Psychotropic medication discussion thread

Just had my follow-up appointment. I told the doctor that 10 mg of Ambien just isn't cutting it anymore—I can't sleep for anything. So, she told me to bump it up to 15 mg. Honestly, I was kind of shocked because I thought you weren't supposed to go over 10 mg. At least, that’s what the instructions on the bottle say. Anyway, I’m finally sleeping through the night again... at least until this dose stops working and the next disaster hits.😛
Man, it really doesn't take long to get hooked on this stuff. Work has been a total nightmare lately too—they're basically bullying me at the office, so I guess that's why I can't shut my brain off.

Honestly, I just need something that’ll let me sleep like a regular person, even if it’s only for 5 or 6 hours. Right now, I’m dragging 10–12 hours, but once my parents head out around 6:30 AM—it's tied to this phobia I have—I start waking up every 45 minutes or so. And that keeps happening until like noon or 1 PM. Some nights, I’ll wake up 12 or 13 times. The worst part isn't just a little groggy wake-up where I roll over and pass out again; I am fully, wide-awake conscious. Half the time I get hit with total panic, and I have to fight myself just to drift off, only to be back at it an hour later. Like, I'd honestly prefer sleeping less, just give me some quality rest, because this is absolute garbage. I’m never rested, and I usually end up waking up feeling completely on edge. It's never like this on the weekends when my boyfriend stays over and I'm not alone.

I’ve been hanging around this forum for quite a while now, and I think most of you recognize me, right, General Hospital?😉

Maybe rejo has more experience with this kind of thing and might know something, though it doesn't really matter... I just need some advice.

Basically, ever since I started taking Zoloft and Zeldox—though lately, I'm starting to suspect it might not even be the latter—I've been experiencing these tiny little hallucinations. To be honest, I can't even tell if I actually heard or saw anything; it all happens at lightning speed. Last night, I was jolted awake by the sound of a phone ringing at 3:00 AM. My first thought was, "Wait, what the hell?" because I'm certain I turned my phone off long before heading to bed. Then I remembered maybe I left my cordless phone in the other room, and when I checked... there it was, sitting on the charger in the kitchen. So, now I'm left wondering... did something actually ring, or am I just losing my mind?🙂

Kenneth Scott41 said:I’ve been hanging around this forum for quite a while now, and I think most of you recognize me, right, General Hospital?😉

Maybe rejo has more experience with this kind of thing and might know something, though it doesn't really matter... I just need some advice.

Basically, ever since I started taking Zoloft and Zeldox—though lately, I'm starting to suspect it might not even be the latter—I've been experiencing these tiny little hallucinations. To be honest, I can't even tell if I actually heard or saw anything; it all happens at lightning speed. Last night, I was jolted awake by the sound of a phone ringing at 3:00 AM. My first thought was, "Wait, what the hell?" because I'm certain I turned my phone off long before heading to bed. Then I remembered maybe I left my cordless phone in the other room, and when I checked... there it was, sitting on the charger in the kitchen. So, now I'm left wondering... did something actually ring, or am I just losing my mind?🙂

Well, that was me calling you while you were sleeping like a log!😍

Probably just a dream. You know how it is when dreams and reality just blur together suddenly.
And hey, maybe the battery on the cordless just hit 100% and gave you a notification. (At least that's what my phone does when it's fully charged.)🙂

Finallyyy 🙂 I’m officially checking in as a new member here. Honestly, I slept like someone actually knocked me unconscious. 😁 I feel amazing. It's pretty obvious that when I'm sleep-deprived, I turn into this total wreck—super cranky, nervous, just constantly on edge. But once I get a solid 8 hours? Well, today I pulled a full 10 😁 😁 and I feel like a freaking lightning bolt. Even my anxiety is chilling out a bit, which helps settle the rest of my nerves too. 😁 P.S. I’ve got a follow-up appointment with my psychiatrist next week, so we’ll see what happens. Who knows if they're gonna put me back on Zoloft or not!

