The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Need anecdotal evidence (anti-depressants)
Dalboz
Resident Puppy EaterRight behind you...Registered User regular
Resident Puppy EaterRight behind you...Registered User regular
As I mentioned in another thread, I think I've been suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I think I've had it for a long time, but it's been getting worse lately to the point where I think I've been having panic attacks. So I decided to take a first step to doing something about it and went to see my doctor so that I could get a professional opinion. His take was that it definitely sounds like I've got some anxiety issues and said to call my insurance company to get a listing of therapists. He was going to prescribe Xanax to me, but I had heard enough about it to make me reluctant and I told him that. So he wrote me prescription for Lexapro instead in the smallest dosage available. He understood that I was concerned about 1) losing who I am, and 2) becoming dependent on it and hoping to be able to eventually stop taking it.
So my request for information is from people who have been on Lexapro and what their experience was. I've read up on it a bit, and while I think I can handle potential for nausea and drowsiness (which my doctor did warn me about) as long it's not excessive. I'm a little more concerned about weight gain (I just lost a bunch of weight and don't want to get it back) or sexual side effects which it doesn't detail. Also, if there's anything else I may need to be aware of. I've been reluctant to mess with my brain chemistry (quite frankly it scares me a little), but I'm concerned I may have reached a point where I'll need the meds to pull myself out of this, at least in the short term.
EDIT
Okay, got another question regarding Lexapro:
Is it okay to drink alcohol while taking it? The label says don't drink alcohol, but I see conflicting information out there about it, and the "Don't Drink Alcohol" label is actually a bit of an overstatement. I'm going to a going away party in a couple weeks and part of the purpose is going to be to help my friend finish off his alcohol supply before he moves. ;-) But will it be okay for me, even if I stick to light or moderate drinking?
So my request for information is from people who have been on Lexapro and what their experience was. I've read up on it a bit, and while I think I can handle potential for nausea and drowsiness (which my doctor did warn me about) as long it's not excessive. I'm a little more concerned about weight gain (I just lost a bunch of weight and don't want to get it back) or sexual side effects which it doesn't detail. Also, if there's anything else I may need to be aware of. I've been reluctant to mess with my brain chemistry (quite frankly it scares me a little), but I'm concerned I may have reached a point where I'll need the meds to pull myself out of this, at least in the short term.
EDIT
Okay, got another question regarding Lexapro:
Is it okay to drink alcohol while taking it? The label says don't drink alcohol, but I see conflicting information out there about it, and the "Don't Drink Alcohol" label is actually a bit of an overstatement. I'm going to a going away party in a couple weeks and part of the purpose is going to be to help my friend finish off his alcohol supply before he moves. ;-) But will it be okay for me, even if I stick to light or moderate drinking?
Dalboz on
0
Posts
EDIT: I'm not trying to derail this in any way, I was just curious as to whether you could hold off before seeing a therapist, who might be able to talk to you further than your GP has.
Because that's standard operating procedure? Because there's rarely any earthly reason for a physician to hold off on prescribing antidepressants?
Anyway, Lexapro. My ex-girlfriend was/is on it, as well as several people I've known. I tried Celexa (which is an older similar drug that can be thought of as a 'less pure' version of Lexapro) when I was having problems with depression (due to another illness) and it did nothing for me. Lexapro does tend to be one of the "milder" antidepressants in that fewer people tend to experience side effects from it than from other antidepressants; and those people that do experience adverse side effects tend to find them relatively tolerable. It's a good antidepressant to start with for exactly this reason.
I'll warn you against putting too much stock in anecdotes about antidepressants, though, especially on the Internet. There's nothing wrong with asking people, but remember that different people can have wildly different experiences. People who had unnotable experiences rarely post, so you'll hear all the really good and the really bad stuff. You could come across the one person who had a scary but exotic side effect and read their tale and think, "My god, could that happen to me?" even if the chances of you specifically having that particular side effect are approximately comparable to the chances of being hit on the head by a random meteorite. This is doubly true for posts about other antidepressants - how one antidepressant affects you has nothing at all in common with out a different antidepressant may affect you.
