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Has your life been by affected by any of the following drugs? If so please leave feedback to help others make an informed decision about taking antidepressants.
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Jenny said: I thought I was going to die on this stuff. I took 400mg and thought this was the regular dose because it's a capsule. It made my heart race and I got dizzy. Panicked. I just looked on here to see if others had the same situation happen. I'm still having panic and waiting for this to wear off.
Bill Bakula said: I have been taking Effexor for just over a month.
This past weekend (Fri., Sat. & Sun.) I started vomiting with dry heaves from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hour. Dizziness has been a constant problem. can not wait to be rid of this drug!
GrannyR said: Welbutrin xl 150 the generic version for 4 months and it has
Helped tremendously with energy level & anxiety but I suddenly can't taste coffee.
I love coffee. Woke Up Excited To Have My coffee. I also crave sour foods. Pickles, sourkraut. Anyone else have these side effects?
Fabio said: Greetings from Brazil.I have terrible drepression and anxiety , I´m 46 now and started to take " normal" ( from large labs) anti depressant since I was 24.Tried all " kind" of then , now I´m using 200mg of Pristiq , 400mg of Queatiapine , 4mg of Risperidone and - I,m serios - 20 mg of Clonazepan ( Rivotril in Brazil).So , I have to find other way to control that diseases or I´ll gona die using this dosages. Well , thanks for your comments , helped a lot , I was about to try SAM and will not.
Read a lot of good stuff in the " testimonials" in this great blog.Felt curious that some people said that is possible to do " tests" to know howmuch serotonine or noradrenaline , etc , my body produces and find the deficience ( what is produce low or high quantities)to know the rigth treatement for me.
Where can I do tests?What kind of tests is that ones?More then 20 years using strong drugs and the phyquiaties never said me to do tests?
Sorry for the terrible english.
Peace and hope for everybody.
Kj said: I have been on Zoloft for almost five years. Before that I took Effexor for 10. I thought Zoloft was great when I was on it. Then it stopped working. I took it for anxiety and depression. Now that I'm off it. (It took almost a full month or more to taper down to get off.) I feel amazing most days. Some days I feel like I've had a bandaid on my feelings for 15 years. (ie, the skin is really fresh.) But I also feel more alive and willing to take chances. Then I think, was the anxiety and depression that bad? I was 28 when I started, I'm 43 now. To feel new inspiration for life and the will to take chances on myself is not worth the side effects of Zoloft. Yes, we all get down. But being flatlined is not worth the ups and downs. Please read this cautionary tale if you are thinking about this drug.
Jaime said: Hi everyone. I know a lot of these posts are really old and I wonder if anybody will even read this but I have been looking for some positive comments about Effexor...... I have always suffered from anxiety and seasonal depression. I have rarely ever taken any medication for this. When I was younger I took Prozac for about five months but felt zombielike and had no sex drive… That didn't help my relationship. Later I tried Zoloft and I didn't last on that very long either. As much as I hate the anxiety that I suffer from… I have a ton of energy and a bright light that everyone around me loves and when I took either of these medications… I was told by so many that my light was "dim". So I've just tolerated it over the years. Last year I finally got into see a regular therapist who sent me to a cicada tryst. At that point… I was 38 and just over living with the crippling anxiety that I've always had. My doctor put me on 200 mg of Lemek tal tolerated it over the years. Last year I finally got into see a regular therapist who sent me to a cicada tryst. At that point… I was 38 and just over living with the crippling anxiety that I've always had. My doctor put me on 200 mg of Lamictal (impulse control and wandering thoughts) then he added buspirone 10mg 2x daily for my anxiety. Over the last six months I really haven't felt like it has helped my anxiety and I have spoken to him this year about either change in the medication up or maybe adding in an antidepressant. Well I suffered a tremendous loss in March. My mom passed away and I have been a complete and total mess. My life has been turned upside down. I don't feel grounded… I do not feel like I am in my body. I am wondering aimlessly trying to function. I also have a nine-year-old And I'm a single parent so I need to always be on my game. I had a complete and total meltdown two days ago where I reached out to friends and I went and saw my therapist yesterday and I called the psychiatrist demanding that he give me something to help me. He knows my story well and he suggested Effexor. He called in a prescription for me and I picked it up last night. 