My best friend is on Effexor - and can’t get off it. Has been on it for years.
She will need to shave off a micrometer amount once a month - or something like that -


“They” pulled my elderly father off Effexor in three days and called it weaning off. ****ers.
That plus prescribing Ativan to be taken 4x daily was the beginning to the end for him...


BUT - many people do get off them - I believe it’s easier if you’re not on them for too long.

And sometimes people do need some “thing” for depression.
Just be careful with it.

Oh my God i don't even know what to do anymore lol. I just need something to lift my mood and make me happier, plus relieve some of my fatigue. Too many scary experiences here.

JovaLyme I'm so sorry about what you have gone through and the damage that's been done. You are one strong person though. You made it through!

Like I said, I am very hesitant about trying such meds. Plus my shrink is the type to recommend it easily. I wonder if I should change dr's but I don't know if I have patience to wait a month or so to see a new one

So the natural options are 5-HTP and SAM? Anything else anyone can recommend?

Thanks!

unsightlycygnet said...

jb1994 said...
Jova you need to stop with the brain damage schtick. It's incredibly off putting. Some people need them at different periods of their lives and neuroplasticity is a thing. They require weaning off of and everyone has a different pace at which they can return to baseline but it can happen. To write people off as brain damaged because they take antidepressants is just disgusting and you need to cut it out.

I've been on them before when I needed them. I got off them. It wasn't easy but that was because I went cold turkey. Don't stay on them for years though. It will be difficult to get off them at that point. That was my mistake. Of course I was prescribed them before I had a choice as to whether to take them (was a minor). But don't be bullied with scare tactics. If you need them, there's no harm in trying. They do have side effects though.

No, I'm afraid to say that he's right about the brain damage, that's another thing I missed out myself. Look here:

https://mindfreedom.org/kb/neuroleptic-brain-damage/

Not to mention the fact that a sizable percentage of school shooters, workplace shooters etc. go postal BECAUSE of these medications that are prescribed for the depression. https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/prescription-for-violence-the-corresponding-rise-of-antidepressants-ssris-mass-shootings/

They're poison. In my opinion and they may work for some but for the few that it works for, I have seen so many testify that these drugs are harmful more so than good. If anything these drugs damage you because the depression is a natural response to the environment and those within it causing you grief that you cannot resolve reasonably i.e being unable to get the proper treatment for lyme disease...

===================

I haven’t read all the posts in this thread but wanted to mention your reference to neuroleptics.
Antipsychotics are in a different class of psych drugs.
Definitely more harmful...in general than antidepressants...

Jova, you are an extreme case. Bottom line. Most people were not on ten or whatever odd meds you were on, they are on one, maybe two. Antidepressants do work for some. I know people who have been on them decades. These people certainly are not "brain damaged", whatever that even means.

I am on a psychiatric cocktail and for me, they are helpful. My anxiety is less, my depression is less, and most importantly, my treatment resistant insomnia is finally going away. Everyone is different. I am able to go off and wean myself off all psych meds. Even when I was on Effexor years ago. I don’t get addicted to benzos I can wean off of those as well. But some people get the bad side effects from psych meds and are very sensitive to them. I am currently on 100 mg of Seroquel before bed, 1 mg klonopin before bed, and 2 mg prazosin before bed. I take 60 mg of Cymbalta which is a Snri and 20 mg of Adderall for energy each day. In addition, I take gabapentin 3 times a day for neuropathy and oxcarbazapine. Everyone is different and responds to medications differently. I have seen psych meds change a lot of people’s lives. If you have neurological Lyme, your brain is on fire, and you need to do whatever you can to calm it down. If herbs work, use those. I use L-theanine during the day if I feel anxious and love it. It’s an amino acid and the calming agent in green tea. You do you...some people hate pharmacological drugs...I don’t. I used to want to study pharmacology so I don’t hate the industry as much as others. But like with everything including herbs- be careful, always know the risks and side effects, and constantly monitor yourself!! Xoxo

Post Edited (Lvg123) : 10/12/2019 2:36:12 PM (GMT-6)