r/AntidepressantSupport

Hi everyone, I’ll try to keep this short.

I have been on lexapro most of my adult life, on and off for 15 years. There were periods in between that where I was on zoloft before going back to lexapro. i’ve been on 20mg for years.

I was feeling really tired, struggling to sleep, sluggish etc for so long that I wanted to try to move off it. Lexapro helps with my gastritis a lot, but I was hoping there might be more options for me.

My mom died in october which adds a whole new layer to this. There’s PTSD and traumatic grief in the mix since she died unexpectedly from an accidental overdose.

I had been having health issues and i was sick of doctors continuing to gaslight me saying it was probably my lexapro making me gain weight and be sleepy etc. It seemed every problem I had they blamed lexapro, which ultimately led to my decision to switch to something else and see how it went. Regarding the medical stuff, it turns out I have pernicious anemia. Treating that has helped a lot too. (iron infusions, b12 injections every other day.

When I tapered off, I was cross tapering onto Pristiq 50mg. The first few weeks I felt a lot better energy wise. I wasn’t near as sluggish and I was finally sleeping normal / good. After 2-3 months off lexapro, my stomach issues had returned and my depression was still really bad.

ultimately we went back to a small dosage (5mg) of lexapro to stabilize my depression and stomach. for a minute it felt like it was working but the last 3 weeks are awful. emotionally blunted, no sex drive, constantly tired, takes hours to fall asleep etc. The symptoms line up with starting lexapro but I told my psych I never thought pristiq did much for me regardless.

next week i start tapering off pristiq (dropping to 25mg for a week, then off) and i told her i want off lexapro and to try something else, like prozac.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I feel crazy. i’m so exhausted and sad and feel like nothing is exciting. im irritable all the time. there was a glimmer of hope around may where my energy was returning post iron infusion and i was feeling so much happier and stable. then it just like, dropped? my baseline hasn’t been super consistent since being on pristiq and 100mg gave me insane side effects.

After knowing what i could feel like, i cant stand being in the state im in.

as a note im also diagnosed with adhd and take vyvanse for that. ive noticed the efficacy dropping when my mood hits a low like this. it keeps me more regulated emotionally. but i’m also forgetting things more often now in a borderline worrisome manner.

Anyone else experienced worsening depression on an SNRI?

TLDR; doctors blamed lexapro for health issues like exhaustion and weight gain, i got sick of that so i switched to something else. got a diagnosis for an autoimmune disease called pernicious anemia, but was 3 months into pristiq at that point. had to go on 5mg of lexapro due to awful depression and stomach issues even tho the pristiq helped with energy. 2 months into adding in the low dose of lexapro i feel so depressed that im crippled by it.

I've been on 50mg of Pristiq for 6 weeks now. I was on lexarpo before for about 10 years and I'm completely off now as I had a lot of breakthrough anxiety. Getting on Pristiq has had its share of side effects, primarily insomnia, fatigue, and dizziness. I would say that has all passed now, but I have been recently been having chest tightness and anxiety symptoms coming back up now. I would think by now I should be leveled out, but I'm curious if this is similar to anyone else's journey?

Anyone else?

I was on Trazodone for 9 years. I did a very slow taper. I've been off the 60 days and am still having terrible withdrawal.

Did anyone use brain retraining (like DNRS, or something similar) to help with the withdrawal symptoms? Did it help???

I was on sertraline for 6 months, + taking melatonin for insomnia. I went from 25 mg to 50 mg to 100 mg, it numbs me, my insomnia was not improving, the constant waking up at night still irritates me, the massive sweatiness and lots of vivid nightmares made my GP switched me to agomelatine after tapering sertraline on 2 weeks. I stopped sertraline and the day after I’m taking agomelatine. I ditched the melatonin too.

I’ve been on it for 4 days, but i don’t know if this is a serotonin withdrawal or my depression and anxiety is coming back. I feel so dizzy and “tipsy” all the time, the brain zaps are so severe, the confusion & derealisation, nausea, and i feel so irritated all the time now. I slept well for 2 days but i couldn’t wake up in the morning. Right now my insomnia is coming back and I can’t sleep for 2 days already.

Anyone experience the same?

Hi everyone, I'm Sandeep from nashik

I've been taking sertraline, risperidone, and Solopose Beta for about 2 months for anxiety.

