All Drugs Experience

Please don’t do it! It’s a nightmare getting off with withdrawls that have lasted a yr so far and took my life from me. They say it’s worse than heroin. They don’t tell you or know how to taper. On 6th dr now, because not one knew and traumatized me trying 5 different ways. I’m now trying acupuncture. I’m desperately trying everything. So far is working. It’s been a week since back to back panic attacks. I was not like this before taking.

Please don’t switch. I was given Sertraline after stopping Venlafaxine too quickly and having anxiety after 5 months. It made me crazy so I was given Lorazepam and then switched to Mirtazapine which made me so depressed then back to Venlafaxine. I am now in such a mess after increasing Ven twice as per doctors recommendation. Please if you are able to do a slow taper as per this group and find natural ways to help not more drugs. You are doing well with exercise and diet keep it up. If you are in the US Outro Health are in some states , and can help you with Tapering.

I gained way too much. I’m tapering off and my appetite has already settled down

I’m new here, I recently discovered the Cymbalta Hurts Worse page and it mentioned this page. I’ve been on Cymbalta for a decade and in my latest long term relationship I have developed “rages”. They ruined my relationship but also my physical health. I’m in the process of tapering but the relationship is a loss. I’m SO angry.

Big decision I’ve made … I thought I would share. I have been on Cymbalta (anti-depressant) to manage my diabetic neuropathy and fibromyalgia for about 5 or 6 years. While the medication does help, the side affects are still very annoying. I want to come off of it, but it’s one of those drugs you cannot just say, “Hey, I think I will stop taking this today,” and just stop. You have to taper off. This is a capsule (60mg) that has those tiny beads.

I am new to this group. I’ve been on Cymbalta for 4 years. It’s ruined my life. I’m a shell of the person I used to be. My biggest issue is my husband and I have no sex life. Which is making him feel unloved and unwanted. I want sex with him but when it comes to it I just have excuses for why I can’t. It’s not him and no matter how many times I tell him that it doesn’t matter. We’ve been fighting non stop for two years and we’ve both brought up splitting multiple times. I don’t want to loose him! I love him so much! I just know this medication is the reason I’m withdrawn emotionally and physically. I’ve been tapering for 4 months now and still see no signs of getting better. I’m gaining more and more weight. I can’t keep my eyes open. I was put on it for anxiety and I feel that’s coming back

I’ve been on Cymbalta for a total of about 5-6 years. I’m in the process of tapering, which is a long and slow process. On my full dose of 120mg I was a Zombie!! I’d sleep 10-16 hours a day, no energy, lack of feelings, and all the horrible side effects of an antidepressant. I decided I’d stop taking it because I realized the meds were not helping my depression only making it worse. So I started coming off the meds slowly and regained so much of what I was missing. I suffer with insomnia but now when I do sleep it’s kinda normal not the 10-16 hours like before. I do and don’t have feelings, They are really strong or non existent, i feel numb inside with a lot of situations, I can remember things, I can have conversations and not forget mid sentence what I was saying and an actual sex drive. But my confusion now is that I’ve become angry and I just feel the need to speak my mind all the time.

I really need some advice and some help because I feel so alone and like the worst person in the world.

For the past 12 years I have been married to the most wonderful man known to all mankind. He is honest, loyal, supportive, kind and loving. Everything I or anyone could ever wish for. He has loved me through thick and thin (Literally weight wise) and I hate myself so much for saying this but I am feeling like I don’t love him anymore.

I was initially diagnosed as having Major Depression with Suicidal Ideations and now they’ve changed the diagnosis to Bi Polar and through all of it I loved my husband. There were times where I didn’t feel affectionate but always I knew I loved him. It wasn’t until they began to reduce my effexor from 412.5mg per day by 37.5 per week so that I can just be on Bi Polar meds that my deep deep love for this man just vanished overnight. I still love him in a way, but it’s like he’s my best friend, like a brother. We’ve been together so long and done so much together. I care about him so much as a friend that it’s killing me to hurt him and tell him how I am feeling. Please please tell me this will go away! Please I am desperate to know I will love him again. I am now down to 150mg per day of Effexor and I am not emotional in a general sense but just about this one issue. Sorry If I am rambling and all over the place but I just don’t have the words to say how lost I am in this situation.

