A note for people with mental illness.

I got put on valium for a bit, too...that stuff was awful. Sure, it helped my depression, but I was to the point where I didn't care at all.

 

Effexor is actually one of the stronger antidepressants, and in terms of side effects, it's one of the worst. The withdrawal from it can be horrible. I'm like you though, I tried several different pills with bad results until I tried effexor. It worked like a champ, no side effects and my depression lifted in an amazing way. It just goes to show that everyone is different, and that it takes time to figure out the best treatment. I get the distinct feeling that most people don't try too hard... they try one med, don't like it, and then think all meds are the same. They're wrong.

 

When i was going through my whole panic attack from weed phase last year.........i was put on seroquel.....(anti psychosis drug)....I have no fuckin idea why i didnt just take valium or why my fucking psych didnt tell me to but anyway..........

i took one pill.......started feeling really really dead........started crying........said "Dad, i think im about to get really fucked up........please help me to get to my bed"

went as fast as i could upstairs to my bed.....got half way across my room when i collapsed and went into a coma/sleep for around 20 hours.........


apparently i was only meant to take them in times of intense distress.....not as everyday meds...........although my **** of a psychiatrist didnt tell me shit.....fucker.....

 

I'm so happy I read this post. I had a similar reaction to Seroquel but no one believed me. They said I was making up symptoms so I won't have to take meds. The psych said she looked in all her books and what I described was never a know side effect.

Wow, I feel really validated. This is why it is important to share stories...

 

what?? I'd consider getting a new psychiatrist; somnolence (drowsiness) is the most reported side effect for seroquel!

 

I got a new one a while ago. Doing much, much better now. Seems I only needed a little Lamictal.

 

Hmm, well, I was being medicated a year and a half ago, but I was off until about a month ago when I had a breakdown with really intense hallucinations and violent shaking. So I started Wellbutrin. It's now starting to kick in, and I remember this medicated feeling. I'm not me anymore. I'm already starting to miss the intensity of the depression... so I'll see how the Wellbutrin works out, I have a bad feeling about this.

 

i remember your posts lemongait.......

kept me quite entertained about 2 months ago........jokes

 

I've had mental Depression and OCD all of my life and in recent years was finally diagnosed with the condition. I took Prozac and let me tell you I became so irritable, angry, psychotic, suicidual, homicidual that it took a miracle for me to be here right now! I eventually came off of them and went back to how I was with rounds of Depression and OCD at times. I've also tried Remeron and Cymbalta with the same results. I've been seeing a therapist for the past few years and I've made slow but sure progress, I realize now that the OCD is a unhealthy coping skill when your trying to not deal with something deep down which is causing the Depression and I do agree that excercise does help you to feel better. I have a friend who has Depression and swears by medication and can't understand why I wouldn't keep trying to take them. She tells me I'll always suffer to a point if I don't keep trying them, what's the point of trying them again if I kill myself, that sounds counterproductive to me.

I would love to hear more viewpoints about this and what would you do in my situation...

 

I should watch out for scientologists who tell me not to take my medication?

 

What I would do in your situation would be this:

If you think your OCD relates to suppressed events that happened in your past (did I read that right?), I'd consider finding an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) therapist. This might not be too easy to do though, because it's relatively new and they aren't on every streetcorner yet. It's amazing for most anything to do with memory repression (extremely high success rate). Most of the time, it's like Freudian Psychotherapy on speed... instead of just talking about your past and trying to break down the doors, they hook you up to a machine that maps rhythmical stimulation while you talk about it to determine where the blocks are, if that makes sense.

If you can't find one of those guys, I would see a psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavior Therapy who is not only very familiar with treating patients with OCD, but who also has a high success rate of helping them. They won't use medication unless they feel it's absolutely necessary, which is usually when the other options haven't worked.

 

Thank you,

I have been receiving Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy for a few years now and it has opened me up to many feelings, good and bad that I have been dealing with ever since childhood, what is confusing is my friend swears by meds and thinks I'm not trying hard enough by not taking them and then their are friends and family who are very concerned by my reaction when I have taken them, meaning the dangerous side effects have occured early on. I can't seem to truly make up my mind on this topic but I refuse to let it mentally torture me though, I've made wonderful progress in just a few short years...

 

I noticed you'd used effexor. My doctor put me on Effexor XR 3 wees ago and I feel somewhat strange on it. I have difficulty sleeping and forget to eat. Will those feeling pass?