Jason Vaughn482 said:As for my own experience, I suffer from insomnia, though if I’m being precise, the struggle isn't staying asleep, but rather the agonizing difficulty of actually drifting off in the first place. Once I finally succumb to sleep, I tend to sleep for a solid 8 to 10 hours, even when I've taken 10 mg of Ambien. The only exception is during those darker stretches when my mental state is deteriorating; in those instances, I find myself waking up multiple times throughout the night, though I do manage to drift back under. During those bouts, I take some Benadryl just to knock me out. It honestly feels like I end up oversleeping, yet the initial onset is so incredibly difficult... I suppose I call that "severe insomnia," though perhaps I am misinterpreting the term if I read accounts here of people who can only manage a few hours of rest.🤷

Look, everyone is different—some people need more sleep, others need less.

urbanskipper4 said:Just had my follow-up appointment. I told the doctor that 10 mg of Ambien just isn't cutting it anymore—I can't sleep for anything. So, she told me to bump it up to 15 mg. Honestly, I was kind of shocked because I thought you weren't supposed to go over 10 mg. At least, that’s what the instructions on the bottle say. Anyway, I’m finally sleeping through the night again... at least until this dose stops working and the next disaster hits.😛
Man, it really doesn't take long to get hooked on this stuff. Work has been a total nightmare lately too—they're basically bullying me at the office, so I guess that's why I can't shut my brain off.

And honestly, maybe it's because you can't just get the job done. My therapist once asked me, "Why don't you just stand up for yourself against those coworkers who won't stop messing with you?" You know, I actually did it, and it helped. Afterward, I felt like I'd just won a gold medal at the World Cup.😍😂

Good morning, or good afternoon, depending on how your day is going...☕
I'm currently at work, just taking a quick break to check in...
For the last three days, anxiety has been hitting me hard with all sorts of physical sensations. I actually ended up taking some Xanax this morning, which is the first time I've needed it in a year and a half...
I simply couldn't handle the suffering anymore. I just hope this isn't the start of a cycle where I'm constantly relying on the same medication. My goal is to find stability again. Hopefully, if these sensations subside and stop fueling the anxiety, I won't have to touch it again for another year...🙂
🙄

So, I’m heading back to Lexapro this weekend. Honestly, I know I need the break because it’ll probably hit me like a sledgehammer. I'm not exactly thrilled about getting back on antidepressants—I feel like I could handle everything on my own if I could just manage to sleep. But I can't. Not without help. Sleep deprivation kills me. It makes me useless. I actually had to leave work early yesterday because there’s zero point in being there after only two and a half hours of shut-eye. 😢(((
Is anyone else taking Lexapro? What’s your experience been like? When I was on it, I slept like a log and the depression was barely even there, but over the last year, the anxiety became absolutely crushing. Then, once I stopped, the anxiety kind of retreated? Anyone else dealt with something similar? And does Lexapro actually touch GAP, or is it strictly for depression? I mean, I know what my psychiatrist told me—that it works for both—but we all know how they love to oversell everything for every little thing. :/

redranger2 said:You need to head back to your psychiatrist and lay it all out for them. I find it hard to believe that
your anxiety intensified because of the Remeron, though perhaps your doctor will decide to prescribe
you a different antidepressant. When it comes to insomnia, antipsychotics are generally the most effective route. Don't just sit there struggling;
insomnia is a frequent symptom of both depression and anxiety, and it is something you absolutely have to address.😉

sorry, just seeing this now.
my psychiatrist did swap my antidepressant and put me on Effexor, but the side effects were absolutely brutal—I could barely function, and I ended up sleeping even less. the restlessness was terrifying, just constant nerves and this itching all over my body... and the nausea? I couldn't eat a single thing for three days straight. 😢
I'm refusing to touch antipsychotics, though. I think I mentioned this before—I was on Zyprexa for a few months once and it turned me into a total zombie, just walking around feeling nothing at all. 🙄

driftinggull21 said:@Nicole Martinez8

Quoting or commenting on a moderator warning (indicated by the colored text) constitutes a rule violation. Please refrain from doing this moving forward.
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Thank you.

Yeah, thanks. My bad. Though, honestly, it feels like you care way more about formatting and rule-following—which is fine, I guess—than the actual point I was making. Why not address that instead?

wiredskipper45 said:sorry, just seeing this now.
my psychiatrist did swap my antidepressant and put me on Effexor, but the side effects were absolutely brutal—I could barely function, and I ended up sleeping even less. the restlessness was terrifying, just constant nerves and this itching all over my body... and the nausea? I couldn't eat a single thing for three days straight. 😢
I'm refusing to touch antipsychotics, though. I think I mentioned this before—I was on Zyprexa for a few months once and it turned me into a total zombie, just walking around feeling nothing at all. 🙄

Risperdal actually worked great for me; it felt nothing like Zyprexa. At least for me...

