Antidepressant Forums (Page 8)

Alcoholics Anonymous does not work for many people trying to stay sober. What are some of the reasons for this and what other treatment methods are successful. ## Alcoholics Anonymous isn't necessarily for everyone. I think the simple fact of the matter is that each person has his or her own agenda and may just not be ready to move on with their life. The level of depression that accompanies heavy drinking could also be one that goes much deeper than many realize. Other factors that may have an influence on this program's success is whether or not the person has any additional problems other than just alcohol. Often times depression or loneliness is just what we see on the surface, and various behavioral patterns have been embedded into their everyday life through watching other...

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I currently am using Trazodone HCL 150Mg for insomnia. I usually cut the dosage in half or in thirds and notice my eyes and vision seem to be affected. It is as if my eyes are really tired, blink a lot, and definitely irritated. I take no other meds except 25Mg of Metoprolol ER to slow a rapid heartbeat. I have been taking Metoprolol for many months with no side effects. I previously had been using 50MG of Trazodone and it was quite ineffective. My doctor increased the dosage to help me sleep. I do not notice anyone complaining of eye problems. The Mfr. of Trazodone is TEVA Pharm. ## Hello, Gloria! How are you? The FDA does list blurry vision among the possible side effects of Trazodone, but they don't specify how or why it causes it, so yes, your symptoms could possibly be due to t...

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small white oblong pill with letter A or v on one side and 10 on the other side ## From what I can find, this tablet contains 10mgs of Mirtazapine, which is an antidepressant, it's the active ingredient in Remeron. Learn more Mirtazapine details here. Where did you find it? ## I have been having panic attacks for bout 4 years now and Xanax is the only thing that will knock them out fast. Are they known to work for panic attacks and are they non-habit forming? ## Xanax works great for anxiety/panic attacks. It was game changing for me. My doctor prescribed them. They are additive if not taken as prescribed. Make sure that you always keep them in the bottle from the drugstore.

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I was wondering if any of you out there have come off of an SSRI and had severe panic attacks that lasted a month or longer. I am in such distress. I wasn't taking any sort of medication a few years ago and was fine. I almost went through a break-up last summer, got super depressed and my primary care physician started me on Viibryd. At first, it worked great, I felt happy and alive and things smoothed over with the boyfriend. Once he bumped me up to 40 mg however this past November I started to notice I was having panic attacks every now and then. I decided I wanted to get off of it and he cut me down to 20mg for a week, then 10 mg for a week and then nothing. The more I got off of Viibryd, the more panic attacks I would have. I would especially get them while driving. I would get ...

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What if any side effects are people experiencing on viibryd ## Taking Viibryd (vilazodone) at a dose of 40 mg per day is considered to be well tolerated and reported adverse effects ranged from mild to moderate in intensity; side effects included diarrhea, nausea, and somnolence. Other than that, I haven't located any other side effect information on this drug. You can view more details on Viibryd by following the link below: Please post back if you have any other general questions or concerns about this drug. ## I have noticed hair loss, been on it about 4 months now. ## been on vii almost 2 months. worse side effect is restless leg. if i get it taken early enough in the day, i don't notice it as much. if i take it noonish, then its really bad at bedtime. also didn't help t...

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Hello, I'm on day 7 of 5mg of Lexapro prescribed by my doctor. I’ve been pretty fatigued before noon and nauseous in the morning as well as completely losing my appetite. I know those symptoms are normal for about 2 weeks but I think my biggest concern is I feel like I have developed some nervousness/restless energy since taking it. I'm taking the medication to help my anxiety so feeling this is a discouragement. Is this nervousness/ restlessness normal for Lexapro even at a 5mg dosage? My symptoms are certainly manageable at this point. Just wasn't sure if the nervousness was a normal side effect and if it will pass soon. ## Yes, those can be a normal side effects when starting Lexapro, even at a low dosage, according to FDA reports. You may also experience nausea, di...

