Psychotropic medication discussion thread

feralpanther64 said:I'm on Luxet. Day 11. Feeling better overall, but I've been waking up at the exact same time three nights in a row. 4:30 AM, and I'm wide awake. Last night, I finally drifted off around midnight only to snap awake at 2:30 AM, feeling like I'd slept for three days straight. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I just take some Xanax 0.25 to get back under, even if there isn't much reason for it. I don't want to switch from Luxet, but I really need to find something else to replace the Xanax...

restlesstiger49 said:So, just when it felt like the Effexor was finally kicking in at full strength, insomnia decided to show up. Even though I take it in the morning, I’m lying there at night feeling completely wired and restless. Could this be the medication? Or is it something else entirely? Maybe I should try the XR version. What about suicidal thoughts? Any ideation?

Edit: It looks like Effexor is definitely the culprit:

Nearly all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, mixed serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and tricyclic antidepressants cause sleep abnormalities to some extent. These antidepressants have marked dose-dependent effects on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, causing reductions in the overall amount of REM sleep over the night and delays the first entry into REM sleep (increased REM sleep onset latency (ROL)), both in healthy subjects and depressed patients. The antidepressants that increase serotonin function appear to have the greatest effect on REM sleep. The reduction in REM sleep is greatest early in treatment, but gradually returns towards baseline during long-term therapy; however, ROL remains long. Following discontinuation of therapy the amount of REM sleep tends to rebound. Some of these drugs (i.e., bupropion, mirtazapine, nefazodone, trazodone, trimipramine) appear to have a modest or minimal effect on REM sleep.

Source.

LoisKent said:what are your experiences with Zoloft?
I take 50mg at night just to be able to sleep, but the thing is, if I miss a dose, I can't drift off at all. I'll be wide awake at 4 AM like it's high noon. It sucks.

Kevin Bailey2 said:Honestly, I have no idea what you'd even swap Xanax for... if you're looking for something milder, you're probably out of luck.
So, let me get this straight: you fall asleep at night without the Xanax, then you wake up too early and take the Xanax just to crash again? Am I reading that right? And you actually feel well-rested even without the Xanax?

Then why are you even using Xanax? If your body isn't demanding tons of sleep and you're feeling rested... just ride it out for a bit. Eventually, you'll start sleeping longer if it's actually bothering you.
In my opinion, you don't need Xanax at all, and you definitely don't need a replacement. Most of those other options are just different versions of the same crap.

feralpanther64 said:Exactly. I fall asleep without Xanax, wake up later, can't get back to sleep, so I take Xanax and pass out.
Last night, I took Xanax around 9 PM thinking I'd sleep through the night, but I still woke up at 2:30 AM and had to take more. Then I slept until 9 AM.

I'm going to try going without Xanax. I have zero intention of getting hooked on something I don't even need... even if it means pulling an all-nighter.

feralpanther64 said:Exactly. I fall asleep without Xanax, wake up later, can't get back to sleep, so I take Xanax and pass out.
Last night, I took Xanax around 9 PM thinking I'd sleep through the night, but I still woke up at 2:30 AM and had to take more. Then I slept until 9 AM.

I'm going to try going without Xanax. I have zero intention of getting hooked on something I don't even need... even if it means pulling an all-nighter.

Kevin Bailey2 said:It’s pretty common to pair antidepressants (especially the ones that boost energy... Prozac, Effexor, etc.) with a stabilizer to keep you calm so the meds don't send you flying into total euphoria. That actually happened to me with Prozac early on—they had to put me on Clonazepam and Seroquel to level things out.

Why not just ask your psychiatrist about adding something like that?

restlesstiger49 said:I tried taking Ambien and Lunesta, but they just didn't work for me. I've been trying to snag an appointment for a week now just to figure out my next move. It's incredibly frustrating; just when I finally find an antidepressant that actually works, everything hits a wall. There's really no point in being on sleep aids for the entire duration of my treatment; I don't want to fry my brain. 😵 🤷

Life is just exhausting right now.

Richard Diaz50 said:Has anyone else dealt with a side effect where you lose your sense of taste? I don't mean it’s totally gone, but rather—it's like the joy is missing from my favorite foods. I just don't get that same kick from chocolate anymore, and I absolutely love chocolate...
It feels like I could skip meals entirely—honestly, I find myself eating just because I have to...

Honey, I feel the exact same way 🙂 though maybe my patience is running a bit thin...

Kevin Bailey2 said:I posted this on another thread, but there are more people here, so if anyone knows anything...

So my psychiatrist at the local clinic tells me they don't even carry Seroquel or Zoloft in anything smaller than 100mg anymore.

I was looking for Seroquel first so I could drop down to 25 or 50mg, because even 100mg hits me way too hard, and you can't split them.

He tells me they don't have anything lower than 100.