I will also point out that Lexapro can cause withdrawals if you discontinue it suddenly. My ex, for instance, gets brain zaps (no, there's no particular medical term for it) if she runs out and forgets to refill her prescription right away. This is usually not a huge issue - all you need to do is slowly taper off your dose, including cutting your pills in half if need be. The withdrawals are not dangerous, just annoying. Just keep that in mind if you do decide to quit - don't just suddenly stop taking them one morning.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
As Feral said these types of meds work differently on everyone, so don't get worried if you read a bunch of horror stories as we are talking about brain chemistry. One thing I can say, to reiterate the post above mine, give it a chance to work before throwing in the towel. A lot of the side effects go away fairly quickly.
Good Luck!
~alina
Because your brain chemestry is doing so great on its own, huh?
Depression has been scientifically linked to genetics, which means that it is essentially unavoidable in a large portion of the population. It is not a sign of weakness, it is not a character flaw... get over that. Medication helps to normalize you, not change you.
That being said, I have been on both Ritalin and Wellbutrin before, and both worked very well with no side effects. I've never been on the one you have been perscribed, but if you do experience side effects, guess what, doctors can adjust dosage, try new medication... it isn't like you get side effects and they stay with you forever with no recourse.
I should have qualified that a little more. Given the delicate nature of the brain and its chemistry, I'm afraid of losing who I am. Although it sounds like several people here are on or have been on SSRIs before and function fine without affecting their cognitive abilities. So that's a little reassuring.
And the title was slightly sarcastic. I know that anecdotal evidence is not really evidence, but it does give some idea of what I might expect. I took my first pill last night and just decided to go for it with a full pill rather than a half pill. The doctor said that it probably would start to work within a couple of days, although I wouldn't feel the full effect until a few weeks into as it builds up in my system. We'll see how it goes.
Why? How does a GP who is supposed to deal with colds, sneezes, coughs, infections, rashes and everything else have time to become an expert on neurochemistry?
These aren't candy. They're mind altering drugs that just happen to be legalised. I've danced around it in H&A before, but the cavalier attitude to pills here is pretty insane from a UK standpoint. We've had people in this thread talking about adverse reactions while on them, withdrawal symptoms coming off them and stating that their effect on people is usually unique. Having a GP prescribe them after a single consultation, without any assessment of there being a root psychological cause, is mind-blowing.
If a psychiatrist or other form of therapist, ie. a specialist, thinks they are of use, then go for it. They have their place and they are useful to specific people. But having a GP prescribe them after a single consultation, without any assessment of there being a root psychological cause, is mind-blowing.
I really don't think they should be taken without speaking to a specialist.
I agree... if only physicians had to take some kind of class or schooling before they were allowed to hand out perscriptions. Oh... wait.
Again, it's only a big deal because of your crazy attitude about anti-depressants. They are a drug that effects the human body, just like sleeping pills, anti-biotics, or another other drug. They do not destroy the mind, they don't even fuck with it... they normalize the chemicals in your brain... they work the same way any other drugs do. So, get off your fucking high horse about anti-depressants... it's only a big deal because you know fuck-all about them yet insist that they are somehow the bane of society.
Get over it.
I think you should be careful. If your doctor thinks its ok to take them then it's probably ok. No harm in educating yourself though. At the pharmacy or the doctor's office ask if they have the info packet on Lexapro. it's a brocuhre type thing the manfacatorers are required to make. It will give you solid information about side-effects, drug interactions and risks. Trust that lots more than crap people and sties on the internet tell you.
Doctors are great, specialists are better. A good doctor should recommend you to a specialist when it extends outside their range of expertise. They're, you know, human, not omniscient.
