Please help me understand this

Hello everyone I'm a 27 year old male who has been suffering from panic attacks, anxiety and depression since he was 16 years old. Ive been off and on numerous SRI's since I was 20 years old. My last SSRI was pristiqe I've been on it for about a year and I'm off of it again since April this year. For some reason after getting off an SSRI I notice a strange feeling of slowly getting back to my original self. It doesn't happen overnight it usually happens around 4-6 months after I stop taking them(it's happening right now). I notice that I eat less, I end up losing weight and I have a strange sensation of feeling more connected with my mind and body. It's like my mind is taking months to return to it's original state. Usually with medications once you're off it only takes a week or two for it to get out of your system but with SSRI's it's quite different I think. Does anyone know what the hell is going on? Is it because serotonin takes months to regenerate after long term SSRI use? Is what I'm feeling normal? should I be concerned? Please respond.

It would be good for a start if you new you med. Pristiqe is a SNRI not a SSRI

*knew* .

DYSLEXIC its well documented

Hey. I think youve answered your own question. It takes weeks or months for the med to level out your brain chems so it takes weeks or months to get them readjusted post med. It took me what seemed like forever to get myself back after 4 years of Zoloft ans Sertraline. It was more like 4-5 months. But it was, in my experiance, hellish.

No, withdrawal and the recovery of your body from the drug can take months to years. The actual drug might clear out much faster, but the effects are there longer. It is perfectly normal that it would takes months for you to feel like yourself again.

I actually tapered off my pristique just fine I had a bit of the "brain zaps" for about 2 weeks but they were mild. I don't feel like I'm withdrawling and getting sick or anything I just notice that my body and mind are slowly changing and going back to its original state before I took the med. I lost like 15 pounds already by doing nothing, I feel more connected to my environment, I feel more emotions I feel different and it's slowly coming back. This is the kind of change I'm going through. It feels like I've been on a hallucinogen for a year. I can't imagine it for people who've taken it as long as you have.

Isn't that kind of disgusting how that works? I mean why isn't there a warning about this before you take it? I hear SSRI's deplete serotonin and serotonin takes months to recover I might be getting my depleted levels back to normal.Or possibly the neurogenisis cells that the meds have created are dying off. I wonder how much damage these drugs do to peoples brains

Yea ugh the zaps are the worst when you have no idea what they are. I was tapered too. I did ok for a few years but then severe stressful events came and I went on Celexa for a year. Then quit with no problems at all.

Excuse me ????????? SSRI,S add serotonin to your brain not depleat it. T here is a clue in the mame ,SELECTIVE SERATONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITOR or its every day name SSRI,s ,

The brain gets used to functioning with the medication; since the medication causes more of the neurotransmitter to be in the synapse, this means the brain gets rid of some of the receptors. When you reduce or take away all together the med, there are less receptors and thus, a less effective neurotransmitter system. The depletion is of the receptors, not the chemical.

The damage seems to come from long-term use of the drugs--ie, the brain can't grow back the receptors lost during the time on the medication. Most people are able to recover from withdrawal, it just really takes time and patience.

It does suck that they don't warn you before hand, and they downplay the seriousness of these drugs. They're not to be taken lightly!

Most long term AD user,s have been ill all there life so withdrawl is a futile quest has they need meds for life , but try to kid themselves there better . when in reality its the med that's keeping them ticking over. A short depressive episode you need meds for a year to make sure no crash, but after that if well withdrawl should go well all but a few hicups.

What do you consider to be long term?

I'd say more than a year. Most people who need anti depressants only need them for a short time for regular depression. But with people like myself, who have depressive disorders or chem imbalances, we need them most of our lives. Ive been on ADs in some form or another since I was 13-14 years old. Im now 32. I dont feel that my long term use has caused any brain damage but I do think that its made my ability to feel better on my own harder than it would of been w/o meds

Hmmm I'm wondering If I have brain damage, I've been on and off them since I was 20 years old I am now 27. The span in total has been 3 years. What ends up happening is that I go on them for a year and am able to cope for another year but then I fall again. I usually only get depressed in the winter because of my seasonal affective disorder which I didn't even know I had since last year. Do you find that you are unable to feel emotions as well as you used to? What are the noticeable effects of SSRI brain damage?

