SSRI poop out

Wiki: "Approximately 90% of the human body's total serotonin is located in the enterochromaffin cells in the alimentary canal (gut) , where it is used to regulate intestinal movements.[6][7]"

Hey, maybe I wasn't off topic all that much after all

2flamingos wrote:

@ Therapist - If SSRI's are a fraud, what do you suggest? Therapy? After hearing some of the folks I know that have gone to therapist - I think some of them are frauds as well.

I really don't care to reply but since you made a thinly veiled attempt to put words in my mouth I will.

All of the therapists I have known have a fraudulent education. I don't trust any of them.

Therapist wrote:SSRIs are a fraud to start with.

Placebos work just as well with fewer side effects.

Not trying to start any shit (pardon the pun)...

But weren't you just commenting in another thread about people giving out bad advice and the problem with newbies coming along and biting for it?

I've tried to quit SSRI's with some seriously bad consequences. I would also love to think they are useless, harmful, and not needed as I do not enjoy the various side effects and having to switch meds so often. Unfortunately my own mental well being along with various doctors that I've been to see over the years, feel otherwise.

So basically, if I follow your advice, I'll likely either be on the 6'oclock news or dead.

I can't speak to any of the SSRIs specifically because I have never taken any, but I have taken the same SNRI (Cymbalta) daily for six years, and it continues to do an excellent job eliminating my neuropathy pain. It has been a wonder drug for me and has given me my life back. The side benefit of being a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor has made me a bit more mellow and less intense according to my family, so that has been a good thing as well.

Also, a friend of mine took the SSRI Prozac when he was going through a difficult divorce. He claims that it really helped him get through a difficult period of his life. Therefore, while it's true that SSRIs and other anti-depressants aren't for everyone, there are definitely people who benefit from them. No sense throwing out the baby with the bath water.

VikingGnome wrote:For the many sleep apnea patients that have coexistent depression, I learned something new today about SSRI antidepressants. It's called SSRI "poop out". Basically, most SSRI's work for a period of time and then seems ineffective. Research has now shown that the reuptake inhibition gradually diminishes as time goes by on same SSRI. So you need to periodically rotate to a different SSRI when "poop out" appears to be the problem. The length of time to poop out is very individual. Some people can stay on same SSRI for several years without hitting it. Others may hit it within a year. My shrink told me about it today. She works part-time in clinical trials so I think she knows what she's talking about. She also says it is documented in medical literature.

So those of you on the same SSRI for a long time and feel your antidepressant no longer works very well--you may be at SSRI poop out on that drug. Time to gradually switch to new drug.

Hi VikingGnome!

Thank you for your good service in bringing this up. I have been through this twice I think. At the time of the last drug change I was falling from time to time. Not good indeed.

Finally I was able to move to a place with more sun, less crime, and a great view from my home - so - I dropped the SNRI (the next step after SSRIs). Many good things have come from this but I think I like the bit more activity "down there" the best.

May we indeed have a lot of fun!

Todzo

Those of us whose need for such drugs is minimal or non-existent at this time may be fortunate for the time being;
but should the need arise, will be able to use the information you have gleaned.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Therapist, as one who feels that psych meds destroyed 15 years of my life, obviously, I am not a fan of them, But to paint everything with a broad brush is also wrong in my opinion. By the way, it was two therapists who saved my life when I was going through hell with psych meds.

Robert Whitaker, a journalist who wrote Anatomy of an Epidemic, http://www.madinamerica.com/ which totally researches how psych meds have not worked for alot of people, acknowledges they do work in a minority of cases and that should not be discounted.

Lazer, this is an FYI type of comment in response to your post and may or may not be applicable in your case so here goes. Many people who say they quit SSRI with bad consequences ended up tapering way too quickly off of their meds which caused withdrawal symptoms that looked like a return of the illness but weren't. A slower taper might have avoided the problems.

Another reason i wanted to mention this is so many people think they have to be on drugs for life when tapering properly is what is needed.

I am not a medical professional so no one take this as 49er suggesting that everyone go off your meds. I am just trying to present the whole picture as one who learned more about withdrawal than I ever wanted to know.

Lazer, glad you're here.

49er

I initially drafted a detailed response to Therapist, but then looked back at some of her posts and decided that the amount of thought and detail I had given my response would have been wasted. I do have one thing to say to her and that is that none of my post was "Thinly veiled", I responded to what I inferred from her comment (based on her screen name I made an assumption that was obviously erroneous - I assumed that she is a THERAPIST, and never would have thought a Respiratory Care Therapist would simply identify themselves as therapist). I make no apologies for that, and am still waiting on a real answer to the question I posed based on her very broad statement.

I thank VikingGnome for the original post. I think this is a topic that a lot of folks should be interested in, if not for themselves than for someone they know. Unfortunately, in today's world there are a lot of folks that - for whatever reason - are on these meds and may not realize that they have become ineffective for them and they need to see their dr. for an adjustment to dosage or a different drug.

You might want to read some of these books or at least the review - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archive ... tion=false

You might also want to read my signature.

