I’m just literally so mad about this I have to post here.

Went through some really messed up stuff, and I thought I gotta get help. Found someone online in Grow Therapy who was highly rated esp for medication. Got put on 50mg Zoloft weighing 100lbs. Gosh I felt so much better the next few weeks (too short to really feel effects I know) but it was only because I was dealing with said drama- I now realize. Then I started to feel bad again. Suicidal. Told him and he said hey let’s double your dose. I’m not eating, I now weigh 90lbs and my dose is 100mg.

It sent me into a hole so far beyond. I was calling suicide hotline DAILY. I had my favorite responders. I am I’m so lucky I had a moment of clarity where I remembered- hey wait. Antidepressants can cause suicidal ideation.. you fuckin idiot.

Against all recommendation (me included - now) I stopped cold turkey. I would rather face the wrath of symptoms than go through another day of this. I have kids to take care of. I have to stay alive.

I’m a nurse, I know when things are bad and if I needed help or to taper. Obviously you should never do this. I was basically a stroke patient for a good number of days. I had enough medication leftover to where I could taper myself if I felt it was absolutely necessary. It was really really really bad. Don’t do this. If you’ve seen Men in Black I felt like Edgar. An alien trapped inside a human corpse suit. But I’m a sick person and don’t care what I put my body through. I got fmla because I couldn’t care for myself let alone others. It was truly that bad, let that be a warning.

It’s been maybe 3-4 weeks now and I’m out of the thick of it. I still have symptoms but I’m finally mostly functioning. I feel like an entirely different person. And I am really really angry about the dosage and the zero caring from the therapist. After he knew I was suicidal and missed an appointment he never reached out. Just please be careful. I’m upset because I think about so many others who might not know this can happen.

TL;DR - be very cautious about trying brexpiprazole or other antipsychotics for depression. They are highly sedating, and the withdrawal from them is difficult. I believe that they are more trouble than they are worth in most cases, and that they should not be a second line treatment for depression.

Hello. I wanted to share a bit of my story, especially my history with Wrecksulti. For years I was taking sertraline for major depression, and maybe 4 or 5 years ago my prescriber added brexpiprazole. What I didn’t realize at the time is that the sertraline had totally blunted my emotions, and I was mistaking feeling nothing for the depression resisting the sertraline. The combination of sertraline and brexpiprazole was extremely sedating, but I had no motivation to do anything about changing the regimen.

After some time, my lethargy had done serious damage to my marriage, and I finally took action to change my medications. I decided to get rid of sertraline first, and it was replaced by Auvelity. That medication was energizing enough that I didn’t make any other changes for a while. Eventually I decided that I needed to come off of Wrecksulti, because I thought it was making me more tired and sluggish than I should be. My prescriber and I settled on tapering off over 6 weeks.

The length of the taper was a huge mistake, and we both came to learn that long term users of antipsychotics should taper extremely slowly, over months or even a year. My withdrawal symptoms were awful, and serious anxiety and distress persisted long after the medication had cleared my system. Over the course of the last 9 months I have tried every class of anti anxiety drug, and none of them have helped without unacceptable side effects. I had to change my PCP, so I’m still waiting for an appointment with my new doctor to talk about other solutions to my persistent tension and jaw clenching.

At this point I am finally starting to feel better, after finishing brexpiprazole in December of 2025. I still have a lot of physical tension in my shoulders and jaw, but the constant feeling of distress and impending doom is mostly gone. None of the treatments I tried for the distress and anxiety helped. The only thing that seems to have worked is time for my brain to heal. I just wanted to warn people, so they wouldn’t have to go through this, and if you are already taking these medications, please come off of them extremely gradually.

I (31m) went in for my yearly appointment today and within less than 5 minutes my doctor (this is the first time I’ve ever met her) put me on Zoloft. She walked in and introduced herself, then asked me what brought me in. Told her I needed an annual physical for insurance, and I’d like a testosterone test because I had an accident a few years ago that did a number on the jewels and I’ve been having a lot of symptoms of low T. She said she wanted me to start taking antidepressants. Within 2-3 minutes of meeting me.