37.5 mg. I know I should've waited until this morning for the first dose but I just wanted to get it started because I'm anxious to stop feeling this way. I took it last night around 10 PM. I woke up around 5 AM wide-awake almost feeling like I was rolling on ecstasy. I even looked in the mirror this morning in my pupils were a little larger than normal. I'm laying in the bathtub right now because I just couldn't get my body temperature warm. I was also dry heaving earlier and my mouth is very dry. These are all feelings I have felt when I've taken ecstasy so it's a familiar feeling. I am always a lightweight and things tend to hit me really into intense. I've been that way my whole life. Anyways, I am reading all of these comments and it is scaring me. I'm trying to look beyond because just because other people had a bad experience doesn't mean that I will. I definitely need something to get me through this time. I would like him to get me off of the Lemek tall and the boost bar aroun that way my whole life. Anyways, I am reading all of these comments and it is scaring me. I'm trying to look beyond because just because other people had a bad experience doesn't mean that I will. I definitely need something to get me through this time. I would like him to get me off the lamictal and buspirone but he wants to ease me in then taper the others down. Does anyone here have anything positive to tell me about this drug? Any information helps :)
Suzi said: I started Lexapro for 1.5 months then switched to effexor for 2 monthsto mitigate sexual side effects. That did not work but I was nicer and more patient. I'm back on Lexapro 5 mg and wondering about the short temper that I now have. Other Med ideas? I exercise, eat well, happy with everything except the short temper I have. And still have "busy brain".
Kylie said: Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil all cause alcohol cravings. They cause you to drink and they intensify your buzz. You do things you would've never done before taking them. You end up going out drinking all night and you can't stop drinking until early morning. You act a fool and sometimes black out. You don't care who you hurt, you just want to drink more alcohol. You end up losing your family because you want to be out partying all night. These antidepressants trigger addictive behaviors and next thing you know, you're addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, and or drugs. These pills ruin lives when they get prescribed to people who aren't depressed in the first place. Just because you feel tierd and gain some weight doesn't mean you're depressed. Try low thyroid hormones. This doctor ruined mine and my families lives when she misdiagnosed depression and put me on this poisonous medication.
Chris said: Wow.... I am freaking out because I do not know what to do with my situation. After reading most of these posts.. it made it clear to me. Back in 2010 I was put on Prozac. Even though it made me feel better it also made me hyper-sexual and from someone who is a sensitive and a caring guy, turned me into a selfish and unempathetic person. It made me manic and I am not bipolar. I didn't understand myself and why I was behaving the way I did. Fast forward up until now and being off of it for 3 years and after a bout with a flu or virus which really did something to the chemistry of my brain, a few weeks ago I woke up very depressed and anxious. I was put on Prozac and again. I am freaking out now because I do not know what to do and do not want to become the person I was when I was on it. But I also need help for my current symptoms because I am suffering. Any suggestions out there? The same thing happened to me in 2010. After a stressful period I got sick: flu-like symptoms which turned into horrible fatigue, weakness, and other weird symptoms to depression and emotional disturbances. I thought that would be a period in my life in which I would not revisit but unfortunately, it seems to have it me again a month ago. Going through the same crap.
Jonathan said: I'm glad I found this website. I started taking Sam-E (200mg/day) for my (currently) moderate depression and found that it seemed to help immensely (although with all chemical cures, it's sometimes hard to tell what is a placebo effect) but found after about a week that I was getting horrible stomach cramps, which I finally realized was the Sam-e. I take Nature's Own brand (because, well, it's the cheapest -- and as I'm finding out, maybe this is for a reason). I would rather not discontinue this since it seems to help (or at least not hurt) the symptoms of depression but these stomach pains have gotten so unbearable to the point that I'm going to have to discontinue the medication. I've found that taking a double dose of Gas-X [simethicone] seems to help, although I've only tried that a couple of times so I'm not sure if that's just a coincidence or not. Eating this on a full stomach also seems to really help but to be honest, the pain/cramping is so bad as to leave me nearly incapacitated. And, I'm not a weakling when it comes to side effects either, but note that I do have a sensitive stomach (e.g., I can't take aspirin). The stomachache feels very similar to taking a large dose of aspirin to me by the way, so anyone with that particular problem might want to steer clear of this medicine. Too bad, as it really does seem to help but I'm going to be vastly reducing my dose &/or only taking after a very large meal from here on out.
