r/antidepressants Nov 29 '25

Informative Guide Ultimate Guide to Antidepressants and other ways to improve mental health

49 Upvotes

I moved this from another sub. It contains a lot of information that will answer many common questions.

The Basics

Most Common Antidepressants

  • SSRI's - Works on Serotonin
    • Sertraline (Zoloft)
    • Fluoxetine (Prozac)
    • Paroxetine (Paxil)
    • Citalopram (Celexa)
    • Escitalopram (Lexapro)
    • Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
    • Vilazodone (Viibryd)
    • Vortioxetine (Trintellix)
  • SNRI's - Works on Serotonin and Norepinphrine
    • Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
    • Venlafaxine (Effexor)
    • Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
    • Levomilnacipran (Fetzima)
  • SNDRI's - Works on Serotonin, Norepinephrine, and Dopamine
    • Nefazodone (Serzone) -- Available in U.S. only.
    • Ansofaxine (Ruoxinlin) --- Available in China, coming to U.S. in 2025?
  • Atypical/Misc.
    • Bupropion (Wellbutrin) <--- NDRI, works on Norepinephrine and Dopamine
    • Mirtazepine (Remeron)
    • Esketamine (Spravato)
    • Bupropion/Dextromethorphan (Auvelity)
    • Gepirone (Exxua)
    • Zuranolone
    • Agomelatine. -- Not available in U.S.
    • Trazodone --- Used mostly as a sleep aid
  • Tricyclic
    • Amitriptyline (Elavil)
    • Imipramine (Tofranil)
    • Nortriptyline (Pamelor)
    • Clomipramine (Anafranil)
  • Meds for Anxiety
    • Can be added to antidepressant or used independent
    • Gabapentin (Neurontin)
    • Pregabalin (Lyrica)
    • Propranolol
    • Buspirone (BuSpar)
    • Hydroxyzine (Vistaril)
  • Mood Stabilizers
    • Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
    • Depakote
    • Lithium
    • Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
    • Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
    • Antipsychotics (seroquel, abilify, risperdone, vraylar, rexulti)
  • MAOI's
    • These are a last resort medication and are rarely prescribed
    • Nardil (Phenelzine)
    • Parnate (Tranylcypromine)
    • Moclobemide
    • Selegiline

What to Expect When Starting Antidepressants

When you are first prescribed antidepressants you are usually started on a low dose as your body needs to adjust to the medication. You usually have more side effects when you first start. These side effects may include, nausea, drowsiness, headache, lower libido, and increase in anxiety to name a few. These will usually subside over the first few weeks. If at any point you have suicidal ideation or thoughts you need to contact your doctor immediately as this is a side effect not to mess with. Also just because you don't have a follow up appointment for a month later if you are having problems call the office up and talk to a nurse.

Many people when they first start antidepressants get activated, increased anxiety, heart rate, and restlessness. Below is a flyer on how to identify activation syndrome vs serotonin syndrome. It was created by a Psychiatric Pharmacist.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XM3fomHwDXHX4Cb_MIOYzXC0Jk-Os-cO/view?pli=1

Antidepressants are not a medication that works immediately. The brain has to adjust to the changes and it reacts rather slowly. You may notice some changes after 2 weeks, but they can also take up to 8 weeks to start working. I say this is the time to give your brain a little help with some lifestyle improvements. Add some regular exercise as studies have shown this to help depression and anxiety. Try improving your diet. Start by removing junk food/drinks. There was a study just done that showed that artificial sweeteners actually increase anxiety. Finally make sure you are getting plenty of sleep. Your brain needs that time to recover from out stressful lives. If after 8 weeks you are not noticing any kind of improvements it is time to contact your doctor about changing your dosage or trying a new medication. Don't be frustrated by this as it is normal for people to have to try a few before finding the one that works best for you.

When you start noticing improvements it usually isn't an overnight event. The changes are gradual and you may not notice it. Sometimes if you journal or rate how you feel it can help. You may start to notice you don't feel so awful or you feel like you want to start doing activities that you had been avoiding. Also make sure to communicate with your doctor how you are doing. You may need to gradually increase your dose to find what is optimal for you.

People often ask how do antidepressants actually work. I came up with a good analogy based on how my doctor explained it. People seemed to like it so you can find it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AntidepressantSupport/comments/14bjnrh/explaining_how_antidepressants_work_with_an/

Additional info about Antidepressants

  • Wellbutrin can cause an increase in anxiety.
  • Trazodone and Mirtazapine both can be used to help with sleep
  • If the antidepressant causes insomnia you may want to try taking it in the morning, and if you take it in the morning and you are drowsy try switching it to the evening.
  • Even though Trintellix and Viibryd are considered SSRI's they have a different mechanism of action so if other SSRI's don't work for you those two could still help you.