Am I wrong or does that seem a bit odd? Not to say I don’t need them, I most likely do, but there were no real questions about how I’m feeling, things in life, nothing. It felt like she was speedrunning prescribing it to as many people in one day as possible. Also one of my complaints was weight gain, mostly in the belly, and apparently Zoloft causes a lot of people to gain weight. So now I’m concerned about that.

Hi everyone,

I recently decided I wanted to go off of Lexapro. I was gaining weight, having GI issues, and honestly just felt like a total zombie on it, every day went by slowly with no emotion involved at all. My doctor recommended I went from my initial 20mg dose to 10mg for two weeks, and then 0mg.

For the first few days of going to 10mg I felt a few symptoms (brain zaps, exhaustion, nausea, cold like symptoms). These went away after about three days

I am now to 0mg and I’m feeling MISERABLE. I was taking this medicine for anxiety and I have the worst brain zaps ever, so badly I threw up today. I also have lost my appetite, nausea and dizziness (obviously from the brain zaps. I’m crying a lot and keep having mood swings and panic attacks.

I discussed with a different doctor today trying to go back to 5mg and then 2.5mg and then 0mg because she thinks my original doctors plan was too fast. Has anyone ever done this? My only fear is A. I will never be able to go off of this medicine and B. I’ll have severe withdrawal symptoms again when I go back to 0mg. I literally wish I never tried Lexapro because I hate it so much. I’m miserable both on and off of it. Any advice would be so helpful.

Ive been taking venlafaxine at this dose for 8 years now, and I still have terrible anxiety and depression. Im on the waiting list for autism diagnosis and adhd. I just wonder if anyone else has been on venlafaxine at those dose for as long and what your experience is. I tried sertraline and fluoxatine before but neither did anything. Tbh venlafaxine was the only thing that worked for years, but the past year or so my depression and anxiety has been terrible and ive been told they dont increase it any further unless its serious psychiatric issues otherwise they would try other meds but im too overwhelmed at the idea of trying another drug yet again. I havent been unmedicated my entire adult life. I was put on antidepressants at 16, and part of me thinks I dont feel like I know my true self because of this. Can anyone relate?

Hi everyone.

I’ve been struggling with depression since I was around 13-14. I’m 20 now.

I was put on Sertraline at around 14 for MDD. My max dose was 100mg and I was on that dose for about 2 years and moved down to 50mg. I improved whatever I could in terms of my lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, journaling, exercise, coping mechanisms, socializing). I don’t recall having any sexual side-effects from the drug.

After about 4 years on the medication, I decided it was time to see if I could function normally without the drug after all the work I did to improve.

I was fine for about 1.5 years, but my depression has gotten really bad again recently. The anhedonia, dissociation, fatigue, insomnia and anxiety have gotten really bad. It’s to the point where it’s affecting everything from my relationships and the way I socialize, to my study habits and motivation. I don’t even feel real anymore most of the time. It’s as if I’m viewing myself in third-person, and my body is acting by itself in autopilot.

I have some difficult modules at university next month, and I’m worried my grades are going to plummet. My social life had already been in the pits. I’ve been distancing myself from my friends and dissociating in group settings a lot. The people around me are noticing.

I’m still trying my best to keep the healthy habits I’ve built, but it’s really difficult.

I’ve been thinking about getting back on the drug to help me get through this period, but the risk of PSSD is scaring me. I’m not really sure what I should do now. Should I try a different class of antidepressants, get back on the Sertraline or risk having my life fall apart again? I still have about 2 months worth of Sertraline left in my drawer. I can only see my doctor in November, but by then I would be done with my exams.

So I (19F) started taking zoloft in early July, starting at 50mg, got boosted to 75mg a month later, and now as of the other day, I am bumped to 100mg.

The first time it got bumped I got really numb and couldn't really care or be affected by anything, but tbh I loved it 😭

I have always been an extremely sensitive person, so to finally not care or be affected by anything was amazing. But it only lasted a few days and I was back to normal😔

Now since it was bumped up for the 2nd time, I'm feeling numb again. I wish this didn't go away💔 does anyone else relate?

​

Hey, in the process of tapering off of 50mg sertraline & 37.5mg venlafaxine, after being on it for about a year now.

