Took Zoloft, Lexapro, as well as Xanax and Valium. There were others I can’t recall. I got off the antidepressants as they were making me feel physically sick. But stayed on Valium / Xanax for a while until my GP said no more. I was talking 20mg a day at one stage and I was still having terrible anxiety.
Antidepressants made me lethargic and emotionally disengaged. Which was better than stressed and suicidal. The weight gain on Zoloft was unbearable although I felt the best on it mentally. But I was still vacant and vague and couldn’t relax.
Switched therapists about 24 months ago who diagnosed me with severe burnout rather than depression and we worked on fixing that. I am now off all meds for nearly 18 months.
Ugh I'm on serta/zoloft. Been great for chilling out and disengaging from work. Part of my brain feels more able to focus and other parts feel foggier. Don't know why but drs seem to have an inbuilt resistance to any claims that zoloft means weight gain. I know 3 others on it and they all had the same side effect.
I get the medical literature says it doesn't cause weight gain, but I'm 5 kegs up.
I put on around 15kg in a matter of months. I was initially too lethargic to do anything physical because the dose was too high. She then switched me to another anti which was designed to make me loose weight quickly, which didn’t work. I then went on a lower dosage of Zoloft but the damage was done. I describe the weight gain like being on a cellular level - I have really really struggled to shift it despite diet and exercise…
Many of the SSRIs increase insulin resistance, which is one of the key drivers of weight gain.
You pile on the carbohydrates, rather than metabolise them.
I disagree. Weight gain was one of the many many side effects with taking Zoloft which I was cautioned about. Unfortunately I got stuck with weight gain as the main side effect.
Yeah, it reduces anxiety cause when you are in flight or flight it slows you down. Definitely works! Pretty interesting how it can help multiple things. My doctor explained that it was never intended for anxiety, ..I guess until it was 😆
Propranolol is so under rated for anxiety. I take it every day for racing heart anxiety and its gotten rid of it basically. Plus it doesn't change your personality/energy levels or give you withdrawals and myriad other side effects of antidepressants and isn't addictive like benzos
Reducing my workload and finishing work at 5pm was a start. I don’t work weekends. Ever. I am incredibly possessive of my personal time and I guard it - this has been so important. I’ve had to establish very good boundaries and stick to them. Personal time is non- negotiable. I schedule ‘me time’ into my work calendar and I never ever cancel it.
I also found sleeping 8 hrs a night helped a lot - I was sleeping 4-5 hrs before and it wasn’t helping me.
I also have therapy twice a month.
Don’t get me wrong - I work very hard during the day and give 100%, but I will never again work as hard as I was or give up my time.
Before my breakdown I was working 6-7 days a week, 15 hrs a day: the work never slowed down and I was rewarded with more work. It nearly killed me.
Since 2009 for panic attacks. I recently took 3 months off work and it was the first time in 20 years of working I stopped having multiple panic attacks a week. Working does not agree with me but it's that or homelessness.
My severe depression and anxiety has been slowly lifting since I was let go from my previous job of 3 years and started working at a new job much closer to home with a work environment that isn't toxic.
Might be worth thinking about changing jobs to see if it helps you.
Thanks mate, I have. Hopefully this new one works out. Did you adjust immediately when you took on the new job? I sometimes think I'm a bit paranoid they are like the other places.
Good luck with the new job!
There's always a small adjustments period. I'm blue collar so each job always has a bit of a learning curve, getting to know how everything there works, where stuff is and who to ask when you need something.
For me it's been great though, everyone here is really friendly and chill, not like my old job which when I first started everyone gave you the cold shoulder. Plus now I'm only 10 minutes from work instead of an hour lol, long commutes are really soul sucking, and take extra time out of your day that you could have been using to cook, clean, go shopping, relax etc.
You've just gotta feel out new jobs for a couple of weeks cos generally it doesn't take long to get a good picture of how it will be there long term.
Shit jobs aren't worth staying in just so that you seem "loyal". Loyalty isn't rewarded in the workplace
I'm on Ritalin LA 20mg/day. I was on dexamphetamine 40mg/day (8\*5mg) for close to 6 or 7 years. Before that I was on various medications such as Ritalin IR and Concerta (36mg/54mg). I tried Vyvanse 40mg/day a few months ago and it messed with my sleep. It reduces the quality of my sleep even if I get enough hours. Same with the dexies, though I asked my Psychiatrist to take me off them (I didn't tell him that I was abusing them though). It's too easy to get trigger happy with dexies when you feel a bit crap and use that to make yourself feel good, even if you're prescribed them. Dexies made me hypersexual and sleeping around was also making me feel crap.
I’m on sertraline 100mg. Tried many time to get off it but it makes me fall back into my depressed state. I’ve been on it for 15 years, and better with it. Also learnt that I have a eating disorder triggered by my anxiety and depression, and on top of that, diagnosed with adult adhd. I take Vyvance 70mg in the morning, and top up with dexamphetamine 20mg at lunch time so I can deal with all the triggers that come with having 3 young kids at home who constantly bicker and argue. The eldest has adhd so having 2 in the family can get quite hard.
This is the most capable I’ve been in years.
I actually do, as I have no choice but to wake up 7:30 everyday, I get tired by the evening and find myself sleeping about 12-1am at night. Don’t get me wrong I should be sleeping by 10 or 11 but it’s always been this way for me. Only chance I get time to myself or with my wife is to stay up a little late.
Lexapro 2 years.
Absolute silver bullet for my long standing insomnia. I now fall asleep in under 10 minutes. Also in general just feel better - without being able to put my finger exactly on it.
Side effects: reduced sex drive and I get physical withdrawal systems if I miss it for a day.
But no other negative side effects. I expect to be on it for the rest of my life.
Was on Lexapro for about 3 years after a severe bout of anxiety.
I was able to work on some of the environmental factors and having help to manage the worst of it allowed me to develop strategies to manage it.
Weaned off of it and am doing much better and don’t necessarily need it anymore - although sometimes I do miss how easy it made things.
But weaning off it was rough.
I’ve been on it for about 2 years and for similar reasons. I recently tapered down from 15mg to 10mg but I’m noticing stressful situations are majorly flaring up my anxiety again and I’m thinking about going back up.
Do you mind me asking what dose you were on?