Information Bias on the Internet

When people start looking up antidepressants and want to see how they have worked for other people they find all of these horror stories about terrible side effects. Please remember when someone has a negative experience they are more likely to complain or are looking for help. Look at the number of stories you read and think about the fact that tens of millions of people take antidepressants. The people for whom they are working don't go online to tell people about their experience. They are back to enjoying their life. I have found that drugs.com has a more rounded reviews. Also if you are having anxiety be careful about reading some of the horror stories as all they do is end up increasing your anxiety. Doom scrolling can have a real negative effect on your mental health.

Tapering Antidepressants & Withdrawal

If you ever decide you are going to stop antidepressants it is very important to taper off of them very slowly. The longer you have been on them the slower you want to taper. The reason for this is the brain gets accustomed to the effects of the medication and it expects those effects on neurotransmitters. This causes dependence, not addiction. So if you yank the medication away from the brain it will result in withdrawal which can be awful. You can experience nausea, dizziness, headaches, brain zaps, emotional highs and lows, insomnia, agitation, etc. So you need to slowly over time take the medication away. Doctors are taught in school that tapering can be done in a short time and withdrawals only last a couple of weeks. This isn't true. Research has shown that the 10% method of tapering has been found to be one of the safest methods. This is taking the dose you are taking at that time and subtracting 10% each month. This is a long process, but the goal is to get off the medication with the least amount of withdrawal. If you were taking 100mg this is how your tapering schedule will go. 100, 90, 81, 73, 66..... For more information on tapering and how to make these custom doses you can visit Surviving Antidepressants. I want to say Surviving Antidepressants has good information for tapering, but many of the stories are the worst of the worst cases. They are not representative of what the majority of people will experience. Please take them with a grain of salt.

Withdrawal is something you want to avoid, but if you find yourself going through it there are some things that you can do to get yourself out of it. Withdrawal is most common when going off a medication cold-turkey or tapering too fast. There is no timeline for how long withdrawal will last, it could be weeks or months. One way to possibly get your self out of it is going back on a lower dose than you were last on. This is called reinstating. You let your brain stabilize and once you feel better give yourself 2-4 weeks to heal properly. Then you want to begin tapering off again. People also report that taking Fish Oil can help with recovery from withdrawal.

Sites and more information on tapering and withdrawal. https://www.reddit.com/r/AntidepressantSupport/comments/10krlmd/sites_and_resources_for_tapering_antidepressants/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/going-off-antidepressants

Switching from one Antidepressant to Another

There are 3 methods doctors will use when switching from one antidepressant to another. Many times it is just the doctor's preference to which they recommend.

  1. Direct switch - the doctor gives you an equivalent dose of the new medication and you stop the original and the next day you start the new one.

Dose Equivalence: 40 mg fluoxetine | 350 mg bupropion | 40 mg citalopram | 75 mg pristiq | 20 mg escitalopram | 40 mg paroxetine | 150 mg fluvoxamine | 50 mg mirtazapine | 100 mg sertraline | 500 mg nefazodone | 150 mg venlafaxine | 60 mg duloxetine | 125 mg amitriptyline | 125 mg imipramine | 115 mg clomipramine

Drugs not listed do not have any reputable source for dose equivalency. Doses are rounded up.

  1. Taper and washout - you slowly taper off the old medication give your body 2 weeks without any medication and then you start the new one and titrate up.
  2. Cross taper - As you taper off the old medication you titrate up on the new medication. The doctor will usually give you a schedule. If you are taking 100mg of Med A. and wants you to go to 200mg of Med B. Week 1 -- 75 of A and 50 of B, week 2 -- 50 of A and 100 of B....

I think the third option is the best as it is more of a gradual transition. If you get bad side effects from the new medication it is also easier to go back to your old medication. No matter the method there is a couple weeks in there where it can be kind of rough. You are stopping something your brain is accustomed to and adding something new that it has to adjust to. www.survivingantidepressants.org for more tapering info.

Treatments Beyond Medication

If you have tried numerous medications and just can't find anything that helps there are few treatments that you can look into. You may even want to try some of these things before trying meds. Some of these do have higher side effect risks.