But it is up to you. No need to worry about me.

Best of luck,

Therapist wrote:You might want to read some of these books or at least the review - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archive ... tion=false

You might also want to read my signature.

But it is up to you. No need to worry about me.

Best of luck,

If you deny being a "therapist"...then why is your handle of Therapist in bold type and your disclaimer in tiny type at the bottom of your signature. It is obviously done to deceive. 'Nuff said!

It would appear everyone's "handle" is in bold type.

I don't know much about SSRIs, but I did become fascinated in the fact that they were being so widely prescribed and about 15 years ago I read the book, "Listening to Prozac". This was a fascinating book about the "wonderful" benefits Prozac would provide to humanity and I could not put the book down until I read the last word.

But as soon as I finished, the old thought, "if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably not true", kicked in and I searched out some other reading materials. I came across "Talking Back to Prozac" which is a thorough debunking of the "claimed" benefits of Prozac.

If I might add to the reading list here is a good review of other books about the scam of SSRIs - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archive ... tion=false

The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder
Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness
Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression

My brother-in-law has two in his family who were prescribed SSRIs. The first they eventually found out had thyroid problems, defective pancreas ducts and sleep apnea(!). After treatment with CPAP, thyroid medication and surgery for the ducts, SSRIs are no longer needed and certainly were a bad prescription to start with.

The second was prescribed SSRIs as a college student and given some dire evaluations of his mental health by the college psychiatrist. Fortunately he eventually worked out whatever problems he was having, graduated, got married and today enjoys a good career and is free of medications. He says if he had it to do over he would have practiced patience and never taken an SSRI.

I started out writing this post in a dispassionate mood but recounting those two experiences now has my blood boiling at the doctors and pharm companies who prescribe these medications.

I will add the disclaimer that if you think these drugs are helping you then they may be. But in my estimate it is the power of positive thinking that is helping you and not the drugs per se.

49er wrote:Therapist, as one who feels that psych meds destroyed 15 years of my life, obviously, I am not a fan of them, But to paint everything with a broad brush is also wrong in my opinion.

Exactly my problem with a reply coming from someone with a handle as a "therapist" nonetheless, that they are nothing better than a placebo. Dangerous advice to someone who is struggling with a mental illness.

49er wrote:Lazer, this is an FYI type of comment in response to your post and may or may not be applicable in your case so here goes. Many people who say they quit SSRI with bad consequences ended up tapering way too quickly off of their meds which caused withdrawal symptoms that looked like a return of the illness but weren't. A slower taper might have avoided the problems.

I can certainly appreciate this and is where I likely went wrong the end of last year. Feeling "pill burnout" along with thinking I was feeling better had led me to think I could weed myself off some of the meds and then one set of negative circumstances came into my life and set me into a deep depression lasting over a month until I had to seek out the SSRIs once again.

49er wrote:Lazer, glad you're here.

Thanks.

---

Dealing with a lot of BS in my life again atm and can't stand hypocrites (note: not refering to you in any way).

As much as I would like to find another way, right now I am unfortunately dependent on certain medications in order to hold it together. There is nothing I would like more than to be rid of the big-pharma meds and all the undesirable side effects. Sometimes a person just has to be realistic though.

Hi Lazer,

I totally understand and my heart goes out to you.

In spite of my grave concerns about meds, I have come very close at times for various reasons in wanting to ask my doctor for a prescription to Ambien. Fortunately, when I get to that point, things improve. But it made me realize that meds aren't an either or proposition and sometimes, that is the best of all options.

Please forgive me if you have done this already but if you decide you want to look for med alternatives to help with depression, google high EPA fish oil.

Best of luck.

49er

lazer wrote:

49er wrote:Therapist, as one who feels that psych meds destroyed 15 years of my life, obviously, I am not a fan of them, But to paint everything with a broad brush is also wrong in my opinion.

Exactly my problem with a reply coming from someone with a handle as a "therapist" nonetheless, that they are nothing better than a placebo. Dangerous advice to someone who is struggling with a mental illness.

49er wrote:Lazer, this is an FYI type of comment in response to your post and may or may not be applicable in your case so here goes. Many people who say they quit SSRI with bad consequences ended up tapering way too quickly off of their meds which caused withdrawal symptoms that looked like a return of the illness but weren't. A slower taper might have avoided the problems.

I can certainly appreciate this and is where I likely went wrong the end of last year. Feeling "pill burnout" along with thinking I was feeling better had led me to think I could weed myself off some of the meds and then one set of negative circumstances came into my life and set me into a deep depression lasting over a month until I had to seek out the SSRIs once again.

49er wrote:Lazer, glad you're here.

Thanks.

---

Dealing with a lot of BS in my life again atm and can't stand hypocrites (note: not refering to you in any way).

As much as I would like to find another way, right now I am unfortunately dependent on certain medications in order to hold it together. There is nothing I would like more than to be rid of the big-pharma meds and all the undesirable side effects. Sometimes a person just has to be realistic though.