Wormmms
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Post by Wormmms on May 28, 2017 13:24:53 GMT 8
My mental health has been kind of a hot mess for this entire last year, and it's getting progressively worse. For a while I was resistant to the idea of getting on medication because I was afraid of the side effects, but I'm starting to feel like my depression/anxiety is kind of ruining my life anyway so maybe it's worth it to deal with some extra acne and disrupted sleep if I can get some motivation back. My doctor said that she generally prescribes Zoloft, Celexia, or Lexapro to her patients, and she especially recommends Zoloft because in her experience it has the least amount of side effects. I definitely want to talk to my therapist about some of my fears before my doctor writes a prescription, but I was also wondering if anyone here has used any of these drugs for depression/anxiety.
Also- I don't have acute anxiety, no panic attacks and I have very few physical symptoms (although I used to have both of these). In general my symptoms lean more toward the depression side which is why I'm looking at antidepressants and not, like, Buspar or something.
ANYWAY has anyone here used Zoloft, Celexia, or Lexapro? A different SSRI? Does anyone have a medication they either really loved or really hated? Were your side effects bad? What were they? How long did you take this medication for? Did you use an SNRI or a MAOI or a tricyclic instead?
Thanks y'all.
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Post by Taka on May 28, 2017 18:30:54 GMT 8
i've never taken any of the sort, but had a wonderful effect from hrt. took away that lingering feeling of life being crap, and diminished all anxiety enough that i can think things through and decide it's nothing to be afraid of.
it's of course also recommended that you check all your vitamin and other hormone levels as some deficiencies (or surpluses) often cause depression or anxiety.
other than that, i have a brother who tried one ssri with catastrophic results. he disn't listen to the doctor and used it together with alcohol, which was disastrous. before that event, he also experienced problems with his sleep and nightemares, possibly more than necessary as he took the pills at the wrong time of the day.
you should also be aware that anti depressants have been proven to be as much as 80% placebo, and only have an effect on those who are so deeply depressed that there really is nothing else that might work. it also seems that anti depressants may make a depression worse or chronical when used over a longer time. perhaps because it makes the body unable to deal with and fix the hormone imbalance on its own.
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Wormmms
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Post by Wormmms on May 29, 2017 4:39:36 GMT 8
i've never taken any of the sort, but had a wonderful effect from hrt. took away that lingering feeling of life being crap, and diminished all anxiety enough that i can think things through and decide it's nothing to be afraid of. it's of course also recommended that you check all your vitamin and other hormone levels as some deficiencies (or surpluses) often cause depression or anxiety. other than that, i have a brother who tried one ssri with catastrophic results. he disn't listen to the doctor and used it together with alcohol, which was disastrous. before that event, he also experienced problems with his sleep and nightemares, possibly more than necessary as he took the pills at the wrong time of the day. you should also be aware that anti depressants have been proven to be as much as 80% placebo, and only have an effect on those who are so deeply depressed that there really is nothing else that might work. it also seems that anti depressants may make a depression worse or chronical when used over a longer time. perhaps because it makes the body unable to deal with and fix the hormone imbalance on its own. WELL at the moment I don't really want to pursue HRT. I'll ask my doctor what she thinks about checking hormone & vitamin levels. When we spoke before she seemed to be of the opinion that because my problems have been pretty much lifelong that would indicate it's not a thyroid problem or deficiency or something. Yeah, mixing antidepressants with alcohol is supposed to be bad. So is taking activating medications close to bedtime. I hardly ever drink though and I already take melatonin in order to sleep, so I figure if I start having problems I can just increase the amount of melatonin I take before bed. I don't really plan on staying on medication forever. I really just need to get my shit together long enough to take care of some of the external stressors in my life that have been building up over the last year. I've been able to function without medication in the past, so I'm fairly certain I'll be able to do it again. Thanks for your feedback though, this is definitely stuff I want to talk to my therapist about on Tuesday before I get a prescription.
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Post by Taka on May 29, 2017 5:00:50 GMT 8
a deficiency can still make bad much worse than it needs to be, so there's always reason to at least check it out.
and it's right of you to not try hrt before you feel ready for it. there are side effects to it, though usually natural ones that aren'tbdangerous. it's just that people may notice, and you may not really feel up to dealing with it. the side effects might even be wrong for you, so that's also something one needs to be prepared for first.
the silly thing about it all however, is that sex hormones are also something you can have too little or too much of, and that can have severe psychological effects in addition to whatever physical problems it may cause. and it's the brain rather than the rest of the body which decides what levels are right for you to not feel anxious or depressed.
so i count myself as having a testosterone deficiency. my gonads don't produce as much as my brain needs to stay happy.
all the talk about transition is in many ways misleading. taking hrt to feel more like a man or a woman, to look like one etc. when it's already known what psychological effects too little or too much of the hormones can have in a man or a woman. a man who has as little testosterone as a common female will feel awful, constantly. and normal male levels can be toxic and anxiety inducing to a cis or trans woman.
i'm not writing this toto pressure you into taking hormones. it's just for you to know that this may be playing a role as well, and if it does, you'd have been feeling awful pretty much since the onset of puberty, but also gradually worse.