How do you know they normalise the chemicals in your brain if you aren't capable of knowing whether the chemicals are wrong in the first place? As I said, this thread is full of people who have had negative experiences, so they aren't to be treated lightly, which is what I take exception to. H/A seems to think that you should just chug them down. Half of H/A seem to be on them at this point.
I am not against pills. I am not on a high horse. They are not the bane of society or whatever other problem you think I have with them. What I am against is taking them because they worked for other people. You need a proper consultation with someone whose job it is to understand this shit.
That is not the place of a family GP.
Depression isn't some new frontier of medicine. I think you're really REALLY selling short the amount of experience and continued education a physician ends out having. I mean, hell it's not like they just went to a weekend retreat to get their degree.
For the most part these are people who have spent 14 years or more gaining a pretty damn fine understanding of human biology and chemistry. There is a place to see a specialist, but really unless you have an idiot for a GP they will let you know when you've passed outside of their realm of knowledge. You've made a mistake if you believe that any doctor worth a shit doesn't spend a staggering amount of time continuing their education when topics like ADHD and Depression become as hugely popular as they are now.
This is all assuming you know your GP isn't complete crap. If he recommended therapy in addition to the meds it sounds like he started you off in the right direction. (OP) and I would listen to him. It sounds like you're just looking for an excuse to not take it.
If you put on 6lbs and aren't depressed and anxious anymore I'd say it's a worthwhile tradeoff. It's also important to note that they HAVE to list all side-effects, even the super-duper rare ones. There's no way to know til you take it, and if none of the side-effects are life threatening then you can always stop taking it and try something else.
Edit: Here's an anecdote! My mother was an alcoholic with multiple attempts at suicide before she talked to a doctor and got various anti-depressants. She no longer wishes to kill herself.
So basically, I don't think you need to worry about getting hooked, as long as you use the time you're on some medication to develop coping and preventative habits, like breathing techniques, etc. Of course, some people need to stick with medication for a much longer time with that, but the only way to find out really is to talk to someone in the field.
One thing I noticed: My psychologist did not have her doctorate, so while her therapy was fantastic, she could not prescribe me anything. My Gyno (who I generally treat as my GP) gave me my first prescription for the Zoloft, but said she wasn't comfortable prescribing more that 75 or 100 mg to someone, and would rather I saw a psychiatrist if i thought I was thinking about trying a higher dosage. I'm not sure if this is how all doctors operate, but just something to consider.
Cognition and lucidity aren't such fleeting things that tweaking neurotransmitters would wreck them. It's more a matter of the changes in attitude that are caused by anti-depressants. Best case scenario: you become more "normalized" as your chemistry levels off, and other-case scenarios is it can worsen the symptoms or cause other ones. There is little risk of losing yourself unless you define yourself as an anxious/depressed individual and then you have a problem more than chemical anyway.
I've been on all the leading anti-depressants, and Lexapro wasn't especially hard to ween off. I wouldn't go by any anecdotal evidence regarding its effectiveness as you know everyone's brain chemistry is different. One person might become the best person they ever imagined on it, and another might be thrown into the depths of mania because of it.
Yes, yes it really is. Why do you think there's so much theory still being generated on the topic? Because nobody has a clue what sets it off, or how to control it. All drugs now that are used to treat depression have been on a hunch, or a stroke of luck, or some fat guy sitting in a bath tub with a joint and an idea. The chemical workings of the entire brain is still an enigma to modern medicine.
#1 - A specialist isn't going to know significantly more about how antidepressants work than a GP.
#2 - The reason GPs prescribe antidepressants is because the benefits typically far outweigh the risks.
#3 - I recognize your opinion and it's an opinion worthy of consideration, but it's not shared by the medical establishment. You're basically saying that the vast majority of doctors and medical organizations (who see nothing wrong with GPs prescribing antidepressants) are wrong and that they should do it your way.