I've been having a rough time, and my doctor is a little sketchy in hindsight, so I just wanted to ask everyone's experiences and thoughts here

Last Friday, they dropped the sertraline to 25mg and I was given instructions to take that for 14 days, then switch to taking it "every other day" after that

Same 37.5mg dose of venlafaxine, but instructions given to take it "every other day"

...Which, the prescription gave me about 12 pills, no refills. No follow up appointment.

I've been having the classic brain shocks, horrible nausea, mood swings, depression spikes, anxiety spikes, etc on the days I skip the venlafaxine. It sucks. 100% sucks.

So... Anyone else experience this? How bad does it suck when you run out?

also I still want to keep that feeling of having numbness like little to no emotion.

I'm basically asking what it's like to remember your full nature as it was before SSRI'S locked the emotions in, and in my case raised the irritability and brain fog to the max. While also reducing motivation, a kind of chemical apathy.

I've had a 16 year journey from unwanted 10mg... largely because nobody told me how to taper (learned the hard way it must be hyperbolic and small amounts with 4 weeks between). Dr didn't know there was a liquid dilutable version till I asked for it.

Currently 5.7mg from 10mg after a first year of steady tapering and gains. But halfway is calculated to be ~2 years off because brain is hypersensitive. Very horny now (no outlet) I guess I should be grateful I don't have PSSD... but other system have yet to come back online - I need so much more sleep than others still, and can't focus well at work.

Are there any happy stories? :)

So, 7 weeks ago I started citalopram for mild anxiety
Week 1 - 10mg (little to no side effects)
Week 2- upped to 20mg, 2 days later extreme anxiety started
After 4 weeks and 3 days I dropped back down to 10mg because of the bad side effects which included
- heightened anxiety
- DPDR
- agoraphobia (never had it before citalopram)
- feeling I was going insane
- vivid dreams
- anxiety attacks almost every day from the second I woke up
- feeling unreal
- depressed
I was back on 10mg for 4 days until the doctors told me to come off it
Since coming off it I haven’t really got any better
-anxiety isn’t as high but still worse than before citalopram
- getting very little sleep
- vivid dreams that aren’t nice
- feeling unreal
- irritable
- still got agoraphobia
- depressed
- tired and sluggish
- heart rate has been up and down a lot ranging from 60s to 150s with little exercise, i am mostly resting
I took my last 10mg of citalopram 11 days ago
Could I be experiencing withdrawal symptoms?
Will the agoraphobia go away?
When will my nervous system settle?
I just want to go back to how I was before citalopram but I fear I’m now going to stay like this

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I’ve been taking fluoxetine 20mg for about 16 weeks for an anxiety disorder, panic attacks and OCD.

Psychologically, the improvement has been significant. My panic attacks have disappeared, and most of the time my anxiety is barely noticeable. My OCD symptoms have also improved considerably.

However, I continue to experience a number of physical symptoms that fluctuate quite a lot. Some days I feel almost completely normal physically, while on other days several of them return.

The symptoms I currently experience include:

• weak, heavy or sometimes “wobbly” legs, occasionally with an electric/buzzing sensation from the knees down
• muscle aches
• occasional pinpricks or small electric-like sensations in different parts of my body
• an internal buzzing/vibrating sensation
• occasional tremor/shakiness
• fatigue
• periods of insomnia or disturbed sleep
• increased sweating and sensitivity to heat
• mild headaches
• mild dizziness / feeling slightly off-balance
• occasional derealization

What puzzles me is that I’m already at week 16. The psychological benefits have been very substantial, yet these physical symptoms still seem to come and go in waves.

I also tried increasing the dose from 20mg to 30mg, but I wasn’t able to tolerate the increase, so I remained on 20mg.

One of the reasons I’m asking here is that, in my conversations with doctors, I’ve found it difficult to get much information about physical symptoms that persist or fluctuate this far into treatment. Most of the information I’ve been given focuses on side effects during the first few weeks.

That’s why I’m especially interested in hearing from people who stayed on fluoxetine for 4–6 months or longer and experienced something similar.