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Post by Ativan Prescribed on May 29, 2017 11:55:13 GMT 8
My doctor said that she generally prescribes Zoloft, Celexia, or Lexapro to her patients, and she especially recommends Zoloft because in her experience it has the least amount of side effects. ANYWAY has anyone here used Zoloft, Celexia, or Lexapro? A different SSRI? Does anyone have a medication they either really loved or really hated? Were your side effects bad? What were they? How long did you take this medication for? Did you use an SNRI or a MAOI or a tricyclic instead? Thanks y'all. An SSRI is an SSRI is an SSRI... There are very slight differences, they are all related to Prozac I think. The easiest way I've been told, is that they are Prozac, with another molecule attached, easy enough. But they then have to do all the testing and crap to get it OK'd to use here, it costs a lot, attaching a molecule isn't. You take it and the molecule detaches and you have Prozac, it's a placebo game they are playing. If Prozac or any of them do little, then don't expect any of the others to work either. I did that for soooo looong, at least a month and a lot of times they wanted it to go three months before changing them. They do work for some people, but if not, then get off the merry-go -round of the bazillion SSRI's that the drug companies make a ton of money on. They make enough to do research into new ones, but why bother when they have a money maker by just adding another molecule to the original and calling a different name? I tried Wellbutrin as a last resort by a psychiatrist, she even told me if that doesn't work then more drastic things need to be done. I didn't know it at the time, but they would have recommended ECT, Jack Nicholson in Cookoo's Nest. They can't get meds to work so they short circuit your brain and call it a day. Wellbutrin was like a miracle, one week in and I felt better, two weeks in and I couldn't remember the last time I felt that good. A month in and there was no turning back for me, and I've been using it for over ten years and it works, if I run out for a week or so, I crash. I even vary the dose depending on haw bad the short days get, bump it up for a couple months and then back down. Going down on the dose is work for a week, but better than taking a higher dose all the time. Wellbutrin is the same thing they give you to help stop smoking, they added something and it's the drug of choice for fybromyalgia. It's used for other things in slightly different forms, but I suspect it's the same thing. It isn't an SSRI, it has a different classification, It works like an SSRI is supposed to, but it has the added kick of dopamine. Even people who were addicted to cocaine use it to help stop the depression they live with, cocaine shove dopamine to levels that are making you feel just too good, but when you crash, for a majority of people, the levels drop below normal and they can't get them back up, depression... It's safe, probably safer than SSRI's you can't mix meds or alcohol with them, and people do commit suicide from side effects. Just my take on it, SSRI's have a long track record, but look into that record and then decide.
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Post by EchelonHunt on May 29, 2017 14:04:57 GMT 8
I was prescribed Zoloft.
0/10 would not recommend.
It made my insomnia worse and whenever I could sleep, I was plagued by nightmares. I felt like a walking zombie, devoid of life. As someone who was already depressed and numb, I didn't need to be made even more emotionally and mentally flat than I already was. I experienced the shakes which combined with alcohol, turned into full-blown seizures.
I had hallucinations of people bursting into flames right in front of my eyes.
It increased my suicidal thoughts and it made me experience homicidal tendencies.
And that is not even including the effects when I drank alcohol. I knew it was a bad idea but I did it anyway. I had seizures and ended up in hospital.
All because my psychiatrist never told me that I was my own boss in therapy sessions, I thought I had no choice but to follow her advice and prescriptions, she denied me HRT and instead treated my depression, even when I told her the depression is caused by my dysphoria. I stressed that I didnt need medication, I needed hormones. Minimizing the symptoms is pointless if you can treat the cause. Its like putting a bandaid on a broken leg and saying, "See how that goes!"
I know a transguy who has been on many different anti-depressants, tried meditation, incense, even medicinal cannabis to try to alleviate his depression, anxiety and BPD. He cannot afford to go to therapy so he reads books about DBT and they help him alot along side jogging and cycling.
Its different for everyone and I find doctors (in general) are more likely to prescribe someone meds than get them to seek therapy to help them talk through the problems (not saying talking through problems make mental illness go away, just that talking to someone and being taught coping methods can help minimize symptoms and help you deal with the feelings as they come).
There are different kinds of therapy (CBT, DBT, mindfulness, etc) out there and they can be very effective, sometimes even more effective than medication alone. Have a look at them and see which one you think will help you the most. Who knows, maybe a combo of prescription and therapy will help you better than just meds alone.
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Post by Trinity on May 29, 2017 14:14:10 GMT 8
Never took them.
But...have struggled too.
I used to race.
Now I dance.
Its funny what depression and anxiety can get you to do.
Kids had the meds, used low dose ativan, other stuff. It helped them.
But getting at the roots helped more. Ours was situational.
And criminally evil. Bad guys got at us...
Me, personally, hormones both help and exacerbate it.
Fine line.
Love racing. Need to race again.
