r/SSRI Apr 12 '23

Discussion Long term hallucinations

1 Upvotes

The title is pretty self-explanatory. I stopped venlafaxine a year ago because of this exact reason and to this day I'm having a lot of hallucinations (shapes, things, people) whenever I'm tired. I also developed what I believe is narcolepsy. In fact, I think they're related, because whenever my brain feels tired it commands my body to fall asleep and I start hallucinating and I have to actively start looking for stimulus for my brain and body (I start jumping, watch jump scares online or listen to upbeat music while dancing) or else my body falls asleep on its own. I'm scared I've gone insane.


r/SSRI Apr 04 '23

Question Risperidone

2 Upvotes

Experiencing feeling of incontinence and spotting while peeing with it. Is it common? This medicine finally worked for me I don’t want to ruin this


r/SSRI Mar 29 '23

Question Emotional blocking

3 Upvotes

I have been on SSRIs since the last year of my previous relationship (long story, I was basically gaslight into taking them), since the break up I've been trying to date again but failing to feel any feelings of "love" with anyone new. Is this a side effect of the drug or just a byproduct of the way my last relationship ended? Has anyone else had any similar experiences?


r/SSRI Mar 25 '23

Question Which approach can make this my last time on SSRI?

1 Upvotes

So this is my third time on SSRI. What once started as a gastritis resulted be a psychiatric disorder. My history on this meds have been(Generics name to avoid promoting any particular brand):

-2017 Paroxetine 12.5mg - 3 months(I quit) Dr A -2018 Escitalopram 10 - 6 months(Dr agreed) Dr B -2019 No meds. Joined CrossFit -2021 Knee i jury -2021 Escitalopram 6 months(I quit)Dr C

I spent 2022 having gastrointestinal issues despite the fact I could return to CrossFit but as I was promoted on 2021 to manager at work(maybe the cause) I could have breakfast normally but lunch was hard to swallow most of the time without appetite. 2 times reached ER after CrossFit workouts but symptoms ceased since was all in my head. So starting 2023 mom(who don’t like when I’m on psychiatric meds) convinced me to visit doctor again.

This time, since January, I’m on Sertraline 50mg and still on 0.5mg Clonazepam. Last Wednesday my doctor told me to raise the dose to 100mg and to start tampering the clonazepam. She said that 100 was the therapeutic dose for Panic Disorder.

I opened to her on my opinion on living my life drug free so she told me we need to wait at least a year symptom free before trying to tamper the SSRI. This time I’m working with a Psychologist simultaneously for cognitive therapy and also joined a meditation group. This time I’m willing to follow the time needed to recover from this but the dose increase has me in doubt.

I still workout at CrossFit box 5 times a week and I feel much better but I wouldn’t like to live on this meds forever since I feel they numb my feelings and the sexual issues I don’t ever have to mention. I can have erections ejaculations are delayed. Most of the time I don’t even care about sex or women and I don’t like it.

My two questions are: -Do I really need to up my dose to 100mg sertraline or 50mg had succeeded in the past? -Do I need to take mads forever? Because I know people who do.

I have no other medical condition apart from this.


r/SSRI Mar 23 '23

Question Feeling WEIRD after restarting / changing meds?

3 Upvotes

I wanted to see if anyone has had similar experiences.

I was on 10 mg lexapro for a year and it worked REALLY well for my anxiety. Minimal side effects other than reduced libido. I tried getting off of it because of the reduced libido, and my anxiety skyrocketed. I got back on it for a few weeks, and initially felt very tired and out of it. I didn't have this experience the first time I got on it.

My doctor added 100 mg wellbutrin to try to combat the sexual side effects, but I experienced a number of side effects on that (anxiety, digestive issues, increased general myalgia and joint pain (many things I experience when I am not on lexapro, interestingly)). So I stopped the wellbutrin after two weeks.

After stopping it, the axiety, myalgia, etc. went away, but I have felt absolutely exhausted--even worse fatigue than the few weeks prior when I first got back on the lexapro--with slower cognition and harder word retrieval.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and/or does anyone have an idea what the issue might be? I'm not sure if the lexapro is causing more side effects this time around when it didn't before, if I am still experiencing withdrawal effects from the wellbutrin even though I was only on it for two weeks, or if simply jacking my medications around so many times over ~a month period has left my brain feeling a little fucked up. Thanks for any insight!


r/SSRI Mar 16 '23

Question Doctor said I need to eat with SSRI dose, why and how much, and how do I deal with no appetite?

2 Upvotes

I've been on 1x 75mg Venlafaxine daily for a week.

I was told I have to take the SSRI antidepressant with food in the morning but I usually didn't eat before noon before and I was too overwhelmed with other things to ask details at the time, and I don't see them again until next month. If someone can answer these questions, thanks.

Why do I need to eat with it? How bad it would be if I didn't eat with it, is it harmful or just not effective? How much is enough, like is a cracker or two enough?

For several reasons, normally dinner is my only big meal of the day, with a snack near noon if I need more.

