Open thread: Antidepressants

21st July 2008

Open thread: Antidepressants

posted in Eating Disorders, Mental Health, Personal |

Mental illness continues to be stigmatized, but fortunately, more and more people are seeking out medical help for mental health issues. According to a 2005 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, 2.4 billion drugs were prescribed by doctors and hospitals that year. Of those, 118 million were for antidepressants, surpassing even high blood pressure drugs at 113 million prescriptions. In fact, the use of antidepressants almost tripled between the periods 1988-1994 and 1999-2000.

Many of us, especially those of use who are recovering from an eating disorder, are on some kind of antidepressant or psychotropic drug — drugs that affect brain chemistry. So, let’s have it. What are the good, the bad and the ugly about the drugs you’ve tried in the past? Are there any you’d recommend? Others you’d issue a warning label to?

As always, this discussion should not be mistaken for professional advice. The Mayo Clinic has a good section on choosing an antidepressant (sponsored by the manufacturers of Lexapro) although I prefer the plain-speak site Crazy Meds. You should also talk to your doctor.

You can read my medicinal experiences after the break.

Antidepressant Review

I’ve been prescribed Zoloft and Prozac in the past, but the only antidepressant I have tried and will try is Wellbutrin (generic name bupropion hydrochloride), which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Interesting enough, buproprion hydrochloride is also marketed as Zyban, a drug used to quit smoking. There are four general types of antidepressants:

Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs)
Combined reuptake inhibitors and receptor blockers
Tetracyclic antidepressants

Wellbutrin is considered a multiple reuptake inhibitor and it works by helps balancing the levels of neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. For those of us lacking medical degrees, it’s believed that depression can be caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters — chemicals used to send messages from one nerve cell to another. So, Wellbutrin works by soaking your brain in two of those chemicals — norepinephrine and dopamine — longer.

The reason I use Wellbutrin exclusively is because it’s weight-neutral. Other drugs say they are weight-neutral, but a cursory search of internet messageboards will usually reveal lots of frustrated people who swear they’ve gained 30 – 40 pounds from medication alone. Keep in mind: I am recovering from an eating disorder and so I am especially and even overly-sensitive to weight gain side effects. You shouldn’t let a possibility of weight gain keep you from trying a medication that may work for you — better to gain a few pounds and be sane than to be thin and crazy is my motto. It’s important to note that while I tried Wellbutrin because it’s weight-neutral, I continue to use Wellbutrin because it works well for me. I have gone off and back on it several times without any major withdrawal symptoms or side effects. I can usually tell when it starts working because I notice a marked difference in my mood. Plus, Wellbutrin is also prescribed for people with AD/HD, which I also have.

Wellbutrin is rumored to actually help people lose weight, but I haven’t noticed this side effect. This and one reason may be why more people with eating disorders aren’t prescribed Wellbutrin: it can cause seizures in people with bulimia. I’m not exactly certain why this is so, but my uneducated guess is that binging/purging can alter your electrolyte levels, which may not play so nice with Wellbutrin. If you try Wellbutrin, I recommend you ask your doctor to prescribe the name brand only if your insurance will cover it. My company made a change to our insurance policy so that if a generic is available, it must be prescribed or you pay the difference. The generic version of Wellbutrin causes me to have migraines in the late afternoon. I also take Adderall, which helps ameliorate these migraines, but on weekends when I don’t take Adderall, the migraines are so debilitating that I often have to lie down for a few hours until they pass. Unfortunately my insurance won’t cover name brand if a generic is available, even after my doctor wrote a letter of medical necessity.

When I was first prescribed Wellbutrin, I was also prescribed Topamax. Wellbutrin can induce mania in people with bi-polar disorder, so my doctor prescribed Topamax as a mood stabilizer. Topamax is most commonly used to treat migraines, but in recent years, it’s also been used as a mood stabilizer and doctors have even prescribed it off-label for weight loss. Some people do experience weight loss as a side effect, but I would rather be fat than have its awful side effects. There’s a reason people who have taken this drug call it Dopamax; some of the drug’s most common side effects include difficulties with memory or concentration. I found that I forgot common words and phrases that I should have known. I forgot where my classes met and it was the end of the quarter. My head felt too big for my body and I remember describing the feeling similar to sitting in one of those mini Shriner’s cars. The drug made me so dazed and confused that I almost got into a car accident once. And here’s the thing with Topamax: It might work in suppressing the appetite and inducing weight loss, but if you go off it and try to go back on, you get all the bad side effects and none of the “good” ones. I read later that for some 30 percent of people who go off the drug and back on, the drug is ineffective.

Psychotropic Drugs Review

I’ve included my reviews of a couple AD/HD drugs in here because not only are they technically psychotropic drugs, but because there has also been shown to be links between eating disorders and AD/HD. I was diagnosed with ADD while in recovery from an eating disorder. The first drug I tried was Strattera and I was prescribed this because of my psychiatrist’s concerns that other stimulant-based AD/HD drugs would induce loss of appetite and weight loss — the last two things I needed while in recovery from anorexia and bulimia. I took Strattera for a month before I went off it. Strattera, I imagine, is what the candy dishes in hell are filled with. I was constantly sick and nauseous and I didn’t notice any differences in my ADD symptoms. I discovered later that Strattera and Wellbutrin don’t play well together. According to the Crazy Meds website, both drugs “want to grab the same precursors to activate the reuptake inhibition of norepinephrine. And as it turns out that Wellbutrin (bupropion hydrochloride) does norepinephrine reuptake in its own right adding Strattera might be tweaking the norepinephrine just a bit too much.”

My doctor then prescribed Concerta, which uses the same active ingredient — methylphenidate — as is used in Ritalin. I wasn’t on Concerta long either, but from what I remember, it didn’t do much for my ADD symptoms (which may be because I was started on a low dose) but it kept me up until 4 a.m., which isn’t good when you start work at 8 a.m.

Last fall my new doctor started me on Adderall. I specifically asked for Adderall because from what I read, the drug has been shown to have promising results. Plus, at the time, my brother worked for Adderall manufacturer Shire Pharmaceuticals, and I knew the company to not only be reputable and to have high business and ethical standards, but they also treated their employees very well. Adderall works differently than Concerta, Ritalin or Strattera: It’s also a stimulant, but it works by a combination of salts that dissolve at different times throughout the day. As in depression, it’s thought that the two chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine are key in one’s ability to focus and pay attention and that AD/HD is caused by an imbalance of these neurotransmitters. Adderall works by restoring the balance of these two chemicals in the brain.

