dopetalk
General => General Discussion for Everybody => Topic started by: monkey business on July 05, 2016, 05:41:16 PM
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Hey everyone,
So I've basically suffered from on/off depression for a while now but have been hesitant to try an antidepressant as I've heard way too many horror stories over the years. However, I've been giving it more and more thought lately so I'd be curious to find out how many of you have actually benefited from them long-term as opposed to how many of you found them more or less entirely useless.
Also, for those that did benefit, I'd also be curious to know how many of have since been able to taper off successfully without returning to your previously depressed state.
I'd ideally love to turn this into a poll of some sort, however if that's not an option then just hearing people's individual experiences would also be extremely helpful.
Thanks, and any input is greatly appreciated!
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Currently on 100mg lamotrigine (Lamictal) & 10 mg Escitalopram (Lexapro), absolutely essential for me. Went through a lot of trial & error with different meds & amounts. If you decide to explore this I'd highly suggest 2 things - a good psych that listens to you that you can call if you feel like they might need adjusted & a daily journal of how you felt, what you're taking & if you missed any, stuff like that. I always review what I've written before a visit or I'll be stuck in how I'm feeling that day, & would forget that I may have felt very different last week or whatever.
I never got too far with GP's doing the prescribing but do know others who have.
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I went and tried many different kinds
SSRIs, SNRIs, 5-HT1B&D agonists, even some of the antipsychotics
None of them worked for me
And I experienced many side effects
The most important being an increase in suicidal ideation
Make sure you are vigilant as to any changes
Also be aware SSRIs can take 2-3 weeks to work
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I am on the anti-psych. Olanzapine and like the brand Seroquel, it works as a mood stabiliser ... I feel that it works but haven't stopped taking them for years.
I can be prone to (natural) mania and drug-induced depression.
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I have been tried on 6 I think and each one caused a lot of bad side effects and didn't help me at all usually making it worse, I stopped taking them when I was 19 and have always been to afraid to try them again. However my dad and all his brothers and my 2 brothers are all on them and swear by them. They all got much better and didn't have such drastic up and downs.
For me it increased my suicidal ideation a ton, something I always had when I was a kid that got much much worse while on them. On serequel and wellbutrin I felt like a zombie the whole time I never got happy or sad, or mad, I didn't feel any emotion no matter what was going on, and they made my eyes hurt like opening your eyes to the light after sleeping constantly as if they felt dilated and couldn't handle any light.
The lexapro and celexa increased suicidal ideation a lot, and I couldn't come to save my life, kinda like opiates but not being able to get off ever at all. Ampyltriptoline or however you spell it messed with my moods I was always tired and moody, and would be almost bipolar in how fast I could go into a rage. I don't think any of them helped with my anxiety and my depression and anxiety never really got better until I started taking opiates. My dad and brothers take lexapro I think and all have liked it and gotten good results, so I think it's different for everyone.
I wouldn't trust a gp to prescribe them I haven't been to a doctor who didn't offer me anti-depressants since I was 12. Every single doctor has told me to try them, and it pisses me off honestly. It's quite annoying that they prescribe it like a cure all to everyone, and I think it fucks people up and people don't learn to cope and are taught that there's a pill for everything and that is how you are supposed to deal with your problems, making mental health worse on everyone and not teaching people basic coping skills.
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I got on Wellbutrin a little over a year ago and it's been great for me. I had tried others when I was younger (age 17-22) and lexapro was the worst. Lots of suicidal ideation. But that can happen with people under age 25 that take ssris. Now that I'm pushing 30, Wellbutrin works exactly like it should. I'm on the Sr formula and I take 1 150mg pill in the morning and half of one around 11am when I can remember to take it at that time. I didn't think they were doing much for me but when I looked at where I am now and where I was a year ago, my mental health has improved exponentially. I'm more active and less prone to bouts of sitting in front of the tv for days on end watching Netflix. I have a great job now and I generally feel good most of the time. It's been a life saver for me and I was super anti-ssri and anti-depressant for many years before this.
I have started a methadone taper and I've already decreased my dose by half. So far, not too bad and I think the Wellbutrin is really helping with that. This taper already feels easier than my last attempt.
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Sertraline (Zoloft) was THE one for me. I also have tried Prozac. Sertraline has pretty respectable dopamine reuptake inhibition activity, actually more than methylphenidate or cocaine even, but its SSRI activity is so much stronger (like >10X) it doesn't really produce much in the way of dopamine-induced euphoria or any other dopamine-mediated effects. It's there though, and I think that might be why it's different for me than Prozac was, which didn't really do anything for me.