Rob said: I have been in severe depression/ anxiety for over 10 years and have always been against taking medications. I just started using Zoloft and I can tell you I should have done this years ago. There are a couple of side effects that I noticed such as the aforementioned night sweats, dreams, occasional dizziness but nothing bad. This medication has changed my life! To anyone out there that is skeptical of this drugs efficacy; I implore you to at least try it out with a doctor's supervision.
Ashburn said: I thought about taking zoloft for a long time and finally did it for 3 months. I appreciated reading a lot of others experiences on the medication so I thought I would add my own experience. First of all, I was very reluctant to try a med to help some of my anxiousness and "glumness". I'm the kind of guy that thinks that some positive thinking and some self-discipline can go a long way to be healthy. Plus, I'm generally very healthy and consider myself to be a successful guy with healthy relationships and achievement oriented. That being said I have always fought hard to quell a bit of internal anxiousness; I think I hide it very well socially this form of internal intensity that is probably much more dramatic than a normal person deals with on a regular basis. I've always had claustrophobia and I've always been ansty slightly to make things happen (I would always get the award in sports growing up as Mr. Hustle:) After a big move and spending a bunch of money and our 4th child was about as finicky as they come - I kind got pushed over the edge where I would have trouble getting through an afternoon at work. I'm normally very motivated (i.e. intense) but because perhaps some of these triggers with moving, job stress, spending, and a needy toddler - I became a little concerned for myself if I could keep performing at work and have healthy relationships with my wife and kids. My biggest fear was that my kids are growing up and will look back and see me as a dad that was always iritated with them and never really happy. To me that is intolerable. For the first time in my life I was willing to do anything to try and make myself better. I read a lot of material and I diagnosed myself with high-functioning anxiety and recognized there were times and areas of my life that are not normal and I could use some help. I never realized for instance, my severe claustraphophia was tied to my anxiety (and now I know cleary it was). So I have a sister with some of my same symptoms (but worse) and she had been taking meds for years. Her experience was that zoloft worked the best out of the few she tried over 15 years. Started on 25mg and moved to 50mg after two weeks. Here is what happened: Right away I slept probably 25% better and started taking longer naps than I ever had in my life (I work at home by the way). I normally would wake up early and not be able to go back to sleep but now, I would wake up and go back to sleep and wake up at 8:30am. My body felt heavy and relaxed in a good way - not sure if this was the medication or the extra sleep just helped me sit in a bit of a daze and for the first time in my life I would be saying stuff to myself like "man, this couch is comfortable." There was the zombie/dazed feeling right away but I didn't mind it too much because that dark/glum feeling subsided that I was experience in the afternoons. My sex drive decreased right away. Not only more difficult to "o" but about 90% less interest or thoughts about even wanting to have sex with my wife. My claustrophobia went down sharply. This was great because flying on planes or being on a bus was torture and it seemed to be fixed 90% right away. I never had such bad gas in my life. Didn't bother me too much, but my stomach was rumbling a lot. It bothered everyone else though, ha ha:) Also, I had intense hunger pains all the time. It's hard to explain the feeling but the word "ravenous" comes to mind. Didn't gain any wieght but just felt incredibily hungary more often. My wife noticed the difference that I was not getting wound-up as much and things didn't bother me nearly as much...like messes around the house or my kids misbehaving. I also became a lot more apathetic to things that I enjoy doing - going to the gym, playing my guitar, riding my bike, getting an early start to work...it sounds odd but I felt like the sound coming from my guitar on zoloft wasn't as intense (or my emotional connection to music was decreased sharply on the med). Hence, I litterally stopped playing/enjoying my guitar right away on the med. While on the med I did read a lot of stuff and I would recommend a book called "Telling yourself the Truth" and I think that book was very helpful for me to recognize a lot of beliefs