Posted by butternut on August 29, 2008, at 15:45:07
In reply to Hey SSRI Experts--What is happening to me?, posted by NewQuestions on August 26, 2008, at 9:40:29
Hi,
I had a great response to Zoloft for several years. I was incredibly productive at work, got over my long-term social anxiety problems, and generally content with life. (Possibly hypomania, but my husband maintains I appeared completely normal and not unusually motivated.)Then I started having side effects--trouble finding words, forgetfulness, distractability, difficulty not interrupting people while in coversation. Then over more time, I started to feel flat and kind of unmotivated--the poop-out. I went off the drug and began what would prove to be a long term (about 7 years now) depression. During this depression, I went back on the drug and found it reduced some of the "crisis" feelings, but still I was depressed, flat, steadily gaining weight, etc, PLUS I started having side effects such as nonstop jaw clenching and migraines. On withdrawl, I had some horrible sleep paralysis episodes and leg cramps, which I didn't get during the first withdrawal, and believe me, I went off SLOWLY.
I've tried Lexapro (for about a year) and that just makes me not care that I'm depressed, if that makes sense. I just eat and sleep, socially withdrawal, and don't really care about anything in my life. Off the SSRIs, I at least care that I am not behaving in a healthy way.
So, you're not alone. I think that my reaction could be due to the fact that I'm actually bipolar, not just depressed. My highs are just unpleasant periods of anxiety or irritability, so I wasn't noticing them. When the Zoloft was working, I did not have those unpleasant periods: i was very balanced mood-wise. Not sure why it didn't kick me into mania.
Perhaps a different drug family altogether would be a good approach for you. I'm currently pregnant and holding it together, but I am really counting the days till I can try something new. My gut tells me the SSRIs are not good for me anymore. I'm going with a mood stabilizer, and if that does not do it, I will try adding emsam or some other MAOI. I didn't want to try them b/c of the dietary issues, but I realize now that life is too short. Best to try what I can to be mentally healthy asap.
Good luck to you! Sorry for the long post!
poster:butternut
thread:847406
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080822/msgs/849036.html