SSRI Antidepressants Biggest threat to National Security, Bigger than Obama, Fed Reserve, Food Stamps Ending, Power Grid down

Had you the right diagnosis then the antidepressants and counseling could have changed your life for the better and you wouldn't even have to take them for that long and im no doctor

Been there , done that, got the teeshirt too -- well over a decade ago

Like most middle aged females I was prescribed SSRI -- took them for a few months

They destroy the conscience and all of the higher aspirations

You just plain don't give a shit about anyone or anything

I quit cold turkey

No words can begin to describe the nightmare of it

But the best I can do to try to explain it is that ALL of the reasonable pain, fear , guilt, and shame that you should have been feeling while on the drugs -- all the conscience that had been anesthetised -- it all floods back in within hours

Burning dark fear and shame rush in like is unknowable otherwise

Decades later I am stronger now for the experience

Run, run like not just your life but your soul depends upon it rather than let them kill your soul with those GOD DAMNED SSRIs

And yes I use the offensive phrase respectfully and correctly

Our Loving and Wise Creator can only damn that which kills our higher soul

And a word to our male readers: RUN from any female on SSRIs. Give no explaination. Just get out, get away, save yourself. Evacuate and never look back.

Simple as that.

Just the facts.

The point is that if I had had the right diagnosis I would never have needed the antidepressants.

Could have dumbed them down,and kept them broke and dependent of the government to pay for their meds,for the rest of their life too.

If possible..these meds should be avoided.

Remember the line in 1984 'We will abolish the orgasm'
With antidepressants they're on a good way.

LOVE and STRENGTH to anyone else who chooses to reach deep for the wherewithal to free himself from the soul killing drugs

When or if you find yourself ready to go cold turkey seek out a friend for support and a shoulder to lean on: It may well be the hardest -- but most necessary and rewarding -- challenge you will undertake

Post here and some of old hands will walk alongside you if you have no other resource

Ultimately it is the most solitary feeling in the world, yet you can still at some level know that you are far from the first to go there through hell... And that others have emerged better and stronger than ever before

Who here is ready to save his or her own life? Not just your life but your soul ?

Ok guys,

I won't go into too much detail but I have spent the last 2 years on SSRI's for both depression and anxiety, mainly for my anxiety as I was having heart palpitations throughout the whole day and night, even when I wasn't worried or over-thinking I would get them I would be sat chilling, concentrating on a movie or something and bam, instant panic, heart palps and hard to breath - Scary stuff!

Doctor started me on Celexa (Citalopram), it made my illness worse for the first few weeks until my body got used to them but then my anxiety started to ease. After a couple of months and uppage to the highest dose, they were no longer working and my symptoms came back.
Doctor then tried me on Prozac (Fluoxentine), again my illness got worse before it got better, my anxiety was horrendous during the loading phase so I was prescribed Beta-Blockers called Propranolol. During this time, I foolishly tried to commit suicide by taking lots of Propranolol thinking that because they slowed your heart rate down that if I took enough, it would eventually stop it. Luckily, I was found by my partner who rang an ambulance and they worked their wonders (Please don't give me any sh!t for this as I now know that what I tried to do was wrong).
Doctor then put me on Sertraline (Zoloft), I started on 50mg, went to 100mg, then to 150mg, then to the maximum dose of 200mg. I will be honest with you, it has worked wonders for me - I have felt like I have my life back, no panic attacks, palpitations, I'm confident, things don't bother me that used to enrage me before.

But I don't want to be taking these for the rest of my life. If I miss a dose or two, I get strange brain zap like things..They don't hurt but they are really freaky when they happen. If I look to the side, the zap shoots from my eyes up into my head, I know this sounds weird but those of you that have tried to come off SSRI's will know what I mean.

I have got myself back down to 50mg, without the Doctors support as when I last told him I was weaning myself off them he told me that it was a bad idea and that I should continue taking them. So I have taken it upon myself to take control of my body and get off them.

I found Jesus 12 months ago, and I believe 100%, without a doubt that he is helping me get off them this time as without him, I would lower the dosage only to bunk it straight back up again because my symptoms would come back immensely.

Other than the weird brain zaps this time, I have had no feelings of depression, anxiety, heart palps or panic attacks return and pray to God that it stays this way!

Yes, Zoloft helped me get my life back, but surely taking these for a long period of time can't be good on the body?? That is the reason why I hope to be free of them soon...

It's not easy to stop but it's possible. I did it by cutting down to half dose per day then every other day then every 3rd day and every 4th day. It was a slow process but I managed it eventually. Good luck with your mother.

Have you had your hormones checked? Hormones will cause anxiety, panic disorder, depression... and all the great things that come along with it such as fatigue, heat intolerance, appetite, weight gain/loss, etc

I went to several doctors who wanted me to take prozac and klonopin. I had panic attacks that lasted for several days at a time! I was close to death. I was so tired that I just walked into a little after hours clinic in a small town one day and broke down crying. I told them everything that was happening to me and they found out that it was my hormones.

That was 2 years ago and I'm better now.

I got the zaps when I started to come off Seroxat. The doctor that insisted my symptoms were nothing to do with withdrawl also noticed ones of my eye balls 'jumped' as I followed his finger from side to side. That scared him and he sent me to a neurologist who ended up sending me for an MRI and blood tests. All tests were negative and nothing showed on the MRI. They still wouldn't admit it was anything to do withdrawl but as soon as I upped my dose again, the symptoms went away completely!