When you first start on any kind of amphetamine, you’re usually put on a low dose and you graduate up to a dosage that is effective for you. I’m still on a relatively low dosage of Adderall, but I noticed a difference within just a few months. The most telltale sign for me that Adderall is working is that I do not have to go on a mad hunt for my car keys every day. I also notice a difference in my ability to focus and pay attention, even to things I don’t particularly enjoy doing. Amphetamines like Adderall may not be a good pick for people still struggling with anorexia or who have hyperthyroidism — side effects include loss of appetite and weight loss. I notice that I don’t get hungry until later in the day and sometimes I have to remind myself to eat lunch or I will be ravenous when the drug wears off in the evening. You also have to time when you take the medication just right. I usually take it mid-morning, so I can concentrate through the day and into the evening. If you take it too late however, it will disrupt your sleep patterns.

Have a different experience with any of the drugs I listed? Share your reviews below.

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1 On July 21st, 2008, Lois Waller said:

I was on Prozac for a year in high school (over 10 years ago now), and it made me aggressive and angry. It was not the pill for me.

I just started on Lexapro last week, and so far, it’s been life-changing! I have been sleeping 8-9 hours as opposed to 12-36 (yes, 36), and I feel GOOD for the first time in a long time. It has lifted the weight of depression and anxiety off of me. I didn’t know how much they were affecting me physically as well as psychologically and emotionally.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 12:19 pm

2 On July 21st, 2008, wish said:

I have been on ZoLoft, Effexor, Lexapro and Paxil. None of them did anything to raise my mood, but the side effects were many and long lasting. Effexor especially was difficult; it gave me extreme tremors that lasted for months after being taken off the medication, and I suffered severe withdrawal issues. I have just started Prozac, and so far, I have noticed no positive, and have actually suffered four panic attacks in a week’s time, so things aren’t looking very good. I suffer from major depression and general anxiety disorder, with some OCD tendencies.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 1:00 pm

3 On July 21st, 2008, sarah said:

I’m also on Lexapro for anxiety and depression, though I think it has helped a lot more with the depression than the anxiety. I really have no major complaints about the drug–I think I did gain some weight, but on the other hand I think that being less depressed has got me in a place where I can handle the extra weight without castigating myself too much.

One other odd side effect–it does make my clench my teeth a bit–for the first few weeks it was so noticeable that I had to buy an over-the-counter bite-retainer.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm

4 On July 21st, 2008, Kaylen said:

I’ve been on Paxil for around 9 months now. My doctor cautioned that many people experience weight gain on it. Just to be different, I lost ~12-13 lbs when I first went on it. (I’m ‘obese’ but I don’t diet, so this weight loss was unintended/surprising.) Thankfully the weight loss stopped after that and I’m once again maintaining my weight.

From an anxiety perspective, Paxil has been wonderfully effective. I have some sexual side effects, and I sleep more, but none of the side effects have been bad enough for me to go off it.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 1:07 pm

5 On July 21st, 2008, Rachel said:

Wish: I had a friend who went on Efexor for an anxiety disorder. She also said it is very, very difficult to go off of, because it’s very addicting and the withdrawal side effects are awful.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 1:42 pm

6 On July 21st, 2008, Stephanie said:

Zoloft stopped the panic attacks (from PTSD) for me; I was prescribed Zoloft specifically because it worked just fine for my mother. I did gain about 15 lbs, but see the ’slightly overweight and sane vs. thinner and crazy’ bit.

However, it did make me a bit fuzzy-brained. I didn’t notice that I’d been in a slight daze for months until I went off of it and all of a sudden my head was clear. I also had minor issues with dry mouth; I had constantly chapped lips, even in the summer, and I was unreasonably thirsty. The withdrawal was also a bitch and a half, but I didn’t quite do it the way I was supposed to.

I’m OK without any drugs now, but they were REALLY helpful when I needed them.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 1:49 pm

7 On July 21st, 2008, Nicole said:

Wellbutrin changed my life. I truly believe that I have a genetic predisposition to depression (my dad has been on Zoloft for years and will tell anyone who’ll listen that it’s the only drug he’s ever taken that he knows works), and once I treated that chemical imbalance, I became much less anxious, more productive, and–most importantly for me–much less angry. I was carrying around this baseline of anger for so long that I almost didn’t recognize myself when that started to let up.

I have had such a good response to it that when I went off of it for the last trimester of pregnancy (as the books recommend), I ended up asking my OB to put me back on it within about 8 weeks. I did research with her and with my pediatrician, and we decided that happy mommy is better, so I went back on and am breastfeeding her while taking it. I literally cannot believe the difference between how I feel in my daughter’s infancy and how I felt for my son’s (when I had untreated depression PLUS post-partum depression). I have almost no good memories of that time, whereas I feel like I’m enjoying nearly every minute of my daughter’s babyhood.

Oh, and I have lost weight when I went on it–it cuts my appetite pretty drastically–but only 10 pounds. I have to say that if there were anything to the “calories in-calories out” theory, I would have lost a lot more.

My experience with anti-depressants (and that of my father) has made me very sensitive to those articles that claim that A-Ds are just for whiners and people who are looking for a quick fix. Therapy is of no use to me, not because it’s not valuable per se but because what’s wrong with me is not emotional, it’s chemical. It needs a chemical solution, and that’s what I have with A-Ds.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm

8 On July 21st, 2008, Arwen said:

I had an extreme adverse reaction to Zyban. For most people these anti-ds are positive and life-sustaining, and so I’m not dissing the drug – but I really wasn’t aware of the possibility of a really negative reaction like that.

I took Zyban (Wellbutrin) in order to try to quit smoking. I wasn’t depressed. About the 3rd day after I took the pill, and had the blackest pit of suicidal depression I’d ever experienced: my urge to cease existing filled my vision and made it hard to breathe, think, swallow. If I hadn’t, already, dealt with very minor depression I wouldn’t have known how to deal with it because I wouldn’t really have known what it was. It was breathtakingly bad.