I too took lexapro. I have cats that I love dearly along with my hubby. About 4 years or a little more, the same damn thing happened. I just decided suddenly I didn’t love him or the cats anymore which was completely out of character for me. I called a friend one day and said I am a new and completely different person. It was sudden and drastic. My hubby was so devastated he attempted suicide…and other horrible things happened. One day, I just stopped taking the drug and very soon the old me returned. I called my friend and told her the old me was back. My hubby works out of town so that had given me time to realize what my life would have been without him. Thank god we did not divorce, I once again love,everybody but I am so ashamed about things that I did, I am disgusted by my actions. I didn’t know the reason why but I do now. My wish the rest of you luck…I know how devastating this can be for people. This rx needs to be taken off the market no doubt. I hope this helps.

have been on Citalopram for just over a year. I feel completely devoid of emotion for my boyfriend of nearly eight years. To see the hurt in his eyes when I tell him I don’t love him just breaks my heart. I feel tremendous guilt every day, and often think it would be easier to leave, if only to let him get on with his life, and to stop this guilt I feel. I have no idea if this detachment I feel is because I really don’t love him, or if its a symptom of this depression, or a side effect of the Citalopram. Every day just seems a nightmare.

Hi I was put on ssri lexapro only took 20 pills in two months but felt like I was looking at myself though in a happy long term relationship I had a strange triste with coworker much older than myself / they clearly wanted me but I didn’t seem to care either way -my spouse caught my texts with coworker and confronted me–I since came off lexapro dr says no relationship my spouse and I disagree –I kissed them — what else might have happened since I was talking inappropriately for months ?! Will never get on ssri again

Lexapro ruined my life I did not have any idea it had this side effect. i left my husband of 20 years and NOw I am lost

Hi ,I took lexapro for six weeks, It made me into another person. I had an affair, I know it was caused by lexapro. One year later, I  want answers,-is it worth pursuing legally? We are still together, but my wife still needs convincing. Could anyone reply to this please for her to read and let her know I’m not making excuses please,many thanks,

I was switched fro 10mg Lexapro to 37.5 Effexor to help with migraines after I developed kidney stones from topamax. I trusted my Neurologist and didnt think twice about the med he gave me. Yesterday I hit my low and actually went psycho. I am truly ready to commit myself because of how moods change. My husband and I are trying to work things out and I have an appointment with my primary dr today to discuss getting off this med.

The one post about women leaving their husband for someone the opposite was totaly true. I did and ended up hurting another person in the process and its killing me too inside.

a couple of weeks after taking effexor (which I abruptly stopped on account of its adverse effects on my diabetes and ability to feel my blood sugar dropping) and then lexapro, i woke up one day, no longer in love, after many years. I am still young, very confused, and its terrible. and I havent even cried yet, which doesnt make sense, I just keep sleeping, hoping ill wake up in love again or something. If there was a medical explanation it would make a lot more sense, at least, i dont know. I thought serotonin was supposed to be like love, and therefore should it not make us feel more love?

I can’t believe I have just found all of these posts! I cannot explain how relieved I am that it wasn’t just me, and that I’m not a horrible person, the escitalopram just made me that way.

I only started taking 10mg around the beginning of October, by the end of the month I had broken up with my boyfriend of 2 and a half years, who I had liked ever since I was 13 years old (I’m nearly 21 now). I don’t recall what made me do this, and I feel so stupid for letting it happen.

After that one of his friends, who I was also close with came round mine one night cause he was feeling down. I took him out to a party and that’s when I made the biggest mistake of my life. He stayed around mine and from there we had this ‘secretive’ sort of relationship thing going on for a few weeks, for some reason it felt completely normal at the time. I do feel lucky though, after reading some of the posts on here – as the situation could of gotten much worse. I realised how much I missed and loved my ex, what I had done repulsed me, and still does every day.

A week later it was halloween and my ex boyfriend needed a place to stay, I said it was fine, but I felt sick with guilt just thinking about seeing him again. In the end me and my ex went out together, and had a really nice time, he was being so sweet and lovely, he thought it was his fault we had broken up, it still makes me so guilty:(

Because we had had such a nice night together he stayed round the next night, we didn’t do anything, not even kissing, just enjoying each others company again. This was when I realised what I had done, I felt sick to my stomach, I was still in love with my ex and didn’t want to lose him.

I got woken up at 2am, he had looked through my messages and seen one with the friend and knew what had happened. I told him everything, the guilt was unbearable, I wanted to die, the thought of life without him wasn’t worth it. The worst thing is who it was that I slept with, the fact he was supposed to be my ex’s friend.

I am back with my boyfriend at the moment, but understandably he no longer trusts me. He says it’s because he loves me, and cares but worries about me because my emotions are so erratic. Some moments I am happy, the next I want to die. I wish my boyfriend would believe that the escitalopram did that and not me. I love him to death.

I am no longer on the pills, had to wean myself off as the Doctor was trying to up my dosage despite myself saying I wanted out.