I have in my head that are clearly not true but I let a lot of mistruths linger in my head like: "if you lose your job one day you will lose everything and live under a bridge"....the book gives a lot of helpful tips on recognizing that people allow themsevles to expect worst case senarios even though our experience will tell you that things are never as bad as you let yourself imagine them. I never intended to stay on the med forever and was generally feeling better and the house move was over and life felt a little more in control. So a tappered back down to 25mg for two weeks and then finally came off it toally now for the past couple weeks. I have instantly recognized off the med that my more intense feelings came back but not in an entirely bad way. I instantly started playing my guitars again and found myself really enjoying some things like biking, reading and being a bit more charasmatic around others. Honestly, I have never felt more energized and greatful in my life. It has been wonderful to be honest to have all my motivation back. My theory as of now (and it could change) was that the med helped slow me down and give me a much needed change of pace in my life that I hadn't had in 20 years. It is almost as if the med kind of helped me moderate my emotional respons to things...not letting me get as sad/glum as I was but also not allowing me to feel those intensely happy feelings. I do worry that all my motivation and intensity and my thirst for "productivty" will wear me out again and be back in the same boat. Not sleeping as well and noticed myself feeling those agitated feelings when my kids are creating chaos around the home. But way better than 3 months ago. Anyway, sorry for the long post. Hopefully it helps someone out there.
Stephaine said: I've been on Zoloft 50mg for 3 says now, my anxiety is awful I feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack for several hours after taking it, also just kinda feel weird. Will this pass and how long will it take to stop
Deb c said: 3 days on Zoloft - symptoms so far include - Nausea, upset stomach, long lasting heartburn w/anything I eat or drink - even water. The worst headache(that's lasted almost 30 hrs now) that I think I've ever had. Doc took me off of 6yr stint of Lexapro ("HE" felt wasn't working anymore) switched to Cymbalta - with horrible side effects such as unwarranted terror, nightmares, feelings of catastrophic doom etc) only to put me now on Zoloft. Will update....
Donna said: I forgot to mention in my previous post that I only stayed on Effexor for one year. My new doctor took me off of it; she said all the doctors in the practice call it side-Effexor because of the awful weight gain and side effects.
Donna said: I have always been thin. When I started Effexor, at age 45, I wore a size 4/6 pant and a small top; within 7 months I was in a size 16/18 pant and an XXL top. I went from 117 pounds to 190 pounds (I'm 5'7"). I am so miserable I do nothing but think of suicide!!! It has been ten years now and I've held on because of the kids, but now they're grown and on their own and I see no point in suffering any longer. What is the point in taking an antidepressant that ruins your health and body? My blood pressure is high, my cholesterol is high, and I have no hope.
Lulu said: I am on my second day of Lexapro and I've NEVER been so angry in my life. I'm also so hot I can barely keep any clothes on and peeing about every 20 minutes with no significant increase in fluid intake. Are these normal reactions? I've read comments and I see some have experienced the anger but not sure of the feeling of being hot/frequent urination.
Amanda said: I am using venlor 150mg for 5 years now. I always feel listless and do not feel like doing anything except just sitting and doing nothing except google on my tablet. Why do I feel like this? Not interested in every day activities anymore.
Rita said: I was on Lexapro in 2007, I took it for almost a year, before I felt so bad, depressed that I thought deathat was a better option,
So I opened their bottle of Lexapro, took quite a few that were left, I figured it was more than enough for what I needed. I left notes for my family, saying goodbye and why, went to bed. Said goodbye world in my head, and waited for sleep to take me away from my black pit of endless pain.
Well woke up next morning? Shocked to their core, not even a headache.
Lexapro kills you slowly, spiritually, but not quickly as a overdose, never want to take it again. That and Cymbalta they are the worse antidepressants I've ever taken, Rita
margie said: I TOOK 5HTP 100MG FOR 3DAYS BEEN OFF IT 3 DAYS AND
FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO DIE. PLEASE PLEASE ADVICE I
CAN HARDLY WRITE.