The important message is (of course) to watch out for and caretake yourself, on any new drug or regime! We really are all different, and our systems do take things differently. I think that having ye olde hippie co-pilot isn’t such a bad idea even for medically prescribed drugs – be aware to have support around you, if switching dosage or medication – and don’t do anything hasty while transitioning to or from.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:16 pm

9 On July 21st, 2008, Arwen said:

Sorry – 3rd day after I’d started on the pill, and about an hour after a dose.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:18 pm

10 On July 21st, 2008, Jennifer said:

I started Effexor 2 months ago and have certainly noticed a decrease in anxiety and a definite improvement in moods. I originally asked for Wellbutrin, but my doctor wouldn’t prescribe it – he felt that it wasn’t a first-line drug. I have had some weight loss, but I think I would attribute it more to the fact that my stress eating has decreased. The only other side effect that I have at the moment is dry mouth.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:29 pm

11 On July 21st, 2008, Meowser said:

the only antidepressant I have tried and will try is Wellbutrin

Good thing you don’t need anything stronger than that for depression, then. I switched from Zoloft to Wellbutrin because the former made me gain hella weight, and I became so depressed on Wellbutrin that I wound up with a three-day psych hold. I suspect this is because Wellbutrin doesn’t work very effectively on serotonin. But hey, I lost 20 pounds! That should have made me happy!

So in the hospital they put me on Effexor, and it worked pretty well, I guess. Other than needing to sleep like a hibernating bear (as was the case on Zoloft also), unless they put me on Provigil along with it (loved Provigil, but the insurance company then wouldn’t approve it and it was way too expensive to just buy). And — the thing that finally made me go off it — the extrapyramidal symptoms (dramatic looking tremors and facial tics). The latter freaked out my medical doctor so much that when I went to his office with them, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He said, “In 20 years of practicing medicine, I’ve never seen anything like that,” and sent me straight to a neurologist to see if I had some kind of brain tumor or something. Nope.

Fifteen years on antidepressants, I had. I wish I could say I didn’t need them any more. But I’m starting to suspect I should be on something again, because I’ve had some very bad episodes the last couple of months, despite therapy, directed amino acids, etc. I’ve got an appointment next month with a psychiatrist, we’ll see.

P.S. Ritalin kept me up half the night, too. Even though I was dead tired. Maybe I’ll ask about Adderall.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:37 pm

12 On July 21st, 2008, Meowser said:

Oh, and P.S. — yes, it’s true, Effexor has the worst discontinuation syndrome EVER. Do NOT go off this drug without a Prozac scrip to go along with it. (Prozac is supposed to be much easier to discontinue.) I stepped down sloooooowly over a a period of six months, with amino acids to boot, and it was fine until I went from 37.5 to 0. I was pretty much out of commission for a month, the brain zaps got so bad.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:39 pm

13 On July 21st, 2008, Rachel said:

I suspect this is because Wellbutrin doesn’t work very effectively on serotonin.

Yeah, Wellbutrin works great for people who have chemical imbalances of norepinephrine and dopamine. But these are just two of many neurotransmitters, so if you have an imbalance of other chemicals, Wellbutrin may not work for you. Unfortunately, there are no easy tests to determine exactly what your particular imbalance may be, so it’s often a game of antidepressant roulette. And of course, doctors usually have some kind of incentive from drug manufacturers to prescribe their drug. My friend John is a psychiatrist and he’s the one who actually first prescribed me Wellbutrin. He gets all kinds of kickbacks from GSK and so he prescribes Wellbutrin almost exclusively. But that’s another topic…

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm

14 On July 21st, 2008, Rachel said:

Oh, and as a side note about Prozac… I was listening to the author of a new book on hypochondria last week on Talk of the Nation. I can’t remember her name, but she also has obsessive compulsive disorder. She said Prozac works wonders for people with OCD. Most studies align eating disorders with an addiction model, but recent studies have come out showing that anorexia actually has more in common with OCD. I wonder then if Prozac wouldn’t be most beneficial for people with anorexia. Does anyone know more about this?

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:43 pm

15 On July 21st, 2008, nuckingfutz said:

Prozac was the first drug I was ever prescribed, back in 1991, when I was first diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. I was told it would “even me out.” HA! I was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS on that stuff. I mean it was seriously so dramatic that I remember the staff (I was an inpatient after a suicide attempt) looking at me really strangely. It was then that the little voice in my head said “okay… maybe this isn’t such a good thing after all.” Having always been a tired person (I swear, I need WAY more sleep than the “average” person), I thought the increase in energy was a good thing. Um… not so much.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 3:23 pm

16 On July 21st, 2008, Nora Deirdre said:

I’ve been on Wellbutrin for almost 2 years now (and a lot of it- 450mg). When I first started, I was at the end of my rope with severe depression and my PCP prescribed it to me because she was vaguely familiar with it in its Zyban incarnation. It was a fairly half assed situation, but it takes so long to get psych intake, etc., etc., that I was happy to have it.

It seemed to work fine, so when I finally did get a doctor consult a couple of months later, he decided to keep me on it, but increased the doseage. We increased it up to 450mg, and I was have trouble sleeping. Then we switched to the extended release version, which I take first thing in the morning, and it’s helped significantly.

When I changed doctors, I needed something for panic/anxiety. My new psych prescribed me 50mg of Zoloft, which seems to be working great for anxiety. She keeps on telling me what a low dose it is and asking if I want a stronger dose, which I find weird- it’s working just fine at a low dose, why would I want to increase for no good reason?

The thing about Zoloft is that it makes me a little less interested in sex, which is not something I’m thrilled about. I have been really conciously motivating myself through it, and some weeks are better than others for that.

I lost some weight the first year I took Wellbutrin (~30lbs) but I was trying and have since gained it all back. I have no idea if the low level of zoloft had anything to do with it or it was just the diet pendulum swinging the other way or both. But it’s all evened out now.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 3:31 pm

17 On July 21st, 2008, Stef said:

Rachel@14, Prozac is sometimes used to treat people with anorexia, but Prozac can initially cause appetite suppression and weight loss (although in the long run I think it’s more likely to cause weight gain), so it might not be appropriate for anorexics who are at a dangerously low weight already.

The thing that bugs me the most about SSRIs is that I almost completely lose my motivation to exercise. But I tried to get myself off them this year and the anxiety and depression were unbearable.

