antidepressants, are they more help or harm whats your opinions on these drugs, are they needed, do they work, are they immoral, can you snort them (just kidding)?
For me, antidepressants have been a godsend. Before I was pescribed them I was having panic attacks, was in a constant state of anxiety and was also depressed. I am now almost back to my normal self, 3months after begining treatment. They are not garrunteed to work for EVERYONE however, and I know some people who have ended up worse off due to taking them. As for using them for recreation, I dont anybody that would be that stupid.
For me they've been pretty good. After going through four unsuccessful trials with meds, I finally found one that fits. It was great for me; it keeps me calm and collected. Before whenever something bad was happening I'd get these terrible pains in my chest and begin getting anxiety attacks. I feel much better now. They were good for me.
WHY in heaven's name would you want to snort them????? They have NO recreational value. They can be a Godsend for people with depression and anxiety problems chronic pain and even sleep problems, not every drug works for every person, and they are not for everyone. People with BiPolar disorders should not take them, as they can precipitate Mania. It is best to see a professional who knows your health issues and knows the problems you have to decide if antidepressants are for you.
im wondering the same thing for anxiety and panic attacks... anyone have any experience with anti depressants and what kind??? or any other kind of treatment?
i once knew a kid who would give me weed for prozac... he'd snort lines of it and said he could feel it... i just thought he was stupid... but hey! free weed for me!
I'm on an antidepressant called Lexapro, but I don't take it for depression. I was diagnosed with OCD the other week after having a panic attack of sorts at 4:40am... I slept for an hour and a half that night and I went to bed at 11:30... OCD sucks man! Basically I was told that I sit around and think too much and that I have an overactive brain. I've always been pretty awkward and shy, and then sometimes randomly personable and friendly with everyone, but the thing is that I am completely aware of my infrenquent social behaviors, but I'm not in control of them. That's really gotta feel fucked up when you think about it, huh? Well, it sure feels fucked up when it happens! I started lexapro, and while a had a few side effects for the first few days (one was the one dreaded male sexual side effect... it SUCKED!!!), I did however, notice that my mood and my worries about everything under the sun started to fade away. I was able to sit down and relax and enjoy things again. I went bowling, jammed out like a rock star, drank some beers with the guys, and did stuff that I only do when I know I'm in a good mood. So far I haven't really worried or overstressed myself with much of anything, and I really think that here on week 2 of my treatment that it's really helped. However, my "girlfriend," if you wanna call her that, she had some terribly adverse effects from lexapro the first day that she took it. I think that a lot of it came from her relatively low daily intake of food (she's not like anorexic, but she doesn't eat much). Krysty was all weirded out and shaking and dazed out of her mind. She described it as being stoned without the mental high... and it really seemed to add on to her depression. She quit taking it after about a week or so of going through hell, and right now the sunshine and good weather are what she thinks help her depression the most. Different folks, different strokes, right?! Anyways, I'm outta here for now... it's time for some Urban sociology and Neo-Platonic and Hellenistic philosophy! w00t! Peace...
The antidepressants that are out now are excellent medications. They are very effective and safe. The FDA has issued a "black box" warning on all antidepressants that says chance of suicide may be increased in teenagers taking the medications. The studies that the FDA did -- did NOT have ONE SINGLE SUICIDE!!! This was a political move, trying to "save face" if you will, after the Vioxx recall...(which should NOT have been recalled, but thats another story...)
Antidepressants are good, if you suffer from an endogenic depression. They´re useless, if you suffer from an exogenic depression. And they´re dangerous, if you have no depression at all and only take them "to feel good" - as a lifestyle drug. B.t.w.: Not every antidepressant works for every person. I´ve had patients, who had tried 4 or 5 antidepressants, before they found one, that really helped! Anxiety disorders should NEVER be treated with antidepressants, better make a behavioral therapy!
Sorry, but I have to correct you. It´s true, that SSRIs are often given by doctors to treat anxiety, but that doesn´t make them a standard treatment. Until ´bout 10 years ago, anxiety was often treated with monoaminooxidase-inhibitors (also an antidepressant), but those meds have almost gone, because of lots of negative side-effects. In opposition to "classic" antidepressants (tri- and tetracyclic), which calm you down, SSRIs push you up, so there´s no use in anxiety treatment. Correct anxiety treatment is behavioral psychotherapy (because a medication will never solve the problem, it will only mask it, so you switch from med to med without ever being healed) and Promethazine 20-50mgs in a panic attack. (recommended by the WHO in 2002!) In strong cases of anxiety, a treatment with Trimipramine 50-100mgs/day for a few month can be helpful. Besides: One great problem is, that the american pharmaceutical industry has spent very much money to design the SSRIs. Of course, they want their money back, so they tell doctors, SSRIs are good for almost everything. Unfortunately, most of the physicians believe them...