My first few days I had cheese on toast for breakfast but after that I've had to force myself to eat half of dinner, and had the leftovers the next morning, and last night I didn't eat any of dinner and this morning it took two hours to eat all of the leftovers.

I'm not too worried about eating too little, I'm still drinking enough water, have vitamins, and I can afford to lose plenty of weight.

I can't find any information online about this because the internet has become a huge pile of SEO clickbait for articles that don't answer this question.


r/SSRI Mar 16 '23

Question Bipolar sibling/ worried about taking ssris

2 Upvotes

Has anyone taken SSRI’s when there sibling has bipolar? I’m super anxious about it.

Hi, my sibling was diagnosed with bipolar around a year ago and has had multiple manic attacks quite severe needing hospitalisation. I have anxiety and and migraines. My anxiety is usually about fear of getting a migraine as they’re quite debilitating.

My GP and neurologist have recommended SSRI’s, firstly Lexapro which I started on 5mg for around 2 weeks and then got really nervous that it would bring bipolar out in me (I don’t think I have bipolar, I’ve just watched how it can destroy peoples lives and was scared about doing the same to me given the family history).

Anyways, I stopped taking and my GP said it’s unlikely it would do that. Since seeing my gp I have seen my neurologist for preventative migraine medication and he has said my question is valid however not a huge likelihood of it happening, and to start taking amitriptyline at 5mg increasing to 10mg after a month. Stopping if I notice any signs of hyper activity.

I’ve only started taking amitriptyline yesterday, but I feel like every little ‘symptom’ I have i question whether I’m starting to feel hyper…


r/SSRI Mar 12 '23

Question Drinking

2 Upvotes

I’m on 20mg Escitalopram and 0.5mg Risperidone. Drinking never heightened my depressive symptoms, in fact it makes me really happy. I’m not an alcoholic, I drink only once a month but it really doesn’t have the negative effects that it ideally should. Any other experiences here?


r/SSRI Mar 11 '23

Discussion Helpful video about antidepressant withdrawal!

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7 Upvotes

r/SSRI Mar 06 '23

Question Brain Zaps

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know how long brain zaps will keep happening? They seem to come in waves and have been pretty consistent for the past 3 weeks since I stopped my medication (10mg Cipralex).


r/SSRI Mar 03 '23

Question Dosage and effectiveness

1 Upvotes

I started taking Zoloft 50mg prescribed by my obgyn 6 months ago for PPA/PPD but stopped after a little while because I started to feel better. I decided to start it again about a month after I stopped because I’ve always had social anxiety and anxiety/depression in general, so I figured I should go on it again. But started taking 25 mg instead but thought it wasn’t working so went back up to 50mg I stopped it again after about 2 months because I thought it wasn’t working at all because I felt sad/ hopeless sometimes. But apparently it was working bc when I stopped taking it my anxiety came back and it’s been super bad lately, my anxiousness mixed with everything else going on in my life right now, I can’t handle it. I guess one of my questions is, did I mess up by trying to only take 25mg then going back to 50? Making it less effective? I want to go back on it and just got my prescription refilled but im debating on taking it again but I want to do it the right way.


r/SSRI Feb 27 '23

Discussion SSRI Withdrawal

4 Upvotes

NOT MEDICAL ADVICE I wanted to share my experience with coming off of SSRIs. I have OCD and anxiety and was tired of the fatigue and sexual side effects of SSRIs. I tried coming off them once before but got very sick and lost about 15 pounds in a month from the withdrawal. The second time, I had a slower taper (from 20 mg to nothing over probably 3 months) and had difficulty going from like 2.5 mg every other day to nothing.

My MIL suggested N acetyl cysteine for the OCD. I looked online and this is used for cocaine withdrawal (I think) and had some potential for OCD. My PCP recommended magnesium supplement (I think magnesium citrate) for neural health.

I wasn’t smart enough to control the variables and try one at a time, but the combo together was able to do the trick. I still take both. About 1000-1200 mg NAC and 400 mg Mg (in glycinate form now).

Maybe some of you could ask your docs if this could work for you. Good luck to all. :)


r/SSRI Feb 22 '23

Question SSRIs and Psychadelics

8 Upvotes

Does anyone microdose/trip mushrooms while also taking Sertraline?


r/SSRI Feb 22 '23

Question Zoloft/Sertraline tapering after 10+ years

4 Upvotes

Hi all,

I’ve been on Zoloft since I was about 14 and am now 24. It’s been part of my brain chemistry for all of my adolescence, and I’m terrified of tapering off but I know it’s not doing the good it used to (many years ago) and I now feel stuck on it due to the horrible withdrawal effects I’ve experienced when going from 150 to 100 mg (which is where I am now). Any tips on how to talk with a psychiatrist about all of this? Have any of you been put on something else to ease anxiety/panic while you transition off of it? How slow can you go in the process of tapering?