Sorry about how long that was, I just didn’t know anyone else out there had suffered like this also, and nobody else understands.

I lost my soulmate because of this piece of shit drug. I was on cipralex for 1 1/2 years. My poor baby went through so much shut because of me, I used to yell at her and not give a shit about the repercussions. I’ve been of of it for 4 weeks and I can feel again. But I lost her. And now my world is empty. I am nothing without her.

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years and I have always loved him very much,felt warm,caring about him,I wanted to marry him..But unfortunatelly in december’07 I started feeling very nervous,I shaked I had many negative thoughts(I was afraid that something bad could happened to my BF or to my family).The same situation like in case of Marlies;it was somewhat of an extreme of the depression I’d been feeling for a couple years before hand.Two days later I thought: Do I still love my BF??I was scared??I didn’t know what it was!!I lost interest in everything,I was really depressed.My boyfriend always has been with me,being very supportive and he said he would always be there for me.

One month later I started taking Lexapro(10 mg)and then I stopped caring of my boyfriend,my family…I was happy but just with myself ,I prefered to be alone.

Three months later I was off Lexapro.I didn’t want to feel that emotional emptiness anymore!!Immediately I started feeling warm towards my boyfriend and loving him!!Unfortunatelly I got sick again and I stopped caring:((I just wanted to dissapear!!I didn’t know why it was like that!!I didn’t understood.I started taking Motival and again I had that emotional feeling,I wanted to marry my boyfriend,I said to everybody.I was so in love!!Till today there are times when I feel love,there are times that I feel so sad because I feel like I would not love my boyfriend anymore;(( I just would love to feel like I used to.Without that chaos!!

I don’t know what to do.Deep inside of me I feel that I love my boyfriend but there’s something that sometimes makes me feel like I don’t care…

Hi, I’ve posted on here before and shared my experience with escitalopram. I am only 21, but this disgusting drug made me ruin my 3 year relationship with my boyfriend. I broke up with him and slept with his friend more than once. I stopped taking escitalopram when I could see again, I realised what I had done, and ever since have felt ashamed and disgusted of myself every day.

My boyfriend did take me back, and my love for him is stronger than ever, but now it’s all getting dug up again…Two days ago I finally went and did what I should of done a long time ago and got tested for STI’s (we did not use any protection…I WAS NOT myself, before I had always used condoms), but I have to wait 10-14 working days for the results! I have now gotten in to a massive panic (I suffer from bad anxiety), and don’t know how to wait that long. I am now convincing myself that I have HIV and have given it to my boyfriend. This probably sounds really stupid to everyone, and all my friends are just laughing I would even suggest such a thing. But what if I really am that unlucky, I know I just have to wait for the results, and now my worry is making my boyfriend worried and angry at me, because i’m convincing him I have something.

I am petrified, I love him so much, I don’t want this horrible memory to haunt him his entire life, and I know I couldn’t live with it. I’m just hoping I am paranoid, I haven’t suffered any symptoms…but I still worry.

Sorry for the rant, and Bluesmurf, I didn’t even know what depersonalization meant when I read it, and wasn’t aware when I was experiencing it.

I took Lexapro for two years for depression after my second child was born. Initially I felt “lighter” and began to enjoy life again. But soon aferwards I started noticing a personality change in myself. It started with my work (I am a CEO) where I took uncharacteristic risks, not caring about the consequences. Normally a relatively calm and quiet person, I started going out late at night drinking, sometimes three or four nights in a row. this was a very frustrating time for my husband as I am sure he was wondering where his wife of nearly 10 years had gone. I would swing from having no feelings at all (going to extremely sad movies where I would normally be in tears but feeling absolutely nothing) to extreme aggression (arguing with anyone who didn’t agree with me). This post struck home to me because i remember having a conversation with my husband about this very same topic. In the last few months of taking Lexapro I decided that i no longer loved my husband and asked for a divorce. he was shattered. I felt nothing. Even when I realized that our son had heard me say this, I still felt nothing. I don’t know what made me realize that this bizarre change in character, temperament, behavior etc came about due to Lexapro, but I just had a nagging feeling about it. It was a very difficult drug to wean off but I managed to do it with my husband’s support. Now, two years later I am completely “normal” again and have reverted back to my original personality. When I look back at those two years now I can’t believe how patient my family was and how scary it must have been for them. I was never told that these side effects would be so devastating. Unfortunately when you are in the situation it is much like being in a storm cloud – you don’t realize that you are in the storm until you stop taking it and can “step out” of the situation and see it in hindsight. I sincerely hope that the makers of Lexapro can begin to be nmore upfront about these side effects. I wonder if I am alone in this?

