You don't want to ruin an entire year of your life with one week of SSRI treatment? To be fair, that is a very unusual reaction. Most doctors would deny such a thing is possible though.Gee that was depressing...
Ashkaye: took Lexapro for a week for heart palpitations
Hello all. I was prescribed Lexapro 10mg for heart palpitations and blood pressure. Never struggled with anxiety but the cardiologist determined my heart rate issues were from anxiety and I even argued with him over it and his reply was that my heart was anxious. So I attempted the Lexapro as the...www.survivingantidepressants.org
Oh I am in the hole just trying to not dig a deeper one. Thanks for sharing your experiences.If you have been in the "hole", then you know what I mean.
Yes this is interesting. I mean mushrooms don’t do anything for my depression and I take them regularly lol. It’s more for when I’m bored and want a trip. Also which antidepressants have you found most helpful? I see many having succes with welloft (wellbutrin plus zoloft)Antidepressants have helped me at least 5 times in my life to keep me from going downhill through several traumatic experiences. I am glad there are many available.
If you have been in the "hole", then you know what I mean. Yes, they are overprescribed but they save lives.
I am glad the psychedelic therapy tsunami is approaching in the U.S. It will be interesting to see what happens with the regular antidepressant market.
The beginning of an SSRI was always hypomanic for me. For awhile when you first start, your serotonin levels are elevated in the synapses and the receptors haven't downregulated yet. It can be a bit like MDMA-lite (very lite). Then you settle in to your new numb normal as the brain adapts.
Have been relying on metiprolol when attacks come on but finally did the experiment to replace metoprolol tartrate with 1 mg clonazepam about an hour before going to gym. Whoa. Night and day difference in exercise performance and was back to almost same intensity. I don't recommend using benzo when lifting heavy but it was a very eye opening experiment. Clearly my heart is not the issue here. Must have developed some type of anxiety panic issue upon any arousal and engagement of sympathetic nervous system. Hence my head is my worst enemy. Cool experiment to decouple brain from heart.
I emphatically agree with the entirety of that excellent article and with the quote above. That's quite an accurate characterization of antidepressant effects, and written like someone who's taken a few of them herself too.Antidepressants Work Better Than Sugar Pills Only 15 Percent of the Time
Popular meds work no better than a placebo for depression and can come with severe withdrawal symptoms. Why do doctors prescribe them to 43 million Americans?www.newsweek.com
Instead, she argues, the drugs change "normal brain states" and "normal mental states and processes" in ways not that much different than recreational drugs like alcohol. They obscure psychotic symptoms by "superimposing" an abnormal drug state over other effects. In SSRIs, the small advantages seen in placebo-controlled trials, she suggests, can be attributed to emotional numbing that reduces the intensity of feelings causing the depression and anxiety, at the expense of a fuller experience of the ups and downs of life. The crippling sadness that sometimes follows a reduction in SSRI medication is caused by the chemical dependence the drugs can cause in the brain and withdrawal effects.
Interesting. If you are willing to try the beta blocker route, one more time, you might consider a small dose of propanolol. I’ve used 30 mg PRN on occasion with pretty good results.Have been relying on metoprolol when attacks come on but finally did the experiment to replace metoprolol tartrate with 1 mg clonazepam about an hour before going to gym. Whoa. Night and day difference in exercise performance and was back to almost same intensity. I don't recommend using benzo when lifting heavy but it was a very eye opening experiment. Clearly my heart is not the issue here. Must have developed some type of anxiety panic issue upon any arousal and engagement of sympathetic nervous system. Hence my head is my worst enemy. Cool experiment to decouple brain from heart.
I will admit, I have not read the links yet, but I can attest to antidepressants causing severe withdrawal. I currently take trazodone at night time for sleep purposes only. Not that I have a normal mood, but I went on it for sleep specifically. On a few occasions, I have tried to get off of it and have gone through absolute hell. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling if I go without it for a few days.I emphatically agree with the entirety of that excellent article and with the quote above. That's quite an accurate characterization of antidepressant effects, and written like someone who's taken a few of them herself too.
Propanolol just doesn't give me the same bang for the buck as metoprolol tartrate (short acting). Metoprolol is selective for heart but seems to calm my brain better than propanolol as well. My experiment showed me the heart is OK but if I really wanted full coverage I could use the benzo and low dose metoprolol succinate (long acting) for a little bit to give my nerves a reprieve.Interesting. If you are willing to try the beta blocker route, one more time, you might consider a small dose of propanolol. I’ve used 30 mg PRN on occasion with pretty good results.
I enjoyed the article and did not judge simply because it was Newsweek. I read it on its merits. Glad you enjoyed it.I emphatically agree with the entirety of that excellent article and with the quote above. That's quite an accurate characterization of antidepressant effects, and written like someone who's taken a few of them herself too.
