How does anyone know antidepressants are not frying our brains?

Question

Ive been on and off antidpressants for 8 years. Ive been on a total of 5 types through out that time. Im currently on the fifth one but have decided. THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY. It relieves my depression but leaves me lifeless. which is worse? feeling way too much or feeling nothing at all? Help!

Answer 1

I took meds for years and years in an effort to stave off severe bouts of depression... sometimes, for some time, it would work and then SPLAT!... often without notice, I was not available to myself... while I still keep a security blanket of Clonipin (prn) around I have been med-free for about 10 years now... I WAY needed to heighten my self-awareness; I keep my finger on my pulse (so to speak); I have developed an arsenal of wellness tools or personal medicines (using music, talking to friends, taking a walk, blowing bubbles, flying kits, writing poetry, going to support groups, praying... whatever works for you) I tap into as needed...I created a Wellness Recovery Action Plan for myself (see link below for WRAP and info about creating a personal wellness toolkit) and I accept life on life's terms - not the way I want or wish things to be... takes a tremendous effort but the result is sooo worth it... my kids are doing well, I have a job I love and I look forward to tomorrow

as far as meds frying your brain, I heard once from a prominent psychiatrist of personal acquaintence that the very first time you ingest a psychotropic med, your brain chemistry is altered... that scares me beyond belief! then you hear that the acetone in nail polish remover is being found in breast tissue!!! all this progress and technology is gonna do us in! I am not paranoid, I am certain of it :-}

good luck

Answer 2

Sometimes the drugs are necessary; One doctor said, why suffer when you don't have to. It's unlikely someone will get depressed for no reason; The source of the depression has to be isolated. I had a lot of stress getting through college and finding a job; In the middle of college, my mother died; When I graduated from college, a whole world I had built had ended and I was ready to enter the job market and then after nearly 1 year with no luck of finding a job, I started getting panic attacks and ultimately got real depressed; I was 22 years old and had a high tolerance level and was still able to function at
a high level regardless; I sought ant-depressants and tranquilizers to relieve my pain or mask it; After being intensely treated with drugs for 3 separate hospital visits not far apart; The most the drugs did was make me very tired and numb and they certainly helped my anxiety; Once I got a job, the depression and anxiety lifted.

I begged for the drugs in the first place and I nagged the hospital staff for drugs for relief of how awful
I felt physically, but my physical health was fine and my initial psych consultation stated I was definitely not crazy and they advised me very sternly against drugs and a hospitalization.

I was desperate; I finally told the staff that if they didn't admit me, I would end my life. That plan
worked the 2 times I was admitted and they had no choice but to admit me; Throughout all my
hospitalizations, I was viewed as 100% mentally stable with no serious mental illness other than
depression and panic anxiety as described above. A fourth attempt to get admitted to the hospital
was outright refused.Reliance on hospitalizations was clearly not the answer for me. The only solution
was a job.

This was 25 years ago and have not been hospitalized since. The second time I was hospitalized was
was because I "couldn't control" the number of tranquilizers I was taking; I am not sure I agree that
a hospitalization was totally necessary the second time and I didn't want to do it because it meant
taking more and stronger anti-depressants and the ones I was originally prescribed didn't really
work the way I wanted them to. In other words, I was looking for a custom drug by design just
for myself; I finally did; Disipramine, a very old and dangerous Tri-Cyclic antidepressant I would
take for many years and receive updates and prescriptions; The whole process was pretty straightforward.

After all this experience, I learned I could have survived without the drugs and you don't know what
long term damage these drugs could have done, but in the course of helping me cope with my pain,
they more or less make me a different person as they make it so I don't care so much, in other words,
they have a strong "numbing effect." I can't say I repeatedly faced the actual issues face to face and dealt with them actively, thereby shorten the duration I took medicine. Therapy did not help and my
doctor agreed I did not need it at all. In the end, it was more like just being addicted to drugs simply
because "I was bored."

The only thing I regret from all of this is I may have a permeant hospital record, something that can harm my self-esteem and future prospects with high end employers and government jobs that require
a high security clearance. I now live with the aura and stigma of Mental Illness, or do I?

I think the medicines can really only work for a very short period of time and that is when they
were at their peak effectiveness, but it delays dealing with the actual issues at stake.

At the very worst, sometimes I get "Bored", but this is not really depression, anxiety or mental
illness, and I was treated in a facility for such 25 years ago.

