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(Thread IKs: Josherino)
 
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Happy Thread
Jul 10, 2005

by Fluffdaddy
Plaster Town Cop
Oh poo poo yeah never take psych meds from an ER doctor, always run it by your primary first. Had that blow up in my mom's face real bad. They've got no idea about or stake in your long term situation

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bean mom
Jan 30, 2009

im still catching up on the thread but things ive noticed over the last few pages that merit comment:

1. : There's a huge difference between a psychiatrist and a therapist, and getting them confused or not understanding their roles is extremely damaging to your treatment plan!

A Therapist is someone, often a psychologist that will offer talk-based treatment through dialogue and teaching techniques and frameworks such as CBT and DBT, as well as life skills and coping mechanisms. They are often social workers or Psychology PHDS or such. they do not have any imput into the medication aspect of treatment. well maybe they help diagnose things but they have no power to write scripts. They are treating the software, your skills and thought processes that you can control.
A Psychiatrist is a doctor or nurse practitioner that is empowered to give you medications. THEY DO NOT GIVE YOU THERAPY. They are there to treat the hardware. The brain chemistry, the symptoms and the uncontrollable poo poo.

Imo for a sucessful plan you need to have both in your life, concurrently. Medication can provide a foundation but will not fix your bad skills and coping techniques. All the coping techniques in the world cannot stop the voices, or the misfiring or the lack of serotonin production that may be making things unmanageable. Ideally you want both and you want them to be talking to each other. If all you do is go to a meds person they do not offer therapy, they might ask you how things are going but they only do that to gauge how well you seem by answering the questions. They're checking your boot routine. You also need someone to help you re-write your code, thats your therapist, using different modalities.

2. Effexor/Cymbalta: They're a class of drugs called SNRI's that work on both norepinerphine and serontonin levels. It's currently thought that both or either can be the underlying causes of many mental illnesses. The reason withdrawls are so severe is because of the much larger amount of brain chemical movement that takes place.
General rules for taking mental health meds is to NEVER stop taking them suddently because that withdrawl is some of the worst on earth as all of the movement of chemical processes is now snapping back to the old way in your brain. Sometimes things change in your life to where you dont need them anymore, or that youve learned enough skills to cope with what is going wrong up there without chemical assistance, but most people probably should be on them for life! If you never stop taking them the withdrawl never happens! if you do need to withdraw because there is an adverse effect, you need to talk with your medication provider and work with them to titrate down your dosage so that the change is gentle and manageable for you and your brain. DO NOT LET ANY MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL TAKE YOU OFF OF ANYTHING COLD TURKEY UNLESS ITS A POTENTIALLY FATAL ALLERGY SITUATION...prescribing supplemental medicines can help manage the negative issues, if your sex drive dies, ask about wellbutrin, which can make you super horny and balance that out for you. If there's other health issues, there are drugs that can help you withdraw much safer and much less messily. Don't get off of one without a detailed plan, and realize it can take many months to fully transition off of these medications.

there was something else but i forgot!

oh wait i remember:

3. DBT is largely adapted from zen buddhism. It's basically a westernized western mindset friendly version of the same lessons. That knowledge might help sell it to yourself. But maybe it doesnt because you rightfully run from anything religious or new agey, and you should!

I'd argue that DBT's buddhism foundation is something that is completely a-religious in any way and has nothing to do with any kind of spirituality. It's merely a method of self-examination, and a filter through which to see the world that might help reduce human suffering. It's not new agey, if anything is extremely old agey, with really old wisdoms that are fairly proven. (mindfulness is a major part of DBT, and one of mindfulness's biggest proponents is a man named John Kabat-Zinn, who works with multiple extremely prestigious medical schools to help teach the skills to patients to manage their mental health and to manage their pain and mental well being. It's got solid science behind it and can be demonstrated to be effective in studies for most people.

if you want a taste of what mindfulness is like, i'd invite you to listen to this lecture by Jon and just by listening to him he can talk you through getting to that mental state.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gViiux9ANMk

Its pretty long yeah but give the first like 20 mins a try to the first break and see if its something that maybe resonates with you.

bean mom
Jan 30, 2009

oh i have a binder full of the entire official DBT workbook, i'll try to scan it into a pdf for yall to download and read tomorrow if there's interest

bean mom
Jan 30, 2009

other experiences in my 20 year career of being extremely depressed and anxious and cPTSD ridden!