You don't know what you're talking about. This doctor explains that the location of serotonin in the brain changes when you're on the meds. It doesn't actually increase. The serotonin gets broken down by ezymnes since the SSRI's move it outside the brain cell. When it's inside it's protected when it's outside it gets broken down thus leaving you ultimately with low serotonin.

If there is not enough serotonin released by the nerve cell it wont be able to cause the next one to fire. The nerve cells normally recycle serotonin by soaking it back up again ,SSRIs work by stopping the reuptake has its not soaked up its left to pass on the message to the nerve cells of serotionin uptake, in lay terms SSRI,S SOAK UP MORE SEROTONIN and pass it on to the nerve cells that need it , SSRI,S work selectively on serotonin they don't stop any other neurotransmitter chemical being soaked up by the nerve cells. add a another different class of med to the mix that effects other nerve cells and serotonin syndrome is ready to kick arse. So my first answer was correct you are getting more serotonin to the nerve cells has its not being released back

There are studies that show that the serotonin levels in the brain are the same before and after taking the drug. The positioning of the serotonin however is different as it sits outside the cell. Ultimately serotonin gets depleted due to them being broken down by enzymes while on the drug. The information you are getting is shallow basic knowledge and understanding of SSRI's any average person can pick up and read off a drug advertising pamphlet.

I totally hate all SSRI's and refuse to try any more of them. I consider them all zombie pills. The worst was Zoloft!

THAT knowledge comes from 35 years on SSRI,s 3 serotonin syndrome attacks included.Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors What is a advertising pamphlet we don't get meds advertised in ENGLAND , we get them by NHS shrink and GP.S . You get a leaflet in the med box . You are saying that ssri,s kills off serotonin , when the answer is ssri,s holds more serotonin in the cells show me your findings . the hole idea of taking SSRI is your not getting the serotonin you need .

Amoeba, I think perhaps you were lucky. The SSRI or similar takes time to start working... why? The med is present and should work pamphlet style. but doesn't. It works by changing your brain physically, most common it grows or pushes back receptors, depending on the drug. This is what causes the real effect (or likely at least).

So when the brain is without the med, it needs to "grow back" into its original state. It takes time.

When I stopped Zoloft it was like a new bright world opened up. It didn't happen at once. But for me that didn't last long. After a while I got very, very depressed. I was almost forced to go back on Zoloft but I felt it had caused me this so I refused and tried to find a new med when I realize that in this case... my brain will NEVER go back to its original state.

I will always be dependent on an SSRI. I hope this one will take a long time before quitting on me because when it does... I don't know what to do.

I feel emotions fine without them. Some a little more than I should, which is why I need to take them in the first place. Ive never seen anyone with Ssri related brain damage.

I think the reason why I'm off the meds for 4 months and not depressed is because I figured out for myself without any help after seeing numerous psychiatrists and doctors that I actually have seasonal affective disorder. I get depressed between the months of October to January because I live in a country where it gets dark really early. I noticed that every time I would get depressed it would be during those long winter months and during the summer I was usually fine. I really hate it that I figured this out now instead of sooner. I started noticing the patterns during the winter of last year. I bought myself a sad lamp last year and took 2000 IU of vitamin D a day and felt better. I'm just waiting right now as to what is going to happen this winter as I am going to prepare myself for the worst. How long did it take for a relapse to occur after you stopped taking your antidepressants?

I'm saying over time It depletes serotonin not right away probably in a span of 6 months to a year. I just showed you a youtube reference from a well known M.D. Here is another doctor saying the same thing.

Here's an article about how antidepressants might be behind chronic depression: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...dive-dysphoria

It is true the long you have been on them, the more carefully you should get off in order to give your brain time to recover, and for some people, after years on them, it might be hard to function without the medication for the reasons stated above. The depression from antidepressant withdrawal can be felt long after discontinuation and often has a lag from the last pill to when it is felt.

It's really a personal choice--whether you prefer how you feel on medication compared to off it, knowing you are susceptible to depression. O