Answer 3

antidepressants change the way the chemestry in the brain relates, you can have too much of that, or not enough.

depression is a SIDE effect of something the doctors have not found...either disease or environement.

7 times out of 10 it looks as if it's disease. Research diseases that pass the blood brain barrier. If you have a virus, more than likely, the toxins would also cause an issue in depression.

If it's a major organ like the liver for instance, the virus will pass the blood brain barrier along with the toxins the liver is unable to filture.

I once told my doctor...."You can't tell me that depression happens on it's own...SOMETHING always has to cause it".
a week later i was at the gastro's office and had found out it was hepatitis c. I suffered for over 30 years with a disease that, within itself caused the changes in the brain. I now take nothing because I did antiviral chemotherapy, and even though my brain fog is still with me, the depression is gone!

good luck and get tough with the doctors. if it were just depression and depression only, you'd be relieved already!

hugs!
steph

Answer 4

It is hard when you switch between them like this. If you feel you have no energy then the one you are on is once again not compatible with you. I went through all the SSRI's in 6 years plus some others and everytime I switched my emotions were up and down and I was half dead...no energy, no hope etc. Keep trying until you find the one that works for you. Don't give up. I have been on a fairly new SSRI now for 1 year and I am doing great compared to the past 6 years. It was very very tough but I stuck it out and I am NOW happy I did.

Answer 5

Read "Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About". It changed my life. I suffered depression, migraines, allergies, panic attacks, and assorted gastrointestinal problems.
Using the cures and following the advise in this book, I have never felt better!
I have had 3 migraines this year, down from 3 a month. Allergies and panic attacks have all but cleared up. I have more energy and my stomach doesn't hurt anymore.
I sound like a commercial, but I'm living proof that it does work. I was shocked and amazed at some of the things in that book, but live a new life because of it.
Try it and see. Get it from the library, it's free that way. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The book talks about drug companys and how they don't want you to get better. If you get better you will quit buying their drugs. You will never believe what this guy has to say about today's food manufacturers. It's incredible.

Answer 6

Good question. I myself wondered the same thing after being on my medication (Effexor) for a few years. My emotions were calm, but too calm. I almost didn't feel anything. At one point I ran out of money and couldn't afford the co-pay for my Effexor. Let me tell you that anxiety is much worse than not feeling at all. I started crying like a baby I was so upset and depressed. I forgot how miserable I was when I was younger and not on meds. I was unable to function or enjoy anything. So I figure, would i rather have medications fry my brain, or a 9 mm bullet do it? It is that simple.

Answer 7

They are not frying your brain, but yes they make you lifeless, feelingless, like you are a walking zombie. I have never been on them for that reason only. I always suggest to people to read the book, "The Mood Cure". It talks about natural ways to boost those happy brain chemicals, through a combination of diet and exercise. I know everybody preaches this, but it works, unless you truly have a chemical imbalance caused by bad genes, most peoples depression is relieved when they give up their bad habits and start exercising.

Answer 8

He's an abuser. Even if he does not bodily abuse you does no longer imply he is not a batterer. He appears like he has Borderline Personality sickness as good. You CANNOT rationale with him. You ought to play the sport and play it good. Don't go away the marital house. Get a restraining order. The police will serve him and take away him from the residence. Then, difference the locks. No visits with the kids till you pass to courtroom to see a agenda. He may not be allowed to touch you you probably have a restraining order. Then, get a legal professional - and he can manage the relaxation in courtroom. Play hardball - get what you deserve. But be conscious that you're in for a struggle. But the toughest factor is getting him from your existence. I promise as soon as he is out of the residence, you'll breath a sigh of alleviation.

Answer 9

I agree they don't put you back to normal. Really you should also get into a support group, or for reconnecting with my friends and getting out of the house helped. Also a regular exercise plan has been shown to help.

I don't think anyone can promise you there aren't long term affects to antidepressants, but you weigh that against the affects of being depressed. I got to the point where I couldn't function, go to work, pay bills, and was having suicidal thoughts. What I'm on kind of puts me in a fog, but its better than the alternative.

Answer 10

Try a lower dose. Always talk to the doctor before stoping or changing these drugs as some can be dangerous. They make us fat too. If you have been off and on five time, you can be Certain that you need to be on them permanently, no matter how good you may feel. If you feel good that means the drug is working - Not that you don't need it anymore. Please work with your doctor and explain that you are getting relief from depression but are feeling sluggish and slow and think you have too much medicine. Make him/her listen and change it to what you need. You pay the bill - they don't.