I've noticed that if I miss even one dose, my anxiety gets much worse, and I start having a lot of negative thoughts. It feels like my mind spirals very quickly, and it's really scary.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar. Is it normal to feel this bad after missing a dose? How did you deal with it? Did things get better over time?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through the same thing or have any advice. Thank you.

hi all, yesterday i took my first dose of venlafaxine (75mg slow release) and my god i have never felt worse. i’ve had
- nausea
- headaches
- sleepiness
-decreased appetite
- my whole body feeling like it’s vibrating or buzzing
- when i extend my legs they shake uncontrollably
- shaky hands
-huge pupils
- feeling like i’m on some sort of hard drugs
- heavy chest/heart and feeling like it’s working double time
- moments of feeling boiling and then freezing. it switches
- feeling so spaced out and not here
- not feeling real ( which i felt for a while anyway but this has increased it)

just wondering is this normal for my first day? i’m reluctant to take my next dose because of how terrible i feel, and im pretty anxious that it isn’t normal and im having a bad reaction to it? any advice or experiences are appreciated :)

Is there any success story getting out of depression ? I am depressed due to marriage crisis and burnout . Started antidepressants. It gets worse they say before it gets better . It definitely does ! Every morning I wake with understanding that I don’t have anything interesting to do this day . Anything at all that I want to do ! I was happy !!!! I thought my marriage was my base and it was a good marriage . And I had my passion at work ! I am a chef . But it all crashed one day ! 2 years ago
Since then I just slowly went into deep depression .
Is there a way out ?
Any success stories ?

1st week 25mg then onwards 50mg. Just started 4th week, still dealing with the side effect like restlessness in arms and legs, anxiety and terrible sleep so using some sleep aid.

My question is what can i expect onwards as i have experienced some moments where zoloft is kiking in pretty good and gives real positive vibes. Does it keep getting better to some next levels or just settles pretty much with mood stablisation ?

Furthermore, what do i have to watch for? Is it going to get even intense? Also what sort of signs are worthy to notice and mention to my psychiatrist.

Thanks heaps.

I’ve been on it 5 weeks my irritation has not improved I’m annoyed with everyone and everything does this improve?

I took zoloft 50mg on July 1st. Had to stop it for horrible effects. I felt a headache during the middle of July 2nd. And now it feels like my head is being squeezed? Could this be from the medication being in my system or anxiety?

Hi all, long story short I take my daily 100mg of Pristiq and I have as needed Ativan but my panic usually is more physical rather than mental. My doctor who truly is a gem and my previous cardiologist suggest to try 10mg of propranolol because it’ll help the hand sweating/body sweating, palpitations, racing heart and such. I am scared since I have cardiophobia and that it’ll lower things to much such as hr and bp. I trust my doctor until my anxiety stops me. Just looking for advice. It’s the 10mg quick release and he said I can break it in half and try 5mg. Just looking for some relief. Thank you!

Hello, I’ve been taking 50mg of sertraline for around 10 months and it’s really helped me. For the past 3 weeks my pharmacy only had 100mg and told me to cut them in half but since then I just feel as if I haven’t been taking them at all. It’s like my brain has gone straight back to how it was before and I don’t know if it’s because it’s no longer working and I need a higher dose or something else, or because of the different way of taking it?
I had this once before when they gave me a different brand and once I went back to my normal brand it was fine.
Anyone else have this?

I’ve been taking 50mg for about 3 months now. It’s gotten me to a point where my anxiety is quite manageable - though not entirely gone.

Speaking with my therapist today, she suggested I consider upping the dose (after checking with GP) so that my anxiety will be less recurrent, and, in a sense, give my brain a break from expecting it - as a lot of my most recent anxiety has been the fear of being anxious when in situations that have been triggering in the past, rather than anxiety about the situation itself.

How have others found this?

My side effects were sizeable initially, though they have subsided now. My therapist said in her experience increasing the dose wouldn’t take much adjustment, and 100-150 is the more typical therapeutic dose anyway, but I do worry about the side effects returning - especially mental ones. They really messed me up for a while, and I’m only now getting my groove back.

Other side effects have persisted a bit like some ED (more delay than disfunction) but those are less scary than the mental ones.

Long story short- started Trintellix 10 mg 4 weeks ago. Was on 20 mg of Cymbalta and got down to 5 mg when the withdrawal side effects got bad. So I’m staying on 5 mg of Cymbalta for a while. My depression has lifted but now my anxiety is through the roof. I had to take a lorazepam today it was so bad (only 1/4 of .5 was enough to stop the cycle.) Am I doomed or will things get better?

