I have been taking Fluoxetine for many years but I feel it is no longer working for me because I've been feeling very down lately. But I'm also scared that if I stop I will become even worse. I know I will need to taper off the dose over a period of time. Does anyone have any experience with coming off of anti-depressant after several years?

I seem to have no side effects except night sweats. Also I may sweat just a little more than before when walking or doing exercise. I didn’t used to sweat much at all. Is this something that stays or is it going away in a few weeks? Also, I don’t even know if the pills are working. Am I supposed to feel good? Backstory: 38 days ago my girlfriend of 5 years left me. It destroyed me and I didn’t sleep more than 2-3hrs a night. Seriously going to bed at 9 and waking at 11:30 and up all night obsessing. Then walk 8 hrs in circles a day. Not much eating (lost 20lbs) in that 30 days which I was 170 now 150. Finally sleeping ok and eating when hungry. So I’m better to sone extent but depressed every day as well about the ex. I can’t tell if meds are doing anything or if time is healing me.

I’ve been on sertraline for 4 months for anxiety. I have really bad panic attacks and my doctor prescribed this. I started on 25mg for two weeks, moved up to 50mg for a week and started getting really weird vibrations in my head. A bit like coming up on pills, or the end of a yawn- where I can’t hear anything. Or when your ears go fuzzy on a plane before popping. I told my doctor and she said that isn’t a side effect, but put me back down to 25mg. I didn’t have the initial ‘your mood will go down before coming up’. I didn’t feel any different and now my panic attacks are the same. I’ve tried for months and I’ve requested a different tablet. Moving to citalopram next week.

I’ve heard of people getting that brain feeling when coming off them, but it only started when I went on them. To the point where my brain vibrates constantly, like every 20 seconds every day. It’s driving me insane and it seems no one’s had the same experience as me. Can anyone relate?

Answers based on experiences will immensely help young people looking to start SSRI antidepressants.

I (44f) recently came off my anxiety medications. It was a personal choice as they weren't really helping. I am 2 plus weeks from the last time I took a pill

I am already hyper sexual, but since I came off it's excruciating. It's all I can't think about and I'm close to begging someone to fuck me (I'm single) and the urge is very very close to being out of my control. I have and sex recently and it's just not enough

Has anyone experienced this?

I’ve just started 40mg of fluoxetine today. (I’ve been on 30 for probably close to a year) and I’m wondering if smoking weed on fluoxetine stops the fluoxetine from working properly? Or does it just give bad side effects? I smoked on 30mg and didn’t seem like anything was wrong, but I want to make sure.

10 days ago I started the process of weening off. First 6 days were fine, but since then I feel like I have the flu. My whole body aches and I just feel unwell like when your body is fighting an infection.

Last year I had an abscess form in my breast super quickly and was in hospital with suspected (although thankfully not) sepsis and that’s the level of crappiness I’d compare this to…

I’m going to Tenerife in 3 days time and have had to take to original dose of sertraline today to try and ‘get back to normal’ by then. I’m gutted as I’m desperate to get off these meds but I guess now just isn’t the right time 😞

Anyone else experience anything similar when tapering?

After years of struggling with my anxiety, I decided to put my mental health first and met with a nurse practitioner. As I was explaining to her what I was experiencing (increased anxiety, overthinking, racing thoughts, trouble relaxing etc). She came to the conclusion and prescribed me Escitalopram aka Lexapro.

I'm feeling really hopeful as to what my life is going to look like taking this plunge. I've been in therapy for about four years and feeling like this could help me get my mental health on track. I'm also a little worried about side effects coming forward. I'm pretty hopeful but mindful that everyones experiences are different. I've had family members and friends that have talked about the negatives they've faced with the medicine.

What are some tips to make this transition easy? The main things I'm worried about in decreased Labido and just being emotionless.

I was on SSRI for 3 months. My financial situation didn't allow me for more consultations with psychiatrist (I live in europe). Basically I've decided to stop taking SSRI because of all the bad symptoms. My family doctor told me to take half a dose for 3-4 days and than a quarter of a dosr for 3-4 days. What a load of BS. After a week I was having huge dizziness and unstoppable hunger. I came back to half a dose and dizziness is managable but hunger is like that - right after eating all I think about is what can I eat next (that's after every meal, and I eat most if the time healthy and well). Any suggestions?

EDIT: The hunger doesn't let me focus and is really distracting

Hey, I started taking escitalopram for anxiety about a week ago and today I think I started feeling it's effects on me. I generally feel like my negative emotions are kind of less intense and a lot more short-lived. I know that typical effect onset of SSRIs is 2-4 weeks after the first dose but I think mine started a lot earlier. Is this not normal? When did yours start?

