Do you take antidepressants

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Yes.

Tried Zoloft for about a month, but it caused akathisia,

Currently on Prozac. Not as effective as Zoloft, but it doesn't make me feel like someone is pouring acid down my spine.

I'm the same way with light and heat. I could easily live in a house without windows and I'm intending to become a sleep technician, so I can work almost entirely at night and sleep during the day. my depression is triggered by disruptions in my routine and isn't seasonal (except to the extent that school is seasonal in a sense and often disrupts my routines) and I'm much happier on dark and even rainy days than I am in direct sunlight.

I used to take antidepressants, with very bad side effects (tired all the time, low energy, low libido). After a few years of anti-depressant hell I did some research on the supposed purpose of SSRIs and found out about L-tryptophan and 5-HTP, part of the serotonin production process. Because I had so many bad side effects from SSRIs, I decided to get off them completely and take 5-HTP instead, which is available over the counter. I also started drinking a lot of milk (has a lot of L-tryptophan) and taking a vitamin b6 from time to time.

I literally almost completely got over my depression and social awkwardness.


My theory is that my low serotonin level was responsible for my Asperger's, due to having low energy which results in being "dull" and "socially unaware." So if any of you are on SSRIs, it might be a much better idea to take 5-HTP instead. It's much safer. 5-HTP is found in food after all (though in insignificant quantities), so it's not a pure drug like an SSRI.

I don't know what I had/have - whether depression or anxiety. I was on various medications, but none of them worked. I kept taking them as instructed by the doctor for an extended period. But they did nothing. No effect or side effect. It was as if I wasn't taking any medication at all. So when I finally abruptly stopped taking them against my doctor's advice, there was also no withdrawal symptoms. My anxiety/depression is much better now, but when I was struggling with it, the fact that there was no medication that could help me feel better was quite frightening.

Stop using brand names!! !! !! !!

I take Sertraline for OCD.

So those with Anxiety disorders have less neuroreceptors?

Ativan has been the only drug I've ever been prescribed that has actually eliminated anxiety. Beta-blockers help indirectly by keeping my heart from racing. I take it off-label.

Sertraline and trazodone.

well, my psychiatrist explained that the reason I was having severe depressive episodes (and I do mean severe, at the time this conversation was happening it was the first place I'd gone other than my bed - with minimal trips to the bathroom or kitchen - for 6 months) was because I had been stressed for so long that to cope with an overabundance of "alertness" type neurotransmitters (as in "oh s**t oh s**t!" alertness) my brain had shut down a significant portion of my receptors, especially for seratonin, and as a result anything other than a large inundation of stimulus (which I was getting from a codependent one-sided romantic relationship at the time) was not going to "reach" those few receptors which were still active.

several years later he told me that I probably primarily had social anxiety disorder and that depression was just a secondary symptom, and several years after that it was decided by a different psychologist that I was an aspie and that THAT was why I had social anxiety disorder, though I think being the queer son of full-time, paid "traditional family values" advocates probably had a lot to do with my stress level as well.

it's not that people with Anxiety disorders or depression have fewer neuroreceptors overall (I don't think), just that it's thought they have fewer for the specific neurotransmitters involved in things like alertness, pleasure, initiative, and the like.

but talk to your doctor first because quitting your medication cold-turkey without consulting a physician is a great way to become suicidal, and taking medical advice from unqualified non-professionals over the internet is, frankly, as stupid as giving said advise is irresponsible.

No, what's irresponsible is the mass amount of psychiatrists overprescribing SSRIs for depression, that has the following side effects:


anhedonia
apathy
nausea/vomiting
drowsiness or somnolence
headache (very common as a short-term side effect)
bruxism
tinnitus
extremely vivid or strange dreams
dizziness
fatigue
mydriasis (pupil dilation)
urinary retention
changes in appetite
insomnia and/or changes in sleep
excessive diarrhea
weight loss/gain (measured by a change in bodyweight of 7 pounds)
increased risk of bone fractures and injuries
changes in sexual behaviour (see the next section)
increased feelings of depression and anxiety (which may sometimes provoke panic attacks)
mania and psychotic disorders
tremors (and other symptoms of Parkinsonism in vulnerable elderly patients)[16]
autonomic dysfunction including orthostatic hypotension, increased or reduced sweating
akathisia
renal impairment
Restless legs syndrome
suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide)
photosensitivity[17]
Paresthesia
dissociative disorders, cognitive disorders and loss of contact with reality
Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone hypersecretion

I've had pretty much all of those side effects, yeah they kinda suck, and cause more problems than solve.

I always have the greatest depression in December, although, paradoxically, Christmas and New Year is my favorite holiday, apart my birthday

Yeah, but not for depression. Seems to help the OCD somewhat and the Panic Disorder immensely.

That's Zoloft/Sertraline

trazadone! now that's one i haven't heard about in a long time. everyone seems so keen to shove the newest SSRI or SNRI at you these days. I can testify that Effexor and Cymbalta have been hell to take. I started out years ago on this one med I can't recall the name of. then they put me on trazadone and it seemed to work fine for awhile. Then Prozac was a big thing. It stopped working after a year or so. Then onto Effexor. A few years then it stopped working. Then on to Cymbalta. It worked for 6 months and that was it. And the only reason I still take it is the discontinuance syndrome ends up putting me in the hospital where they just put me back on it at a higher dose or put me on something newer.

Do you have any problems with trazadone making you get dry mouth and sinuses?

*Nods emphatically*

Another thing that's bad about SSRI's and SNRI's is discontinuance syndrome. I can't even begin to describe the nightmare of coming off Effexor when I lost my insurance and before I got Medicare from my disability. It doesn't even work anymore but I'm terrified to come off of it because getting off the Effexor put me through hell for a whole month before I even began to feel somewhat normal again.

And I hate how they changed the language, calling it discontinuance syndrome when what they mean is withdrawal and addiction.

"Don't piss down my leg and tell me it's rain." --I have no clue who said this.

I think most mental health professionals are a danger to the well being of the mentally ill.

Not sure if this is relevant; but my doctor prescribed generic paxil from walmart before my health insurance ended.
I can buy generic Paxil, 3-months worth, for ten bucks at walmart without health insurance. I have 2 or 3 times to renew.

Maybe check if they have generic effexor?