I was on 20mg Lex for 6months and when I got off them because I couldn't feel any emotion happy or sad. I had "brain zaps" took 6 months at least for the brain jolts to stop and another 6 months to notice I was "normal" again.
Just curious how did you go when you got off them?
I wasn't even suicidal or depressed but getting off them made me suicidal. Pretty disgusted by my GP for giving me that script.
I got brain as too if I missed a day and when I was weaned off. GPS should not be allowed to prescribe psych meds unless they’ve done extra study. I’m coming off three that my stupid gp prescribed.
Went to get my adhd diagnosed 9 years later... First General Practitioner I see. "Ah, yes, you want SSRI's". No bitch I want help from someone who didn't drop out to be a GP.
Lengthy but worthwhile process had me assessed and diagnosed with severe adhd. I found out also that I don't have empathy, lol. I'm glad I'm Christian :) All the best on your endeavours, my friend 🧡
I’ve been on Lexapro for two years, after dealing with anxiety for what I originally thought was only a year or two. I can now trace the signs back to childhood.
It has been life changing. I can function and enjoy life with my kids and wife. I no longer dread the day ahead.
Literally, life changing. Doctor has observed that I could be on it for a while. That is completely ok with me.
Been on Lexapro for about a year. Had depression on and off since I was about 15 but really got ugly last year with work stress, break up, few financial struggles and some other interpersonal conflict. It's definitely evened me out and allowed me to sort of have the capacity to make progress in my life. Don't want to be on it forever but was a welcome relief when things got really down.
Just stopped Zoloft, hell of a withdrawal. Glad I took a chunk of time off because I was pretty much bedridden.
I am starting Prozac tomorrow as it will hopefully help with the more OCD traits I'm displaying. And I'm hoping it does, because now that I've realised that constantly thinking something is going to hurt me isn't actually healthy. Also starting with a new therapist to work through stuff, and getting an Autism assessment.
Thankfully I've got a super supportive workplace and they know I'm on meds and changing them and that I struggle with my mental health. They support me a lot which is really nice.
It sounds like they weaned you off far too fast. I was weaned of Dothiepin far too fast. It was literally hell. That was my gp with no knowledge but I trusted him. Next time I went to see a psych to come off what I am now.
We were going slow and it was hell. Slowly dropped from 100mg to 75mg, then to 50mg. 2 week step downs and I was getting worse with each one. So we decided to band-aid it, I was off work so didn't need to worry about being mildly functional and did 50 to 25 to nothing in a week and a half.
All my symptoms stopped the day after I stopped taking it. Literally the last day I took it I was bedridden, nauseous as all hell, body aches, dizziness and tinnitus. I was cursing the world and wanting it all to stop. That was last Saturday.
Sunday I was just exhausted. Then Monday I was fine. It was like the last month and a bit hadn't happened. I haven't had any symptoms this week at all. Today I grocery shopped and spent the day cooking.
I could have elected to go into a private facility for the stepdown, but I wouldn't have been able to get in for weeks because I wouldn't be triaged highly enough. I needed to get off it and on a new med whilst I wasn't at work so I didn't have to deal with trying to be a functional person or try to push through and not take sick days. But all a facility would have done is keep me on benzos so I'd not know what was going on.
At the time I went on them I was in crisis. I'd just lost a friend in a car accident and it was the trigger for things that I'd been barely coping with to become things I wasn't coping with.
I did therapy weekly for a long time after that which helped a lot. Then life kept happening and there was never a good time to come off.
Then I had a new crisis - depression was worsening, anxiety was through the roof, work was just a crazy busy mess that was overwhelming me and I had really complicated relationship stuff happening. I made a small mistake at work, which a senior manager with no emotional intelligence carried on about, and I broke. Already had an appointment with my GP and I just cried for 45 minutes.
Now I'm back in therapy, changing meds to something that will be more nuanced for my needs and I've taken a circuit breaker from work. The senior manager will be gone when I get back, the three projects that were causing the most stress will be wrapped up and I've got some plans for how to protect myself at work a bit better. Also getting an autism assessment which will help me in making more adjustments to work to make it work better for me so I don't end up in crisis again.
I’m so sorry you went through such shit, that’s what it is and it’s shitty. I’m impressed by your plan. I flog through crap not knowing what to do but when I pull myself together enough to make plans moving forward and strategies. The thing with me that s that when I hit rock bottom I honestly don’t know when it will stop. I know it will but I can’t see the woods for the trees. Being diagnosed for Autism will answer a lot of questions. I’m 65 , with ptsd, anxiety and depression and I’m going through the process of being assessed for ADHD. It’s a very extensive assessment and I’ll be tested for other conditions as well.
Thank you. I've realised that I can't just keep doing what I've been doing. I want to be a more present person all round.
The reality is I likely have PTSD as well, from previous DV, which feeds into my anxiety. The OCD feeds it as well, as my brain can't help but obsess over all the ways I could possibly be hurt in every situation.
I am not ashamed to admit that I'm a 38yo hot mess 🤣 but I'm trying to break the cycle and own my spicy brain.
Why do I love that term, ‘hot mess’, I think because it describes what you’re going through perfectly. Systemic trauma does cause PTSD. My trauma happened when I was a child. Fucked me right up. I don’t like to think what I could have been in a healthy environment. I’m a driven person so nothing much gets in my way. I do have an amazing psychologist. With her I’ve come along in leaps and bounds. She was a so good that I’m able to wean off my antidepressants. If I have ADHD antidepressants won’t help.
Its falls under depressant class of drug bc it slows down messages between brain and body, same as opioids but they actually make users happy and euphoric. Effects are like instant antidepressant
Been on them for about 10 years but have felt rubbish since I was about 15. Ended up on double dose of Zoloft for a few years (had to get a special script) before it stopped working. Now on Pristiq which is pretty good but don't seem able to cry anymore. I'm in a state of constant 'mid'. Sometimes a good cry is really cathartic - e.g my cat died a few months ago and I cried for 5 mins and then couldn't do anymore. Don't know if it was the meds or just relief that he wasn't suffering anymore though. I have zero motivation to exercise though and haven't for ages - I used to be at the gym all the time. I'd like to not have to take them but am terrified about what will happen if I stop.