The first time I tried Wellbutrin (as an add-on to Prozac) I got severe anxiety and something I can only describe as “everything seemed to have a film of death and decay over it”. I swear I felt I’d walked into a Philip K. Dick novel. I went off it and then tried it again a few months later and it worked better that time. (I often have an odd reaction to a medicine the first time I take it.)

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 3:41 pm

18 On July 21st, 2008, Rachel2 said:

Oh yeah. Fun stuff. I have been on AD’s for damn near 10 years. I have been on Celexa, Lexapro, Remeron (evil, evil stuff. Doc put me on it as I was diagnosed BPII. Gained 35+ in less than a year.), Risperdal, Fluoxetine, and now Methlyn. No, almost none of it was at the same time.

First, I’ve got OCD, Bipolar II Disorder (??), Seasonal Affective Disorder, dealt with unofficialized eating issues since childhood, and most recently, I’m finding out that I’ve also got AD/HD. It’s like Rachel Richardson is my twin (minus the severe ED. I think I’ve got a few others to compensate)!

That said:

I started on Celexa and it helped with the depression issues that initially sent me to the ER (nasty little cutting thing…) I knew that I had OCD, but nobody would listen, and when I tried to express my concerns, it fell on deaf ears. Naturally, that will depress anybody. A few years later, the Celexa seemed to loose it’s effectiveness, so I switched to Lexapro, which I have been on consistently and it stabilizes me enough to keep me out of inpatient care. The Remeron made me sleep forever, and I gained a lot of weight. When I went off of it, losing weight became a whole lot easier. (I’d struggled like hell to lose 10-15 pounds and then went nowhere-Went off of it, and then it just kind of fell off). The Risperdal worked for a time to keep my anxieties in check, and did a wonderful job. I got to a point to where things were going wonderfully and I did not actually need it. I notice that when I’m overmedicated, I can definitely feel it, and I listen to what my body has to tell me about it (e.g.-GO OFF!). YAY! I still had this nasty, nasty PMS. It’s not normal PMS. It’s PMS from the tenth level of hell. I exhausted every single possibility before I agreed to medicate it. I’m so glad I went on meds for it! The fluoxetine (Prozac) does WONDERS for the 3-5 days out of the month that I need it. Otherwise, I’m a raving psycho. And now, most recently, with the help of a brilliant counselor (long story about how I went back to counseling), I’m in the process of an AD/HD diganosis. The new meds (Methlyn) help very significantly. Immensely, even. Like Rachel, I’ve got the exact same focus issues–feeling like a chihuahua on speed at times, to being downright fuzzy and stupid. It’s life-changing is what it is. Whew!

The bulk majority of the problems are indeed chemical. The emotional difficulties in my life have arisen due to the real, physical chemical imbalance in my brain. I sometimes need to sit my ass down and beat this into my head. I’m not stupid. I’m not a degenerate. I’m not a reject. I wouldn’t call somebody with a heart condition a degenerate, so why would I call myself one?

So now I seem to be on a relatively stable Lexapro-fluoxetine-methlyn combo.

To agree with what somebody said earlier about eating disorders being tied more closely with OCD–It’s TRUE. It’s a way for the brain to express it’s “hiccup” of getting stuck in the hamster wheel of thought.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 4:27 pm

19 On July 21st, 2008, Yorke said:

I was put on Prozac at 17 to treat anorexia and I was stupid and really errant about taking it and as such, it didn’t do much good. It just made me apathetic, which I suppose was better than extremely depressed. I just eventually quit taking it.

Last year I was put on Effexor by my family doctor for bulimia and depression (who I saw to get a referral for counseling only to hear from him “Those people have their own issues and agenda…”) who happened to have some samples laying around. I had some strange crying episodes in the beginning and a loss of appetite which did reduce the b/p cycling; however, I abruptly became severely suicidal to the point of throwing away nearly everything in my apartment, specifically anything potentially “embarrassing” or of sentimental value such that no one would find it when I passed… Frightening.

I quit taking it cold turkey as I feared for my life. I was too ashamed and weirded out to tell my doctor as I’d been fine at my one-month checkup and I’d begun gaining weight. The emotional symptoms got somewhat better but the withdrawals were horrifying. I was afraid to drive from the wavy-line-brain-zap freakouts. It took a good three months for that to stop and I’ve suffered some fatigue since (exacerbated by overexercising, I’m sure).

I’m so scared to take anything else. I am somewhat dysthymic, that is I have a chronic, low-level depression, and I have monthly PMDD episodes of suicidal thoughts. I know I should probably be on something but I will clearly get nowhere with my Dr. Perhaps I’ll switch doctors, as for my insurance to cover anything, I need a referral.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 5:48 pm

20 On July 21st, 2008, Becky said:

I’ve been on Prozac for 8 years now. It’s done absolute wonders for my depression. Short term side effects included nausea, loss of appetite, insomnia and anxiety attacks, but I haven’t personally experienced any long term side effects. I have gained a lot of weight since I started on it, but there are so many possible reasons for that, and I didn’t lose any weight when I went off it for six months or so last year, so I don’t think it’s the cause.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 6:00 pm

21 On July 21st, 2008, Alix said:

I have PMDD and Prozac works perfectly for that. I also have PCOS which means I don’t always cycle and then PMDD seems to manifest as generalized depression. For that I tried Zoloft in my teens and it was horrid (I was a zombie), and Effexor was effective but so, so bad to go off of.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 6:56 pm

22 On July 21st, 2008, Tori said:

I used to be against any kind of mind-altering drugs (for me anyway, for others I had no problem with it) because I went on BC three times in H.S. and it totally messed with my moods in a negative way, so I just figured any kind of medicine would have a negative effect on me. Anyway, my counselor suggested it but I wouldn’t budge. That is, until my OCD and anxiety and ED got so bad that I couldn’t function. My mind was racing nonstop — I couldn’t sleep, concentrate…I didn’t even have the attention span to have a conversation, it was that bad. I would just forget what I was talking about mid-sentence because my mind would already be on the next subject. Granted, some of it had to do with the fact that I was malnourished from the anorexia so my brain was trying really hard to even keep going. I finally “caved” and tried Zoloft, and I’m so extremely pleased with it. I don’t regret it in the slightest — I’m my normal self again!

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 7:54 pm

23 On July 21st, 2008, Lois Waller said:

Yorke, my reaction to Prozac (aside from the intermittent aggression and anger) was extreme apathy, and I am dysthymic with PMDD and a history of disordered eating.