1. Benzo Land

They're neat, you take em, and then at some given point you become much calmer and probably a bit sleepy.

This effect can be VERY addictive. You might want to take them ALL THE TIME FOR EVERY MINOR STRESS if you use them as your only strategy for dealing with anxiety.

that's bad! also i use might and can be because it didn't personally happen to be and i never had a problem stopping or controlling my dosages of those. But i also have never had a problem stopping or controlling taking several other addictive substances like opioids (even very strong ones), but thats just a personal to me, lucky break kind of thing.

If i can generalize for a bit my experiences by medication are that each benzo has slightly different effects!

The big kahuna is diazepam, famous from metal gear solid! that fucker will punch your anxiety right the gently caress out of your soul temporarily, and will make you sleepy and compliant to anything going on! It's a huge, brutally strong punch that wears off on the longer term side. If your meds doc gives you this as a first line treatment , loving fire them unless you're like panic jumping out of windows. It's way too strong to be justifiably given as a day to day treatment. It's often given for dental surgery level panic.

a light punch version of that is clonopin/klonazepam ! It's probably the best one for like, maintenance, and like actually doing poo poo like working! It is relatively gentle at normal doses, and will soothe your stresses and will last for several hours. It's not great for super acute cases of panic, but will definitely work in 99% of all cases !

the short but intense Ativan(lorazepam) is a quick and violent curbstomp of your panic nodes. I only occasionally could stay awake after taking it! i forget how long it lasted because i would almost always fall asleep from it

Xanax/Alprozelam is the most popular one! it's super effective! it also comes and goes like a sucker punch. It wears off super loving quick, and because of this you will be strongly tempted to take another one if the stress/anxiety did not resolve itself. People become addicted to it very quickly because of it's characteristics. it's almost like a reverse cocaine, where it slows you down but only for a short time and you suddenly realize it's stopped working (i think! i've never actually done coke so IDK but thats how people describe it to me)


if you have no loving clue what you're doing , DO NOT ASK FOR XANAX FIRST it's like the most abused drug in the country not named fentanyl, and its withdrawls can straight up kill you by themselves (note: with opiods people die of od they cannot die of withdrawl, even tho they might wish for death, it will never come on its own) but benzos can kill you if you stop taking them suddenly.

its best to never really get involved with them if you can avoid it! but they are very effective in short term small doses. you dont want your body to acclimate to using them unless youre comfortable using them all the time, which honestly isnt very appropriate anyway. But! that said, ive known people that take clonopin every day and do fine for years and years and years if they can stay disciplined with it.

bean mom has issued a correction as of 05:22 on Feb 19, 2019

bean mom
Jan 30, 2009

jesush chrust :words:

im sorry :crypes: ill go back to shitposting memes soon

THIS IS WHY I POST IMAGES SO I DONT GET CAUGHT DOING THIS KIND OF CAREPOSTING AAAA

Gnossiennes
Jan 7, 2013


Loving chairs more every day!

thank you for your careposting :>

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Zyla posted:

jesush chrust :words:

im sorry :crypes: ill go back to shitposting memes soon

THIS IS WHY I POST IMAGES SO I DONT GET CAUGHT DOING THIS KIND OF CAREPOSTING AAAA

no this is v good stuff :orb:

re: panic attacks any benzo will help but I recommend a weighted blanket and a dark, quiet room. Any SNRI can cause bad poo poo to go down if the dose is wrong or the drug disagrees with you. one of the reasons I don’t trust GPs with psych meds is that I had one early on put me on 60mg of cymbalta. When I woke up screaming with my wife in a headlock it was uh time to not take that anymore.

I actually do have that weirdo thing where you act out particularly violent/fearful dream actions irl and it makes being in bed with me an adventure sometimes :smith:

Dreddout
Oct 1, 2015

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

Goon Danton posted:

I had another panic attack today. They're worse than the anxiety attacks, if only because they seem to happen for no reason. Just "finally home from work, gonna take the groceries out of the trunk, oh cool the plastic bags rustling feels like gunshots going off next to my ear, looks like I'm in for a lovely night."