Ok, well I'm not coming from an outsiders point-of-view, I probably need anti-depressants myself, but I would personally advise against taking any. I knew a very good friend of mine's g/f and she was on Zoloft. With Zoloft (and as I understand it, all anti-depressants) you will become dependent upon it if you take it for more than a certain period of time (something like 12 months). That means your stuck taking some stupid pill forever. Also, on the days that she missed a dose for whatever reason (only happened twice in 6 months or so) - she would lose complete control of her emotions and end up crying her eyes out under the kitchen table or some other fkd up shit. She also had to up her dose 3 times. Thats getting deeper in, not working your way out. After hearing these things it was enough for me to say hell no to anti-depressants / more specifically the reliance on the pill (anything good has withdrawal). Ohh one other thing, Zoloft and a few others are SSRI's (somethin something uptake inhibitors) - so you cant trip on them, it just doesnt work properly. Try to sort your troubles out on your own and you'll be all the better for it.
Paxil is great for anxiety disorders. In fact, it is rare for anxiety to exist WITHOUT depression. I see Paxil or Zoloft used in postpartum anxiety disorders all the time (along with therapy) and see VERY good results in my patients. You CAN trip while on Zoloft. Let's just say I know for sure...... I wouldn't recommend it regularly, but it won't stop you from tripping. I certainly would avoid acid in the early months of depression therapy though, unless you have a VERY progressive therapist who is going to baby sit you for theraputic reasons.
AMEN brother! The scary anti-antidepressant studies showed suicide "attempts" but not a SINGLE completed suicide. In a similar group of depressed pateints who were NOT treated with antidepressants the actual suicide completion rate was significant! SSRIs save lives, I have NO doubt about that. Good post, Photo!
A little knowledge is a very bad thing! You do not understand how the drug works. First of all, missing one dose every now and then will have ZERO clinical effects. The Zoloft that you take today does not effect you today. It takes weeks of taking the drug daily to get therapeutic results, and, it takes weeks to get it out of your system (and several days without it to have a reaction). What your friend experienced was a placebo effect. You do not become dependent on Zoloft or other antidepressants. Dependednce suggests tolerance, etc. Someone who is clinically depressed may need the medication for the rest of their life, like a diabetic needs insulin of a thyroid patient needs Synthroid. This doesn't make them dependent. It means they need it!!! Despite what the German doctor says, SSRI's are very good for anxiety. I have seen literally hundreds of patients treated with them successfully, with a very low rate of significant side effects.
Hmm, ok so maybe I had a few myths stuck in my head because of my good friend having trouble with it. I see what you mean about it taking a while to get out of ones system which was something I hadnt considered before. Maggie Sugar, I was quite sure, however, that it was not possible to trip while taking SSRI's... I believe that I had read it on erowid or something, as a result I never asked her to trip because it would be cruel to tempt someone with something that wouldnt work properly...or have it interfere with her therepy which didnt seem to be working well anyways. Actually just recently I found out that there are two kinds of depression- depression that you are born with and depression linked to an event or experience. My friend definitely had the experience one because before that she was completely outgoing and happy. I dunno, I feel bad having posted that now. Its full of personal feelings rather than fact. Anyways - take care all.
Hmm, do I have to paint a picture? I've done it! A couple of times. I've been on Zoloft since it came out in 1990. I've tripped. As LSD varies in strength and potency, I don't know if the trip was less or more intense than the few times I did it when I was younger. Antipsychotics, like Haldol, Compazine and Thorazine can stop a trip cold. But SSRIs don't stop your from tripping. Acid is more than just a serotinin reaction.
This may work for some people, but not for others. I've had low level, long term depression for more than 25 years and I spent a majority of that time trying to work out matters on my own. Imagine a chronically ill person trying to heal herself without medical intervention. Antidepressants helped me get to a level where I was functioning and able to do the work I needed to do in therapy. Antidepressants are a tool, not a solution. As for using antidepressants as treatment for anxiety, my SO takes zoloft to treat panic attacks. He was taught how to do breathing exercises to ease panic attacks, but those exercises didn't always work and when they didn't, the attacks were crippling. I would have to drop what I was doing and go pick him up from work, sometimes taking him to the emergency room, because he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. So much for behavioral therapy in his case. If it works for others, so much the better, but it didn't work for him.
