Antidepressants

[Kester]

Yeah I'm on them. Was first put on them during my last 2 years at school. Been on and off them again since then.

I think that they do help and that I'm better for being on them.

 

[slowandsteady]

Try thinking how horrible Nadya Suleman's life is. That usually helps me.

$50,000 of college debt
family hates her lifestyle
14 kids....1 4 k i d s
selling private pics to earn money
asking for donations
accepting thousands of dollars in donations (no guilt)
house foreclosure likely
hospital may not release the octuplets to her
no spouse...good luck finding one
-believing she can go back to finish college and make enough money to support all w/o any donations

 

[Yves]

I weened myself off of Paxil and now I am flying solo.

Careful. Some antidepressants require medical supervision because of severe reactions post suspension including increase of suicidal thoughts. This doesn't happen with all antidepressants but it's a good idea to see your doctor if you notice severe changes in mood.

 

[Joshua_me]

Well, let's see....

I've been through the rounds of the 'old school' SSRI's... Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft...

Each one offered me a different level of mental numbness and vague nausea.

Looking back, it kind of feels like I was 'had'. Do I feel depressed ? No, I feel nothing.

Is feeling like 'nothing' depressing ? It sure is, I better take another pill.

meh

I'm not saying that those drugs aren't very helpful for some people, but I think in the end the folks that are really profiting from it all are the doctors and the drug companies....

 

[The Warmth]

I needed them, BIG TIME. Still do.

Lexapro right now, 10 mg every other day.

No sides, working swimmingly.

I have a feeling some people are letting the idea of their libido diminishing take hold of them and causing a self-fulfilling prophecy. I came five times this last Saturday (was bored!).

 

[lucian7]

I was on zoloft for about 2 years. Off them now but I think i need to get back to them soon. My anxiety is kicking in again.

 

[Paws]

I tried Prozac for winter depressions (hmm... translator tells me it's a "seasonal affective disorder").

All I noticed were the side effects. Dry mouth, sweating. Did a cold turkey as it was of no use. Now that I have my own apartment and need to go out more, I feel much better. My other problems can't be solved with pills anyway.

 

[rareboy]

Please get professional counselling help.

Just stopping cold turkey is a recipe for disaster and I'll bet you're going to crash bigtime.

 

[Telstra]

No, i don't take antidepressants or recreation drugs.

 

[giorgiobaby]

I have been fortunate and never needed to take them, many of my friends do and I'm really glad. They really needed them and glad they got the cohones to go to the doctor to get prescription for them.

 

[Swellegant]

I'm currently on a mood-stabilizer, lithium, just started it three weeks ago. I was on fluoxetine (Prozac) for three years before it stopped working for me... and I think it stopped working because my system was struggling with the mood-stabilizers that I kept changing: first Depakote, then Lamictal, then Abilify.

The side-effects were negligible... with the prozac, I experiened some sweating and shortness of breath during the first three weeks, but they went away; there was a weight gain, and the Depakote had even more weight gain (I was already overweight from the depression itself, these two sent me hurtling into obesity). The lamictal just didn't do anything, and when I found out how much it cost I flipped out (I got it on a $10 copay, but the retail price was $800 for a month's supply). The Abilify was supposed to have no side effects whatever, but I experienced akathasia (the inability to sit still), constipation, urethral resistance syndrome (made it hard to pee and uncomfortable to come), and a couple of other issues I've forgotten since.

The unfortunate side of having to try on a lot of different medications to get the right one is that each of the medications will alter your body's chemistry in subtle ways... it would be ideal to go off of one for a while and let it clear out before starting on a new one. But who has that kind of time?

Re going the non-pharmacological route, I know a lot of people who got very successful treatment with herbal supplements... if Western medecine isn't doing it for you, seek out an herbalist or a homeopath and see what they can do for you. Sometimes we have very subtle food allergies that can cause depression-like symptoms, you might consider cutting something out of your diet (potatoes and tomatoes often will have this effect, if you have that allergy... both are close cousins to Deadly Nightshade).