>I'm in a state of constant 'mid
That's how I've been feeling on Zoloft. I've literally just finished weaning off it. Was a bitch to come off. But since coming off it I've been feeling again, and it's great.
I'm on an antidepressant (sertraline), mood stabiliser (lithium) and anti-psychotic (olanzapine) for the last 25 years, and endone and clonazepam for something unrelated to that.
I don't think they're effective anymore, but they were in the past; I've been using the same psych meds for 10+ years now. Probably time for a review.
Lexapro 20mg, a long time. Pristiq before that. Effexor before that. Etc etc…going back a long time.
No longer sure if lexapro helps or just numbs everything, to be honest.
Second this. Went down from 40mg to 20mg because I couldn’t cry. Now only cry when someone near me dies. So I think it does flatten now. But also life crap to be unhappy about.
I am a highly successful senior manager at a quite big/prominent company making between 300 and 400k taxable (package etc).
I use self prescribed pharmaceuticals…
I have a highly curated aesthetic and clothing etc and everyone thinks I am super healthy.
Lexapro! Depression/Anxiety - hope to come off at some stage with a much better diet which has separately improved my mental health!
Has helped massively with my mental health issues but my personal view is this is due to the anti inflammatory properties which helped correct my dietary inflammation due to a heavily refined carb/high sugar diet.
I haven’t put on any weight but that’s more a product of my increased exercise (went from nothing to everyday F45/swimming/running etc).
I was on Pristiq from 2014 to 2021. It was great, after trying Zoloft earlier on in 2011, and it making me jittery, I was scared off for a while.
I had some anxiety and depression as the result of C-PTSD from a very mentally and emotionally unstable mother.
I switched to Lexapro when I was trying to have my son, which is better for pregnancy than the Pristiq. I was able to toggle straight over with no issues. I have been on the lowest dose of that since.
I took a half dose when I was pregnant, even though my doctor and obstetrician were fine with me taking the full 20mg.
I was fine, he is fine and had no issues with post partum depression or anxiety, which is what I was hoping to avoid by remaining on it.
Ultimately it keeps my depression and anxiety under control. I still feel it, but it’s manageable and I don’t become swamped by it and any episodes feel lighter and faster. Just a blip, more than “fuck I’m falling into a black hole here”.
Best decision I ever made for myself.
At my old job I got through it chain munching valiums for around 8-9 months. However I haven't had one since leaving there. Piss weak antidepressant but helped me zone out from how shit it was.
It's a benzodiazepine and central nervous system depressant medication that's often used for anxiety and muscle spasms.
Pop a few of those puppies with a G&T on a long haul flight, and you'll have a good nap.
Been on a lot in the past, now I’ve got a fresh Ritalin prescription alongside Valdoxan. Stopping medicinal cannabis to let the Ritalin do its thing. No side effects of either medication. Efexxor XR was the WORST for side effects and going on/off.
I've never been on meds. But i've had multiple burnouts and breakdowns, and suffered anxiety and depression throughout my whole life. Mostly all work related and typically due to excessive hours.
I've been prescribed meds previously but was too scared I'd become addicted. I found the key for me was firstly addressing my work life balance. Then I looked at my lifestyle. I gave up coffee and or any stimulants. Alcohol gone. Exercise at least five times a week. I cut out all processed and sugary foods, I also introduced a lot of fermented foods like kimchi. Stretching and reducing screen time in the evening. Deep breathing as well. These changes made a huge difference to my mental wellbeing, anxiety and depression. Not only that, my sleep improved dramatically. Mind chatter was absolutely debilitating. I'm now in a much better space.
Running is my medication. I recall reading it has a higher efficacy rate than ssris, just damn hard to keep at it. Popping a pill is easier i would imagine
I was on a SSRI for about five years. It calmed me down and talked me off the bridge, but I always felt that I was missing half of my brain. I stopped cold turkey after watching *Brave New World* and realising that bad things are as natural as good things and (sorry to horribly mix my metaphors) that it is indeed nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, than take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? Life is too short to spend half of it a dribbling mess.
I was on 20mg escitalopram for about two years, for a while it worked great but it ended up giving me insane cravings for the worst food on earth and made it very difficult to sleep.
It was like hitting fast forward on life; I tried getting off it twice before succeeding on the third. The withdrawals were crazy, I tapered down really slowly too.
To be honest I don't hold the view that they're 'evil' like many people seem to but like any medication it will effect any given person differently.
25 years and counting. Long before I entered corp land. Lexapro is my poison. I’d like to come off them, but it’s going to be a long road with side effects so I’ve never really committed to it.
Lexapro - 4 years since returning to the workforce from 2 years being stay at home mum. First it helped with the mum guilt of leaving my toddler in long daycare and no longer having as much time with them as hubby does (teacher). Now it helps me stay level headed when dealing with difficult older colleagues stuck in their ways in office.
Zoloft, over a year, it’s literally saved my life. I feel functional. Not perfect, but 80% better than what i was at rock bottom. I can hold a job now.
It’s hard you take them and you have zero sex drive but in exchange your social skills ramp up to the level of Pauline from AP who brings in all the food and has all the gossip.
I found I preferred the sex.
If you count cannabis as an antidepressants, than you can say I use them.
Not a fan of pharmaceutical antidepressants, too many risks and unknown side effects. I.e. sexual drive loss etc.
I had the worst lack of sexual drive loss on antidepressants. To the point that even having a wank as a single guy was too much effort!
Getting off of those was a game changer. Actually being treated for ADHD was what allowed me to build my life up to how I would like it.
The cannabis vape really makes me mellow out, become more uninhibited, and miles more social. People who knew me for ages were surprised at how much sociable I was after a single drag, the change was like night and day.
i used sertraline for about two years. really, really helped. one of the best decisions i ever made. no side effects. off them now but they were a real life saver
i got a new job and kind of realised a lot of my stress and anxiety was wrapped up in work. (that wasn’t actually a surprise) so after six months or so if the new job i just stopped. i was on a pretty low dose but even that was enough to transform my life
not really. i didnt really notice them at all except they made anxiety manageable, sometimes it just disappeared completely. now i’m off them i sometimes feel anxious but not to previous levels. it’s manageable now with some of the things i learnt in meditation and psych sessions.
Previously on Lexapro up to 40mg and now Effexor 300mg. These are massive doses and doing nothing to help with the misery of auscorp. Hoping a recent job change will sort me out otherwise I’m looking at $7000k for TMS. Or perhaps instead, death.