Can SSRIs just stop working one day? I'm on 225mg effexor and in the last few months I feel as bad as I did before I started on any meds or therapy, when I was working with low-grade chemical weapons all day. It being winter doesn't help, but it feels like more than that.



Anyway I'm solidly on team anti-klonopin, but that's because the ER doc who prescribed it gave me thirty and just told me to take one every day until I ran out. Quitting benzos cold turkey with almost no support network was an extremely positive experience I'm glad the doc put me through without any kind of warning or ability to contact him. Also he got the diagnosis wrong anyway, maybe loving perk up a little when a chemist comes in complaining about a sudden onslaught of panic attacks and spontaneous nosebleeds, how often do people come in with cyanide gas exposure, it can't be one of those situations you deal with all the time

Yeah I'm of the opinion er docs shouldn't be allowed to prescribe benzos to people

Anime Schoolgirl
Nov 28, 2002

my dad recently died and there's no medication for this kind of event and i keep having dreams about him chiding me for being too dumb with money

my mom is repeatedly cooking the same food he used to always eat and my brother is having a huge sad over the list of dogs we've had that died of old age and genetic defects since my dad loved dogs

in short it owns

please get good therapists

Happy Thread
Jul 10, 2005

by Fluffdaddy
Plaster Town Cop

Chokes McGee posted:

When I woke up screaming with my wife in a headlock it was uh time to not take that anymore.

Nice username/post

Dreddout
Oct 1, 2015

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

Anime Schoolgirl posted:

my dad recently died and there's no medication for this kind of event and i keep having dreams about him chiding me for being too dumb with money

my mom is repeatedly cooking the same food he used to always eat and my brother is having a huge sad over the list of dogs we've had that died of old age and genetic defects since my dad loved dogs

in short it owns

please get good therapists

:glomp:

bean mom
Jan 30, 2009

Chokes McGee posted:

no this is v good stuff :orb:

re: panic attacks any benzo will help but I recommend a weighted blanket and a dark, quiet room. Any SNRI can cause bad poo poo to go down if the dose is wrong or the drug disagrees with you. one of the reasons I don’t trust GPs with psych meds is that I had one early on put me on 60mg of cymbalta. When I woke up screaming with my wife in a headlock it was uh time to not take that anymore.

I actually do have that weirdo thing where you act out particularly violent/fearful dream actions irl and it makes being in bed with me an adventure sometimes :smith:

im on 120mg of cymbalta right now :stonk:

its ok? i guess?
i dont notice much of a difference, i might have to switch to a new med idk

cargo cult
Aug 28, 2008

by Reene
here's some free mental health care: don't read cspam

mekyabetsu
Dec 17, 2018

Thanks for the supportive responses to my somewhat dire post yesterday. Thinking about my family lately tends to put me in a very bad place. My parents are old, and even though they’re relatively healthy right now, I know that realistically, they won’t be around much longer. As angry as I am at my dad, the thought of losing him without resolving this wedge between us is almost too painful to think about. Anyway, I’ll finally be reconnecting with my regular therapist next week after a long hiatus, which should be helpful.

Happy Thread
Jul 10, 2005

by Fluffdaddy
Plaster Town Cop

mekyabetsu posted:

As angry as I am at my dad, the thought of losing him without resolving this wedge between us is almost too painful to think about.

You can just forget that struggle right now, come to terms with it instead. There is not a drat thing you can or will ever do about this "wedge" and it's not your fault that it's there. Short of some overwhelming Utopian communist revolution happening that's a more impressive show of strength than the fascism chuds look up to, they're just not ever gonna change their minds. They follow perceived strength and nothing else and are addicted to the idea of abuse. Pure information cannot save them. It's not your battle to win because the only tools you have will not work. Just be yourself and let him be his self. It's almost never even useful to be aware of when an individual around you has bad opinions other then as recognizing easy potential ways they can be tricked if need be.