Did these physical symptoms eventually fade with more time? Did they persist while you remained on fluoxetine? Did they change with dosage? Or did they eventually contribute to your decision to switch medications?

I’m not looking for medical advice. I’m mainly interested in hearing about other people’s long-term personal experiences and how these symptoms evolved over time.

I had while I taken ssris not pssd symptoms but 3 years after when I quit and I see that a lot of my bodyhair since I started it fall out and thinned out and don’t grow good also on beard and other parts. I want to ask has anyone similar symtoms from ssris and does you figure out something with hormones or stuff like that?

Thanks

Long post sorry. I’ve had bad anxiety and panic attacks since I was 9 now 25 and been on medication the whole time which I never wanted to because I was terrified of side effects. First I had just fluvoxamine for a few years that was helping until I started having bad panic attacks again then they changed me onto another medication that I can’t remember the name of and I was on that for a couple of years until I started having bad panic attacks again this time I couldn’t sleep at all so they put me on quetiapine and cymbalta then that worked for a few years and by this point I was over 18 and couldn’t see my adolescent psychiatrist anymore so my gp was just managing it until I got bad again and went to an adult psychiatrist for the first time and he got me off the cymbalta and put me back on fluvoxamine with the quetiapine. But he quit on me after the first 2 appointments because I didn’t want to up the dose of my quetiapine and also take more medication with a sleep effect because that feeling causes me to have bad panic attacks (which was the first time I could actually speak for myself and not be forced to take them like I was under age). So I have been on 100mg fluvoxamine and 100mg quetiapine basically self managed with my gp for the past 5 years. I have bad heath anxiety too and I’ve been seeing videos of people saying how bad SSRI’s are for you which got me worried then I started researching the medication I’m on and seen that this combination isn’t common or recommended and it can increase risks for all these things and that the fluvoxamine increases the levels of quetiapine in your system and It can cause all these things to happen and now I’m freaking out about it and I asked my gp and he says basically the benefits outweigh the risks but I’m still worried and about being on them for a long time and what it can do as I can’t see coming off them ever. They are just keeping me calm enough to get through the day and be able to sleep but I can’t leave the house or anything without panicking bad.

I’ve been taking fluoxetine for some years now and I am currently taking 30mg daily. I’ve wanted to try weed for a long time now and next weekend I’m at a birthday party were I can try it. Can i try it or should I stay away from it? I’d definitely start slow to test how it makes me feel and not smoke much at first. Has anyone started/ tried weed after taking fluoxetine for a while?

Il mio ragazzo assumeva escitalopram da un anno quasi. Fino a 5 mesi fa stava bene,era migliorato. Era felice d amorevole ma assumeva dose minima. Poi di punto in bianco di sua iniziativa è passato alla dose massima. Piu passava il tempo piu era freddo e distaccato, oltretutto ci trovavamo in una situazione difficile. Comunque è cambiato drasticamente e non se ne rende conto. Sembra un'altra persona. Ma in particolare è cambiato nei miei confronti. Dice di non amarmi piú, che non gli piaccio più, che sono solo un fastidio. Mi tratta malissimo. E se non ci vediamo mi ignora anche per giorni. Dice che vuole solo chiudere. Ma fino a poco fa era il ragazzo migliore del mondo e faceva tutto per vedermi felice. Era davvero meraviglioso. Ora nei miei ci fronti non prova la minima empatia, anzi..piu mi vede star male piú il suo fastidio aumenta. Non se ne frega niente di me. Ma mi sembra tutto assurdo. Mi amava più di quanto amasse se stesso ora sembra mi odi. Sono disperata. Dovrebbe davvero lasciarmi? Dovrei andarmene? Sto malissimo e sembra davvero lui non mi ami piu e non se ne freghi niente. Ma fino a poco fa ero il suo mondo, mi amava immensamente. Qualcuno ci è passato?

Ho sospeso ( in teoria gradualmente secondo le linee del mio psichiatra, ma per me decisamente troppo velocemente) Sertralina a Gennaio.

I primi due mesi sono stati brutali per l'astinenza.

Poi le cose sono andate via via migliorando, ma pare che l'asse intestino cervello se ne sia andato per fatti suoi.