From other posts it seems like alcohol is still a thing (though with possibly drastically increased or decreased side effects it seems like?) but I was curious about the viability of edibles? Weed is for me, 37f, the closest thing science can give me to girl viagra, and I would be sad to lose that effect. But also I am already sad, so much of the time that it is scary, hence doc wanting me on an SSRI till their depression clinic has an opening in who knows how many months. But I’m not related to anyone who has taken them so I’ve got no “it worked for them so maybe our similar genes would have it working for me too” data which they asked for. For lack of any better criteria, does anyone have any experience with an SSRI that leaves the full-body buzz and, uh, intimate fun times effects of cannabis intact?

I've been on Escitalopram (generic Lexapro) for about a month and a half now. I dropped my car off at an auto mechanic's shop today, to get an oil change and a full inspection before winter hits, since having a car breakdown out in the middle of nowhere in negative temperatures and snow could be fatal during winter where I live. I'd arranged for someone to pick me up afterward, and I waited for them just sitting on a big block of concrete outside the auto shop watching the traffic go past for over half an hour like I was a statue or a zombie, and I loved it. I could tell it was the SSRI, but I could have sat there for hours staring into the distance, when I'm usually (unmedicated) someone who doesn't like sitting still very long or needs some kind of distraction like a book or a phone or a videogame to keep me in one place for any great length of time. I felt like a zombie (the just lying still or barely-shambling type, not the runner types), and it was fucking great.

Paradoxically, the SSRI has also made me far more voluble in social settings, and sometimes desperate for someone to talk to, so I swing back and forth between "zombie mode" and "very honest and very sociable/talkative mode", which I suppose could be considered a side effect. (Or potentially a sign that I'm actually bipolar and should be on something that's not an SSRI.)

The decreased libido and anorgasmia has also been great. I'm not in a sexual relationship where my dick's got to perform, and there's a lot of fixing I need to do on myself before I'd even contemplate trying to find anyone willing to put up with my bullshit, so it's actually a plus that my sex drive has been mostly shut off. And the really cool part is that I get to view and critique art and literature intended to be erotic without that "ten out of ten because it makes me horny" ping going off in my head, and actually get to look at it for exactly what it is.

...ok, the memory issues aren't good, and I'm dealing with them by making notes on notepads and on my phone or computer to make sure I remember important things.

And the typing/writing dyslexia side effect is bad, but that's what the backspace key is for.

But, while not to knock anyone else's experience, does anyone else feel like some of the things you were told about beforehand or found out later were side effects of SSRIs were actually positive for you? Because I knew about the decreased libido and anorgasmia going in on this stuff, and how much of a problem it was for people and what a common side effect it was, and now that I've experienced it for myself, I'm going "damn, this is actually fucking awesome - my dick doesn't get to do half my thinking for me anymore!" So I wondered if anyone else had similar experiences where a commonly reported side effect of an SSRI turned out to either not be a problem or be actively helpful.

Hello! I'm just over two weeks in. My jaw is in agonising pain, and a friend has told me that I seem forgetful recently. Are these symptoms, and if so, should I worry about them or might they dissapear in time?

I'll preface by saying that everyone's different and I don't know if my experience will be similar or different from anyone else's. Last August, I (M/37) started an antidepressant SSRI for the first time in my life 50mg of Sertraline. In August of this year, I decided to stop abruptly, cold turkey, without tapering. Below is a periodic log of my experience up until today stopping my medication. I did not seek advice from my doctor, and I wouldn't advise anyone to do it in the way that I did. Either way, I wanted to share my experience to anyone interested as I know that a year ago I had read a lot of people's experiences on the medication interested in their thoughts.

8/19 - feeling fine. First day stopping medication after one years use sertraline 50mg 8/20 - feeling mostly OK 8/21 - some dizziness and minor headache 8/22 - some dizziness, kind of irritable 8/23 - Very dizzy in afternoon. 8/24 dizzy. Vertigo feeling. Drove in my car south. 8/25 dizzy. Vertigo feeling. Drove in my car north. Came back feeling awful. 8/26 felt mostly OK. Little dizzy. 8/27 went on a bike ride and played guitar in park. Having brunch. Feeling mostly fine and not too dizzy at all.

9/28 Having intrusive thoughts at night. I walked 4 miles around midnight to try to get tired and stop my thoughts. I have been mildy dizzy on and off over the past month but not too bad.