100 HOGS AGREE
Oct 13, 2007
Grimey Drawer
every psych medication I've ever taken was either prescribed by my GP themselves or prescribed by my GP because my (non psychiatrist) asked them to prescribe it to me. I thought that was just how it was done for years.

fabergay egg
Mar 1, 2012

it's not a rhetorical question, for politely saying 'you are an idiot, you don't know what you are talking about'


Dumb Lowtax posted:

You can just forget that struggle right now, come to terms with it instead. There is not a drat thing you can or will ever do about this "wedge" and it's not your fault that it's there. Short of some overwhelming Utopian communist revolution happening that's a more impressive show of strength than the fascism chuds look up to, they're just not ever gonna change their minds. They follow perceived strength and nothing else and are addicted to the idea of abuse. Pure information cannot save them. It's not your battle to win because the only tools you have will not work. Just be yourself and let him be his self. It's almost never even useful to be aware of when an individual around you has bad opinions other then as recognizing easy potential ways they can be tricked if need be.

This is terrible advice. You clearly love your dad and want to reconnect with him. It may not necessarily possible that you can convert him away from being a tormpist, but at the very least you can avoid these kind of conversations and try to have a semi-normal relationship with him. Depression is really good at catastrophizing relationships and telling you that such-and-such person is irredeemable, or doesn't want to be your friend, or is better off without you, or whatever else it takes to convince you to further isolate and imiserate yourself.

Goons are really eager to suggest cutting yourself off from friends and family and I don't think it's particularly healthy! You only get one family and except in extreme circumstances (abuse, etc) will you ever regret -not- cutting them out, but it's sure easy to realize only when it's too late that you wish you could have spent more time together.

Filthy Hans
Jun 27, 2008

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 10 years!)

100 HOGS AGREE posted:

every psych medication I've ever taken was either prescribed by my GP themselves or prescribed by my GP because my (non psychiatrist) asked them to prescribe it to me. I thought that was just how it was done for years.

The insurance industry despises psychiatrists and providers are pursuing every avenue of treatment that ends up with you being prescribed your psychoactive drugs by someone they can pay less. After Obamacare kicked in and I was finally able to get health coverage again, I had an issue with billing, namely, my company didn't want to pay for me to continue seeing my psychiatrist. I got a call from a rep (I don't remember which company, it may have been Florida BCBS but I'm not certain) who told me they wanted me to get my Rxs from an in-network licensed practitioner. They told me I could do this over the phone instead of putting up with the hassle of going into a medical professional's office. I told the caller there was no way I was taking treatment for bipolar disorder over the phone from some dilettante with a certificate they probably got online from Phoenix University and I was going to keep seeing my psychiatrist and if they didn't want to cover the drugs I'd sue them. I also may have said some nastier things before I hung up the phone. They didn't try that bullshit with me again after that but I'm sure some people agreed to it.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Zyla posted:

im on 120mg of cymbalta right now :stonk:

its ok? i guess?
i dont notice much of a difference, i might have to switch to a new med idk

Everybody’s reactions to drugs are different! SNRIs may turn me personally into the Hulk but if it’s working for you then keep on truckin’.

cargo cult posted:

here's some free mental health care: don't read cspam

:hmmyes:

mekyabetsu posted:

Anyway, I’ll finally be reconnecting with my regular therapist next week after a long hiatus, which should be helpful.

Awesome. Remember though: if the dark thoughts come back, don’t wait for catastrophe. handle them right away.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Tastykake posted:

This is terrible advice. You clearly love your dad and want to reconnect with him. It may not necessarily possible that you can convert him away from being a tormpist, but at the very least you can avoid these kind of conversations and try to have a semi-normal relationship with him. Depression is really good at catastrophizing relationships and telling you that such-and-such person is irredeemable, or doesn't want to be your friend, or is better off without you, or whatever else it takes to convince you to further isolate and imiserate yourself.

Goons are really eager to suggest cutting yourself off from friends and family and I don't think it's particularly healthy! You only get one family and except in extreme circumstances (abuse, etc) will you ever regret -not- cutting them out, but it's sure easy to realize only when it's too late that you wish you could have spent more time together.

Yeah. It took 36 years for me to finally tell my family to gently caress off and it was because they were a three ring macabre circus of abuse that tried to pull my wife into it. Even then, it was an extremely difficult decision.

it’s a tough spot to be in because voting for trump is not a good moral test to fail. if he did it from a place of hatred I’m not sure what I’d do there. if it was from ignorance or desperation then yeah, there’s still a connection there worth exploring.