As I said above, Lexapro has been working for me.

I hope everyone finds something that works for them.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 8:51 pm

24 On July 21st, 2008, tiptoe said:

Rachel: I wonder then if Prozac wouldn’t be most beneficial for people with anorexia. Does anyone know more about this?

In studies I’ve read, it is conflicting evidence. In what I believe is the most recent article about it, fluoxetine was not helpful even in those weight restored. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/295/22/2605

Another study looked at whether it augments those inpatient with anorexia, and again the answer was no. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/155/4/548

In those who are underweight, SSRIs were not very beneficial.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/15000137/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Other studies have looked at nutritional supplements in helping to aid with fluoxetine and it was also ineffective.

I guess this is one reason why there isn’t an actual “drug” that’s been named as completely treatment effective. I’m also wondering that if researchers are going towards the OCD model for anorexia, then how come there hasn’t been much research with anorexia and fluvoxamine (Luvox) which is used for depression, anxiety, and mostly OCD. Plus, it’s approved for both children and adolescents.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 8:57 pm

25 On July 21st, 2008, tiptoe said:

As far as my own experience with ADs, they didn’t prove to be of much help. I was prescribed Prozac first. That caused weird dreams and possibly made me suicidal? I was also on Accutane at the time, so my parents are convinced it was that. I really don’t know though.

Then I was on Effexor. I had horrible side effects from that, so didn’t stay on that one. In college, I was on zoloft for awhile. It was okay in terms of side effects, but I didn’t notice that much of a change. It was more to help curb the purging episodes. The last one I was on was lexapro which had no side effects but my mood was still eh.

These days, I’m just not on any and prefer a natural route if anything. Though of course, if I was in desperate need of an Ad, I would at least try it again.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 9:01 pm

26 On July 21st, 2008, HeatherRadish said:

Huh. I went off Effexor cold turkey when I was unemployed and my money ran out, and I had no physical withdrawal symptoms/pain/trouble whatsoever. Then again, instead of typic libido loss on Zoloft, I became a raging nymphomaniac (…and no man on the planet would touch me if I paid them, so I just felt that much worse). I’m beginning to suspect I’m too messed up for human pharmacology.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 9:46 pm

27 On July 21st, 2008, Rhonwyyn said:

I’m currently on Effexor XR 75mg for depression and Lamictal 100mg 2x/day for BP2. I have a terrible time staying awake during the day, and my brain feels foggy a lot. Have any of you had the sleepy/foggy issue, too? How have you dealt with it? How has it affected your job(s)?

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 10:08 pm

28 On July 21st, 2008, Lauren said:

About five years ago, I was on Prozac for depression and OCD, and it gave me panic attacks and anxiety issues, neither of which I had before, and did nothing for depression or OCD. Then I was put on Paxil and that was supposed to help calm down the anxiety and panic attacks, and it made me zombie-like, fuzzy, confused and I couldn’t concentrate while on it. And, I was constantly in a state of “I can’t feel; I just want to feel”, and it was during this time I started self-harming. It did some to help the panic, ha, but yeah, I preferred the panic.

I actually went off both cold-turkey and had no withdrawal effects. I didn’t have any weight gain or loss on either or any other physical side effects. They were definitely not for me, mostly because I think I was misdiagnosed. I haven’t been on anything since. I’ve heard a ton of good about Wellbutrin.

posted on July 21st, 2008 at 11:06 pm

29 On July 22nd, 2008, lilacsigil said:

I’ve been on Cipramil (citalopram) for 10 years now. I tried Zoloft and Aurorix first, both of which made me unable to get out of bed and yet also weirdly hyper and aggressive in mood. Cipramil worked beautifully for me – it killed what remained of my creative writing skills stone dead for about 5 years, but it also snapped me out of suicidal feelings within a few weeks and they’ve never come back. I’ve put my dose up and down, my creativity has come back, and I’ve never been that depressed again. I still oscillate slowly between mild depression and being okay, but can up my dose a bit to stop the mild depression cycling into anything worse.

I work in a pharmacy and I have seen people slowly and safely get off all of the drugs mentioned above (except Wellbutrin, because that’s only sold as a smoking deterrent, Zyban, here).

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 am

30 On July 22nd, 2008, claudia said:

Check out this blog. The guy has a real nice style, he started groups for support for anxiety and depression.
I think it’s pretty helpful…
http://anxiousangst.blogspot.com/

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 7:04 am

31 On July 22nd, 2008, Michele said:

I was on quite a few different drugs at the start of my treatment, (Paxil, Zoloft, Klonapin) but since I was 14 at the time, I really don’t remember many of the effects. Prozac, however, messed with me. I tried MANY different doses and the effects ranged from heavy apathy to a huge episode of “happy fuzzy syndrome,” where I have literally NO memory of that month or so although my parents say I was frighteningly zombie-like. My golden ticket has been Cymbalta. I have had no side effects at all and I feel like it’s been able to control the binge/purge/starve cycle better than anything I have ever been on before. Plus, I don’t feel like I’m a “medicated” version of myself, I just feel like myself!

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 8:11 am

32 On July 22nd, 2008, Katharine said:

When I was suicidally depressed and anorexic (the anorexia actually started as an effect of the depression — I stopped eating, then kept on not eating after I lost weight) my doctor suggested (well, insisted) on antidepressants.

I too picked Wellbutrin, because I’d done my internet research and at the time, gaining even a pound from a medication was unacceptable to me. (Plus, there couldn’t be anything bad about possibly quitting the depression-induced resurgence of my teen smoking habit.)

Nicole, I absolutely agree with you about a chemical basis for depression. However, unfortunately, I also believe those chemicals are not entirely well-understood. My father and my brother also suffer from severe depression. Both me and my brother cannot tolerate any — ah, recreational — mind-altering drugs, either (although my brother still indulges despite psychotic episodes — he has some idea that the Force of His Will should conquer).

On Wellbutrin, I was not only still suicidally depressed, but the voices in my head took on actual, hallucinatory life. I was pursued by demonic mutterings, paranoid and terrified. I went off it on my own, cold turkey, because I reached a stage where the mere thought of taking another of those pills sent me into a panic.

