Anti-depressant side effects/withdrawl

[puretruth]

Anybody have any strange side effects or withdrawl symptoms from anti-depressants? I got really bad memory loss from Effexor XR and was recently weaned off. I then had terrible withdrawl that had to be relieved with another antidepressant (Paxil) until the Effexor was completely out of my system. Now I'm on Prozac...so far so good. Anyone else have similar issues.

[je12122]

Yes, I have problems when I miss a day or two of my anti depressant. I get very moody and the littlest thing with get me upset. I also have problems when I drink the night before, I am very very cranky the next day and very emotional. I had a very very bad withdrawl from Paxil when I came off of it a few years ago.( I am on another one right now) I had bad memory loss, I was very very jumpy, and I lost a bunch of weight and looked very unhealthy and my pupils were fully dialated all the time. My friends thought I was on drugs and reported it to my doctor over the phone. Sometimes I find the thought of having to rely on Anti-depressants every day depressing in itself. However, I notice a big huge difference when I am on them. It's a horrible feeling when your body is being weened off one and then having to start another one.

[megz]

I went on them and i took them a total of 3 days and was sick those 3 days and about 10 after wards throwing up etc. it was terrible i wont take them again

[je12122]

It takes about 2weeks to a month for your body to get used to them. when i first started them I was really sick as well but once your body gets used to them there is no problem.

[richunclepennywise]

ummm....you're not suppose to drink when you're on antidepressants.....alcohal is a depressant

[mother of 4]

Iam on effexor and i love it i recomend it to everyone that need it iv had a great experience and my mom and aunt are on it as well. the only thing i find is when you miss a day you feel like crap but that is to be expected:D

[urforever_love]

I used to be on luvox and welbutrin(probably spelled wrong) and I will never take anti depressants ever again. They ruined my short term memory. I work in a resturant and it makes it very hard when someone orders something and I have to go back and ask when it was they wanted again. I only wish my Dr had told me that was a side effect, I would have never went on them. Its been 5 yrs since I have been off them and my memory isnt getting any better.

[kimbey76]

i had bad withdrawal from effexor too, if you miss a day you get dizzy and nauseous, also i had stopped taking it when i found out i was pregnant and my doctor ok'ed me to take it so i tried to start it again and felt so terrible i couldnt start them, of course i was in my first trimester so i wasnt feeling the greatest anyway but i got horrible headaches and extremely tired, dizzy and nauseous to the point i couldnt go to work that way so i didnt bother with them, i am supposed to start trying to take them again but to be honest i am very nervous after the way i felt last time

[tred816]

I'm on Fluvoxamine (also known as Luvox) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's an anti-depressant.
After years of struggling with the disorder, I find this medication to be a God Send, BUT....
I get the strangest electrical zapping kind of feeling in my head if I wait to long to take it.

ICKY....that's all I can say. The later I am taking it, the worse the electrical zapping gets. It sounds horrible and it is. I also feel emotionally unstable and drained when I wait to long to take it.

What I've learned is....don't miss a pill and make sure you take it the same time every day. It's worth it to not struggle with OCD as much, but it was difficult going through the learning process.

[Cherry Pop]

I took Celexa for a little while not for depression (although it is a anti-depressant) but for stress. I was really stressed for a while dealing with health issues. I found it didn't have any side effects except for making me tired the first 2 weeks but other than that nothing else. I was on it for about a year and am no longer on it. I didn't have a hard time getting off of it either. It did help me alot too. I was crying everyday over everything because I couldn't handle my health situation anymore at that time and now I hardly ever cry and am back to positive thinking or at least trying to!

[artemisrane]

No one would have really known it unless they lived with me, but I suffered from OCD. Also postpartum depression (then social anxiety disorder and a fear of going out in public alone stemmed from that) and panic attacks. I have taken Celexa and that worked well, but I was a teenager when I was on it and I went off it due to ignorance. I tried Paxil and it was terrible for me, also the withdrawl was grueling. I would get headspins and feel like I was floating above my body...anyways I now take Effexor XR and it has been the best. Although I sometimes loose my appetite and get a funny taste in my mouth, but that's better than the Paxil making me so drowsy I didn't want do *anything*. :rolleyes:

Sometimes a person needs to try a few different ones before they find one that works for them. It is important to not stop them suddenly and to tell your doctor if you have any severe mood swings.


A big part of my problem I think is how I keep it in secrecy because of shame. I am glad we are talking about it because it lets me see I am not alone, and others will too.;)

[puretruth]

The electric zappy things are a part of withdrawal...some anti depressants have a short after life meaning if you forget to take one, the withdrawal starts within hours...others stay in your system for a week after you stop. I got the zaps coming off of Effexor. I had to get the psychiatrist to explain it to me. I didn't know what was happening to me lol.