I am 28 and was on Lexapro for about 5 years for anxiety. At first I thought it was wonderful. It wasn’t until years later that I had radically changed. I am so happy to have found this site because I thought I had lost my mind. I cheated on my husband and 1. didn’t even seem to have a reason why and 2. felt somewhat numb afterwards. I also had that same feeling about my significant other i.e. that we were turning into roomates and just a general numbness…maybe that’s why, in retrospect, I resorted to engaging some risk-taking behaviors? Sorry–this is sort of a stream of consciousness. Anyway, I decided to stop the pills about 6 months ago and now the weight of how I acted is overwhelming me–nearly having panic attacks when I think of the inifidelity. You have to understand that before the medication I was with my significant other for 5 years and NEVER even kissed another person even while in college. I was so against any form of infidelity! Fast forward and I am a lying monster with little feeling. The guilt is crushing me, not to mention feelings of ‘how the hell could you do that?!’ I can only say that the me before I started lexapro was radically different from the me now. And although I am regaining emotions etc. I still don’t feel 100% like the old me. Maybe that’s because I feel I have ruined everything with my behaviors the last few years. I had been racking my brain trying to understand how I could have changed so much during the past few years and I began thinking I was just a pretty terrible person. It’s a horrible feeling. I wish I had NEVER gone on that drug and I cannot believe my doctor let me just stay on it for so long.

Thank you all so much for posting your experiences with your significant others on SSRI’s….it has helped me so much.

Both my husband and I were on celexa, I was given 20mg of celexa for post mental distress about 4 years ago, I started tellig my husband that I did not love him, would not let him touch me, told him that if he wanted sex to get it some place else and that I wanted to live by myself. Well my husband was also on Celexa 20mg for depression. My GP changed my mg to 40 in December I did not feel good on the 40 so I would only take half. My husband took it upon himself to take 40mg he said the 20 wasn’t enough.in

January he started drinking and going to strip clubs in April he was having sex with a hooker that was a stripper he had sex with her once or twice a week till November. I remember in November he told me that he was going to tapper off of celexa he said that is when he realized what he was doing and stopped with her. He gave her so much money that we are loosing our house. After I found out some of the truth he wanted to kill himself, he was then put in mental hospital. He says he doesn’t know if the celexa was the reason for him doing this. I want to say screw you and leave but if it was the celexa how can I . He says he beleived me when I told him that I didn’t love him. So how will I know if it was

the celexa or just him screwing around? I really need help.

I was not on effexor, but had been put on lexapro, wellbutrin, zoloft, before finally being put on prozac, all this in combination with xanax that I developed an addiction to, followed by a hysterectomy at 32. I began lying to my husband of 15 years, with which by all accounts I had the most absolutely amazing marriage you could have asked for, and was very happy until my hormones screwed up and i got depressed at which point they started trying me on this array of anitdepressants. I cheated numerous times, and couldn’t tell you why, and all the sudden one day i packed my stuff and up and walked out the door on my husband and my two beautiful children, who still don’t have much to do with me now. IT RUINED MY LIFE, AND THERE’S NO FIXING IT! I began using drugs, and got caught up illegally using street drugs, before i finally got myself together. I hope and pray everyday to have the restoration of my family, even though we did get divorced. I am so very sorry for the things I did, and am still told to this day things I said and did, that I have absolutely no recollection of. I AGREE DOCTORS ARE ENTIRELY TOO FREE WITH ALL THESE MIND ALTERING DRUGS, THE EFFECTS ARE DEVASTATING!

Do you have some links I can look at regarding prozac and causing this behavior, because it happened to me, and no one believes me, that this is what happened to me, I lost my marriage and I husband I loved with my whole heart, my relationship with my children is destroyed, and I desperately want to rebuild, but they don’t understand, that wasn’t me that did those things, please help me find the info to give to my ex husband

Holy crap. If I understand correctly, you are saying that you have memories of time that passed during your taper and withdrawal, but no emotion attachments to that time? That is exactly how I feel about the past 6 months of my withdrawal! I think I mentioned this in my most recent thread, too.

Before withdrawal I had the same circle of friends that I do now, but some things have changed. I’ve sort of made new friends too, and my friends have grown emotionally and changed their interests greatly through experience, the passage of time, and maturation etc. Also my relationship with them has become far more distant than it ever was because of withdrawal, but for some reason, now that I’m coming back to reality and my emotions as I’m recovering, I still feel and talk to my friends as if we still hold the same bond we did before I began withdrawal. Also, any friends I made during withdrawal I have no emotional attachment too. They are more like acquaintances. Also, I had a sort of romantic relationship with this girl before withdrawal, then during withdrawal it was shattered, along with our friendship. But now, for some reason, I feel like I had a crush on her just yesterday! Even though the last time I felt feelings for her was half a year ago.