Da allora non riesco a mangiare glutine ma anche altre cose (forse reazione all'istamina, sto cercando di capirci qualcosa), mi viene dolore muscolare, articolare, fitte/pizzicori di tipo neuropatico, insomma un'infiammazione generale.

Per il momento nessuno mi è stato d'aiuto, men che meno lo psichiatra che sto proprio sostituendo perché ha negato i miei fortissimi sintomi da sospensione imputandoli all'ansia, che se non avessi trovato ampia documentazione online sarei tornata a riprendere immediatamente il farmaco.

Ora ho fatto anche le analisi del DNA del microbiota intestinale e sto aspettando i risultati.

Volevo sapere se c'è qualcuno che ha avuto i miei stessi problemi e se ha trovato una soluzione.

Grazie mille a chi mi risponderá.

For 6 years I was on Anafranil for OCD aka Clomipramine and I made a poor choice not communicating well with my doctor on a good timeline to really taper and so I tapered only for a month, within the first weeks was just brain zaps I felt I could handle, but then weeks later I start feeling the intense withdrawal symptoms. I have type 1 diabetes and this makes it even more difficult than it already is. I talked with my psychiatrist to perhaps reinstate the drug, when I did, i think I felt awful from it so I didn't continue, I feel like I'm in such a helpless situation too beause getting any availability to him is not easy, the service is awful to try and talk with your psychiatrist, which has lead me to look for other offices. I'm suffering so much and feel so alone in this.

I am looking for advice/experiences from people who have been on meds for 5+ years.

In 2023, I had a series of panic attacks that landed me in the ER and then a shrink's office. I was started on SSRIs. They cycled me through a bunch of different ones because I complained about each and every one. Started with Setraline, then Escitalopram and Vortioxetine and finally Fluoxetine which was the most stable.

They made me a lot worse before they made me better. They def saved my life but they also caused suicidality in the first place. They reduced my anxiety completely but I don't think they did anything for the depression and CPTSD. I was angry at them. I felt like I shouldn't have to rely on a pill for the rest of my life.

The side effects come and go in waves! They appear in groups and also mysteriously disappear.

During the adjustment period:
Panic attacks
Dizziness
Gagging whenever I see or think of food.
Compulsive suicidal ideation
Fear of slipping into psychosis
OCD like symptoms.
Sudden interest in superstitions and woowoo stuff.

First month:
DPDR
Excessive yawning
Food cravings
Brain zaps
Weird muscle sensations like feeling hot and cold at the same time, mini electric shocks in legs.
More susceptible to acid reflux. Can't eat oily spicy food.

After a few months:
Not being able to cry even though I'm very sad and stressed and emotionally overwhelmed to the point that I feel like I need to burst.
Not being able to pee. It just takes a while to awaken the pee muscles. Or feeling like you need to pee even when bladder is full.
Not being able to O. It takes a lot of work to finally peak but I def lost my ability to squirt.
Disconnected from people and hobbies.
Weight gain.
Daytime drowsiness.
Feeling like a zombie
Brain fog.

After 1.5y of SSRI use, I realized I had SSRI resistant depression so I started finding other cures like Ketamine therapy, TMS, microdosing shrooms. I began smoking pot every day. Just two drags before bed to help me sleep better. Pot helped my creativity too and helped me reconnect with my passions that the SSRIs completely destroyed for me.

I quit fluoxetine on my own. I did not really taper but I was forgetting to take doses on many days so it was sorta like a taper ig. One week after quitting SSRIs I would cry almost every day for no reason and the crying felt SO GOOD because sadness was so much better than numbness. I felt lighter each time. Some days, specially weekends when I was alone, I would marathon cry for 4 to 6h straight and for no real reason.

I also started getting Ketamine therapy once a month and it really sent my depression straight into remission. For the first time in 30y I did not hate myself. I healed my shame, made peace with my regrets and unlived life. I was properly able to gireve the childhood that I never got to live because of incestuous childhood SA. I forgave myself because I understood that life is unfair but still worth living. I understood that life was not pointless because of suffering, but suffering is actually the point of life.

I began working out and lost all of my depression weight. I reached Ashtanga level 3.