I’m ambivalent towards cutting contact with family members. sometimes it needs to be done. however, understand there are emotional repercussions for you and do not make the decision lightly.

plaintiff
May 15, 2015

twoday posted:

Reminder that you can be depressed and not realize it, because you don't necessarily feel sad when you are depressed, but you might

- have little energy
- little interest in things you previously liked
- little desire for social interaction
- changes in appetite either way
- general bleh

Depression can refer to emotional depression, but deep-seated depression affects your metabolism and other aspects of your psyche. At some point on the spiral into depression you may stop feeling sad, because your brain isn't even producing enough dopamine to feel a strong sense of sadness anymore.

If you feel this applies to you, please talk to someone about it

I am on pristiq for this. It doesn't feel like it does much but numb it, but without it I not only get severe vertigo and nausea but also intense swings between rage and sadness. I've been on it since like 2015. I never really feel like I have energy to go to class (I'm 30 and in undergrad, thanks depressive breakdowns), but I just suck it up and do the minimum needed to squeak by without notice. Is this just life? Did Pristiq really help? I've had people give me the side-eye about it since apparently Pristiq isn't what people normally use for depression.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

do NOT jack off posted:

I am on pristiq for this. It doesn't feel like it does much but numb it, but without it I not only get severe vertigo and nausea but also intense swings between rage and sadness. I've been on it since like 2015. I never really feel like I have energy to go to class (I'm 30 and in undergrad, thanks depressive breakdowns), but I just suck it up and do the minimum needed to squeak by without notice. Is this just life? Did Pristiq really help? I've had people give me the side-eye about it since apparently Pristiq isn't what people normally use for depression.

I’ve been on pristiq before. it actually worked pretty well for depression but, like all S*RIs with bipolar, it eventually triggered intolerable mania after like a month. You might want to strongly consider you have bipolar
if your moods get way swingier on it.

Regardless, It sounds like your side effects are intolerable op. Do you have a p-doc? Mention it to them and what it’s like before you started taking it (and your mood swings!), and they can start finding stuff that doesn’t hit you as hard.

plaintiff
May 15, 2015

Chokes McGee posted:

I’ve been on pristiq before. it actually worked pretty well for depression but, like all S*RIs with bipolar, it eventually triggered intolerable mania after like a month. You might want to strongly consider you have bipolar
if your moods get way swingier on it.

Regardless, It sounds like your side effects are intolerable op. Do you have a p-doc? Mention it to them and what it’s like before you started taking it (and your mood swings!), and they can start finding stuff that doesn’t hit you as hard.

For what it's worth, my moods don't seem to swing more than normal. If anything I feel more stable on it. But yeah, the side effects get really awful without them. It might be rough now, but without the stuff? Pure hell. I also can't recall how I felt before I was on it, it's been so long since I started.

Dreddout
Oct 1, 2015

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
I don't know about y'all I just like sampling SSRIs

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

do NOT jack off posted:

For what it's worth, my moods don't seem to swing more than normal. If anything I feel more stable on it. But yeah, the side effects get really awful without them. It might be rough now, but without the stuff? Pure hell. I also can't recall how I felt before I was on it, it's been so long since I started.

There’s other meds though that can help, and you might tolerate them a lot better. For me, sertraline was a godsend, but everybody’s different.

The point is, talk to your pdoc! You can have a good life and tolerable side effects. It IS possible.

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

Dreddout posted:

I don't know about y'all I just like sampling SSRIs

EVERY DAY I WAKE UP AND OPEN PALM SLAM PILLS INTO MY MOUTH. ITS PROZAC AND RIGHT THEN AND THERE I

plaintiff
May 15, 2015

Chokes McGee posted:

There’s other meds though that can help, and you might tolerate them a lot better. For me, sertraline was a godsend, but everybody’s different.

The point is, talk to your pdoc! You can have a good life and tolerable side effects. It IS possible.

Thanks OP, I've definitely contemplated trying something better. I just don't know what to think when I contemplate what might be better for me. Getting off of this poo poo is going to be a commitment in itself, at least a week of nausea, vertigo, rage, and despair. Best thing I can do is try to taper off and get on something new in the process. The p-doc can help, yes.

I never really put to words what this mental illness of mine really feels like. I want to do things, and I want to go after them, but it's like walking on thin ice knowing that at any time my capacity to give a gently caress about literally whatever it is just crashes through, and all of a sudden I'm swimming through icy bullshit and just trying to get through it long enough so I can get to shore again. I want to give a gently caress about stuff so badly. I want to be passionate again, like I was before this poo poo really crashed through for me. There's no height, no mania, it's just varying degrees of functionality and self-motivation.