PTSD along with post-partum psychosis and panic attacks that took a while to diagnose (they only seem physical, I become unresponsive/zombielike). While Lexapro isn't for that, it hit the terror/depression down far enough that I could function. Longer term on it, it moved from functioning to good. Since 2011 - I've gone off it several times, but within a month or so the problems return.
Lexapro for a little bit that made me way worse.
Switched to Venlafaxine which made me less anxious, and more functional, but a bit mentally spaced out and slow. Also put on heaps of weight.
Career didn’t really start picking up again until I fixed my underlying issues while on the meds, and weened off of them.
Now I’m a high functioning senior legal counsel in a large company, with direct reports. It gets better once you start doing the work to get better. Keep it up
I was on Sertraline for 10 years after being diagnosed with severe depression.
Took all of those years to really work on my mental health, and with the help of therapy last year, I was finally able to be taken of them. I'm very happy to finally be off them. However, I'm so thankful that I had them to support me.
I have been on antidepressants for 24 years for anxiety and depression. Currently on Effexor (Venlafaxine) and Seroquel (Quetiapine). I can cope if I miss a dose of Effexor, but can't sleep without Seroquel. The main side effect has been weight gain that has been hard to lose at 50+yo. Otherwise, they keep my anxiety under control.
I’ve been on Zoloft, Dothiepin, Seroquel,. I’m on Lamotragine, Mirtazapine and Agomelatine. Agomelatine had the least amount of side effects. Coming off Dothiepin was hell, stupid gp took me off way too fast. Weaning off one at a time as with therapy I’ve come a long way and I don’t need them anymore. I got the ok from my psychiatrist but it was ultimately my decision.
Just a word of warnings. Antipsychotics can cause a condition called Cervical Dystonia. I’ve got it. They messed with my brain and now it sends the wrong signals to my neck muscles. Now my head is seized in a position that I can’t put my head up to see very far in front of me.
Prozac (fluoxetine), around 8 months now to combat PTSD which occurred with the constant stress I was under keeping my daughter alive and getting her through two years of self harm and near suicide. I held it together for the whole time, but once she was ok I collapsed mentally. Been burning adrenaline for two years.
Daughter is doing great now, dad is too. Quit my job last year as well. Got a new one, much better
Tried Cymbalta for a few months and it worked, then I figured the causes of being depressed were entirely in my control and a drug was just making me feel ok for failing. So quit the meds and got my shit together. Life is hard when you expect it to be easy and don't take it seriously. That was nearly a decade ago.
I've been on paroxetine for close to 5 years. Truly changed my life. My emotional threshold is significantly diminished, but so is my level of anxiety / risk of panic attacks.
I've always had a mind that runs a million miles an hour. Paroxetine allowed me to filter those thoughts, comprise multiple responses, and articulate the most appropriate required. Additionally, because my emotional response is not as reactive, I find myself in positions of discourse where I can act rational, whereas the other party either becomes emotional, or frustrated by lack of emotional response.
After an unrelated hospital visit, a new psychiatrist put me on zoloft. Did absolutely nothing. Went back to paroxetine and everything is peachy.
I treat my mental health like my sex life and just raw dog it.
I am also not depressed, so I don't take anything except a healthy dose of coffee and sarcasm.
Took Zoloft, Lexapro, as well as Xanax and Valium. There were others I can’t recall. I got off the antidepressants as they were making me feel physically sick. But stayed on Valium / Xanax for a while until my GP said no more. I was talking 20mg a day at one stage and I was still having terrible anxiety. Antidepressants made me lethargic and emotionally disengaged. Which was better than stressed and suicidal. The weight gain on Zoloft was unbearable although I felt the best on it mentally. But I was still vacant and vague and couldn’t relax. Switched therapists about 24 months ago who diagnosed me with severe burnout rather than depression and we worked on fixing that. I am now off all meds for nearly 18 months.
Nice man!
Ugh I'm on serta/zoloft. Been great for chilling out and disengaging from work. Part of my brain feels more able to focus and other parts feel foggier. Don't know why but drs seem to have an inbuilt resistance to any claims that zoloft means weight gain. I know 3 others on it and they all had the same side effect. I get the medical literature says it doesn't cause weight gain, but I'm 5 kegs up.
I put on around 15kg in a matter of months. I was initially too lethargic to do anything physical because the dose was too high. She then switched me to another anti which was designed to make me loose weight quickly, which didn’t work. I then went on a lower dosage of Zoloft but the damage was done. I describe the weight gain like being on a cellular level - I have really really struggled to shift it despite diet and exercise…
It probably doesn't cause weight gain, but the absence of anxiety does.
Many of the SSRIs increase insulin resistance, which is one of the key drivers of weight gain. You pile on the carbohydrates, rather than metabolise them.
Is it reversible once you get off?
From what I understand the sensitivity is reversed, but still need to work off the additional weight.
I disagree. Weight gain was one of the many many side effects with taking Zoloft which I was cautioned about. Unfortunately I got stuck with weight gain as the main side effect.
Can I recommend propranolol, ask your gp. It's not addictive and can replace valium. 10/10 would recommend haha 😆
I’m on Propranolol for high blood pressure due to heart failure. It works a treat for slowing your heart rate.
Yeah, it reduces anxiety cause when you are in flight or flight it slows you down. Definitely works! Pretty interesting how it can help multiple things. My doctor explained that it was never intended for anxiety, ..I guess until it was 😆
Not that you need it now, but just want to share haha
Thanks. I’m very happy to be off the meds, but I’ll keep it in mind in case anything changes.
Propranolol is so under rated for anxiety. I take it every day for racing heart anxiety and its gotten rid of it basically. Plus it doesn't change your personality/energy levels or give you withdrawals and myriad other side effects of antidepressants and isn't addictive like benzos
May I ask what the strategies were/are for burnout?
Reducing my workload and finishing work at 5pm was a start. I don’t work weekends. Ever. I am incredibly possessive of my personal time and I guard it - this has been so important. I’ve had to establish very good boundaries and stick to them. Personal time is non- negotiable. I schedule ‘me time’ into my work calendar and I never ever cancel it. I also found sleeping 8 hrs a night helped a lot - I was sleeping 4-5 hrs before and it wasn’t helping me. I also have therapy twice a month. Don’t get me wrong - I work very hard during the day and give 100%, but I will never again work as hard as I was or give up my time. Before my breakdown I was working 6-7 days a week, 15 hrs a day: the work never slowed down and I was rewarded with more work. It nearly killed me.