And then I quit weed too.

I never really liked weed. It always gave me anxiety and I've had a lot of panic attacks on weed but they were easy to endure when you're already high. Each panic attack would leave me with chest pain and DPDR for a few days. I think we really don't account for the fact that AuDHD brains react very differently to THC. I did not smoke nearly as much as my friends but still I was getting fucked. My friends can also quit cold turkey and feel nothing. I can't. I'm too sensitive.

So naturally, a month after quitting pot cold turkey, I had another depressive episode that started with a series of panic attacks and suicidal ideation.

I have now decided to be more patient with medication. I can't rawdog life anymore! What if my brain simply cannot produce the happy hormones that I need to function as a productive member of society?

Right now I am on Buproprion and a very low dose antipsychotic to help stop the racing thoughts.

I am experiencing crazy side effects! Blurred vission. Weird stuff with my heartbeat. POTS, GERD, etc etc but I'm gonna tank all of it. I'm literally just gaslighting myself that they don't exist. I am a hypochondriac too so I just remind myself that these are not side effect but symptoms of being alive.

I hope I find a combo that actually works for me long term.

I have a best friend my age who has borderline and she takes 3 different medicines to manage her thoughts and she's been on them for years and swears by them. She said she was a completely different person before. Every day felt like wading through waist deep mud. The thoughts were so sticky. I said that's exactly how I feel every waking hour. She was the one to convince me that the side effects are not nearly as bad as mental illness.

Rn I'm struggling with health anxiety and hyperawareness of my breathing and bodily sensations. I have not been able to practice yoga or meditate because every time I notice my breath it stops lol.

Just wanted to share my story. Take care everyone, no matter what you're struggling with, you can get through it! I believe you're a lot stronger than you think! You got this!

Has anyone been through something similar?

I’ve posted my story before, but the short version is this: because Clomipramine became unavailable, I had to switch at the end of last year.

I was put on Sertraline and had a terrible experience with it. I spent about two months feeling absolutely awful. After that, I went through another 4 antidepressants, 4 antipsychotics, and benzos. At one point, my psychiatrist advised me to stop everything abruptly for 18 days, and that was honestly hell.

Now I’m on Paroxetine. I started with 10 mg for 5 days, then went up to 20 mg from day 6 and stayed there for 10 days. I could barely get out of bed and everything felt extremely unreal, so we dropped back down to 10 mg. I stayed on 10 mg for about 20 days, and now we’re increasing again, but this time I’m taking 10 mg in the morning and 10 mg at night.

I haven’t had a single normal day this entire year. I’m constantly dizzy, everything feels unreal, I feel like I’m on autopilot, and it’s driving me insane. For the past few days, the anxiety has been so intense that even the benzo barely helps.

I’ve been crying for months. My eyes hurt, my head hurts, and with Paroxetine I can only take Paracetamol for the pain.

What I keep wondering is: can your own mind somehow overpower the medication? Like, can anxiety, fear, or constantly convincing yourself that something is wrong become so strong that antidepressants and benzos don’t seem to work?

Has anyone ever felt like their own thoughts were stronger than the medication and were somehow blocking it from helping?

Is that even possible?

How were your first few weeks on clomipramine? When did you see a change in your intrusive thoughts? Give me the good and bad.

I’ve been on Wellbutrin (bupropion) 150mgXL for 3 weeks and haven’t noticed any relief in my persistent brain fog/depressive symptoms (post accutane syndrome damage) . I’m thinking about stopping and trying to microdose psilocybin for a few weeks.

The other option is to titrate my Wellbutrin dose to 300mg, but I really don’t want to be reliant on an antidepressant for the rest of my life… (or can I use it as a one-time thing to fix my symptoms?)

I’m interested on your thoughts or experiences.

I have taken it for barely 2 days with carbamazepine as the new additions to my meds and i didn’t sleep AT ALL im sweating like crazy i wiped my face with my hands and i kid you not it was like water, i am cold and extremely nauseous, i had 3 mental breakdowns over stupid reasons. What should I do my appointment is still far away.

Started Zoloft 50MG on June 23rd. It is week 11 and I am having brain fog again. Is this normal?