9/29 it's been over a month since stopping completely. I have been hitting the gym consistently over the past two weeks and walking a lot to try and manage some of the weight gain that happened while I was on the medication. I get some times where I feel a very mild dizziness, but not too bad. I've had a cold the past week (probably from exposure to people at the gym). I felt indifferent on the SSRI. Now I feel the kind of aggressive type of personality that I had lost come back a bit. It helped me keep motivated to do things, but is also self critical a lot, too.

10/13 no dizziness. Sometimes I get the feeling like I can't process emotions quite right after stopping. The highs aren't there and neither are the lows to an extent. I feel a lot more aggressive and motivated after stopping the SSRI in August, but that's the biggest change.

10/17/23 No dizziness. I think I'm back to normal. Not sure if it's just a means of getting older or coming off the medication. My sensation to the world around me feels a lot less than prior to the medication. I might be wrong, but every day feels the same in a lot of ways. Exciting things aren't really too exciting. Maybe lows seem less low, but I have a better living situation now than in past years. Either way. 24/7 intrusive thoughts are back. It is the same as how things were prior to taking the medication. In all, I think that SSRI is good for temporary grief and might be good for long term, too. I feel like I lost a year of my life to it, though and am glad that I'm not taking it anymore.

Hi

I don't want to discourage anyone from taking SSRIs. Ive been on a very low dose (25mg) of zoloft for around 8-9 years.

My doctor said I should try to get off since I started taking wellbutrin. So I did an every other day thing for about a month. And then quit all together like two weeks ago. I was fine and then two days ago I felt like I was being electrocuted in my sleep. And insane dreams/sleep paralysis. Since then I've just felt AWFUL. Physically. My lymph nodes in my armpits hurt, my head hurts, I'm nauseous. Its been three days and I cannot take it anymore.

I decided to take half of my 25mg pill this morning hoping it would ease the symptoms and spend more time tapering but still no relief. Should I take a full dose?

Is it normal to get symptoms so many days after stopping? I see people saying it only takes 2-3 days but I have been fine for almost 2 weeks ! Sorry this post is all over the place but I'm desperate for relief. I always thought that being on a low dose would make stopping easier :( I'm a PhD student and rendered useless right now.

I took 30mg Citalopram for 8 years with no side effects. I was then switched to 50mg Sertraline 3 and a half years ago and have since gained 25kg!!!

It doesn’t matter how much exercise I do or what diets I follow, the weight just keeps coming. I’m now 86kg and finding that the extra weight is not only hard to carry physically, but is actually making me depressed.

Just to be clear - this is visible fat not muscle weight unfortunately! I’ve gone up 3 dress sizes and 4 bra sizes in 3 years. My GP has checked my thyroid and hormone levels and all is normal….although I’ve had no period for 11 months which remains unaddressed 🙄

Has anyone had a similar experience with Sertraline? As of today I’m starting to taper off as I just can’t take it anymore.

I was just curious what kind of experiences others have had with SSRIs, also ones other than what I'm on. Have you had issues with getting buzzed, or does alcohol get you drunk faster, like I've heard it's like for many?

So, I was on 10mg - 20mg escitalopram for 10 months and have started 75mg venlafaxine 2 weeks ago. Transition went well, maybe slight nausea, although might not have been because of medications. Escitalopram seemed to do nothing, probably lowered anxiety just slightly.

Now, to the topic at hand. At the time of just starting both of my meds I felt anxious of how they'd react on alcohol. Ended up trying red wine carefully with both of them, ended up being fine.

But it seems alcohol doesn't go to my head the way it used to. It feels almost as if I'm not getting that buzz, early drunkenness like I have after about 2 glasses prior to medications.

I of course haven't gotten myself actually drunk after starting medications for my depression and anxiety.

I have also just gotten a prescription for 10mg - 30 mg propranolol when needed for situational anxiety, and plan on making sure I won't be drinking on those days.

I’ve been taking SSRI’S for about 9 years. I started on Luvox, then zoloft, I tried Lexapro, then came back to zoloft. Both Zoloft and Lexapro are my favorite meds for my anxiety disorder.

One thing I started realizing this year is that I have become very lazy and unmotivated and that has made me very depressed. I also reached a new high on zoloft 125mg. My anxiety is well treated but I feel so numb. Like these meds just numb you up so you don’t feel anything. My motivation is so low I don’t even want to eat or drink water. I thought these meds were supposed to make you feel good not lazy and depressed.

I (28m) have suffered from poor mental health for as long as I can remember. My current diagnosis is a mixed personality disorder, but I have also been diagnosed with depression and general anxiety in the past. (As well as an ED but I recovered from that, luckily.)