The closest I've ever been to fully functional was between about seventeen and nineteen years old. By the time it really started getting good I lost about sixty pounds, going down to about 170 (I'm 5'11"). I had goals, accomplished them, did a bunch of stuff on the side. I felt good about myself. I didn't really get hosed up about anything for too long. Then I went to college out of state where I knew no one, and at about the same time the floor fell through on my mental health. I broke up with my girlfriend, I gained forty pounds, and just kind of drifted doing the bare minimum until I dropped out a semester away from graduation. It's all been kind of a slow, humiliating climb uphill since. I'm a lot better about where I am now than where I was in 2012 or so. Now I weigh somewhere around 260.

The pristiq and what therapy I could rouse myself to attend did help me push through to now. I'm almost done with college now at last, and with no student loans because I moved back in with the parents and lived without any income of my own. Thank god they let me. I don't care if I just have lunch money, I am not in debt. But after I graduate, I'm probably going to try something different as far as meds. I can function, but it feels like I'm not doing much more than function at this point. I've been better before this. I feel like I can get back to where I was, but god I need help and the swimming feeling in my forehead has never gone away since I started taking this poo poo. I'm physically slower and clumsier than just about anyone around me. It's sometimes hard to maintain focus. I have improved on follow-through in projects and just in daily life because I had to in order to get anything done, but it can't be this hard for others. It just can't.

Sorry about the tome, but this has all kind of been simmering inside, and this seems like the best place to put it. I need perspective so badly.

Gnossiennes
Jan 7, 2013


Loving chairs more every day!

do NOT jack off posted:

I am on pristiq for this. It doesn't feel like it does much but numb it, but without it I not only get severe vertigo and nausea but also intense swings between rage and sadness. I've been on it since like 2015. I never really feel like I have energy to go to class (I'm 30 and in undergrad, thanks depressive breakdowns), but I just suck it up and do the minimum needed to squeak by without notice. Is this just life? Did Pristiq really help? I've had people give me the side-eye about it since apparently Pristiq isn't what people normally use for depression.

i was on pristiq for about a year nearly 10yrs ago. i'm not a fan of it, but I also don't think i react well to any ssri/snri meds. but my time on it has blocks that I just don't really remember, and generally i don't really forget things that happen. just a hazy fog for most of that year, including my own goddamn wedding.

it might be worth talking about different medications you can try.

but, if you go off it, make sure you do it safely :(

my Rx was from a GP, who never asked me to follow up, and who I never saw again. I started getting discontinuation syndrome stuff (mostly zaps) even when diligently taking it at the same exact time every day, so I went cold turkey and spent 5 days in bed with constant zaps.

it's kinda turned me off of ssri/snris completely.

Goon Danton
May 24, 2012

Don't forget to show my shitposts to the people. They're well worth seeing.

Chokes McGee posted:

EVERY DAY I WAKE UP AND OPEN PALM SLAM PILLS INTO MY MOUTH. ITS PROZAC AND RIGHT THEN AND THERE I

Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.

do NOT jack off posted:

Thanks OP, I've definitely contemplated trying something better. I just don't know what to think when I contemplate what might be better for me. Getting off of this poo poo is going to be a commitment in itself, at least a week of nausea, vertigo, rage, and despair. Best thing I can do is try to taper off and get on something new in the process. The p-doc can help, yes.

I never really put to words what this mental illness of mine really feels like. I want to do things, and I want to go after them, but it's like walking on thin ice knowing that at any time my capacity to give a gently caress about literally whatever it is just crashes through, and all of a sudden I'm swimming through icy bullshit and just trying to get through it long enough so I can get to shore again. I want to give a gently caress about stuff so badly. I want to be passionate again, like I was before this poo poo really crashed through for me. There's no height, no mania, it's just varying degrees of functionality and self-motivation.