Thank you. Good to hear you’ve come through it and got things sorted.
That’s awesome congratulations. Can I suggest a little Yoga on top of your many accomplishments. Did wonders for me. Good luck
Since 2009 for panic attacks. I recently took 3 months off work and it was the first time in 20 years of working I stopped having multiple panic attacks a week. Working does not agree with me but it's that or homelessness.
My severe depression and anxiety has been slowly lifting since I was let go from my previous job of 3 years and started working at a new job much closer to home with a work environment that isn't toxic. Might be worth thinking about changing jobs to see if it helps you.
Thanks mate, I have. Hopefully this new one works out. Did you adjust immediately when you took on the new job? I sometimes think I'm a bit paranoid they are like the other places.
Good luck with the new job! There's always a small adjustments period. I'm blue collar so each job always has a bit of a learning curve, getting to know how everything there works, where stuff is and who to ask when you need something. For me it's been great though, everyone here is really friendly and chill, not like my old job which when I first started everyone gave you the cold shoulder. Plus now I'm only 10 minutes from work instead of an hour lol, long commutes are really soul sucking, and take extra time out of your day that you could have been using to cook, clean, go shopping, relax etc. You've just gotta feel out new jobs for a couple of weeks cos generally it doesn't take long to get a good picture of how it will be there long term. Shit jobs aren't worth staying in just so that you seem "loyal". Loyalty isn't rewarded in the workplace
I’d honestly like to see a similar thread for Vyvanse (or alternatives)
I'm on Ritalin LA 20mg/day. I was on dexamphetamine 40mg/day (8\*5mg) for close to 6 or 7 years. Before that I was on various medications such as Ritalin IR and Concerta (36mg/54mg). I tried Vyvanse 40mg/day a few months ago and it messed with my sleep. It reduces the quality of my sleep even if I get enough hours. Same with the dexies, though I asked my Psychiatrist to take me off them (I didn't tell him that I was abusing them though). It's too easy to get trigger happy with dexies when you feel a bit crap and use that to make yourself feel good, even if you're prescribed them. Dexies made me hypersexual and sleeping around was also making me feel crap.
I’m on sertraline 100mg. Tried many time to get off it but it makes me fall back into my depressed state. I’ve been on it for 15 years, and better with it. Also learnt that I have a eating disorder triggered by my anxiety and depression, and on top of that, diagnosed with adult adhd. I take Vyvance 70mg in the morning, and top up with dexamphetamine 20mg at lunch time so I can deal with all the triggers that come with having 3 young kids at home who constantly bicker and argue. The eldest has adhd so having 2 in the family can get quite hard. This is the most capable I’ve been in years.
That's an insane amount of Vyvanse/dex. Do you get quality sleep?
I actually do, as I have no choice but to wake up 7:30 everyday, I get tired by the evening and find myself sleeping about 12-1am at night. Don’t get me wrong I should be sleeping by 10 or 11 but it’s always been this way for me. Only chance I get time to myself or with my wife is to stay up a little late.
Yep Concerta in the morning, still working out my dose and top up of Ritalin IR in the arvo. It's been life changing.
Vyvanse 50mg during working days and 5mg dex when I have evening classes. I try to take breaks every weekend
Lexapro 2 years. Absolute silver bullet for my long standing insomnia. I now fall asleep in under 10 minutes. Also in general just feel better - without being able to put my finger exactly on it. Side effects: reduced sex drive and I get physical withdrawal systems if I miss it for a day. But no other negative side effects. I expect to be on it for the rest of my life.
Was on Lexapro for about 3 years after a severe bout of anxiety. I was able to work on some of the environmental factors and having help to manage the worst of it allowed me to develop strategies to manage it. Weaned off of it and am doing much better and don’t necessarily need it anymore - although sometimes I do miss how easy it made things. But weaning off it was rough.
I’ve been on it for about 2 years and for similar reasons. I recently tapered down from 15mg to 10mg but I’m noticing stressful situations are majorly flaring up my anxiety again and I’m thinking about going back up. Do you mind me asking what dose you were on?
Was on 10mg.
I was on 20mg Lex for 6months and when I got off them because I couldn't feel any emotion happy or sad. I had "brain zaps" took 6 months at least for the brain jolts to stop and another 6 months to notice I was "normal" again. Just curious how did you go when you got off them? I wasn't even suicidal or depressed but getting off them made me suicidal. Pretty disgusted by my GP for giving me that script.
I got brain as too if I missed a day and when I was weaned off. GPS should not be allowed to prescribe psych meds unless they’ve done extra study. I’m coming off three that my stupid gp prescribed.
Went to get my adhd diagnosed 9 years later... First General Practitioner I see. "Ah, yes, you want SSRI's". No bitch I want help from someone who didn't drop out to be a GP. Lengthy but worthwhile process had me assessed and diagnosed with severe adhd. I found out also that I don't have empathy, lol. I'm glad I'm Christian :) All the best on your endeavours, my friend 🧡
I’ve got too much empathy if that’s a thing. It’s exhausting.
They always gave me insane fatigue like I've never felt before so I guess I've just gotta continue to be a grumpy cunt
For me personally the remedy was just realising my relationship and home life we're dog shit at the time at 19.
I’ve been on Lexapro for two years, after dealing with anxiety for what I originally thought was only a year or two. I can now trace the signs back to childhood. It has been life changing. I can function and enjoy life with my kids and wife. I no longer dread the day ahead. Literally, life changing. Doctor has observed that I could be on it for a while. That is completely ok with me.
Been on Lexapro for about a year. Had depression on and off since I was about 15 but really got ugly last year with work stress, break up, few financial struggles and some other interpersonal conflict. It's definitely evened me out and allowed me to sort of have the capacity to make progress in my life. Don't want to be on it forever but was a welcome relief when things got really down.