I don’t think I will ever dare try another anti-depressant, or other brain-affecting drug, again, no matter how severe my depression. Sure, it MIGHT work — but then again, it might be worse. My doctor had never heard of the side effect I experienced, and my mind, even suicidal, is too precious for me to play with.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 am

33 On July 22nd, 2008, Erin said:

Uggghhh me and my constant struggle with side effects from anti-depressants.

I’ve been on Prozac, paxil, celexa, wellbutrin, zoloft, and trazadone weee! Prozac made me agressive and irritable it actually made my anxiety worse. Paxil was FAR worse for me, I could not sleep and when I did sleep my parents could not wake me, it also caused me to shake like someone coming off herion or cocaine. I couldn’t even hold a pen my whole body trembled for 3 days after I went off.

Celexa had similar side effects to paxil… wellbutrin did like nothing for me. Zoloft was the only drug that did work, with miniumal side effects, I lost weight taking it too… however it’s not completely ineffective for me.

Trazadone didn’t do much either and the higher doses knock me out for 12-20 hours a time. So not cool at all.

I also once was thought to be bi-polar(because of what seemed like manic episodes while taking anti-depressants) they put me on Lamictal which gave me a weird rash on my face and neck x_x This is very dangerous if you get this after taking Lamictal PLEASE go to the ER because it can kill you.

All in all my experience has not been a positive one, which is why I’ve been putting off going on them again.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 10:16 am

34 On July 22nd, 2008, sarah said:

Wow, great thread. I’ve just started taking Wellbutrin again after not being on anything for about 3 years (yay insurance!). My body is still getting used to it, and for the first week, I had terrible side effects, but I’m feeling a lot better now. I take the generic, and it’s fine — that sucks about the migraines, Rachel.
Previously, I have been on Zoloft (bc it worked for my sister — did nothing for me), Celexa (nothing), Effexor (nothing except headaches), and Paxil (made me feel super-fantastic for a couple weeks, then I crashed and felt 10 times worse).
Wellbutrin’s the only thing that’s worked for me at all.
Does anyone know anything about Lorazepam (I think it’s generic Attivan)? My psych prescribed a low dose to help me sleep better, but it hasn’t done anything for me.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 11:45 am

35 On July 22nd, 2008, Rachel said:

Lilacsigal: “Cipramil worked beautifully for me – it killed what remained of my creative writing skills stone dead for about 5 years, but it also snapped me out of suicidal feelings within a few weeks and they’ve never come back.”

Yeah, I was really medication resistant in the beginning, because I swore that Wellbutrin killed my creative side. In retrospect, it wasn’t the meds that killed my creative streak, but the fact that I began eating again. I get wildly creative when I’m starving I have found. And there’s nothing like crippling depression to spark my inner torment into words and images.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 12:44 pm

36 On July 22nd, 2008, susan said:

I was on Paxil for a few winters for SAD. It worked wonderfully as far as making me feel normal and I think I lost a few pounds while taking it. However, it KILLED my sex drive completely.

I’ve simply suffered through the past 6 or 7 winters, but my doctor wants me to try Wellbutrin this coming fall.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 4:04 pm

37 On July 22nd, 2008, Catgal said:

Wow! Great topic! I am going straight to crazy meds once I finish this post.

I have been on Topamax (off label for wl) it did nothing, Prozac was my first official anti-depressant which now come to think of it made me angry and aggressive too! Ritalin, Remeron…

Then I went on Effexor. This drug worked for me, but I transitioned off of it because I was thinking about maybe someday getting pregnant (ha!). I was coming off Effexor and on to Wellbutrin, and it was the worst time of my life. I was so constantly nauseated that all I could eat were saltines. And the dreaded brain zaps had me feeling like I was going to stroke out. I thought it was the Wellburtin that gave me the negative side effects, but later did some research and realized that it was the withdrawls from the Effexor.

Now I am on Celexa, Klonapin, and Wellbutrin. The Wellbutrin was recently added because I was feeling markedly depressed for an extended period of time. The Klonapin is for anxiety and it works well. I do find that I am getting mini brain zaps now that I started the Wellbutrin again. Does anyone get these regularly?

And I suffer from the dreaded sexual side effects. I have no desire or drive whatsoever. It is awful. Thankfully my husband totally understands this and would rather have me sane. Yet I don’t think it’s fair for him to have to live in a realatively sexless marriage because of my depression.

I am really praying that the sexual side effect thing is cracked soon. Or that they figure out some kind of Viagra for women.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 4:24 pm

38 On July 22nd, 2008, guineapig said:

I have two children with autistic spectrum disorders and ADHD. Both take a stimulant, an AD (which works on anxiety issues for them), and an antipsycotic/atypical AP. One takes Concerta, Zoloft and Abilify; the other takes Focalin (divided doses, as XR made him aggressive, agitated and angry), Celexa, and risperdal.

Neither has gained weight, nor experienced extrapyramidal effects. Both were CRAZY on Adderall — kicking doors, raging, extremely agitated, and PARANOID. One took Strattera and was hospitalized as a fourth-grader for sudden suicidality and marked effects on his liver, leaving him jaundiced and quite underweight.

I have had anorexia (between 45 percent and 63 percent IBW at various levels of function and complications) for more than 20 years and have *never gained weight* on *any* of the psych meds prescribed, even the notorious gainers, despite taking the ordered doses (and often in-hospital and, therefore, supervised).

Because the docs seem to think that anorexia involves psychotic features in the weight obsessionality piece and because they also will prescribe anything with a weight-gain potential (seen as a benefit vs. a side effect), and b/c docs alternately believe depression and/or anxiety is at the core of every ED, and b/c I developed a seizure disorder in the midst of my eating disorder, and b/c someone once thought I had a mood disorder (rather, everyone with an ED has some kind of mood disturbance), …

I have taken the following: Depakote, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Remeron, Risperdal, Tegretol, Lamictal, Keppra, Haldol, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Imipramine, Xanax, Clonazapam, Ativan, propanol, Wellbutrin, Neurontin, Gabitril, Geodon, vistaril (like RX benadryl), Ambien, Lunesta, Rozerem, Topamax, and melatonin.