I was a completely normal person for over 35 years before celexa turned me into a crazy person. I had been married for 14 years and had 3 children that I adored. The reason I began taking antidepressants in the first place was depression caused by unexplained infertillity. I had some miscarriages, too. I was honestly depressed. Once I began taking Zoloft it helped. I wasn’t as sad or angry anymore. After I had my first child I never considered going off of antidepressants because all of the doctors I had seen told me that once you start you don’t get off of them. They said it is usually to hard. So here I was, a regular person just living my life with my husband who I loved and my 3 gorgeous kids. Now, don’t get me wrong- life was not perfect. My husband and I had fights just like any couple and my kids would make me crazy from time to time but isn’t that life? I’m pretty sure it is. When I changed to celexa I got a huge burst of energy! That was a great feeling! I had felt tired for years. I don’t know when I began going off the deep end but once I fell off I was GONE! Suddenly I didn’t pay attention to my kids anymore(I dote on my kids like noones business) and I hated my husband. I have never hated ANYONE! But a few months on celexa and no one mattered but me and I was 17 again and the best thing since sliced bread! I thought I was Megan Fox hot and all I wanted was attention from other men. It was ridiculous! I am a God fearing woman! I love my Heavenly Father! I believe in Heaven and Hell! While on this drug I still believed most of what I was taught all of my life but I didn’t care about it one bit. All I cared about was the high I would get from the attention I got online. I would stop at nothing to get it. My husband is a very handsome man who I have always been attracted to. He has always been in great physical shape and our sex life has never been anything but fabulous. Yes, even with kids in our life. But that wasn’t enough for me on celexa. I wanted that high. I allowed other men to do things to me(that I did not find pleasant)just so they would keep paying attention to me on the internet. How psychotic is that? Let’s cheat on the hot, loving husband that has always been there for me with the disgusting pieces of trash I don’t know from Adam just for the sake of some online attention. Ya, that makes sense. The point I am trying to make is that IT ISN’T YOU! IT ISN’T THEM!! If you have someone in you life that has suddenly gone crazy because of ssri’s- rest assured they do not realize it! The ONLY reason I am not still under the influence of this stupid drug is because when I realized I no longer wanted the children I had spent 7 years on my knees begging God for, I handed the reins to my husband. I stopped and looked around and literally thought “HOLY ****!” I realized I could not trust my own judgement. I asked my husband to fix it. I didn’t know what to do. The first thing he did was to make me an appointment with a doctor to get me off of celexa. As soon as the drugs started leaving my system my mind began to clear. I began coming back. It was a long hard road and I am so grateful to my husband and my family for getting in my face and saying “HELLO! You are MESSED UP!”. I can’t even tell you how grateful. So I am trying desperately to give back. I am contacting everyone I can in the government to get involved with the regulations of ssri prescriptions. A doctor should NEVER be allowed to prescribe a mind altering drug for 12 months and not have to see the patient during that time! ANY drug should be monitored, no less an ssri!! So if there is anyone reading this that needs help let me know! I will do my best! Also, if there is anyone reading this that can steer me in the right direction to make a difference please let me know! I am just a housewife. I don’t know a lot about medicine or legalities. But I do know that someone needs to do something! I am more than willing to be that person. Please help if you can.

I am in my office crying… I was madly in love with my boyfriend – six months is not a long time but we have the same values, have fun together, and I LOVED being with him. On the Friday I sent my mom an email with people who I would want at my wedding. He has not asked me yet but I was euphoric with anticipation. God loved me – I was finally happy and was going to have my true love and husband and children. Literally out of the blue the very next day, I felt sick and was crippled with anxiety. It was like someone switched off a switch of my feelings for him and I was so sick with anxiety and severe depression that I admitted myself in the hospital (short stay). My psychiatrist put me on 60mg Celexa and am taking an anti anxiety med so I can function. Someone else said they are devastated because the very same thing happened to them. What can we do? I do not want to end my relationship either but am sick with anxiety fear guilt because those “feelings” are gone … or different. God please help us. We are so devastated…. I don’t know what else to do.