Since getting back on seeds, and off bupe, I haven't needed an antidepressant. Last time I took sertraline regularly was like 3 years ago.
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Sertraline made me manic, I kind of enjoyed it but it was a little weird being so wired all the time. Then I came off it cos insurance politics and that was a nightmare, I still have symptoms from that shit and it's been 15 years. Never. Again.
IMRHO, if you think you're depressed, and you consume depressants, that's probably where you should start.
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IMRHO, if you think you're depressed, and you consume depressants, that's probably where you should start.
Yea I was just coming in here to post this
If you go to a psychiatrist and tell them the honest truth about your drug use
The only thing they can diagnose you with is substance abuse/dependence disorder
You can't really know if you have any serious psychological issues that would require meds
If you are currently "self-medicating" with ANYTHING (that includes weed)
The flip side of the same coin is that you either be experiencing side effects from drug use
Or your drug use could be a side effect of you psychological condition
The only way to know is to be clean for at least 3 months
Today is 2 weeks since I last used opiates
I'm sleeping at least 6 hours hours a night and am eating regularly own
And wouldn't you know it, the suicidal thoughts and heavy depression is gone
(And the quality of my posts is much better too haha)
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Substance abuse/dependence disorder is also a pre-existing condition just so you know before you tell any doc or psych about that. Once it's in your file it's in, and can cause you to not get insurance, have higher rates, so on and so forth. They didn't tell me this when I got on subs, but when I got kicked off for losing my job/insurance I found out real quick when the same plan I was getting for free from work was $550/month. The other reason it was so high was that was nov 2013 a month before the obamacare switch so they probably didn't want to start someone up and then change in january to comply but idk.
If you do decide to get on one, you should report back and let us know if it helps or not and any side effects you have from it. I am sure a bunch of people are curious, even though people are so different it will have the complete opposite effects on you compared to someone else but it's nice to see first hand experiences with other people who are opiate dependent.
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Never received help from the few I've tried. I think some people need them, but a way smaller percentage than it's prescribed. So many factors can contribute to depression.
(Poor diet, lack of exercise, bad relationships, shitty job, etc..)
I've had depression for as long as I can remember. The suicide part is the odd thing. I Feel that goes against our instincts as an organism to self inflict harm on ourselves. This is often the argument I use to people who think drug use/addiction isnt a mental health disorder, because why would someone knowingly continue to harm or potentially kill themselves? The answer is mental illness.
I thought I had a dopamine deficiency because of how amazing opiates made me feel. Once I got off them I realized I had these depression/mood-swings set in. Weed helped for awhile.
I started noticing low amounts of alcohol would make my mood stable and positive. My anxiety lèvels and overall outlook would just be great. I came across kava kava in the past year and have drank it almost everyday since. Takes away the anxiety, and stabilizes my mood.
The latest thing I've discovered is gabapentin. After it kicks in, I'm a better version of myself. No anxiety. No mood swings. My outlook is almost too positive. I often catch myself thinking "this is how I'm supposed to feel". I haven't had those thoughts since using opiates for the first time.
I logically should be greatful for lots of things in my life, even things I've analyzed and concluded it makes me happy. But for some reason I'll start getting suicidal ideation. For no real reason.
I decided to google "what in the brain makes someone commit suicide?", because if its not logical sadness, it must be a chemical imbalance. I came across an article that said a GABA deficiency was the cause of most peoples depression. I realized alcohol, kava kava, and gabapentin all work on the GABA receptors.
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^^ How much Gabapentin do you have to take before you start noticing an effect?
The shit doesn't seem to do squat for me, up to about 1.5-2g.
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^^ How much Gabapentin do you have to take before you start noticing an effect?
The shit doesn't seem to do squat for me, up to about 1.5-2g.
The body can only absorb so much GABA at a time, so it's better to space out taking the pills. Best taken on a empty stomach first thing in the morning. I get 300mg pills and pop 1-2 every 30 mins, with a carbonated beverage. After the last dose is taken it's best followed by a warm meal to aid absorbtion.
It lasts all day for me once it kicks in. Even the next day after, it still has a glow.
I usually end up taking between 5000mgs-8000mgs through out the days I take it. Usually starts kicking in around 2-3 hours. I've tried taking it all at once with a non carbonated beverage and barely felt anything.
Experiment a little, You can take a shit ton and won't overdose. I was at my buddy's house and he offered me a line of coke one morning when I was coming up on the gabapentin. The two had an amazing synergy. Usually coke by itself I don't get any euphoria, I get anxiety, feel foggy, and paranoid. This time I felt stupid good. Ended up doing a ball of coke that day, and took 24gs of Gabapentin. Got a lot of things done that day, And I was proper fucked.