Side effects have included somnolence, inability to sweat, tremors, tachycardia, thrombocytopenia, extreme low BP (60/40), involuntary movements, lactation, hallucinations, nausea, racing thoughts, arrhythmia, leg edema, muscle cramps, slurred speech, pressured speech, insomnia, nightmares, night sweats, rapid cycling between despondence and mania, fever, seizure, muscle weakness, “feeling naked” and wanting to hide, blurry vision, pins-and-needles sensation, diarrhea, taste and smell perversion, out-of-body feelings, gait instability, dizziness, pancytopenia, liver function disturbance, loss of muscle coordination, memory and cognitive deficits, flu-like symptoms, general feeling like crapola … or on top of the world … but sick as a dog (though not an ounce heavier) either way.

The most moderate docs seem to have it right when they say that low-weight patients experience all of the side effects but none of the benefits of neuroleptic drugs.

posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 10:56 pm

39 On July 23rd, 2008, Denise said:

Catgal said: “I am really praying that the sexual side effect thing is cracked soon. Or that they figure out some kind of Viagra for women.”

Funny you should say that Catgal. I heard on the news tonight that Viagra is being used by women — especially those suffering from sexual side effects due to ADs. It might be worth looking into!

posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 12:22 am

40 On July 23rd, 2008, Piffle said:

Wellbutrin made my husband angry and verbally abusive. He has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and takes Lamictal and Lexapro, with some side effects; but none as bad as the depression. Lexapro cuts his libido about in half, however, that brings it still a little higher than mine, so we don’t have a problem with it. He also takes Topomax for migraines, and experiences some of the word loss side effects and some visual disturbances (he calls them trailers, if he moves his eyes quickly, things leave trails); but the effect on the migraines has made them more than worthwhile. I had some moderate depression a while ago, which I was prescribed Celexa for, and that worked just fine for me; but did kill my libido. I didn’t have any trouble getting off, but I never had to go over the lowest dose either.

My husband has also had neurontin for chronic pain, and it worked beautifully; much better than the opoid drugs.

Neither of us has an ED, however, so we don’t have that in our chemistry, FWIW.

And I did see a title on ScienceDaily just recently that viagra seems to help women on AD drugs, so ask your doctor if you need a libido bump and your heart is healthy.

posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 am

41 On July 23rd, 2008, Catgal said:

Piffle, I read that very article just this morning. What I got from it was that it can improve function, which is great, but won’t do much for desire or drive. It’s worth a conversation with my doc though.

posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 am

42 On July 23rd, 2008, Erika said:

I was prescribed Prozac 10 years ago when I started therapy to treat my bulimia. It was like being on acid – time didn’t move. I lost weight, then started aving suicidal ideations. I am currently on Celexa to treat depression & anxiety due to anorexia, and am pleased with it so far. Although it does not do as much for my anxiety as I would have hoped. I have panic attacks and need Klonopin for those, which helps fast & tremendously.

posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm

43 On July 23rd, 2008, DawnD said:

Regarding Viagra for women–I tried that years ago when I was first on Prozac. Didn’t do anything useful for me. Works great for my husband, though. ;^)

I’ve had my own laundry list of stuff I’ve tried over the years, starting with 2 years of Prozac. In terms of relieving my symptoms (depression, anxiety, and OCD-like features mostly including rumination), it was GREAT. It was like a veil was lifted, and suddenly I didn’t have to go over every little failure again and again and again in my mind.

Unfortunately, the side effects were intolerable. After months on Prozac, I sorta figured out how to work around the anorgasmia, but not really. And my desire was toast. Which with a husband who has rather high desire, was just not functional. And in those two years, I gained about 30 lbs (after an initial loss of maybe 5-10 lbs). So when I got pregnant, I quit, cold turkey.

I made it through pregnancy ok, but afterwards, when the depression returned in force, I started working with other supplements. I tried 5HTP and St. John’s Wort with little result. Tried Prozac at a lower dose, but it still gave me anorgasmia. Then SAM-e, which I was on for several years. It seemed to lift the fog slightly, though not anywhere as well as Prozac. But the anorgasmia became a problem again, and I had a doc suggest that it can build up in the system and give the same problems as “regular” SSRIs. So I quit that.

After that, I tried yet more different things. I tried Wellbutrin, but it absolutely spiked my anxiety, and I was on it for less than a week. Oh yeah, Sertraline: that made me both non-functionally sleepy and combative. Fun! I tried Luvox (fluvoxamine), because of the OCD component. But that was expensive (we ordered from Canadameds.com, and reduced the cost from over $400/mo to “only” $150/mo), and still gave me anorgasmia. I tried Inositol (a sugar alcohol that appears to sometimes be helpful for OCD especially), but that didn’t seem to do anything helpful. I tried Lamictal, along with Depakote for a while. I got really interesting visions with the Depakote, but I didn’t feel like I was getting any real good vis a vis my symptoms. Most recently, I’ve been on LexaPro for most of 2 years, and it seems to be helping with the mood, but I think still having some negative effects on my sex drive. At least I don’t have anorgasmia…if I ever wanted to have sex.

My weight went down early on in this cycle, while I was nursing (3 years of nursing; my kid is 11 now), but it started going back up as soon as I stopped nursing completely. I spent a while (2+ years) doing “low-carb”, and my weight got down to only slightly above what it had been when I had gotten pregnant. Since I quit the low carb thing (and since I quit work, and therefore my access to the water ex. class I loved), my weight has pretty much steadily increased. I don’t know what I weigh now, but I’m pretty sure it’s more than I ever have, even pregnant. At least some of that is directly attributable to the drugs, and some of it is tangentially attributable (loss of motivation and energy). When I stopped the Lamictal my weight went down a tiny bit, but then went back up again with the Lexapro. Overall, I’ve gained maybe 60-70 lbs, maybe more, since going on antidepressants. Not all of that is due to the drugs, but I’d say at least 40-50 of that, probably. If I starve myself, am obsessive about my food, and/or exercise quite a bit, I can push that down. But never ever EVER to the point that I’m anywhere close to “normal weight.” It just doesn’t seem worth it to me to try WLD anymore, although I still get twinges of wishfulness.

Thus endeth my personal medication and weight saga… for now. :^)

posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm

44 On July 25th, 2008, KT said:

Wow. I’ve gotta say, much as I’d never wish this on anyone, it’s really nice to see that there are so many other “difficult to medicate” people out there. I’ve gone through pretty severe depression that lasted for a long long time without any respite, and have gone through the drug after drug after drug cycle as a result. I also have an eating disorder that’s run the gamut from binging, purging, restricting & everything in between, so I can’t really speak to the weight effects of drugs since my eating was kind of…nuts through all of this.