James said: Two weeks of hell and then things started getting better. After a month I started feeling like great again. I so nearly came off them during the first fortnight but I'm so glad I didn't now. Yes you may feel worse initially and every time you increase your dose, but this will sudside. Some of the side effects I had were increased panic, anxiousness, headache, hot sweats, restlessness, insomnia, head spinning, etc. But these gradually wore off and eventually went completely. I'm on 100mg presently and may possibly increase next time I see GP. They tend to make me very sleepy so I take at bedtime and I'm knocked out within 10 minutes, which suits my great! My advice to anyone starting out on Sertaline is to stick with it, don't be put off by the side effects and be prepared to feel worse before you feel better. Good luck folks and God bless.
Tammy Richardson said: My daughter had all the horrible symptoms she passed away on Jan. 4th 2014. If you start to have the uncommon symptoms contact your doctor immediately and insist on a full blood workup. My beautiful intelligent 28 year old daughter was robbed of raising her then 3 year old son that my husband and I now are raising...her doctor did nothing to help her other than tell her the medication wasn't working yet and up the dose 3 times...Rest in Peace my beautiful Brandy.
Andrea said: I have been on Zoloft for 20 years. At first the only side affect I had was the sexual ones. Two years ago I started getting a rash type thing on my chest and neck. It would itch and burn like mad. Sun made it worse. I sleep with ice packs on my neck as that is the only way to relieve the burning itch. My doctor told me it was photosensitivity. To stay out of the sun. Well I'm light skinned so I do everything to avoid sunshine that I can. Nothing helps, mostly because I am a mail carrier and cannot avoid the sun. I wear 100spf and a hat and sunglasses. Recently I started getting migraine headaches from sun exposure. I have been on 200 mg for several years. I come home and sit in a darker room and the headache just disappears! Never has a headache left me so quickly. I looked up sun induced headaches and came up with extreme photosensitivity. Zoloft causes this. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and can't just stop using it. I feel like I'm trapped with a drug that continuously will make living a normal life impossible. If they put you on this, find a way to manage depression without it! I'm only 39 and it's looking like I won't be able to do my job anymore because of the side effects.
denise adam said: I just start to take wellbutrin.I'm so depress,hope this med helps me.doctor said is a good med,I don't know.you know?
Michelle Rosewell said: Hi I've been taking 5htp for over a year now. I was advised to take it as i was having opticalmigraines every 2/3 days i was also suffering from mild depression. The migraines have now disappeared and i feel great. I did decrease the dose towards the end of last year and my depression and anxiety where worse than ever. In now worried as i take between 299/400mg every night.
Leave Drug Feedback
Celexa Effexor Lexapro Luvox Paxil Prozac ZoloftWhy Did We Create This Site?
I was exceptionally depressed for a couple years. I nearly wound up on anti depressant drugs, when all I really needed to do was change some of the ways I was messing up life. Antidepressant drugs can change the way you perceive the world. For some people that is a good thing. For others it is not. Some experience additional stress or strain on social relationships.
Most of the information on the web about anti-depressant drugs is either limited theoretical research or a bunch of junky ultra-biased advertisements, although Demystifying Depression is an amazing article which helped me a lot. This site collects REAL feedback from REAL people, and shares it freely with others. The method of collection will most likely be biased toward negative feedback, since you are more likely to research and comment when things are not going well, but seeing how these drugs MAY alter your personality helps you make a more informed decision before taking any medication. It also shows you that you are not the only one who experiences an unexpected side effect, and perhaps gives you a place to point your doctor at if they are not listening to you. If your doctor does not listen to you then you may want to look for another doctor. A large part of healing is knowing that others care...empathy is important to help you find true happiness.
I am a firm believer that depression is our mind telling us that we need to change some of the things we are doing. We all have a need for energy, exercise, purpose, learning, and social relationships. Life is full of ups and downs, and that makes life interesting.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and my advice should not replace or act in the place of the advice from a doctor.
Another disclaimer: Your doctor may have learned about medicine by reading a book sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company, and they may be ignorant to many of the potential side effects of the drugs they prescribe. If your doctor does not listen to you then you may want to look for a doctor that actually cares about your well being.
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