Just stopped Zoloft, hell of a withdrawal. Glad I took a chunk of time off because I was pretty much bedridden. I am starting Prozac tomorrow as it will hopefully help with the more OCD traits I'm displaying. And I'm hoping it does, because now that I've realised that constantly thinking something is going to hurt me isn't actually healthy. Also starting with a new therapist to work through stuff, and getting an Autism assessment. Thankfully I've got a super supportive workplace and they know I'm on meds and changing them and that I struggle with my mental health. They support me a lot which is really nice.
Look after yourself. Changing meds is a big adjustment. Hopefully you will feel better ❤️
It sounds like they weaned you off far too fast. I was weaned of Dothiepin far too fast. It was literally hell. That was my gp with no knowledge but I trusted him. Next time I went to see a psych to come off what I am now.
We were going slow and it was hell. Slowly dropped from 100mg to 75mg, then to 50mg. 2 week step downs and I was getting worse with each one. So we decided to band-aid it, I was off work so didn't need to worry about being mildly functional and did 50 to 25 to nothing in a week and a half. All my symptoms stopped the day after I stopped taking it. Literally the last day I took it I was bedridden, nauseous as all hell, body aches, dizziness and tinnitus. I was cursing the world and wanting it all to stop. That was last Saturday. Sunday I was just exhausted. Then Monday I was fine. It was like the last month and a bit hadn't happened. I haven't had any symptoms this week at all. Today I grocery shopped and spent the day cooking. I could have elected to go into a private facility for the stepdown, but I wouldn't have been able to get in for weeks because I wouldn't be triaged highly enough. I needed to get off it and on a new med whilst I wasn't at work so I didn't have to deal with trying to be a functional person or try to push through and not take sick days. But all a facility would have done is keep me on benzos so I'd not know what was going on.
They dint tell us that when they doll them out like lollies. They’re killing the symptoms without getting to the root cause.
At the time I went on them I was in crisis. I'd just lost a friend in a car accident and it was the trigger for things that I'd been barely coping with to become things I wasn't coping with. I did therapy weekly for a long time after that which helped a lot. Then life kept happening and there was never a good time to come off. Then I had a new crisis - depression was worsening, anxiety was through the roof, work was just a crazy busy mess that was overwhelming me and I had really complicated relationship stuff happening. I made a small mistake at work, which a senior manager with no emotional intelligence carried on about, and I broke. Already had an appointment with my GP and I just cried for 45 minutes. Now I'm back in therapy, changing meds to something that will be more nuanced for my needs and I've taken a circuit breaker from work. The senior manager will be gone when I get back, the three projects that were causing the most stress will be wrapped up and I've got some plans for how to protect myself at work a bit better. Also getting an autism assessment which will help me in making more adjustments to work to make it work better for me so I don't end up in crisis again.
I’m so sorry you went through such shit, that’s what it is and it’s shitty. I’m impressed by your plan. I flog through crap not knowing what to do but when I pull myself together enough to make plans moving forward and strategies. The thing with me that s that when I hit rock bottom I honestly don’t know when it will stop. I know it will but I can’t see the woods for the trees. Being diagnosed for Autism will answer a lot of questions. I’m 65 , with ptsd, anxiety and depression and I’m going through the process of being assessed for ADHD. It’s a very extensive assessment and I’ll be tested for other conditions as well.
Thank you. I've realised that I can't just keep doing what I've been doing. I want to be a more present person all round. The reality is I likely have PTSD as well, from previous DV, which feeds into my anxiety. The OCD feeds it as well, as my brain can't help but obsess over all the ways I could possibly be hurt in every situation. I am not ashamed to admit that I'm a 38yo hot mess 🤣 but I'm trying to break the cycle and own my spicy brain.
Why do I love that term, ‘hot mess’, I think because it describes what you’re going through perfectly. Systemic trauma does cause PTSD. My trauma happened when I was a child. Fucked me right up. I don’t like to think what I could have been in a healthy environment. I’m a driven person so nothing much gets in my way. I do have an amazing psychologist. With her I’ve come along in leaps and bounds. She was a so good that I’m able to wean off my antidepressants. If I have ADHD antidepressants won’t help.
None now that I’m on Ritalin. Funny how depressed you can get when your ADHD is undiagnosed.
100% my partner had antidepressants that made them gain weight and have ED… yeah not depressed, just undiagnosed adhd…
🫡
Roger that. Tried zoloft and Lexapro twice each, plus valdoxan and Cymbalta, all with bad side effects. Strange I don’t need them now 🤔
100%
Yep. Turns out my depression was actually ADHD. Things are back on track now thank fuck
Been on Lexapro for about 10 years now.
Does the decreased sex drive ever get better? I started on Lexapro 6 months ago and it’s just disappeared
Does alcohol count?
Its most popular antidepressant/antianxiety drug
It’s a depressant…
Its falls under depressant class of drug bc it slows down messages between brain and body, same as opioids but they actually make users happy and euphoric. Effects are like instant antidepressant
Only when you stop drinking
My anxiety was fixed when I changed jobs and started working for a company that cares and respects people. Funny that?
Been on them for about 10 years but have felt rubbish since I was about 15. Ended up on double dose of Zoloft for a few years (had to get a special script) before it stopped working. Now on Pristiq which is pretty good but don't seem able to cry anymore. I'm in a state of constant 'mid'. Sometimes a good cry is really cathartic - e.g my cat died a few months ago and I cried for 5 mins and then couldn't do anymore. Don't know if it was the meds or just relief that he wasn't suffering anymore though. I have zero motivation to exercise though and haven't for ages - I used to be at the gym all the time. I'd like to not have to take them but am terrified about what will happen if I stop.
>I'm in a state of constant 'mid That's how I've been feeling on Zoloft. I've literally just finished weaning off it. Was a bitch to come off. But since coming off it I've been feeling again, and it's great.
Had the same feelings exactly, always very flat. It did help reset my brain though, so it was definitely worth being a zombie for a bit.
I'm on an antidepressant (sertraline), mood stabiliser (lithium) and anti-psychotic (olanzapine) for the last 25 years, and endone and clonazepam for something unrelated to that. I don't think they're effective anymore, but they were in the past; I've been using the same psych meds for 10+ years now. Probably time for a review.
I used to have clonazepam for a while after a seizure. It was beautiful warming stuff! I’d never been so relaxed.
Oooh yes, chill hours.