But whatever you do, do not, DO NOT try to white-knuckle it. It won't go away, it will just get worse. You are sick, and you need help from a trained person and some addition to your body to counteract the lack of seratonin. Just as if you are hungry, you eat something, or if you have an infection you take antibiotics.

Good luck!

 

[Joshua_me]

But whatever you do, do not, DO NOT try to white-knuckle it. It won't go away, it will just get worse.

I dunno....

Maybe we're just meant to be miserable....

 

[Sammie13]

I was on Zoloft for about 6 months in the mid-90's. They worked for a few months, but then I noticed it efficacy faded. Plus, I noticed a HUGE increase in appetite. It seemed I would get a headache if I didn't take the pill with alot of food.

For me, bottom line was cardiovascular exercise seemed to give that mental edge to not over-react and fixate on problems beyond my control.

 

[asian87]

I just can't afford those.

 

[rareboy]

I dunno....

Maybe we're just meant to be miserable....

No we're not. And even if we individually were made to be miserable, who'd really care.

But people with depression and anxiety affect many others around them and their family and friends and co-workers and everyone they come into contact with didn't sign on to be unhappy because someone thinks that not trying to find treatment is the best route. The people who recognize the damage they do to themselves and others as a result of depression and other disorders they can't control without the assistance of chemistry and try whatever it takes to achieve a state of good mental, physical and spiritual help do not deserve misery as a precondition for living.

Suicide is not a solution to depression. It just perpetuates a cycle and ruins so many other people's lives as well. It is an unacceptable and nasty minded 'now they'll be sorry' response to what is often a physiologically based condition. Keep the number of the suicide helpline with you at all times and whenever you feel that low, call for help.

By the way, I still run across clinically depressed people who consume caffeine, high fructose corn syrup, msg, nitrates and a shitload of other processed food poisons that are known triggers of metabolic imbalance. But gee, the meds not working is the big bitch.

Get right with yourself. No drugs. No booze. No nicotine. No caffeine. Get sleep. Exercise. Get away from your computer screen.

 

[Telstra]

from this thread,
sounds like alot of guys here take medications ??

 

[Joshua_me]

from this thread,
sounds like alot of guys here take medications ??

I'm sure that the ratio of gay people who suffer with depression and anxiety is much higher than it is in 'hetero-land'.

And really, how could we not be ?

We're often ostracized from society, told that we are different, looked down upon and even told we are going to hell just for being ourselves.

 

[PhunkSpunk]

FYI, celexa (citalopram) and lexapro (s-citalopram) are basically the same drug. Celexa is racemic, containing both 'r' (rectus, or 'right') and 's' (sinister or 'left) enantiomers. Only the 's' entantiomer bio-active, therefore celexa/citalopram is dosed at twice the amount as Lexapro/s-citalopram. Lexapro is a tier 3 drug, as it is more expensive to produce pure enatiomer, as opposed to racemic molecules.

As with other drugs, SSRIs are hit and miss. Some patients respond well and others don't. Unfortunately, drugs aren't 'one size fits all'.

However one of the most effective 'antidepressants' is aerobic exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is believed to be just as effective as SSRIs in increasing serotonin levels in the brain. In a recent study, a group of people with similar scores on a Beck depression index were randomized to Zoloft (setraline), an SSRI, and a cardio regimen. At six weeks both groups showed similar improvements, by twelve, the Zoloft group had plateaued while the exercise group continued to improve. Especially the guys, as, unlike their counterparts on Zoloft, their erectile function improved secondary to improved circulation.

Keep in mind the exercise we are talking about is pretty rigorous: 40-60 minutes at 60-70% maximum heart rate, 4-5x/wk. What 60-70% maximum hear rate ('v-max) means practically is exercising at a rate where you are sweating profusely yet are not so winded that you can't carry on a clipped conversation. It is frequently referred to as 'the zone'.

60-70% maximum heart rate varies with age and from person to person. It will improve with continued exercise.

 

[bsasfo]

I've been on anti-depressants since 1983 and would be dead without them.

 

[HOT4MEN]

Prozac & Trazadone for anxiety.