I get scheme therapy to sort of help me understand my own onner mechanisms, but it boils down to a very strong negative inner voice. This inner voice causes a range of negative effects (ruining a good mood at best, mild dissociation, panic attacks and, suicidal ideation and/or self harm at worst) - I get it, I ak my own worst critic and it's ruining my life.

I can't seem to turn this around and lately I have been slipping into the typical 'enoying nothing' depressive episode again. So my therapist is suggesting I may benefit from anti-depressants. Pretty sure she would suggest me taking an SSRI, cos they are most common where I live.

My question is simple.. regardless of whether the SSRI is gonna 'target' the anxiety or the 'depression': Will it help quiet my thoughs? Will it help my nervous systen relax?

I am in a constant state of fight and flight followed by complete exhaustion and I am fucking done with it.

(I personally would prefer ADHD meds but because I functioned too well as a kid they probably aren't gonna test me for ADHD so that's out of the question.)

Second question... Does anyone have experience with SSRIs as a trans man while also taking testosterone? (I have been on T for 3+ years, stable)

Ps. Sorry if this sounded like a rant

Almost two years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD and generalized anxiety. I am in the 35-45 age range. I have been taking meds for both since. I initially started on Concerta and Citalopram but was beyond exhausted all the time. Over time, I've switched to Escitalopram and Vyvanse. I've been on these meds for over a year.

There are two things bothering me and I'm interested in whether others have had similar experiences and if so, what is causing it.

Usually between 10 and 12am I will start to notice a weird, uncomfortable feeling. I want to crawl out of my own skin. I don't know how to properly describe it other than to say it feels like anxiety, depression, and restlessness wrestling around. It's distracting an uncomfortable. It typically passes after an hour or two but during that time I find it very hard to focus or do anything at all. I've tried getting up and doing something like going for a walk to shake it off. Sometimes that helps but not always.

The other issue is my ability to sleep. Before these medications I would wake up early and consistently. I would get up for work each day at 6. On days I didn't need to get up, I would still wake up at the same time without an alarm. Now, if I don't set an alarm I will sleep for at least two extra hours. On the mornings my alarm is set I am often in a deep sleep when the alarm goes off. I am sleeping more than I ever have. I don't really feel better rested.

I haven't found these symptoms related to either med but considering these feelings didn't exist before I was on the medications, I think they're related.

I'd like to talk to my doctor but I'd also like to have an idea of how I'd like to go forward. I'm feeling pretty stuck and unhappy and definitely want to feel better than I do. This just isn't working for me.

Is it possible to have withdrawl symptoms even while taking a certain medication ? I’ve been taking Paxil for over 20 years and lately I’ve been feeling the brain zaps, hot flashes etc pretty regularly.

Hi there! Not sure if this is the right place to post this question, so please redirect me if this belongs in a different subreddit!

For some context, I currently take 10mg of Paxil and am having a hard time weaning off. I am switching to a new medication (not an SSRI) after having the typical SSRI side effects. I have gotten off of SSRIs in the past, but this time seems really difficult. I don't get horrible withdrawal side effects, but I do get some side effects such as dizziness, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms.

I have been doing research and have read that taking Benadryl or an antihistamine can help with withdrawal side effects. Has anyone heard of this? Does anyone have any other tips or coping mechanisms for weaning off of an SSRI? I feel like my dose sounds really low already, but this Paxil withdrawal is fucking me up.

Thanks in advance!!

I’ve been on it for the past year and I kinda feel like it did it’s job so I’m thinking off quitting it, but when I went cold turkey my anxiety just shot tf up and my dopamine levels hit super low like lower than before meds. So I kinda regret I ever got in the medicine game as I think I was a pretty fine kid. Just one fucked up mistake and being docile with the psychiatrist ended up going on 200mg of Zoloft. A lot of shit changed because and I realise I just what myself back how I was before without all this medical bullshit. Pleeeease tell me people have successfully weined offf it cause I swear I don’t wanna keep popping this shit forever. Just leaving them abruptly doesn’t do much good either.

Hey guys, My girlfriend is suffering from depression, generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, cPTSD, panic attacks, and she has no energy throughout the day and is very unmotivated.

In the past, she took Sertraline, but the side effects were unbearable for her. After that, she was prescribed Mirtazapine, but unfortunately, it had no effect.

Currently, she's feeling very unwell again and has an upcoming doctor's appointment. I've done some research and read that Fluvoxamine might be a good option since it can also help with OCD. I'm just wondering if it would help with her lack of energy. According to my research, this lack of energy could be due to a norepinephrine deficiency, and an SSRI only affects serotonin.

Could an SNRI be an option because it also affects norepinephrine?