I am on 13th day of cipralex and anxiety is through the roof . I wake up 5am with tremor and crazy anxiety . And only Xanax brings it down . During day is hard … I can’t concentrate , can’t make any work and I want to lay down . But if I fall asleep anxiety comes . My depression is based on my marriage problems . So as soon as I wake up I feel that my life is nightmare.

Any advices when can I expect symptoms get better ? And how to live meanwhile ? Don’t want to leave the house or do anything

Tapering off 30mg which I've been on for years. Have tapered down to 25mg about 3 weeks ago - am currently experiencing vertigo / floating head side effects every night around my usual dosage time it feels exactly like when I miss my dosage in the past. Feel fine all day then at night just get this awful vertigo until the morning.

When can I expect this to go away? I just want to get back to 20mg but can't say I feel like dropping more with these effects

Tapering off venlafaxine XR (was on 375mg for ~3 years for dysthymia, in remission, tapering since Jan 1). Currently at 75mg, switched to Zaredrop (IR solution) recently.

current symptoms (started ~2-3 weeks ago):
- Morning tachycardia 100-130bpm, sometimes 150+, starts right at waking, lasts 2-6+ hours
- Anxiety/adrenaline feeling in solar plexus area, not psychological, no anxious thoughts, exactly as it looks like in the film Adrenaline.
- Crying out of nowhere, several times a week, sometimes i am crying for hours (very unusual for me)
- diarrhea after a previous dose reduction (had to go back up because of dehydration)

ECG, bloodwork, BP all normal, did 5 checks in 2 different hospitals over the past 2 weeks. Been to multiple ERs, most of the people there tell it’s 'just anxiety/panic attacks' - but this isn’t triggered by thoughts, doesn’t respond to breathing techniques/CBT tools I already know, and lasts way longer than a typical panic attack (which I also not prone to)

my coping methods now:
- i walk 10k+ steps in the morning, helps more than anything else
- Propranolol 10mg for the tachycardia
- Hydroxyzine/pipamperone for the anxiety, but not enough. Was given Lorazepam in ERs, but it is not a solution even for a medium term (like a month), I think.

If you went through something similar during venlafaxine taper (especially the morning racing heart + anxiety combo that doesn’t feel psychological) - what actually helped you get through it? Looking for anything: meds that worked for you, supplements, specific taper adjustments, timing, anything. I am trying to figure out if I should hold at this dose longer, go back up, and if stay, what med might help (i truly believe that such a conditions when i call 112 and end up in the ER during 2+ weeks are considered for some treatment even if they do not stay in the hospital)

must add that I am not specifically focused on medications, however in this case, I see it as a purely physical thing, that is why the other ways do not simply work.
Just in case: I am in Germany, I have GP, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and all I do or is coordinated with them, and here I ask to ask here.

For many years, I used cocaine in what I considered a “conscious” and controlled way, and I never had problems stopping or going without it. I always had very good self-control, including with alcohol and other drugs as well.

Recently, I started taking venlafaxine for mild depression and some other symptoms, and it has helped me a lot. However, because of some stress at work, I decided to use cocaine on a few occasions, and it ended up being 7 consecutive days. I know that sounds like a lot, but I did not go beyond what I considered an “acceptable” limit.

I have become aware of the possible risks and harm caused by combining these two substances, and precisely because of that — and because I’ve always had a good relationship with the drug — I decided not to use it anymore.

However, something I had never experienced before is now happening: I’ve started having a very strong urge to use more, and it’s difficult to control. So far, I haven’t bought any or actively looked for it, but sometimes the craving becomes very hard to deal with.

Could the medication have something to do with this? Has anyone else experienced something similar? I’m afraid of becoming addicted or developing some negative effect that could become much more harmful. Has anyone gone through this before?

I’ve been on Paxil for 8 months stabilized on 37.5 cr then i decided to get off it went down to 25mg stayed a month then 12.5mg stayed 3 weeks then 0. After 4 days of no Paxil I couldn’t take the withdrawal so went back to 12.5mg I stayed 2 weeks on 12.5mg I stabilized then symptoms of anxiety and depression came back so I went up to 25mg I just entered my 4th week on 25mg I see improvements in anxiety but still have trouble should I give 25mg more time or go up to 37.5? I have appointment with my doctor next week and I know she’s going to tell me to go up to 37.5? Please help I don’t know what to do anymore!!!