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I have been taking adderall ir 10mg twice daily and recently was prescribed 75mg Venlafaxine (effexor) one daily. And ive been noticing that my adderall has not been working and have been very out of focused and tired even when taking my medications. I may be building a tolerance to adderall, but that still doesnt explain why it would stop working as well very sudden. Has anyone else experience effexor causing adderall not to be as effective? ## You may just be experiencing side effects of the Venlafaxine, it is an SNRI antidepressant that is used to treat various mental health conditions, so it can cause drowsiness, dizziness, headache, dry mouth, mood changes, and weight changes, as side effects. Generally, once your body gets used to a new medication, side effects should start to tap...

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Hi :) I took 20 mg. of citalopram from 2006 until this past fall of 2014, for lingering postpartum/anxiety/insomnia. The drug worked wonders for me and I was afraid to come off of it until last year. Insomnia is something I'm terrified of, due to my experience with it. We had a difficult winter, I am a single mom, who does not love her work (I work part time cleaning houses in order to keep a flexible schedule for my daughter) but it has it's pros and I don't know what else interests me for work at the moment. Then I had a month of very stressful circumstances, one after another, which resulted in some anxiety/adrenalin/chest pain (ekg ruled out any problems). My doctor suggested I go back on citalopram and asked if I had a problem with it. I'd been feeling down as well ...

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I am 29 and have been dealing with depression and anxiety since I was 15. I have been on and off everything and it seems to work for a few months and then I get no benefit from it even with increased doses. In 2008 I started passing out or becoming unresponsive for a few seconds up to 15 minutes. They told me I was having non epileptic seizures due to stress. It was a stressful time in my life. I saw a psy and went on cymbalta and things seemed to improve but they never went away. Then they thought it was migraine related and I went on topamax and things seemed to improve. I went off cymbalta and stayed on topamax and things were the same. Then I went off everything and had been doing well until a few months ago. I first noticed it while I was driving I felt like I was going to be hit o...

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Hi, I am going through a very tough separation from my wife I still deeply love from the bottom of my heart. We have two little children, the thought of losing it all, the feeling of having failed at what is most important in my life has made me spiral into a deep depression. My doctor started with Lexapro 10mg once a day and Diazepam 5 mg twice a day. Since I was still having anxiety and panic attacks almost daily, my doctor put me on 20 mg of Lexapro once a day and 10 mg of Diazepam twice a day. I feel much better but the panic attacks and feeling of falling off a cliff are still happening daily. I don’t know what to do. Ask to increase the dosage? I am just starting to see a counselor, unfortunately getting someone approved by my health Insurance could see me took a few weeks. ...

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Anyone else have long term experience with Effexor? Under my doctor's supervision over the last three months I have been weaning off of Effexor (which I was on for 10+ years). Keeping up my same exercise and eating patterns I have actually GAINED nearly 10 lbs over the three months I have been weaning off. I'm now two weeks completely Effexor free and I weigh the highest I ever have in my life. My weight has bobbed between 150lbs and 190lbs (I'm only 5'3) since I've been on antidepressants (a good 20 years or so), so I don't honestly know if the RX's have really caused any weight gain for me (while I was still taking them regularly). I'm sure as I've aged (I'm 47 now), this has slowed weight loss attempts down b/c I gain more and more easily as th...

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It's a white round pill with the imprint P 20 and a line going through the middle on one side, and it's blank on the other side. ## The 20 is an indication of the dosage. I have similar pills that are a generic brand of the anti-anxiety medication Lexapro 20ml ## Hi Kelly, I just wanted to confirm that the white round pill marked with P 20 is in fact reported to be Escitalopram oxalate (20mg) - the generic for Lexapro. For verification, the manufacturer is listed as Solco Healthcare US and the pill itself carries a National Drug Code of 43547-0282-10. You can view a small image of it on the manufacturer's product page at: solcohealthcare.com/Escitalopram20-100.html If you look closely at the image, you can see P 20 above a score line on one side and blank on the back. I hope...

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Been on Nuzak and Dopaquel (25mg) for a month now. The medication is helping me tremendously. However, I'm losing a lot of weight. An unhealthy amount. I haven't lost my appetite, I eat a lot and I'm far from active. Is this healthy? Normal? Will the weight-loss stop without having to stop the meds? Yes, it's better than having weight gain but it's an unhealthy weight-loss which can't be good either.