I been on Citalopram for about 5 years it was only 14 months ago I entered a reletionship and i loved this person deeply she was a great part of my life but at times it was hard cause i would have no sexual desires at all i knew this was side effect but i didnt know the ssri stopped the ability to fall in love which what happened to me 

even thou i love her it was like i couldnt expressed my love and it was like my feelings were blocked 

I think Citalopram SSRI caused alot of problems in the relationship 

it stopped my ability to really feel the love and it stopped my desires 

I know the meds are great for treating depression but the side effects can can take its toll  Crying or Very sad

Has anyone been in relationship while they were on Citalopram and found that it was hard to love that person even feel that your emotions are just numb and there was no feelings no emotions no sexual dedires 

I think ssri can really effect relationships 

and when you go off the meds you realise you get all feeling back 

i use to best myself up thinking what was wrong with me why couldnt I  act on and feel love but i guess i had the meds to thank for that.

I am so grateful I came across this forum. I was looking for an explanation for what I have done to nearly RUIN MY LIFE when I read therealme’s post. I related to EVERY single aspect of her story. I had even moved out of my home that I love, left my husband whom I love, and was going to be satisfied with joint custody for the rest of my small children’s lives. I cheated on my loving husband with absolutely NO GUILT at all – I decided it was because it was “right” or I would feel the guilt that a God-fearing Christian woman should feel. My affair partner and I had so much in common and had an amazing connection. I now know why. He was on the same krazzy pills and probably in the same hypomanic state as me. We could do no wrong and the world better adjust to us and our twisted mind set. Hindsight makes me so angry and ashamed with myself. 

The whole time, my husband kept telling me that maybe it was those pills! I decided he was looking for something to blame for our marital problems other than himself. 

Finally, I got enough sense to do some math – my whole life had spun out of control 1 month after initiating Celexa and here I am 10 months later amazed at how nuts I was. These drugs should not be prescribed by someone who doesn’t have a psychiatry degree! I was having anxiety that should have just been dealt with in a natural way instead of taking psych drugs prescribed by my OB/GYN! What a joke!

The side effects from coming off of this stuff make me realize these medications are no joke and should never be taken lightly. I have never stopped praying during this mess and praying to help me as I deal with the horrible withdrawal side effects. As I am coming clean (1 week and 1 day

), the clarity and the aftermath of what I have done are extremely hard to face. I have learned how medication can take 10 years of happy (not perfect) marriage and almost ruin it in 4 months. Thank God I have my mind back – and thank God I stumbled on this site because you all gave me the strength to do what I knew I needed to do! I feel like I am reclaiming the life I so loved and enjoyed. I hope my words may help someone – anyone.

I have taken paroxetyne for 5 years and then the doctor changed it to citalopram and i realised I have no libido…then the doctor changed it to fluvoxamine and I realised I can`t feel love for my boyfriend. It was a tragedy because we planned to get married:( It was the beginning of the horror. I gave up all medicationss but I lose all the feelings! All! I can`t even feel any mood…I feel almost nothing for 2 years:(

My husband became manic in 2018 after taking paxil. No one explained to us that the paxil can cause mania. Our family has been completely destroyed over the years because instead of being advised to taper off the paxil he was advised to add more and more psychiatric drugs. We thought he was bipolar because the paxil wouldn’t cause mania. Our family has been destroyed through his episodes of cheating, impulsive spending, dangerous driving and more. If he had been advised to stop the paxil in the first place none of this would have happened.

Paxil, latuda, lamectal, cymbalta, dexidrine, zyprexa, Prozac, dexidrine, effexor, lithium and more

Weight gain, constant bathroom visits. Morning fatigue

Emotions gone, numb still 5 years later. My life was ruined.

I was in a very bad place and could barely function. My doctor offered me medication which I gratefully agreed to. I walked out with a prescription and didn’t know anything about it until I opened the box and found I would be taking 50mg sertraline per day. I was immediately floored by brutal side effects including unbearable anxiety, fatigue, vision problems, brutal headaches and head pressure. Rushes of heat and panic through my head and many more. I persevered for 14 weeks as the forums advised to push through. At this point I realise I couldn’t do this anymore. I tried an accelerated taper as I’d not been on it for long but the withdrawal was intense. I am now on a hyperbolic taper and just changing over to a liquid form has ramped up withdrawal effects. I took this for 14 weeks and it’ll take me around a year to taper. I’m still struggling with very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms .

panic attacks, chest pains, brain zaps ,night sweating, vivid dreams, insomnia,bladder pain, penis pain,  testicular pain ,gas and bloating ,stomach pain, intestinal pain