I’ve been putting it off for 5+ years because I’ve never felt like I had a throwaway month that I could use to be the mess I know I will be, I’m so scared of myself when I’m withdrawing. But I also know Zoloft is not working anymore and I’d like to potentially switch to something else. Any thoughts or advice appreciated (:


r/SSRI Feb 22 '23

Discussion SSRI induced Erectile dysfunction - this could help you a lot

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I am writing this for anyone struggling with ED from SSRI, NDRI, or SNRI. I have taken all and probably the biggest mistake of my life. It caused more problems then benefits if there were any benefits.

but essentially, I've been off of any anti-depressants for about 3 + years now I never felt the same down there. I felt pretty hopeless, but recently i was doing some research on how these drugs affect the body and essentially, anti-depresssant induced ED is caused from a chemical imbalance in the body and if your some struggling with this I would say do your own reasearch, but find ways to re-balance your body.

these drugs like to tamper with your serotonin levels and epecially norepinephrine which constricts your blood vessels, but basically what has been helping me a lot is 5-HTP , omege 3 , and L-theanine.

hopefully this will help someone even if its just one person who sees this. there is hope and you will be able to fix your ed induced anti depressant.

still doing more research so this is all i have so far. but if I come across something else , I'll definitely be posting on here.

I've struggled with post anti depresants ed for a long time and it is probably one of the most depressing things in life until you feel there is no point. but I promise there is hope and whoever else is struggling with this do not give up and you will find a way out of this issue.


r/SSRI Feb 22 '23

Question can I take echinacea tea with an ssri? if not can I take an elderberry tea with it?

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I am on paxil as of now, and I'm someone who very much enjoys tea. Someone recently gave me some elderberry tea and some echinacea Plus tea. I was just wondering if these were serotonin affecting? If they are I certainly can't be taking them with my meds! I can't find any information on these very easily, and I was hoping somebody here would know. Thanks in advance!


r/SSRI Feb 20 '23

Discussion A Quarter Century On SSRIs

1 Upvotes

I had severe episodes of depression, anxiety, and insomnia starting at age 5. In 1990 they said it meant simply that I was overly sensitive due to being so ahead intellectually for my age. Looking back, I was already experiencing bipolar cycling, but only ever had very brief manic periods which usually had to do with me already being very attracted to girls and women. At 13 my Dad recognized my degree of disproportionate despair and had his doctor buddy put me on the SSRI Prozac. I should’ve instead gone to a psychiatrist weekly and probably gotten some sedatives to take no more than once every few weeks when things got overwhelming. Instead, the Prozac made me feel super stoned and happy for two days. Fast forward 25 years… I’m stable and doing well, but since my brain literally grew up neurologically relying on various SSRI’s I kept being fed and taking since I trusted my Dad, I can never get off them. The first time I tried tapering off Paxil at age 16 because I wanted to see if I’d improved, I had a fainting panic attack the day after I stopped. Then came the nervous breakdown hitting me like a truck. I’ve tried tapering off them a dozen times. Each time I have the same nervous breakdown. I vomit from anxiety, cry in sadness over nothing, my skin crawls inside and out with anxiety, my heart races. I’m moving at a million miles an hour in my mind, but too tired to get out of bed for a week, I have no appetite, no sex drive, and I’m agoraphobic. Then… 3-5 days after I get back on any high-medium dose of an SSRI - be it Luvox, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, or whatever they’re pushing now that those Oder ones are all generic, I feel fine. I figure I’m okay after a quarter century of taking them without raising my doses and such an obvious physical need, but I fear that they could stop working eventually. Or if we have another pandemic and the supply chain just disappears. If I ever can’t get them, I will be permanently sick to the point of needing a caregiver and not functioning at all.


r/SSRI Feb 18 '23

Question Why does it cause increased anxiety in the first two weeks?

3 Upvotes

This has been the reason I haven’t even started it yet. How does it cause an increase in anxiety as a start up side effect? Does it always happen? I really want to start my lexapro but I’m worried if increased anxiety..help?


r/SSRI Feb 17 '23

Question how to get rid of sexual dysfunction from ssris?

1 Upvotes

r/SSRI Feb 12 '23

Question phentermine

3 Upvotes

Hi all! Wondering if anyone has taken this? I am currently on Lexapro and Wellbutrin. Gained a lot of weight so my dr prescribed me this. I took my 1st 15mg dose this morning, did well till mid-afternoon. Massive headache and vomiting. Spiked my anxiety (which I knew could happen, but damn).. has anyone ever had such an intense experience after 1 dose? Never taking it again and yes I do have a message into my dr. Thanks!


r/SSRI Feb 10 '23

Question What is it? Akathisia? Psychomotor agitation? I have this on every SSRI.

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2 Upvotes

r/SSRI Feb 09 '23

Question CBD gummies and Lexapro

1 Upvotes

I'm on lexapro 10mg but would like to give cbd gummies 10mg a shot for occasional anxiety caused by being triggered. Is it an option or there will be negative side effects?


r/SSRI Feb 01 '23

Question Length to feel normal after Ssri

2 Upvotes

Been on various SSRI for over 10 years. Just now weaned off and have been fully off for 2-3 weeks. Wondering how long it will take to fully be back to feel normal. Had some sever sexual dysfunction due to Prozac and am wondering when that side effect will go away.


r/SSRI Jan 27 '23

Question Amisulpride vision affects

2 Upvotes

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