STOPPING ANTIDEPRESSANTS MADE ME WORSE THAN EVER!!

Posted by aliali @aliali, Jan 2, 2019

I WAS USING ANTIDEPRESSANTS FOR 3 MONTHS OR SO, WITH EXERCISE, MEDITATION AND SLEEPING WELL. I THEN FELT HIGHLY ENERGETIC AND MUCH BETTER THAN EVER! I THOUGHT THAT I NO LONGER NEED ANTIDEPRESSANTS! I THEN STOPPED USING THEM WITHOUT CONSULTING MY PHYSICIAN!! I THEN FELT WORSE THAN EVER!!! THIS IS THE SO-CALLED "DEPRESSION RELAPSE DUE TO STOPPING ANTIDEPRESSANTS" OR "ANTIDEPRESSANT DISCONTINUATION SYNDROME" ! I THINK I HAVE THE FORMER RATHER THAN THE LATTER...

QUESTION#1: WHICH ONE DO I SUFFER FROM THESE DAYS: "DEPRESSION RELAPSE DUE TO STOPPING ANTIDEPRESSANTS" OR "ANTIDEPRESSANT DISCONTINUATION SYNDROME" ?

QUESTION#2: HOW TO COPE WITH? I HAVE NO ENERGY; I AM INACTIVE; I CANNOT CONCENTRATE; I WISH YOU COULD HELP ME!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

@merpreb

@aliali- we hear you but we aren't doctor's. We can not give medical advice. I agree that it was probably not having a doctor's guidance.
When chemicals are abruptly stopped that can cause a plethora of symptoms. Have you read through this thread? There are lots of suggestions.
Can you be more assertive with your doctor? Or go to another large city.
I hear your anger and frustration. But using capital letters in the USA is considered shouting. You don't need them. I can reassure you that small fonts get just the same attention as capitals.
Who recommended the herbs that you bought? There can be as many problems with them as with prescriptions. Taking any chemical can be like surgery with a dull knife.
I'm sorry that I don't have better information. There is no antidote for this. Perhaps your doctor can prescribe something that he is comfortable with that will help you.

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@aliali Im just going to jump in here and echo what Merry said about herbs Ive studied herbal medicine along time and there are alot of them you shouldn't take and mix with what meds you take .Be under a Dr,s care M.D and holistic Dr for the herbal.

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I went down to 30mgs from 60 of Cymbalta in September I have not wanted to leave the house I dont like to drive anymore I am totally the opposite person than what I was. So I am beginning to think it is from the new drug Cymbalta. But it did make my pain less but increased Depression. Anybody had this happen? I had a few people say this happened to them. I never realized how terrible drugs can be.

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@catcatanzaro60

I went down to 30mgs from 60 of Cymbalta in September I have not wanted to leave the house I dont like to drive anymore I am totally the opposite person than what I was. So I am beginning to think it is from the new drug Cymbalta. But it did make my pain less but increased Depression. Anybody had this happen? I had a few people say this happened to them. I never realized how terrible drugs can be.

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@catcatanzaro60 The person I became on Cymbalta needed to be in a cage. It is interesting how medications affect each of us differently. I believed something was terribly wrong with me as these type of medications did the opposite. I was consistently told it was side effects and give my body time to adapt. Do you have fibromyalgia?

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@gailb

@aliali

My father had ECT when he was in his 40s and was hospitalized for his mental illness. It was very intense and left him with no memory of large parts of his life. I can understand why your doctor doesn't want to approve that for you, especially since you did well on the Escitalopram (depralex). Stick it out a little longer. Has it been a month since you restarted the medication? Did you start taking the new medication, Brintellix, instead of the Depralex? Hang in there, good things take time.

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I would not recommend ECT for anyone. I am not a doctor. Have had them under care of very old doctors believing it was the only way. What a terrible thing to do to a human being when there were so many newer things available. You come out not knowing who you are and are never the same again. There is no way of knowing which memories will be remain. I have been trying to make new happy memories.
How I feel about ECT.

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ECT can be good for a few people who have tried long-term medicinal treatment and not had it work. ECT is usually reserved for those to whom nothing else works. It can cause memory loss, even complete loss of memories. Since antidepressants have worked to some degree for you, then ECT would not be recommended for you. Depression can cause loss concentration, but so can antidepressants. It may be that you are resistant to the antidepressant you were taking so that it worked some but not enough. You may need to ask your doctor about increasing the dosage or trying another antidepressant. I took the medicine you are using and it did not work for me. I went back to sertraline at a higher dose and it works for me. Everybody is different in how they respond to medication. I tried Cymbalta and it made it worse, but others use it and have good results.

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@aliali, I would agree that since the antidepressants were working for you, that is your first area to consider as treatment, I would not jump ahead but rather seek alternatives that may have fewer side effects for you. My medication for depression and anxiety have caused me issues with memory and concentration, too, so I understand how frustrating it can be, and it can take a long time to sort it out; there are no quick fixes that I know about. Are you able to travel out of Kingdom on a medical Visa for a period of time that would allow you to seek more thorough mental health care? I know that sounds like a long shot, but it's worth considering.

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@johnhans

ECT can be good for a few people who have tried long-term medicinal treatment and not had it work. ECT is usually reserved for those to whom nothing else works. It can cause memory loss, even complete loss of memories. Since antidepressants have worked to some degree for you, then ECT would not be recommended for you. Depression can cause loss concentration, but so can antidepressants. It may be that you are resistant to the antidepressant you were taking so that it worked some but not enough. You may need to ask your doctor about increasing the dosage or trying another antidepressant. I took the medicine you are using and it did not work for me. I went back to sertraline at a higher dose and it works for me. Everybody is different in how they respond to medication. I tried Cymbalta and it made it worse, but others use it and have good results.

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When I was deeply depressed I couldn't remember a lot of things

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@parus

Oh then it is not old age?? Whew.

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not all the time @Parus. LOL

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@aliali i’ve Been on antidepressants for 20+years now and tried to go off also. Sure didn’t like the “me” that resulted so I went back on. It’s been slowly upped over the years. My doctor had wanted to change the medication but I just couldn’t imagine going thru the change. I, too, feel hyper some days, usually bright sunny days. I just stay busy and active. Don’t get off your Med without speaking with your doctor! The upbeat person you were experiencing while on the drug is who you were meant to be. Your brain changed and you didn’t have the correct chemicals anymore so “you” changed. Take your pills, please

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