Brandon Lopez6 said:Risperdal actually worked great for me; it felt nothing like Zyprexa. At least for me...

I had a pretty similar experience myself. 🙂

Brandon Lopez6 said:Risperdal actually worked great for me; it felt nothing like Zyprexa. At least for me...

What were you taking it for, exactly? Sleep issues, mood stabilization? And what kind of side effects did you run into? I tend to have pretty intense reactions to psych meds.🙂

wiredskipper45 said:What were you taking it for, exactly? Sleep issues, mood stabilization? And what kind of side effects did you run into? I tend to have pretty intense reactions to psych meds.🙂

I was on it for intrusive thoughts—diagnosis was F33.3. 😠

No side effects, really. Usually, I'm super sensitive and end up catching something from every pill, but Risperdal worked great for me. I was taking three a day, so that's probably a higher dose. If you're just looking for sleep, I'd guess one at night would do the trick. 🙂

Normally, it takes forever for my body to adjust and for the side effects to die down, but Risperdal was an outlier. It kicked in after about a week and the side effects vanished (the only thing I dealt with was feeling constant drowsiness and getting tired fast at first, but once I finally slept like a normal human being, it passed 👋)

wiredskipper45 said:So, I’m heading back to Lexapro this weekend. Honestly, I know I need the break because it’ll probably hit me like a sledgehammer. I'm not exactly thrilled about getting back on antidepressants—I feel like I could handle everything on my own if I could just manage to sleep. But I can't. Not without help. Sleep deprivation kills me. It makes me useless. I actually had to leave work early yesterday because there’s zero point in being there after only two and a half hours of shut-eye. 😢(((
Is anyone else taking Lexapro? What’s your experience been like? When I was on it, I slept like a log and the depression was barely even there, but over the last year, the anxiety became absolutely crushing. Then, once I stopped, the anxiety kind of retreated? Anyone else dealt with something similar? And does Lexapro actually touch GAP, or is it strictly for depression? I mean, I know what my psychiatrist told me—that it works for both—but we all know how they love to oversell everything for every little thing. :/

As for me, I took Mirzaten for nearly a year (I know I’m repeating myself, but it bears mentioning), and it did absolutely nothing for my anxiety at the 15 mg dose. However, much like you, I only used it to ensure I got decent sleep. After a break, I’ve started back on it, though only taking half of a 15 mg tablet if I can't drift off with the 10 mg dose; otherwise, it doesn't touch the sides for anything else. Now, I find myself wondering if I’ve become somewhat dependent on it... that's been weighing on my mind lately. In short, for me, it functions merely as a hypnotic, even if it is technically classified as an antidepressant. Also, did you notice any weight gain from it, and what dosage were you on or are you currently taking?

Has anyone here tried using Kvetiapin? I’m curious about your experiences with low doses—specifically around 50 mg. How does it actually feel? Does it affect your daily functioning much, and are there significant side effects like nausea or stomach issues? Thanks!

So, here’s my current lineup: Xanax, Cerson, Normabel, Rivotril, Sanval, Q-pin, Zoloft, Tiramat, and Mirtazapine.
I’m running into this issue with my libido. And, honestly, I’m pretty sure it’s because of all these pills. It’s just... well, I’m young, and I shouldn't be dealing with this, you know? Just a really low drive. I guess... does anyone here have any advice or know if there's any way to help with that?

Jason Vaughn482 said:As for me, I took Mirzaten for nearly a year (I know I’m repeating myself, but it bears mentioning), and it did absolutely nothing for my anxiety at the 15 mg dose. However, much like you, I only used it to ensure I got decent sleep. After a break, I’ve started back on it, though only taking half of a 15 mg tablet if I can't drift off with the 10 mg dose; otherwise, it doesn't touch the sides for anything else. Now, I find myself wondering if I’ve become somewhat dependent on it... that's been weighing on my mind lately. In short, for me, it functions merely as a hypnotic, even if it is technically classified as an antidepressant. Also, did you notice any weight gain from it, and what dosage were you on or are you currently taking?

Yeah, tell me about it... I'm on 45 mg of Mirzaten and I have definitely put on quite a bit of weight from it.