Posted by Tiger on August 15, 2003, at 3:17:37
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see this site here. I was tooling around the web looking for reasons why my memory is screwed up and found Dr. Bob.
After living on ADs for 9 years -- Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Luvox, Risperdal -- and finally getting off of them (thru therapy), I'm finding some disturbing long-term symptoms.
First off, the withdrawal from Risperdal was awful. My shrink said to taper off over a weeks' time. Bad move. She said to go back on and taper off over a month. That helped. Why did no-one know about the possible effects of a too-fast withdrawal?
It was worse than any depression I'd ever been through. For a week I prayed hard each night for God to take me in my sleep. Barely slept, no food, brutal crying jags. During one session with my therapist (not Psych), I cried so hard I felt a *pop* in my head. Like some small vessel burst.
As a result of that episode I ended up having to quit my dream job of 7 years, end my relationship, and have since felt a significant lack of motivation for almost anything. And the memory loss...Helaine and others talked about it in other posts. Can't remember names, general info. I used to be an entertainment info whiz. Now...takes me hours and days to remember stuff. My overall brain speed is slower. Something was lost.
Two things I'm loosley pursuing are 1) Tianeptine (it restores operation of the hippocampus, a part of the brain destroyed by depression that deals with memory and motivation), and 2) Suing the makers of ripserdal and/or my psychiatrist. Any info on eithr of those would be very appreciated.
But, whatever the outcome, I'm soooo pleased to see that you all are here, and I can describe what's been going on to people who understand.
Tiger
poster:Tiger
thread:250980
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030812/msgs/250980.html