Ok I am not very good at asking for help but given my inexperience with this I am soliciting experiences and feedback if you don't mind. I can read most of PubMed in a day but practical veteran experience is invaluable so appreciate you all considering providing any experience.Have been relying on metoprolol when attacks come on but finally did the experiment to replace metoprolol tartrate with 1 mg clonazepam about an hour before going to gym. Whoa. Night and day difference in exercise performance and was back to almost same intensity. I don't recommend using benzo when lifting heavy but it was a very eye opening experiment. Clearly my heart is not the issue here. Must have developed some type of anxiety panic issue upon any arousal and engagement of sympathetic nervous system. Hence my head is my worst enemy. Cool experiment to decouple brain from heart.
I can't give a good scientific answer, but my response would be that you become tolerant and maybe even dependent fairly quickly. I think a benzodiazepine might be most useful in limited circumstances to get someone through something traumatic. That said, I think there are people that take them on a regular basis, but in those circumstances, it can be a bit of a one way street (hard to get off and feel normal). On the other hand, If this helps you get back into the gym, that's a good thing.Ok I am not very good at asking for help but given my inexperience with this I am soliciting experiences and feedback if you don't mind. I can read most of PubMed in a day but practical veteran experience is invaluable so appreciate you all considering providing any experience.
Started 0.5 to 1 mg per day of clonazepam this week. 1 mg was the bomb but 0.5 mg didn't quite cut it yesterday at the gym. How many weeks do I have until I start to lose effect and tolerance builds? I am trying to come up with medium term sustainable plan (as per @FunkOdyssey 's advice) that can kick in once I can no longer reliably leverage the short term win with clonazepam. If going the AD/SSRI route, you have to plan for the induction perod for those meds to kick in. I am not planning on escalating dosage with clonazepam.
So I have mirtazipine, sertraline, and lexapro on hand. Also may use metropolol succinate low dose (12.5 mg/daily) for extra insurance. Very experienced with CBT, breathing, meditation so I better be practicing all those as well although lately the chemical intervention made a huge difference. I am back in the gym at 50% pre-issues.
Thanks for any insight or feedback.
Thank you for the suggestion. I have to say 1 mg of clonazepam is might scary. Can't feel my heart which is relieving and I feel like I am floating. Best I can describe it is when I used vicodin / muscle relaxant combo one time for a few days. Realized quickly I had to abort that asap or I would be in a halfway house. I have a strong aversion to becoming addicted to meds so I try to look out for these signs.I can't give a good scientific answer, but my response would be that you become tolerant and maybe even dependent fairly quickly. I think a benzodiazepine might be most useful in limited circumstances to get someone through something traumatic. That said, I think there are people that take them on a regular basis, but in those circumstances, it can be a bit of a one way street (hard to get off and feel normal). On the other hand, If this helps you get back into the gym, that's a good thing.
Here's a totally random thought: If you live anywhere near a lake and the weather is decent, take a Sea-Doo for a ride! A few weeks ago, I was at my in-law's lake place. I rode one of those suckers on a serene lake and it was absolutely fantastic. Liberating. I rode along my wife and we blasted through the water with warm wind and sun smashing us in the face. I was surprised at how damn fast those things can accelerate. I just felt free and at ease, and the afterglow lasted into the evening.
I know, it all sounds really corny. I guess the point I am making is that when we find ourselves "in the moment" or what some people describe as "flow", we tend to forget past regrets and future worries. It is truly liberating. I think there are innumerable ways to get into this state of mind: woodworking, bird watching, boating, etc. I truly think it's good for the soul and can be as useful as any pharmacologic approach.
Tolerance and dependence are building immediately with the clonazepam. If you were to stop now, you would already have rebound anxiety and withdrawal effects, albeit relatively mild. So I think what you're really asking is how long before you cross the threshold where the anti-anxiety effect of your current dose is no longer significant. I do not have any practical experience with that because I never took them consistently enough.Ok I am not very good at asking for help but given my inexperience with this I am soliciting experiences and feedback if you don't mind. I can read most of PubMed in a day but practical veteran experience is invaluable so appreciate you all considering providing any experience.
Started 0.5 to 1 mg per day of clonazepam this week. 1 mg was the bomb but 0.5 mg didn't quite cut it yesterday at the gym. How many weeks do I have until I start to lose effect and tolerance builds? I am trying to come up with medium term sustainable plan (as per @FunkOdyssey 's advice) that can kick in once I can no longer reliably leverage the short term win with clonazepam. If going the AD/SSRI route, you have to plan for the induction perod for those meds to kick in. I am not planning on escalating dosage with clonazepam.
So I have mirtazipine, sertraline, and lexapro on hand. Also may use metropolol succinate low dose (12.5 mg/daily) for extra insurance. Very experienced with CBT, breathing, meditation so I better be practicing all those as well although lately the chemical intervention made a huge difference. I am back in the gym at 50% pre-issues.
Thanks for any insight or feedback.