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Post by Taka on May 31, 2017 15:30:08 GMT 8
my mom doesn't like anti depressants. last time she struggled, she asked specifically to get anxiety meds instead. she didn't need something that evens out everything, she only needed something that would take off the edge of stress related anxiety symptoms, so that she would have time to recover from her breakdown. it also appears that it is helpful against depression to write a gratitude journal. what's good about gratitude, as opposed to the much hated positivism, is that it doesn't negate negative feelings. it only enhances gratitude, which helps balance emotions more. and the feeling of gratitude seems to be quite lasting as well. nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/01/how-expressing-gratitude-change-your-brain.html
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Wormmms
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Post by Wormmms on Jun 2, 2017 17:04:13 GMT 8
An update: I spoke to both my therapist and my GP about my fears when it comes to medication. My GP wants to do bloodwork to rule out the possibility that my emotional issues are rooted in a physical problem (thyroid or a vitamin deficiency or something). She also referred me to a psychiatrist so I can talk to someone else to see if medication is really an appropriate treatment for me.
I want to thank everyone for the feedback you gave me here. Mostly I feel like it's important for me to make sure I know what I'm getting into, and to make sure I'm not just letting my doctors dictate what I do. I actually do feel like I have agency in this situation and that if I choose to start taking medication (which I probably will) it will be my decision.
Responses in this thread have also reinforced that I should probably just plan not to drink at all while I'm on an SSRI, which is fine because I drink pretty infrequently anyway.
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Post by Taka on Jun 3, 2017 2:46:29 GMT 8
that's exactly it!
be informed of both the good and bad sides, all possible alternatives that are available (including doing nothing), and make your own choice. when doing that, there's no need to regret even if it goes wrong or doesn't work out the way you hoped, because you know that's also a possibility, and you made your choice because you felt like it's worth trying despite it all.
and whatever odd side effects you experience, discuss them with people who've used the same medication, and with your doctors and therapists. be prepared for all the common ones to happen when you start.
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Post by Annys on Jun 5, 2017 15:24:07 GMT 8
I don't want to sound cynical, but I'd like to throw in a few words of caution.
I hope you find a doc that isn't one of the types who just like throwing pills at your problems like pills are candy or something. Because that totally does happen, in my experience. "Tada, you're fixed!" while I knew that no, I am certainly not. It helps when the doctor actually cares.
They're one tool among many, and can certainly be useful (even if the side effects can really suck). But not a magical cure-all. Self-honesty and patience are also required, since finding the right drug or dosage can take a very long time to find. If it's not working, it's not working, but you also need to give it a decent amount of time to actually know that.
I hope it all goes smoothly for you.
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Post by OliviaBrown on Jun 11, 2017 4:48:04 GMT 8
I've been suffering from depression and anxiety for over a few years. And my doc put me on antidepressants ( antidepressivemedicines.com/ ). But also I’ve noticed how important a role healthy diet plays when treating anxiety. I’ve followed a diet to get rid of my anxiety and panic attacks. Fruits & veggies turned out to be so powerful in supporting our immune & overall health
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Post by Taka on Jun 11, 2017 20:39:14 GMT 8
I've been suffering from depression and anxiety for over a few years. And my doc put me on antidepressants ( antidepressivemedicines.com/ ). But also I’ve noticed how important a role healthy diet plays when treating anxiety. I’ve followed a diet to get rid of my anxiety and panic attacks. Fruits & veggies turned out to be so powerful in supporting our immune & overall health that's very true. (fatty) fish also helps a lot, as does cutting down on carbs, particularly sugar and wheat. but switching sugar for diet products is a bad idea, as most sweeteners will cause the same reactions in the body as sugar, just without the added energy. a strict sleep schedule also helps. and then strict in the way that you don't touch your phone, computer, any books, or similar, after a set (early) bedtime. there's quite a lot of good advice out there on how to fix your sleep schedule. keeping it dark and listening intently to a one hour meditation program is likely to work really well though.
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Wormmms
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Post by Wormmms on Jun 16, 2017 16:42:11 GMT 8
I've been suffering from depression and anxiety for over a few years. And my doc put me on antidepressants ( antidepressivemedicines.com/ ). But also I’ve noticed how important a role healthy diet plays when treating anxiety. I’ve followed a diet to get rid of my anxiety and panic attacks. Fruits & veggies turned out to be so powerful in supporting our immune & overall health that's very true. (fatty) fish also helps a lot, as does cutting down on carbs, particularly sugar and wheat. but switching sugar for diet products is a bad idea, as most sweeteners will cause the same reactions in the body as sugar, just without the added energy. a strict sleep schedule also helps. and then strict in the way that you don't touch your phone, computer, any books, or similar, after a set (early) bedtime. there's quite a lot of good advice out there on how to fix your sleep schedule. keeping it dark and listening intently to a one hour meditation program is likely to work really well though. This is honestly a good point. I have a pretty balanced diet, but I do have a tendency to eat pretty badly when I'm feeling upset (which has been a lot recently). Idk, I guess I just need to try harder to get a handle on my self control when it comes to food.
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