So I tell him, fine, just prescribe the generic version of Zoloft then—I remember taking it ages ago and it came in 25mg doses... but he tells me that doesn't exist anymore either... apparently they only get them in 100mg minimum.
I mean... seriously? What gives?

Then one day, I actually took a hammer to a 100mg Seroquel pill just to take a tiny piece and toss the rest... and damn it... I still slept for 15 hours. I don't know how these pills are made... but whether you swallow the whole 100mg tablet or just a fragment, it feels exactly the same.

Kevin Bailey2 said:Let me jump in. I have the best primary care doctor ever. I explained everything to her and she was sweet enough to write me a prescription for 25mg Loquen.
(Since the psych report says a GP can substitute a med if it's in the same class).
She set me up that way and told me to just take roughly what I feel I need... give or take. 🎉

I took a 25mg dose last night and it didn't knock me out at all, but I still got a solid 7-8 hours of sleep. Plus, I woke up feeling fine—no grogginess or hangover effect at all.

redpilot37 said:That's great news. Kudos to your doctor.👍
It’s awesome she actually helped you out instead of being some jerk.🎉
I'm honestly a bit nervous about starting Lamal. I don't want to get hooked and then deal with the fallout if I try to quit after a month. I tried taking it once and felt like I was stuck in a half-dream state, but my neurologist prescribed it.
It sucks because I won't be able to take anything for the new one.😁

Kevin Bailey2, since you've been on meds for a while now, are they messing with your libido, or has your body just adjusted?

Kevin Bailey2 said:Speaking from experience, you aren't going to get addicted to Lamal. It's not like that. It's actually kind of strange because you don't really "feel" it hitting you. You just notice your mood and behavior shifting subtly... for the better, obviously.

Plus, it doesn't give you that high that makes people crave psych meds, so... you've got nothing to worry about.

redpilot37 said:Fair enough, though at 25 mg, we're talking a tiny dose. Still, I'm a skeptical hypochondriac by nature.😬

Do these drugs kill your libido? And does the body actually adjust to them over time or not?🍿 hoping for the best🤦😁

Kevin Bailey2 said:Only Seroquel messed with my drive, and even then, it was right after taking it. By morning, it usually cleared up.

My sex drive is definitely a bit lower... but honestly? I still love good sex and I can still feel it. 😁

Michael Hill2 said:Yeah, with Xanax 🙂

I was taking it for sleep for a little over two months. My whole saga with psych meds actually started because of insomnia about six months ago.

Turns out, the insomnia was the least of my problems—it was all being driven by anxiety. So, I got prescribed Paxil and started psychotherapy.

But during those first two months on Paxil, I was still dealing with intense fear about whether I’d actually be able to fall asleep. I’d take 0.5 Xanax before bed and then another 0.5 if I woke up in the middle of the night. It was a total mess; I was barely scraping together four hours of sleep a night during that first month.

After that, I could manage to fall asleep on my own, but I’d still wake up during the night, so I’d definitely take 0.25 Xanax, and that’s how the second month went.

My shrink was definitely not happy about me being on Xanax for sleep for such a long stretch. He scared the life out of me with horror stories about how bad benzos are—addiction, brain damage, and all that good stuff. So, he swapped my Xanax for a low dose of another antidepressant, Calixto, which I’m taking now to sleep, and I’m sleeping just fine.

I don't take Xanax anymore—well, maybe a 0.25 here and there, maybe once every two weeks if I figure I won't get at least seven hours of sleep (which is what Calixto requires), then I'll take half a pill and sleep like a baby.

I’m really glad my doctor basically banned me from using Xanax, because it would be so easy to get hooked on that amazing feeling it gives. For me, twenty minutes after taking it, all my worries and thoughts just vanish, leaving nothing but this beautiful, warm, relaxed silence before drifting off. Ah, I shouldn't even think about it. 🙂

Jason Vaughn482 said:Reading this makes me reflect; you see, I’ve been on Xanax for years, yet I have never experienced that sense of bliss, that profound silence, or whatever blissful state you describe. For me, if I am agitated or panicking, taking Xanax simply makes me feel "normal" again... it doesn't actually help with sleep, so I also take a little Calix, along with some Melatonin, which means my insomnia is much more pronounced than yours, but the downside is that I find it impossible to wake up in the morning...

Brandon Lopez6 said:Anyway, I’m still with you on the Klonopin thing.

Jason Vaughn482 said:Man, if we could just sit down and grab a cold Budweiser... things would feel a whole lot more manageable, wouldn't they? haha🙂
I used to be able to stack these things up quite easily, but lately, I just can't find the energy to even try...

I'm more of a vodka guy, honestly. 😒
Man, I could really go for a drink right about now. Something strong. 😬

Might be time to ditch the Zoloft... honestly feels like it isn't even doing anything for me anymore. ☕