#4 - I believe that this may be a topic for D&D, not H/A. I would like to discuss it further, but I don't want to drag the thread off-topic, so I'm not going to respond to it any further here.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
3 things-
* Brain zaps are crazy and common across many of these drugs. Its indescribable and kinda funny. In a sort of "what the fuck am I doing to my brain chemestry?" kind of way
* In my case- These things don't make you happy- they keep you firmly planted in the middle. You can only get a little sad, BUT (at least for me) you can only get so happy. If that doesnt make sense, its a weird sensation, like both the positive and the negative emotions are dulled so that the negative is more managable.
* When you go off them, it can be a hell of a ride. Some liken it to tripping (or some high) for a few days to a week as your system gets used to the higher doses of brain chems that the meds were blocking for so long. I was giddy and caught giggling at work too many times.
It helped greatly to get over it, but truthfully I feel way better off.
Good luck and I hope you get happy and healthy
If you don't feel like yourself or if you don't like the side effects, just tell your doctor. I had to try about 7 different medications before I finally found the one that worked perfectly for me. This was between 2 therapists, a psychiatrists, and my regular doctor.
I do have to say... Cymbalta has the most >_> interesting sexual side effect. It makes it harder to orgasm. So you still get horny, you still want sex, but when you try to do something about it, it takes longer. I'm a girl, so this usually means adding another 20 min to foreplay, but I much prefer it to having no sex drive at all. haha.
Also, most side effects are dose dependent. This means if you reduce the dose or discontinue the medication (with your doctor's supervision, of course) the side effects go away. Also, many people find that the side effects go away anyway after they've been taking the drug for a few weeks and their body has gotten used to it. (When I was taking Effexor, it made me nauseous for the first two weeks until my body got used to it.)
However, a small portion of people who have been on SSRIs for a long time find that the sexual side effects linger after they have discontinued the medication. So somebody might take Lexapro for two years, experience anorgasmia, and then quit the Lexapro and discover that it takes months or even years for orgasm function to fully return. This is relatively rare, but if you're searching on the Internet, you will find accounts of this.
I should also point out that in some people, going on antidepressants can actually improve sexual functioning. Generalized anxiety can make sex difficult or less pleasurable, and getting that properly treated can improve your sex life. You don't often hear about this, but it can happen. (Effexor improved my sex life by giving me more energy and improving my attitude.) So the outlook isn't all bad.
Again, the specific effects can be difficult to predict, the only way to know for sure is to try it. In general, though, the benefits outweigh the risks for most people.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Is it okay to drink alcohol while taking it? The label says don't drink alcohol, but I see conflicting information out there about it, and the "Don't Drink Alcohol" label is actually a bit of an overstatement. I'm going to a going away party in a couple weeks and part of the purpose is going to be to help my friend finish off his alcohol supply before he moves. ;-) But will it be okay for me, even if I stick to light or moderate drinking?
Both of these statements are very true for all anti-depressants and I just wanted to reiterate them. Yes, it's different for different people but I felt the exact same way.
Also, Lexapro specifically.... don't take on an empty stomach... seriously. I would lay down on my bed for a very long time if I took it on an empty stomach. In a lot of pain.
Sexual side effects? You betcha. It's probably the worst thing, in my opinion, about anti-depressants. In fact, Prozac is prescribed to some people who are premature ejaculators to help them last longer. Although in my case it was lack of all function whatsoever. Wellbutrin is the way to go to minimize these side effects but if you were taking them for years like I was it will take a while to get over the sexual side effects. Prozac and Zoloft are the worst re: sexual side effects (IMO).
Finally, for the alcohol. I am not a doctor. I am not recommending that you do or do not drink. All I am saying is that I was on Lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac and Wellbutrin and I got hammered on all of them. Honestly, I think it actually lessens the effects of alcohol, but you must understand that alcohol will lessen the effect of your anti-depressant as well (think about it, alcohol is a depressant). Then again, it does that to people who aren't under the influence of anti-depressants as well.