Posted by luckyduck on January 12, 2011, at 0:37:50
Here it goes. First off, I have found this forum to be immensely helpful. So here is a little about me before I get to my questions. When I was young, I was hyper, jovial, and an extreme trouble-maker. I was put on Ritalin but taken off of it almost immediately because my parents said it turned me into a walking zombie. So they put up with the un-medicated me and sent me to therapists. They believed it was because I was too bright and not being challenged in school so they put me in an advanced learning program and things got a little better.
Fast forward to Jr High. I was put on Dexadrine and Prozac and found a weird pattern which brings me to my question. I would take this medication Mon-Thurs and on Friday I wouldn't take it because I would experience this intense surge of energy and euphoria for the weekend.
By high school, the stimulants such as Dexadrine and Adderall where no longer helping because I developed depression. So they stuck me on SSRIs. They helped initially but not for long periods of time. I was never as happy as I knew I could be. However, once again, I found that if I was ever on any medication that inhibited norepinephrine or dopamine (Wellbutrin and Cymbalta for example), I was pretty miserable while ON the medication but as soon as I'd come off of them, I would experience the same surge of happiness and energy that could last for weeks.
I fell into a deep depression about 2 years ago and have been on every SSRI, SNRI there is with maybe the exception of Effexor because I was told it was similar in nature to Cymbalta. I have experienced true happiness but never while on a medication...always coming down from one.
I am on Nardil now as kind of a last-hope to fight this depression. (Side note I don't know if I have ever been properly diagnosed. My mom is bi-polar and my dad has depression and I have some mutant hybrid that isn't really one or the other.
Please, if anyone has experienced this euphoric high upon the discontinuation of a medication, let me know if you have found something that works for you. I am only on the first week of Nardil and know I need to give it a few more weeks but I don't feel it would hurt asking.
Sorry if the text is a little discombobulated, trying to squeeze 20+ years into a few paragraphs.
-Zach
poster:luckyduck
thread:976577
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101231/msgs/976577.html