Paroxetine 20mg 11 years stopped, now sertraline 50mg and tapering

After 25 years of being on psychiatric med, mostly SSRI, I felt enough well to try to stop it. It was Zoloft. I knew a little about safe tapering. I stopped it gradually ( from 150 mg to 0) but my last dose was 50 mg. The symptoms which hit me were unbearable. Terror anxiety lasted 1,5 year. I hadn’t even one day without anxiety. I suffered anxiety much worse than anything I experienced before. It took me my life: work, studies. Then I had the worst depression in my life. I was 3 times in the hospital since that. Now I am on 3 meds, including SNRI and antipsychotic. I am able to buy food, cook dinner, go for a walk. Most my energy goes for regulate my emotions. I am disabled. I trusted my psychiatrist, she is a person caring for her patients. But she never warned me that I can experience unhuman horror, much worse than my first symptoms. She never told about safe yapering lastin years. It could prevent my present sutuation I believe. I lost more my achievements. I suffer grief, I look for trauma oriented therapy. Sb wrote that it ( wd) is like torture. This is right description. I wish nobody suffer like that. It was unhuman, destroying any trust to life.

18 years paxil. Changed my self image becauase every time i stopped I experienced withdrawal symptoms and because no one told me i thought it is me. My personality….also emotional numbness over years and sexual anorgasm…. After 18 years worst withdrawal- no one helped me….Paxil ruined my life .  Chronification

I started venlafaxine in 2019. I started develope worrisome side effects on the venlafaxine very early on such as tremors, restlessness, need of body flexing and clenching and many more. Instead being told to stop it, I was told to dose it up. I was told that there are no medications without side effects, so we need to accept them. Later I developed elevated blood pressure, light sensitivity, heat intolerance, balance problems with vertigo. I continued the medication for around 4 years until one day I checked my blood pressure and it was at at 180/100. That really scared me, so I told the doctor that I want to get off of it. He gave me 3 months taper schedule. During the taper the whole hell broke loose for me. It was so bad that I couldn’t believe it could be from the withdrawals. I started to look for help. I went to many different doctors. I was tested for multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases, autoimmune diseases, any many others. None of these tests showed anything. And when I mentioned to doctors that it might be due to venlafaxine, they looked at me as if I told them  I was abducted by aliens. I have had received zero help or understanding from medical professionals, especially from psychiatrists. It has been 3 years now since that taper. I’m still not able to function and participate in normal life. I was fully functional person before starting venlafaxine. I was prescribed it for life problems that can’t be solved by pharmacology.

My ex partner took these drugs and turned into a completely different person. Abandoned his family and isolated himself. Lacked empathy when I needed him most. Completely destroyed our life.

I was taking Effexor, 225mg for about 7 years. I decided to go off because it wasn’t helping my depression and anxiety all that much anymore. I found a psychiatrist and she supposedly helped me taper. She immediately told me to take one less 75mg a week. By the 2nd week, she added Wellbutrin as a bridge. I could not tolerate it. I had vivid nightmares and made a mess of my night table all while sleeping. The doctor then changed the bridge medication to Celexa. I ended up in the ER. The third week I went off the Effexor totally. I was a zombie. Dizziness, brain fog, restlessness, no appetite, insomnia and just a general feeling of not really being here. I had a visit with my primary and he was very disturbed by how I looked and acted. He insisted I reinstate starting with 75mg. Once I did, however, the tremors started. I figured I just needed more meds. I increased to 150mg. I wanted to stay at that dose, but with the tremoring, I thought maybe I needed my old full dose. So I went back to 225mg. The tremors never went away. A year later, I started once again to taper with a new psychiatrist. I began doing it hyperbolically. However, by this time my neurologist decided to give me a DAT scan to determine whether I showed signs of Parkinsonism. The test was inconclusive which made him think the tremors were drug, or lack of them so drastically were drug induced. I am now taking Sinimet, which is for Parkinsons, because I was unable to function. It is helping but there is a chance that this Parkinsonism was caused by this horrible drug, Effexor. I am appalled and angry. Doctors should also learn how to taper these drugs correctly. What they think is fine to do, is deadly. They dont get it at all

My mom and I guided her 79  year old friend on how to come off mirtazapine safely and her doctor was on board. Today when they spoke,  she told my mom that he has since put her on trazodone and risperidone instead… and she still can’t sleep.

I wonder what the Drug Induced symptoms are of said drugs…

Kaiya Noe 21-year-old, a straight A, 3rd year college student majoring in Psychology and Pre-med. She was being prescribed an antidepressant (Zoloft) for the first time ever, which 4 days later caused her to be hospitalized due to suicidal ideation -which was never an issue before. Within a month and a half, the provider kept switching the drugs (Abilify, Wellbutrin, Seroquel) and treated adverse effects of previously prescribed medications with another drug because none of them worked. This created a huge problem, made her feel numb, dissociated and altered her mental status. She could not stand the side effects any longer and discontinued, but the damage was already done, and 2 weeks later she was gone.