I eventually managed to ween myself off very, very slowly.

I was part of a group that were taking Glaxo to court but after a few years it ended before it ever got to court over some technicality or other.

By the way, whilst on the medication I didn't feel anything! I went through the motions of displaying happiness, sadness, etc, because I knew what response the social setting called for but I didn't actually feel anything. That's what made me decide to stop taking them. It worked on stopping my depression and anxiety but it also stopped ALL my emotions/feelings!

My doc prescribed Valium for depression 30 odd years ago. I was off them after about 7/10 days, they just seem to add to the problem.

Not me, I had some tough times back in the early 2000's and I took all sorts of SSRI's.

Didn't like any of them. Told the Dr. I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!

Wow...Heat Intolerance! I am hot every single minute of every day-I wake in the night drenched in water, I am hot in freezing temperatures. Sometimes I have to go and stand in the walk in freezer at work just to cool down (no-one can go in there without wearing the provided kit).

What you are saying sounds exactly like my symptoms including weight fluctuations etc...

So did the Doctor give you anything to sort your hormones out??

And that is brilliant that you got to the bottom of it and you are now on the road to recovery...Well done...

YES YES YES!! That is what my eyeballs are doing now! It is only when moving them from side to side, it doesn't happen if i move them up or down. It's like they jolt, as if a surge of electricity suddenly goes through them then it goes into my head.

They have never stopped my emotions or feelings though, if anything, I have become a much nicer, caring and thoughtful person...But then again, I fully believe that is because I have found Christ and that he is teaching me how to be a better person.

Thank-You for sharing your story with me, sometimes it's just good to know that you aren't the only person out there that is/was suffering from this horrible illness.

Love to you

Hormone replacement. You can get blood work done and know within one week if thats the problem. IF you do find that its your hormones, I suggest that you do some research into all the options. It can be managed, but expect ups and downs in the beginning.

The problem with antidepressants is that they stop working and you have to increase the dosage. Its just a quick way to treat the symptoms without treating the cause. There are so many people these days who are having depression and anxiety.

Modern television, movies, music, and food are causing wild swings in our neurotransmitter levels. Most of the patients are just experiencing burnout from those things listed, but it does sound like you could have some underlying medical issue that is causing your problems.

I will most definitely be mentioning this to my Doctor - I really appreciate everything you have told me. Fingers crossed, I could have the answer to my ongoing condition! Thank You

Exactly.

and right now we've got every politician in the US, saying Putin = Hitler and clamoring for WW3.

and ALL the sheepeople on BOTH sides BELIEVE their talking heads and reps.

go figure

There is also a kit that you can take home to test your hormones. It involves saliva and blood drops. Your doctor must order it and let him fill out the paperwork so that you get the right tests.

Also look into DHEA and cortisol levels. It could be your adrenals. Mention adrenals and sex hormones to your doctor and they will take it from there. Those tests are all on the take home kit. I see you are in the UK, so things might be different there

Just please don't give up hope. Keep trying to find out whats wrong. I know what you're going through and its hard to find someone who understands exactly what you are dealing with.

Fail

they are unpleasant to stop, because they STARTED

yup..

if you are on them, cut them in half, then after a week or so, cut them in quarters.

it's the best way to get off them without stopping cold turkey.

otherwise....

Don't take anything made in a lab by scientists with white coats. It will kill you.

If you take anti-depressants then kick off. No drug is meant to be taken every day for life. Eventually they'll kill or incapacitate you.

I read something that said they just ISSUE them to them, no diagnosis, just like here's your uniform, here are your dog tags, here's your gun, here are your psyche meds.

I better get off my 300mg/day Zoloft then

I agree from a personal point of view. They did save me.

I did the therapy, psCHIATRISTs, psYCHOLOGISTs, been 8yrs now, only need the meds.

Just Saying What I personally know.

the ssri debate is about correlation NOT EQUALING causality. The ssri class of medications basically became ubiquitous in our daily lives by the early 1990s. Everyone was taking them ipso facto the medications were the direct cause of all the crazy behaviour. If you look into the background circumstances of ALL the cases you will find static and dynamic factors (like personality disorders, addictive personalities, low impulse control, low tolerance for distress and frustration, trauma, bullying) that were there BEFORE the individual started taking the ssri. Because these background factors CO-OCCUR with using the ssri, people mistakenly deduce that the ssri are the CAUSE of the craziness when the person would have done the crazy stuff anyway. I have taken both ssri and tricyclic antidepressants and found both to be exceptionally helpful in me recovering my sleep architecture, reducing my anxiety and generally coping with a pretty stressful life. If I DIDN'T take the stuff (now remeron and no ssri) and would be a complete wreck. Do knock these medications, they save many more lives then they disrupt. And like any medication they have side effects, welcome to modern life..

I agree, however given the extremely long halflife of most of these things, i would give it at least a month in between dropping the dosages instead of a week. Ideally i guess one should get off them at the same pace they went on them.

There are no "side effects", there are only "effects".

maybe it depends on how long you have been on them?

I was on them < then a year and what I said did the trick.

it's been > 4 years now, and I could care less about prescribed meds

ETA: which means none as in nada

MD's are only useful when they deal with broken bones, removing skin cancer etc. IMHO

Last Edited by RTS REDUX on 04/24/2014 08:26 PM

+1. Marijuana is excellent for pain relief