Does anyone here take SSRI’s? What’s your experience with them?

[Loving Radiance]

@undeather Oh wow that's long. Thanks for the answer.

[happyhappy]

9 hours ago, Vision said:

@undeather What is the half life of them once I taper off? As in, how long do they stay in my system once I am no longer taking them? 

 

 

@happyhappy That seems to make sense. So SSRI’s can be a temporary tool to get oneself out of a rut? Once I feel like I’m back on my feet, I start tapering off, right? 

half life is often the same time it takes for the drugs to start working;i.e - a matter of about 2 weeks.

SSRI's are pretty much helpful in making a comeback after a sudden depressed breakdown. they are primarily used for that. say u are going through a bad breakup which puts u on the line of suicidal levels of depression. then, a few weeks of SSRI will probably even save ur life. they are quite effective at stabilizing a better mood.

also , do take into account those who are chronically depressed. they take SSRR's their entire lives. so the length of time that u are prescribed with meds depends your condition ig. but for most, they are basically used as a temporary lifeline from depressive episodes.

hope u do more research before jumping for conclusions. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by happyhappy

[Loba]

I take an SSRI and it helped a lot with my bipolar depression.  I don't feel less feeling, either - just normal.
I had a psychotic break last May and got on the right meds last June/July and it took about 4 months for everything to stabilize, so give it some time.  They sometimes have to take a while to get the right dose.

The only problem I have experienced on meds is weight gain, that I am combating by working out, but being mentally sound is way better than a bit of weight.

Meds helped with my anxiety, depression and psychosis - they do work.  In the mental hospital, most people improved when put on meds and given a structured environment for a time with community.  I came out from the experience alive.  I was suicidal at the time and days away from taking all my pills - I couldn't see a way out and the meds gave me my life back.

It depends on how ill you are, I think.  If you are very sick, then the meds can help quite a lot.  Good luck!

Also, try working out daily, this helps almost as much as the meds do.  If I just had depression and didn't always melt into psychosis going off the meds, I would suggest to most people to work out an hour or two a day to reset the brain a bit.  It grows the brain and oxygenates it.  Certainly add this to your get well regimen if you have not.    

[Vision]

16 hours ago, undeather said:

Around 8 - 12 weeks.
Johanneskraut seems to work in some patients but the effect is in my experience non optimal.

Exactly, never mix up psychodelics with SSRI's or other psychiatric drugs.
I am all for the use of psychodelics in battleing depression, but do it safely!  
 

The elimination half-life of escitalopram is about 27-33 hours.
The reason why you need to go slow/taper it is the so called rebound effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_effect
 

@undeather Thanks.
 

8 hours ago, happyhappy said:

half life is often the same time it takes for the drugs to start working;i.e - a matter of about 2 weeks.

SSRI's are pretty much helpful in making a comeback after a sudden depressed breakdown. they are primarily used for that. say u are going through a bad breakup which puts u on the line of suicidal levels of depression. then, a few weeks of SSRI will probably even save ur life. they are quite effective at stabilizing a better mood.

also , do take into account those who are chronically depressed. they take SSRR's their entire lives. so the length of time that u are prescribed with meds depends your condition ig. but for most, they are basically used as a temporary lifeline from depressive episodes.

hope u do more research before jumping for conclusions. 

@happyhappy I really don't want to use it for that long. Thanks for the information.

 

 

8 hours ago, Loba said:

I take an SSRI and it helped a lot with my bipolar depression.  I don't feel less feeling, either - just normal.
I had a psychotic break last May and got on the right meds last June/July and it took about 4 months for everything to stabilize, so give it some time.  They sometimes have to take a while to get the right dose.

The only problem I have experienced on meds is weight gain, that I am combating by working out, but being mentally sound is way better than a bit of weight.

Meds helped with my anxiety, depression and psychosis - they do work.  In the mental hospital, most people improved when put on meds and given a structured environment for a time with community.  I came out from the experience alive.  I was suicidal at the time and days away from taking all my pills - I couldn't see a way out and the meds gave me my life back.

It depends on how ill you are, I think.  If you are very sick, then the meds can help quite a lot.  Good luck!

Also, try working out daily, this helps almost as much as the meds do.  If I just had depression and didn't always melt into psychosis going off the meds, I would suggest to most people to work out an hour or two a day to reset the brain a bit.  It grows the brain and oxygenates it.  Certainly add this to your get well regimen if you have not.    

@Loba How did you gain weight from the medication? Did the medication itself cause you weight gain? Or did it increase your appetite which consequently lead to weight gain?

I used to be an avid gym-goer and enjoyed it. Now I have so little energy that I can't push myself anymore after 20 minutes, sometimes even just one set of an exercise. It's really bad. Because of this I've resorted to just walking daily. It sucks since I've lost all the progress I made when I did go to the gym.

[Loba]

@Vision Awww!  I so sorry to hear that you're having a hard time keeping up with that.  I gained weight mostly from being too hungry all the time and eating the wrong foods, and a little bit from the medication.  The medication did give me my energy back, so you might get that back and feel good enough to work out.  

It took months to notice that it was working, not just weeks.  And I do have to push myself each day to stick to something that helps me maintain peace of mind - but it does get easier.

I've been on these meds before, albeit a different combo and I gained weight, but it came right off as soon as I stopped, so if you try meds and gain weight and just can't handle it, the weight won't stay if you go off the meds for most ppl.  I did have one friend where the weight stayed but that's not usually the norm.

You'll probably have to change your diet around a bit and push yourself when you are feeling better to work out a bit more.

[Vision]

@Loba Do you still take SSRI's?

[Loba]

@Vision Yes, I can honesty say they gave me my life back.

[Hardkill]

I've taken SSRIs for over 20 years ever since my mid-teens. They helped ease my depression from being severe to moderate and have helped me cope better with negative emotions and stress.

However, I've usually had sexual side effects from taking moderate to high doses of them, especially with Paxil. It has significantly lessened the sensitivity of my penis and has caused significant delayed ejaculation issues for me. Sometimes, I can't stay hard for long enough. It really has contributed to my sexual frustration.

Also, I feel that SSRIs that I have taken have never been nearly enough to fix my depression. I am still not a happy person overall.

That's I want to either eventually reduce the dose that I am taking or switch to another anti-depressant or possibly try something else altogether.

 

[Loba]

@Hardkill How often do you work out?

[Vision]

@Loba How long have you been taking them for altogether?

[Loba]

@Vision 10 months, I started in May and it took about 1 month to stabilize and 3-4 months to actually see a difference, and then just recently I felt well enough to start taking care of myself again and have the energy and upbeat attitude for it.

[Hardkill]

On 3/6/2022 at 1:33 PM, Loba said:

@Hardkill How often do you work out?

I used to workout rigorously almost everyday.

Now, I've been working out about 2-5 times a week.