bit unhinged from this Prozac. Her response? She basically told me to just stick with it for a while longer and use Helex to take the edge off, claiming everything is fine as long as I don't slip into mania (mania?!😲 Seriously, she even mentioned that.)
I feel like my senses are dialed up way too high—especially my hearing. I’ve always been sensitive to noise, but now it feels absolutely overwhelming.😢 )

Ugh, tell me about it. The noise was driving me insane too. Honestly, I just wanted to grab someone and punch them.
I was taking Xanax, three 0.25mg doses. For the first two nights, I didn't sleep at all because I was just so wired and jittery.
I stayed on it for about a month and a half. At first, I felt great—super upbeat and happy—until it started hitting me harder and I drifted into hypomania.
My doctor eventually pulled me off it, saying it was basically erasing my personality.
Well, she didn't exactly pull me off right then, since I showed up to my follow-up and started laughing hysterically for absolutely no reason.

Thanks so much for all the replies! 🙂

To be honest, just before I read this, I took 5 mg of Prozac (day three for me) along with 0.25 mg of Xanax, so whatever happens, happens! I’m currently feeling this intense burning and tingling sensation all over my skin and even on my tongue. But honestly, that’s usually how my anxiety hits me
I can manage during the day, but I’m terrified of the nighttime and the insomnia—I have to head into work tomorrow morning, and absolutely no one suspects a thing about what's going on...

Before bed, I'll probably take another 0.5 mg of Xanax (which would bring my total for today to 1 mg of Xanax, which doesn't seem too bad at this stage), right?
I also have some Norvasc and Helex at home (thank goodness for my highly organized, medically-focused family!), so I might switch things up occasionally. My doctor didn't give me very specific instructions, but I've read that it's better to rotate these types of instant anti-anxiety meds

urbanskipper4 said:Ugh, tell me about it. The noise was driving me insane too. Honestly, I just wanted to grab someone and punch them.
I was taking Xanax, three 0.25mg doses. For the first two nights, I didn't sleep at all because I was just so wired and jittery.
I stayed on it for about a month and a half. At first, I felt great—super upbeat and happy—until it started hitting me harder and I drifted into hypomania.
My doctor eventually pulled me off it, saying it was basically erasing my personality.
Well, she didn't exactly pull me off right then, since I showed up to my follow-up and started laughing hysterically for absolutely no reason.

This is just awful! I feel like I'm finally starting to "come down" today. The restlessness has calmed down a bit, though I still feel incredibly strange... I suppose things should normalize in a few days, hopefully.

Does anyone know how I can get Normabel without a prescription???? My doctor is just impossible—she works the exact same shift as me, so I can never actually catch her. And even when I do manage to see her, she just hands me useless junk. I used to take Normabel on my own without any issues, but now I’m totally out. I am in such a freaking desperate situation right now and really need a way out... please help!!!!