Does anyone else have Accord for the manufacturer? And do your pills smell like sulfur/rotten eggs? ## Yes! I just got my 150mg XL refill. the mfr is accord healthcare and they smell like rotten eggs. I'm not taking them. Going to try to get brand name. I didn't have this problem when I took 75mg twice a day. ## Some medications naturally have a smell due to the specific chemicals involved in their ingredients. You don't always smell it, however, because some manufacturers coat their pills to hide the odor. The FDA warns that Bupropion may also cause side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, headache, mood changes, and dry mouth. Ref: Bupropion Information Is there anything else I can help with?

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I just started Prozac 3 weeks ago. I started on 10mg for 10 days and then moved up to 20mg. I have had so many down days (like worse than I felt before I started taking it). I am taking mainly for OCD and anxiety. I feel like it’s never going to make me actually feel better, but I keep reading that I need to push through. Wish, I’m supposed to go up to 40mg when I feel like I’m ready. Not sure if I should just start it and get it over with, or wait to see if the 20 starts to work better….any advice? ## Usually, it takes about 4 to 5 weeks, at one steady dose, for a medication to reach its full level of efficacy in the body, so it may take awhile, as you gradually step up to the target dose. The FDA lists its typical side effects as possibly including nausea, dizz...

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I was Effexor XR for over 20 years until the insurance no longer paid for it and I went to generic. I don't feel that it does as well. The same with Xanac. Does anyone else have any experience with this? ## Hello, Mona! How are you? There can be fluctuations between name brand and generic medications. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, they are allowed to differ, in the amount of the active ingredients, by as much as plus or minus 20%. The FDA considers that an acceptable therapeutic window, but when someone has been taking the name brand steadily for years, a sudden switch may cause problems, if they generics are a little low in them. What are the markings on the ones you're currently taking? This information would enable me to research them more for you. ## yes. I feel the sa...

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I want to have a few drinks this weekend and I was wondering how many days I should be off. ## Hello, Viiby! How are you? It would really be best to stay on your medication and forgo the alcohol. It tends to exacerbate the side effects, so it could make you more dizzy, drowsy and nauseous than usual. Even if you stop taking it, you're likely going to experience some withdrawal effects, which will probably also be worsened by the alcohol. If your doctor approves of your imbibing, then please make sure that you aren't driving. Viibryd has a half-life of 24 to 25 hours and it takes 5 to 6 half-lives to be fully processed out of your body, so you'd be looking at needing a break of at least 5 to 6 days, but as I said, that doesn't do away with the possible withdrawal effects....

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I have been taking Effexor XR for 3 years and added Wellbutrin XL about a year ago. I am taking 300mg of each once daily. But now I am experiencing what I describe as shocks or flutters starting at my head and traveling down my body. Sometimes I feel like I might fall but I have not. I have been to my PCP and a neurologist, after a million tests still no answer. After looking on line it sounds like serotonin syndrome to me. Not a drastic case but enough to be irritating. ## What has your doctor said about this possibility? Our bodies do change with time, as we age, so it is always possible that we could suddenly start experiencing issues that we didn't in the past, even if the dosage of given medications haven't recently changed. ## if it where Serotonin syndrome you would proba...

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I just wanted to take a minute to introduce myself on these forums. My name is Dan and I'm a social worker and I do mental health research. One of the issues that I see come up time and time again, but that is rarely openly discussed in my field, are the positive and negative effects antidepressants can have on sexual health. It's an area I'm researching more now, but am hopeful to converse about the topic here in an effort to learn more myself and to hopefully share some of my research/knowledge/projects too. ## You are welcome on this site, but anti depressants are not good. They've caused more problems than just sexual health. Just like all meds that the government thinks they have to regulate these should be. Instead they think the answer is to let them control what ...

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My boyfriend is on Effexor XR. We have been dating for 10 months and we've been dealing with his very, very low libido. I am very patient with him, but I can see myself eventually running out of patience. We actually haven't been intimate since Mid-July. So at this point it's been 5-months since he's had ANY interest in me. I have been self-reliant, but I am starting to have trouble myself, because I am tired of doing it myself. Recently he saw his PCP to discuss low libido and energy. His PCP seems to think it may be related to sleep apnea, but I don't think he's right. Yes, my boyfriend does have some trouble in that area, but I don't think it's as bad as he thinks it is. I believe the problem is Effoxor, but I certainly don't want him to go off of ...

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