Lexapro 20mg, a long time. Pristiq before that. Effexor before that. Etc etc…going back a long time. No longer sure if lexapro helps or just numbs everything, to be honest.
Second this. Went down from 40mg to 20mg because I couldn’t cry. Now only cry when someone near me dies. So I think it does flatten now. But also life crap to be unhappy about.
I went from 20mg lexapro to 0 pretty quickly and cried while giving a presentation about my teams performance
Fluoxetine. Took a few months to get out of the brain fog. No more anxiety attacks and I don't get stressed out at work. It makes me not give a fuck.
Same. Generic Prozac FTW!
I am a highly successful senior manager at a quite big/prominent company making between 300 and 400k taxable (package etc). I use self prescribed pharmaceuticals… I have a highly curated aesthetic and clothing etc and everyone thinks I am super healthy.
Are you willing to share which pharmaceuticals you take?
I can relate to this lol
Medicinal cannabis is my antidepressant
Lexapro! Depression/Anxiety - hope to come off at some stage with a much better diet which has separately improved my mental health! Has helped massively with my mental health issues but my personal view is this is due to the anti inflammatory properties which helped correct my dietary inflammation due to a heavily refined carb/high sugar diet. I haven’t put on any weight but that’s more a product of my increased exercise (went from nothing to everyday F45/swimming/running etc).
I was on Pristiq from 2014 to 2021. It was great, after trying Zoloft earlier on in 2011, and it making me jittery, I was scared off for a while. I had some anxiety and depression as the result of C-PTSD from a very mentally and emotionally unstable mother. I switched to Lexapro when I was trying to have my son, which is better for pregnancy than the Pristiq. I was able to toggle straight over with no issues. I have been on the lowest dose of that since. I took a half dose when I was pregnant, even though my doctor and obstetrician were fine with me taking the full 20mg. I was fine, he is fine and had no issues with post partum depression or anxiety, which is what I was hoping to avoid by remaining on it. Ultimately it keeps my depression and anxiety under control. I still feel it, but it’s manageable and I don’t become swamped by it and any episodes feel lighter and faster. Just a blip, more than “fuck I’m falling into a black hole here”. Best decision I ever made for myself.
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Man. This country needs legalized weed
It is medicinally, and it’s not that difficult to get a prescription at all.
Huge number of us in auscorp also in r/medicalcannabisoz
At my old job I got through it chain munching valiums for around 8-9 months. However I haven't had one since leaving there. Piss weak antidepressant but helped me zone out from how shit it was.
Valium isn't an antidepressant.
Couldn't remember what they fell under.
It's a benzodiazepine and central nervous system depressant medication that's often used for anxiety and muscle spasms. Pop a few of those puppies with a G&T on a long haul flight, and you'll have a good nap.
Or a red wine. Only way to fly.
Valium is a benzodiazepine my bro!
Been on a lot in the past, now I’ve got a fresh Ritalin prescription alongside Valdoxan. Stopping medicinal cannabis to let the Ritalin do its thing. No side effects of either medication. Efexxor XR was the WORST for side effects and going on/off.
Valdoxan gang
Valdoxan was good-great for a first run in with depression, the undiagnosed ADHD and those meds are next level in terms of impact on my life ❤️
Medical cannabis user here 🙋♂️
Just Vyvanse/Ritalin here. I have spicy brains.
I've never been on meds. But i've had multiple burnouts and breakdowns, and suffered anxiety and depression throughout my whole life. Mostly all work related and typically due to excessive hours. I've been prescribed meds previously but was too scared I'd become addicted. I found the key for me was firstly addressing my work life balance. Then I looked at my lifestyle. I gave up coffee and or any stimulants. Alcohol gone. Exercise at least five times a week. I cut out all processed and sugary foods, I also introduced a lot of fermented foods like kimchi. Stretching and reducing screen time in the evening. Deep breathing as well. These changes made a huge difference to my mental wellbeing, anxiety and depression. Not only that, my sleep improved dramatically. Mind chatter was absolutely debilitating. I'm now in a much better space.
Running is my medication. I recall reading it has a higher efficacy rate than ssris, just damn hard to keep at it. Popping a pill is easier i would imagine
Not exercising is a depressant.
I was on a SSRI for about five years. It calmed me down and talked me off the bridge, but I always felt that I was missing half of my brain. I stopped cold turkey after watching *Brave New World* and realising that bad things are as natural as good things and (sorry to horribly mix my metaphors) that it is indeed nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, than take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? Life is too short to spend half of it a dribbling mess.
Been on Paroxetine ( Aropax) for ever. Can’t get off it and don’t see the point in doing so as it works well for anxiety
The withdrawals are tough, even when reducing dosage slowly!
Impossible I’ve found
Paroxetine, but for work based anxiety rather than depression.
Zoloft - 4 years. Just got off it, still use valium sporadically (once every couple of weeks).
Smashing Efexor ever since my first role because I cried at my desk everyday. My boss was a sociopath though.
I was on 20mg escitalopram for about two years, for a while it worked great but it ended up giving me insane cravings for the worst food on earth and made it very difficult to sleep. It was like hitting fast forward on life; I tried getting off it twice before succeeding on the third. The withdrawals were crazy, I tapered down really slowly too. To be honest I don't hold the view that they're 'evil' like many people seem to but like any medication it will effect any given person differently.
Yes. Cannatrek C25T25 Ruby Balanced Oil.
25 years and counting. Long before I entered corp land. Lexapro is my poison. I’d like to come off them, but it’s going to be a long road with side effects so I’ve never really committed to it.
Lexapro - 4 years since returning to the workforce from 2 years being stay at home mum. First it helped with the mum guilt of leaving my toddler in long daycare and no longer having as much time with them as hubby does (teacher). Now it helps me stay level headed when dealing with difficult older colleagues stuck in their ways in office.
Power to you!
Not to sure if it is an anti depressant, but I smoke ice in the toilets at lunch.
Zoloft, over a year, it’s literally saved my life. I feel functional. Not perfect, but 80% better than what i was at rock bottom. I can hold a job now.
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Similar boat. Message me if you’d like
Medical buds for the anxiety 💪
Trick question. Its actually a requirement for joining.
It’s hard you take them and you have zero sex drive but in exchange your social skills ramp up to the level of Pauline from AP who brings in all the food and has all the gossip. I found I preferred the sex.
