Posted by sageblue on July 24, 2004, at 22:54:26
In reply to Feeling more intense?, posted by Camille Dumont on July 24, 2004, at 22:12:01
Camille,
I've definitely felt things more intensely off meds, even to the point of having my original symptoms sharply exaggerated during the withdrawal period.
I think this is definitely a negative aspect of antidepressants. Finding the best treatment can take trial and error -- to find a dose and medication that allows you to feel and also have normal ambitions, while eliminating the disabling symptoms you originally had.
As for feeling food cravings more often, I think this may be your brain trying to make more serotonin. It is created in part out of the amino acid tryptophan, which is increased in the blood when on consumes high-carbohydrate foods. There's a theory that this is why some women have PMS food cravings. Serotonin levels drop around the same time of the month, and women 'self-medicate' accordingly. You may be feeling this upon first withdrawing as your brain tries to make as much serotonin available as used to be.
On the other hand, although it doesn't sound like this is the case for you, people suffering from atypical depression usually _do_ eat more. How have you been handling these 'intense' feelingx?
poster:sageblue
thread:370133
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/370144.html