She was the most beautiful soul, who always brought joy, laughter, and love to everyone who knew her. Her heart was always open to others, creating connections that will never be forgotten. She was involved in volunteering and community work. She always put others first, and ahead of herself. She was also an active volunteer, and Co-Chair Student Supporting a Brain Tumor Research Organization. She was also a valuable member of our local community, an extremely hard-working, and responsible, albeit young adult who fell victim to the broken healthcare system.

It took months after her death to figure out what really happened, as nothing made sense. She was such an accomplished young lady, with future goals and aspirations in mind. No consent or information about the side effects, withdrawal symptoms or FDA black box warning on these drugs were provided. If she had been aware of the side effects, she would never have agreed on taking them. How can it be legal to give medication that in their own statements can lead to that person killing themselves by #1 Taking the pills, and #2 Ending use of the pills?! It should be criminal, to prescribe them!

This was written by her mom, Kasha Pinkowska, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona.  She lost her daughter because she was polydrugged, not given informed consent and when she died, no one with authority asked why, what happened or what she was on. Her mom had to be the detective. This pattern has been repeated over and over again, back to when Eli Lilly wasn’t held responsible for Traci Johnson’s “suicide”  February 7, 2004, while in a clinical trial testing Cymbalta. Incidentally, Cymbalta Hurts facebook has over 50,000 members.
What if….

Traci Johnson died Feb 7, 2004 – She was a 19 year old college student who signed up for a clinical trial with Eli Lilly. She passed all their screenings and was deemed health. She would receive $150/day for participating in the drug trial.

Eli Lilly was running an experiment to prove duloxetine was safe at higher doses. They gave her a larger than therapeutic dose and 4 days before her death, she was given a placebo.  Unknown to her, she was cold turkeyed, found in the shower, hung herself. A perfectly healthy 19 year old. Eli Lilly said they were not responsible and walked away. They did not stop the clinical trial and the drug was approved.

What did the toxicology report say? How could she be in a clinical trial, die at Eli Lilly’s research facility, on their property, and not held responsible? : We do not believe at this time that the design or conduct of the study is related to the death”- Smith the talking head from Eli Lilly said. Her death should have been a blaring siren about the risks of these drugs and the ethics of this whole system. It was passed on by, the drug was approved. This drug now has over 50,000 people on the facebook group: Cymbalta Hurts Worse- searching for answers on surviving and tapering off of it. . Wow that’s a lot of lives suffering.

Mine was changing before my eyes, but I didn’t know why—and I didn’t realize it.

Only in hindsight do I understand: they put him on a serotonin-stacked cocktail.
No monitoring. No warning.

His empathy changed first.

I used to tease, “Where did your empathy go?”
He’d half-laugh and correct himself.
I know now—he was mirroring me.

He sent me articles, saying, “This must be what’s wrong with me.”
I didn’t listen.
I built him up every time.

“There’s nothing wrong with you.”

He said he felt worthless.
Like he was in the way.
Like he knew I didn’t want him there.

I thought I must be making him feel that way.

Then came the accusations—
that I was cheating,
that I was mad at him (twenty-five times a day),
offers to leave, erratic behavior I couldn’t explain.

I didn’t know.
So I made sure he took his “happy pill.”

If he forgot a dose, he accused me of poisoning him.

He asked me:
Why are my dreams so strange?
Why do I get nosebleeds?
Why am I gaining weight?
Why am I sore all the time?
Why am I so exhausted?
Why does my head feel like this when I miss a dose?

And I didn’t listen.

He told me I didn’t listen.
I thought I did—but I didn’t absorb.
The symptoms were never bundled together.
I couldn’t see the pattern.

He told his doctor about rising blood pressure.
Excessive sweating.
Exhaustion.

The answer was more medication.
Another layer on the cocktail.

A cocktail that went unmonitored for a year—
until I figured it out after I called off the wedding.

The doctor added a “tiny pill” because the venlafaxine “needed help”—
said he was just stressed.

It happened during a virtual visit,
in my living room.

Emotional blunting came after the cocktail.

Long conversations—gone.
Teasing—gone.
Texts with music—gone.
Morning chores—gone.
Phone calls—gone.

His nerves were on fire around me.
Clearly, I was the problem.

He didn’t want to do anything with me—
but he presented fine to everyone else.

And in the end, they said:

“We just grew apart.”
“Move on.”

“I was coming off cymbalta and explaining my symptoms to Dr., and i was told i was relapsing. I called bullshit and i eventually got off the evil drug. Life is just fine without it.”

I was on lexopro for years and got off of it. I tapered off somewhat. However Im expericing what feels like brain damage. My brain doesn’t function like it use to.