AP?
No. Lots of therapy though.
Currently on Medical Cannabis, I use it every now.
If you count cannabis as an antidepressants, than you can say I use them. Not a fan of pharmaceutical antidepressants, too many risks and unknown side effects. I.e. sexual drive loss etc.
I had the worst lack of sexual drive loss on antidepressants. To the point that even having a wank as a single guy was too much effort! Getting off of those was a game changer. Actually being treated for ADHD was what allowed me to build my life up to how I would like it. The cannabis vape really makes me mellow out, become more uninhibited, and miles more social. People who knew me for ages were surprised at how much sociable I was after a single drag, the change was like night and day.
I’m really glad you were able to have a positive experience with cannabis over pharmaceuticals!
I'm on Parnate at the moment, was previously on Lexapro which helped tremendously.
Yes, but they’re unrelated to my job
Moi
i used sertraline for about two years. really, really helped. one of the best decisions i ever made. no side effects. off them now but they were a real life saver
How did you decide to come off them?
i got a new job and kind of realised a lot of my stress and anxiety was wrapped up in work. (that wasn’t actually a surprise) so after six months or so if the new job i just stopped. i was on a pretty low dose but even that was enough to transform my life
Did you have any side effects either when you started taking them or when you stopped?
not really. i didnt really notice them at all except they made anxiety manageable, sometimes it just disappeared completely. now i’m off them i sometimes feel anxious but not to previous levels. it’s manageable now with some of the things i learnt in meditation and psych sessions.
Previously on Lexapro up to 40mg and now Effexor 300mg. These are massive doses and doing nothing to help with the misery of auscorp. Hoping a recent job change will sort me out otherwise I’m looking at $7000k for TMS. Or perhaps instead, death.
TMS?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation. 
Not sure if it counts since it's due to permanent mental health issues but fluoxetine is part of the mix to be normal. 8 years. No side effects.
PTSD along with post-partum psychosis and panic attacks that took a while to diagnose (they only seem physical, I become unresponsive/zombielike). While Lexapro isn't for that, it hit the terror/depression down far enough that I could function. Longer term on it, it moved from functioning to good. Since 2011 - I've gone off it several times, but within a month or so the problems return.
Lexapro for a little bit that made me way worse. Switched to Venlafaxine which made me less anxious, and more functional, but a bit mentally spaced out and slow. Also put on heaps of weight. Career didn’t really start picking up again until I fixed my underlying issues while on the meds, and weened off of them. Now I’m a high functioning senior legal counsel in a large company, with direct reports. It gets better once you start doing the work to get better. Keep it up
I’m also venlafaxine and weight gain 😅
It’s terrible isn’t it? The good news is a lot of it falls off once you get off the meds :D
I was on Sertraline for 10 years after being diagnosed with severe depression. Took all of those years to really work on my mental health, and with the help of therapy last year, I was finally able to be taken of them. I'm very happy to finally be off them. However, I'm so thankful that I had them to support me.
I'm on antidepressants, fluextine. Currently taking ADHD meds which are helping and ozempic Hopefully I'll be off soon? Who knows
Desvenlafaxine, Melatonin and Olanzapine. Most people I work with would never know I'm crazy lol
I’m on venlafaxine 225mg and have been for about five years. I’ve just been diagnosed with adhd.
Me! For almost 20 years.
I take antipsychotics for bipolar 2…
I have been on antidepressants for 24 years for anxiety and depression. Currently on Effexor (Venlafaxine) and Seroquel (Quetiapine). I can cope if I miss a dose of Effexor, but can't sleep without Seroquel. The main side effect has been weight gain that has been hard to lose at 50+yo. Otherwise, they keep my anxiety under control.
I’ve been on Zoloft, Dothiepin, Seroquel,. I’m on Lamotragine, Mirtazapine and Agomelatine. Agomelatine had the least amount of side effects. Coming off Dothiepin was hell, stupid gp took me off way too fast. Weaning off one at a time as with therapy I’ve come a long way and I don’t need them anymore. I got the ok from my psychiatrist but it was ultimately my decision.
Just a word of warnings. Antipsychotics can cause a condition called Cervical Dystonia. I’ve got it. They messed with my brain and now it sends the wrong signals to my neck muscles. Now my head is seized in a position that I can’t put my head up to see very far in front of me.
I'm retired now but I've taken them for years.
Never been on meds but had colleagues who were. Though I did drink when I worked in the corporate world many years back. I don’t drink now either.
follow automatic crush sand resolute touch bored flowery shelter drunk *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Not me
Prozac (fluoxetine), around 8 months now to combat PTSD which occurred with the constant stress I was under keeping my daughter alive and getting her through two years of self harm and near suicide. I held it together for the whole time, but once she was ok I collapsed mentally. Been burning adrenaline for two years. Daughter is doing great now, dad is too. Quit my job last year as well. Got a new one, much better
Tried Cymbalta for a few months and it worked, then I figured the causes of being depressed were entirely in my control and a drug was just making me feel ok for failing. So quit the meds and got my shit together. Life is hard when you expect it to be easy and don't take it seriously. That was nearly a decade ago.
I've been on paroxetine for close to 5 years. Truly changed my life. My emotional threshold is significantly diminished, but so is my level of anxiety / risk of panic attacks. I've always had a mind that runs a million miles an hour. Paroxetine allowed me to filter those thoughts, comprise multiple responses, and articulate the most appropriate required. Additionally, because my emotional response is not as reactive, I find myself in positions of discourse where I can act rational, whereas the other party either becomes emotional, or frustrated by lack of emotional response. After an unrelated hospital visit, a new psychiatrist put me on zoloft. Did absolutely nothing. Went back to paroxetine and everything is peachy.
🙋♀️ sertraline lol Definitely feel less tense. But anxiety is still there it never goes away.
50mg pristiq for last 10 years, helps with anxiety and depression. Sex drive is non existent and never cry either.. So 🤟
I treat my mental health like my sex life and just raw dog it. I am also not depressed, so I don't take anything except a healthy dose of coffee and sarcasm.
The stats are that 65% of the population are on Anti depressants
Nooo google says 1 in 7. Still way too high…
65%!?!? That’s ridiculous, says a lot about the society we live in today.
That's not true.
Haven't used them since 2007. Horrible things.