•First was Lexapro–did nothing.
•Next, Buspar, on the theory that it might intensify the effects of Lexapro &/or that I had an underlying anxiety disorder masked by my ED/depression. Nada.
•Prozac came third, and it helped briefly but the effect faded. At that point my psychiatrist told me that “this might just be as good as it gets for you” and I stopped seeing her and went off drugs altogether for a few months.

I was really reluctant to see another psychiatrist after that comment, but I got really suicidal & pretty non-functional, so I gave into my therapist and went. My current psychiatrist is awesome, knowledgeable and patient & persistent as all hell. He’s the second-in-command in the psych department at a university research hospital and my therapist had to pull major strings to get me in to see him. He knows freaking everything. And my appointments with him actually last longer than 10 minutes. Which is basically my way of saying…not all psychiatrists are created equal! Find an expert–it makes a difference!!!

•Went back on Prozac at a much higher dose since it had had some effect initially. Same thing happened as before–it helped a little & then I went back to baseline, plus it left me even more drained than usual.
•Tried Klonopin & Ativan as a supplement to the Prozac–another experiment with the anxiety disorder theory. I freakishly had no (literally, NO effect from fairly powerful sedative drugs) response to either, even at the highest levels he was willing to prescribe.
•Then came Strattera, an ADD drug, but as an SNRI it also apparently helps some–though not me!–w/ depression.
•Cymbalta was next, and also did nothing.
•My psychiatrist then tried me on methylfolate (a type of B vitamin supplement that can help w/ depression) as an adjunct to see if a nutritional angle might help. Nope.
•At this point my usually lousy ability to sleep turned into raging insomnia, but I refused to take Ambien b/c I was afraid I’d eat in my sleep. Tried Lunesta, but it kept me awake all night and made my mouth taste AWFUL.
•My psychiatrist wanted to put me on Wellbutrin since it can be somewhat more activating and a major symptom of my depression was exhaustion that was so intense it was an effort to stand up in the shower. I was purging constantly at that point though (funny how I managed to find the energy to make myself throw up but couldn’t find it for much else…EDs are powerful freaking illnesses) so the seizure risk outweighed the potential benefits.
•Since typical ADs and anti-anxiety meds hadn’t helped, my psychiatrist put me on Lamictal–a drug for bipolar disorder, which I don’t have. It took a while to get to the right dose (you have to build up the dose really slowly b/c there’s a risk of a rash that can be life-threatening if your system isn’t acclimated to the drug) and the wait was really hard since I was pretty desperate at that point. But finally, I found something that worked. It didn’t cure my depression, but it gave it a floor, enabled me to function, got rid of the agitation that sometimes accompanied my worst depressive episodes and took the edge of my exhaustion. Also didn’t affect my weight at all, up or down, and unlike the SSRIs it doesn’t make me hungry.
•The insomnia was still a problem, so I went on trazodone which helped, though it left me a little groggy in the morning b/c I needed a really high dose to sleep. I’ve since weaned off of it (as my mood improved I was better able to sleep) and now only take a small dose when I’m going through one of my occasional periods of lousy sleep.
•Because the exhaustion wasn’t helped by the Lamictal or the ability to sleep, I went on Adderall XR (though I don’t have ADD), which really helps my energy and brought me from “functional” to “able to behave like a semi-normal human being.” I still don’t have as much energy as the average person but I can at least MOVE. I do have to make sure I take it early enough in the day that it doesn’t keep me up at night–it’s supposed to last about 12 hours, but I find it wears off at 13-14 for me. Also, it’s a little bit of an issue with my ED because it kind of kills my appetite. I’m fine in the AM and fine after about 4, but in the middle of the day I often don’t feel hungry at all, especially if I’m restricting because that also tends to kill my appetite. It makes things kind of hard b/c I feel ridiculously guilty if I eat when I’m not hungry. Overall the benefits outweigh the costs, since I’m still plenty eating disordered without it…

I technically still meet the criteria for major depression, but I’ve moved from the “severe” category to the “mild” category, which allows me to deal with shit in therapy and do everyday things like exercise that help my mood and is much more tolerable than spending every day wanting to die. None of the meds touched my ED at all though. Prozac is the only drug, I think, that is specifically approved to treat EDs (bulimia only) and it definitely did NOT have a positive effect on binging or purging for me…

Okay wow, I just wrote a book (or an epic!) so I’ll stop now!

posted on July 25th, 2008 at 7:34 pm

45 On July 25th, 2008, KT said:

Oh, one more thing, almost forgot! Lamictal makes me sweat more…which is a little gross when I’m dripping–literally SOAKED–from a 30 minute not-terribly-hard-core workout, but worth it b/c I can actually work out at all!

posted on July 25th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

46 On July 28th, 2008, Emily said:

I personally would not recommend any medication. Here is a list of the psychiatric medicines I have tried:

Lamictal (for manic depressive/bipolar disorder): Gave me a really weird headache, a rare rash, breathing problems, and lethargy.

Concerta (ADHD): Gave me uncontrollable muscle tics in my neck. I still have them, now out of habit.

Strattera (ADHD): Did nothing.

Zoloft (Depression): Did nothing.

Adderall (ADHD): Definitely does what it is supposed to do, but made me anxious and nervous all the time.

So here’s my conclusion. If you’ve been prescribed a medication that you have to “keep an open mind about,” chances are, you’re taking a placebo. If a medicine really worked, it wouldn’t matter if you doubted it. Besides, psychiatric medicines are not natural, and they all take a toll on your body.

My advice is this: Before seeking psychiatric help, examine your diet. Are you getting all of your vitamins? If not, you can purchase supplements at health food stores. It’s surprising how well a balanced diet can improve your outlook and mood. Through experimentation, I found that I benefit most from a B12 vitamin, a multivitamin, calcium supplements, zinc supplements, and a tryptophan supplement. Everybody’s body and lifestyle is different, and you just have to figure out what works for you. Although, if I had to recommend something, it would undoubtedly be L-Tryptophan. It is the only pill I’ve ever swallowed that has significantly improved my mood, and with no side effects.

posted on July 28th, 2008 at 2:17 pm