[care1978]

hmmm, im on ativan.... and my memory which used to be really good sucks now, well my short term anyway, everybody's posts makes me wonder if it is from the drug....i find if i miss a dose or two, that i am really moody and emotional as well.i used to be on paxil for about 6 months,and it didnt do a darn thing for me, but worked fine for my sister... different strokes for different folks i guess. i have social anxiety,and panic attacks(sometimes 3 or more a day) they can be very frustrating bc i have no idea why they come on. still working on trying to figure that out :)

[tred816]

pretty horrible isn't it? lol You'd think this would be something they'd warn you about before you take it....(then again, maybe they'd scare us)

Anyway, my mom (mom's always know everything:p ) is an LPN and she says no matter what, "it's best to take meds at the same time every day".

I, of course, had to learn the hard way :rofl: ... then again, I learned didn't I? hehe

I took Celexa, Paxil and Prozac in the past and none were effective enough to be worth the side effects. It was a learning process for me too. I kept giving up on meds thinking NONE would work because one didn't. I now realize how wrong I was.

[cornerofeden]

I am also on Effexor. And I get the zappy feeling in my head, as well as memory loss. (more with coming up with a word) which normally I would know quite well. The main side effect for me is feeling wiped out. So I started taking my dose at suppertime hoping by morning I wouldn't feel that tired feeling. Still feel it but not as bad.

[Pumpkin]

I am on nothing now. I did take a number of different ones trying to find the "right" one and found they all sucked or didn't work how they should have. They made me feel worse if anything.

PAXIL, was what i took the longest. Had very bad side effects trying to come off them bad flu like symptoms to be exact. They caused me sexual side effects, made my sex drive dissolve really. And, they made me tired and sucked out all the time. I have not heard many good things about Paxil. And to top it off, being on them as long as i was you think i would notice a difference in myself...nope I was still as down as much and as often as i was before i took em!

[iluvmnm]

I take effexor for post partum depression. I tried Paxil at first and it did nothing but make me tired and cranky lol. The effexor seems to work better ( i no longer cry at the drop of a hat) but i still dont feel " right". I was wondering if anyone knows of any support groups for moms with post partum. None of my friends have suffered from it so they can't understand what i am going through.

[ChelorSean]

i understand you....i didn't have it bad but i has it have it....make since.my doctors doesn't like drugd though so i was never put on anything.....i'm here if ya need to talk.:)

[cornerofeden]

My daughter has a child which will be 2 years old in about four months. She began suffering with post partum right after the birth. About 2 weeks ago she finally seen her Dr. She is now starting to turn around again. She is seeing things clearer now and is beginning to see this nightmare she has been in for almost two years coming to an end. She is also on Effexor and she is very happy that she is. she says she wish she had done it sooner.
Just find someone you can confide in about your feelings. Just talking can help until your meds kick in. I am available to you if you need someone to talk to. Please feel free to pm me and I will give you my phone #

[tred816]

Post partum depression doesn't always go away on its own either. Please see your doctor.

I was 15 years old when I had my first child (15 years ago) and she was almost 2 years old before I realized I needed help. Being a kid I was already struggling.

Anyway, I was diagnosed with delayed, undiagnosed post partum depression which had led to suicidal thoughts etc... I'm a visibly happy person (then too) which just goes to show it can happen to anyone.

I also had PPD after my second child was born and somehow, thank God, I didn't have it with my third child.

If Brook Shields' can get it, anyone can. lol

Just remember that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's not easy feeling depressed and sad when you want to have normal feelings of happiness after having a baby, but it is very common. Your body went through serious changes which also includes chemical ones and sometimes it just takes some professional help to get the right answer for you.

Not everyone will benefit or needs meds. They may or may not be the answer, but there's no harm in trying.

BTW my OCD probably made my symptoms worse, but I only learned I have OCD about two years ago. The OCD isn't directly related to that though. Anyone can have PPD, not just people with a history of mental illness.

Good Luck :-)

[dolphins#1]

well i have to put my 2 cents worth in ...i was on paxil and warferin and neither worked and i don't know why maybe my body is just stubborn and i was suppose to go to my doctor and see if i can get something else my gues what he retired he is very ill:( so now i do not know what i am going to do i can not take time off work cause i need a doctors note i wish i had something that would make level out i just feel like i am going to lose it.

well thanks for listening :confused: :(

[artemisrane]

I suffered from post-partum depression for 2 years before I realized the only way I was going to get better was treatment. I am currently doing better than I ever thought I could, but still have a fear about going out in public alone especially when it is just me and the kids. I panic for no good reason. I have been taking my medication long enough for it to be working in my system, but I am still having these panic attacks and still have this phobia. I need to talk to my doctor about maybe upping the dose as I am on a very low dose right now...

It's very frustrating for me because I want to be able to go out and have fun and enjoy my life!