The closest I've ever been to fully functional was between about seventeen and nineteen years old. By the time it really started getting good I lost about sixty pounds, going down to about 170 (I'm 5'11"). I had goals, accomplished them, did a bunch of stuff on the side. I felt good about myself. I didn't really get hosed up about anything for too long. Then I went to college out of state where I knew no one, and at about the same time the floor fell through on my mental health. I broke up with my girlfriend, I gained forty pounds, and just kind of drifted doing the bare minimum until I dropped out a semester away from graduation. It's all been kind of a slow, humiliating climb uphill since. I'm a lot better about where I am now than where I was in 2012 or so. Now I weigh somewhere around 260.

The pristiq and what therapy I could rouse myself to attend did help me push through to now. I'm almost done with college now at last, and with no student loans because I moved back in with the parents and lived without any income of my own. Thank god they let me. I don't care if I just have lunch money, I am not in debt. But after I graduate, I'm probably going to try something different as far as meds. I can function, but it feels like I'm not doing much more than function at this point. I've been better before this. I feel like I can get back to where I was, but god I need help and the swimming feeling in my forehead has never gone away since I started taking this poo poo. I'm physically slower and clumsier than just about anyone around me. It's sometimes hard to maintain focus. I have improved on follow-through in projects and just in daily life because I had to in order to get anything done, but it can't be this hard for others. It just can't.

Sorry about the tome, but this has all kind of been simmering inside, and this seems like the best place to put it. I need perspective so badly.

hey, this is what group therapy is for. :) look for a rl one of meetup, there’s a lot of support out there for unipolar depression.

also just to be clear DO NOT STOP MEDS WITHOUT DOCTOR GUIDANCE. Even if the side effects are gross. If they’re that bad call them and let them know you’re having a bad med reaction, they should be able to get you in quick or at least make a tweak.

Siljmonster
Dec 16, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN
okay i think after a week im done withdrawing from venlaflexine

that was worse than when i got off zoloft

Subjunctive
Sep 12, 2006

✨sparkle and shine✨

Siljmonster posted:

okay i think after a week im done withdrawing from venlaflexine

that was worse than when i got off zoloft

I don’t know whether venlaflexine or duloxetine was worse, but I never want to experience either again unless I can be in an induced coma the whole time

Siljmonster
Dec 16, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Subjunctive posted:

I don’t know whether venlaflexine or duloxetine was worse, but I never want to experience either again unless I can be in an induced coma the whole time

just got on duloxetine also hello subjunctive <3

Subjunctive
Sep 12, 2006

✨sparkle and shine✨

Siljmonster posted:

just got on duloxetine also hello subjunctive <3

hey man

I tapered down painfully to 30mg, but dropping that last bit leaves me teary all day so I’m just keeping it going. nobody seems to understand why that would be, given that it’s a sub-therapeutic dose, but when you mix 5 meds nobody really understands what’s going on anyway

Siljmonster
Dec 16, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Subjunctive posted:

hey man
but when you mix 5 meds nobody really understands what’s going on anyway

thats where im at just to get a sliver of my symptoms off my body both mentally and physically, therapists are at least good folk

Subjunctive
Sep 12, 2006

✨sparkle and shine✨

yeah, therapy is so good. having someone with a lot of patterns to match help you see the patterns in your thinking and encourage you as you develop tools for adjusting them...amazing when it comes together. everyone should have a therapist, whatever the state of their brainmeats

mekyabetsu
Dec 17, 2018

I am so lucky that I’ve never had any major withdrawal effects from any of the SSRIs or SNRIs I’ve taken. I didn’t exactly win the genetic lottery in most respects, but for whatever reason, my brain is particularly resilient to drug withdrawal. I can forget to take my high dose of venlafaxine for several days and not suffer any side effects. Not that it’s a good idea, of course, but at least it’s something I’ve got going for me.

bean mom
Jan 30, 2009

Happy Thread
Jul 10, 2005

by Fluffdaddy
Plaster Town Cop

Tastykake posted:

This is terrible advice. You clearly love your dad and want to reconnect with him. It may not necessarily possible that you can convert him away from being a tormpist, but at the very least you can avoid these kind of conversations and try to have a semi-normal relationship with him.

Yo that's like exactly what I said too, what do you mean it's terrible advice

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Chokes McGee
Aug 7, 2008

This is Urotsuki.
Book recommendations and med type info will be edited in tonight. I’m moving it to second post and my personal story to third. Also considering spending money to sticky the thread.

if anyone has any recommendations beyond Man’s Search for Meaning and It’s Not Your Fault now’s the time.

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