Your Experiences with SSRI's?

Post Reply New Topic

I have a question for those of you currently taking SSRI's for anxiety. I got a script for Zoloft today to address generalized anxiety, but I've never taken psychiatric medication before, and I'd like to hear about your experiences, especially when you first started out. My doctor told me about some of the side-effects like nausea, increased anxiety (ironically), depression, etc., did any of you experience that, how bad was it, and how long did it last? I'm starting on half a pill for six days (dosage wasn't specified), and moving to a whole one by the end of the week. How long did it take before you started noticing whether it was working?

I tried three different SSRI's (the only name I can remember is Citalopram). It had no effect on me positively or negatively. I tried a third one (maybe Sertraline?) and it made me feel absolutely horrible to the point I had a complete public breakdown. It also made my anxiety FAR worse for almost a month before I could not take it anymore and quit cold turkey.

I tried Paxil and Effexor for a while with no good results, and annoying side effects (inability to orgasm). The third time I tried Cymbalta, which miraculously cured me overnight. But my friend who was trying Cymbalta at the same time had no results.

With these SSRI meds it's always hit or miss. Different ones affect people differently, so unfortunately you cannot predict what effect any particular one may have on you, by reading how they affected other people.

I dont know of any medications that helped me with anxiety. Meds work differently on people so yeah its a win or lose scenario. I personally say screw meds and take the therapy/psychologist route which turns out infinitely better. Try drinking water to calm anxiety. When you drink, your body goes into a state of calmness as your tricking yourself into the nature aspect of thinking your safe.

While I accepted taking SSRIs for seven years for pain management , my anxiety was noticeably more severe than before taking them and since. So, I am anecdotally and individually suspicious of the use of SSRIs to treat anxiety. Let's be honest, SSRIs have been described as treating far more conditions than its intended use in treating depression. That alone concerns me.

Then, there is this ( https://www.wrongplanet.net/forums/view ... 0#p6646630 ) news about how "Pfizer faces more than 1,000 lawsuits from victims who say that the company knew about the relationship between birth defects and their #1 best-selling anti-depressant" (Zoloft).

The first time on Prozac and Paxil I felt like my life was lifted and a light switch in my brain turned on. I was still in school during this time, I was much more comfortable and outgoing but after years of taking them, they just don't work anymore and cause more problems like weight gain and insomnia.

I just take my prozac to keep my depression and anxiety under control but it's not a miracle drug. Paxil helped me get a job and driver's license, but now it just doesn't do anything anymore. I knew there was something more than just anxiety, that's when I discovered I probably had aspergers and am now focusing mainly on treating that.

It's quite common to have your medications rebalanced or out right changed because of how the brain and body adjust to them over time.

The side effects can last years or be outright permanent.

There are also environmental issues, such as living arrangements and others can impact how good SSRIs work and how badly your anxiety, depression and others flare up.

---

In my experience with SSRIs they all had massive side effects with Abilify being the worst.
it gave me restlessness, restless leg syndrome, inability to sleep, new neurological twitches, increase in insomnia etc...
The Effexor and the other one (which i can't remember) made me drowsy all the time, big weight gain, and other side effects.

The generic for Cymbalta works the best with no real side effects.

You will probably find that the first day gives you a massive high, then the next day a massive low and then it will stabilize out. I find that they teach you about mood balance, don't try to fight it. You won't get your usual highs that you may like but you don't get the awful lows either.

I don't have anxiety, but I've taken sertraline and venlafaxine for depression. I found venlafaxine to have no noticeable effect either way. Sertraline takes the edge of my depression, and it's definately way better than nothing. The side effects are reduced sex drive and weight gain. For the first day or two, I had the runs. Nothing serious.

Zoloft msde me MORE anxious and jump out of my skin. Tried Paxil and I had a severe reaction to it. Imagine someone dousing you with napalm and then igniting it. That's what it felt like. The pain was so bad I list consciousness. It scared the s**t out of me.

It was then I started realizing that Pharma and most of these stupid, greedy doctors are using us as guinea pigs, and making a nice profit all the while.

These new chemical cocktails are unnatural, and extremely dangerous. But people won't "get it" until they've suffered enough. Sadly.

Zoloft msde me MORE anxious and jump out of my skin. Tried Paxil and I had a severe reaction to it. Imagine someone dousing you with napalm and then igniting it. That's what it felt like. The pain was so bad I list consciousness. It scared the s**t out of me.

It was then I started realizing that Pharma and most of these stupid, greedy doctors are using us as guinea pigs, and making a nice profit all the while.

These new chemical cocktails are unnatural, and extremely dangerous. But people won't "get it" until they've suffered enough. Sadly.

I was on different SSRIs for a few weeks to a month each as a kid. They helped me become less fixated on things, but they also made me hypomanic. This didn't bother me too much, but overall it didn't help me fit into a classroom better than not being on them, so I was taken off of them.

I don't react well to them, some people do...there are plenty of other medications that I do not find helpful, I've tried as well.

I take fluoxetine for anxiety I do get side effects like feeling tired and an inability to ejaculate It can also give you suicidal thought's. I was having panic attacks and apart from once in a blue moon I don't get them anymore. So medication is a mixed blessing I think.

Taking an SSRI was pure hell for me at first. Increased anxiety, really bad stomach pains when I woke up in the morning, increased stimming....but when I finally got past that initiation, it really did help take away my anxiety. It got to the point where after a year, it started working too good so to speak and I began having disinhibition, so they weaned me off it. I haven't needed any anxiety med since, except for Xanax occasionally.

Could you please explain in more detail what you mean here?