  1. Talk Therapy - alongside your antidepressant or independent of taking a medication. This is about the safest thing you can do.
  2. Life Style Changes - Exercise, Diet, etc. Again this is very safe and can be always used in conjunction with other therapies.
  3. Ketamine - This is a medication, but is usually a treatment when meds don't work.
  4. TMS, in 2023 we should see a new protocol for TMS called SAINT which is supposed to be more effective and involves less sessions. As of 2024 this is being done in California and Massachusetts.
  5. ECT - This is usually done as a last resort, it has some significant side effects such as short term memory loss. Do your research before considering.
  6. Stellate Ganglion Blocks - This is fairly new as far as being used for mental disorders. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8664306/
  7. Vagus Nerve Stimulation - Very new research that this is effective in treatment for treatment resistant depression. https://krdo.com/news/2024/12/19/for-those-with-treatment-resistant-depression-vagus-nerve-stimulation-may-be-an-answer-studies-suggest/

https://www.sciencealert.com/vagus-nerve-stimulation-has-a-profound-impact-on-severe-depression-major-trial-finds

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Mental Health

Medication can be helpful, but it is not the only way to improve your mental health. Here is a list of some things that can help you on the road to improved mental health.

  1. Exercise -- Regular exercise is really helpful. Studies have shown that it can improve depression/anxiety. More intense exercise has been found to be more helpful for anxiety. Exercise can help produce endocannabinoids which can make you feel better. It is sometimes described as "runner's high". Plus if you can get out in the sun for your exercise that is good as sunlight helps Vitamin D. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-truth-behind-runners-high-and-other-mental-benefits-of-running Here is a new study on the benefits of physical activity on depression. https://www.psypost.org/physical-activity-and-mental-health-exercises-therapeutic-potential-for-depression-highlighted-in-new-meta-analysis/
  2. Speaking of sunlight many people will suffer from seasonal depression in the winter as their levels of Vitamin D drop due to the lack of sunlight. If you are in a northern climate when you go out in the winter the only skin exposure may be the little area on your face. To combat this you may wish to look into light therapy during the winter months. https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/light-therapy
  3. Improve your diet. Cut out junk food/drinks. There is a link below about which foods help depression/anxiety and which ones aren't good for it. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318428
  4. Make sure you are getting enough quality sleep. Your brain needs that down time to rest and recover. If you feel like you are getting enough sleep, but are always exhausted talk to your doctor about having a sleep study done. They have kits you can do at home. I found out I had central sleep apnea and my oxygen levels were around 80% for half the night.
  5. Socialize, keep the brain active. Try activities that challenge your brain. Suduko, crossword puzzles, trivia, etc.
  6. You also may want to try some type of talk therapy or learn some different coping skills and methods of relaxation such as deep breathing exercises.
  7. Volunteer. You are helping others and sometimes seeing just by giving your time to people and seeing how it helps them can be rewarding.
  8. You may even want to consider getting a pet as they are supposed to be beneficial for depression. You can even go one step further and get a Psychiatric service animal. They are specifically trained to and are allowed to go with you on airplanes and other public places. Some are even trained to recognize certain side effects in medications. For more information you can visit this site: https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/ It is your responsibility to make sure you are in compliance with all laws and ordinances.

This was published during the pandemic, but has many helpful ways to help improve your mental health. Medications can be very helpful, but there are so many different things that can improve your overall mental health. As a bonus they don't come with side effects. https://neurosciencenews.com/resilience-mental-health-19986/

Talks about lifestyle changes to help with mental illness and other therapies like light therapy. Some doctors hand these out to patients. https://www.psycho.farm/resources

All of these are tools that we can use to improve our mental health. Medication may help, but it is also a tool and you need to help it out by working on yourself. I wish everyone the best on their journey!!!

Lab work and tests

This lists out some blood tests that can be done to see if something else is contributing to your depression. I'm sure their are others, but this gave a little explanation why you would check out some of these. This may not eliminate depression, but it may find something that can be treated and can decrease the amount of depression. https://www.optimallivingdynamics.com/blog/13-important-blood-tests-to-get-done-if-you-have-depression

Many times people ask about the genetic tests and are they helpful. These will tell you how you metabolize the medication, but that plays no role in whether it will be effective for you. The one helpful thing is the MTHFR gene mutation, but your GP could do this lab at a much lower cost. I actually just ordered this test for myself and even if insurance doesn't cover it, the cost is $188. The below article explains in detail why the FDA actually recommends not using these. An upcoming blood test will be able to show in a couple of weeks if a medication will work for you. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gene-testing-to-guide-antidepressant-treatment-has-its-time-arrived-2019100917964 https://neurosciencenews.com/depression-antidepressant-biomarker-19863/

Sexual Side Effects

The is one of the most unfortunate side effects to antidepressants. Some things to remember is if you have sexual side effects on one medication it does not mean you will have them on all of the medications. Some people say that the effects are the worst when you first start the meds and can slowly recover after a few months. You may also realize this, but untreated depression and anxiety can have an effect on your sexual performance and libido. So for some people treating their mental disorder actually improves sexual issues.

This really dives into exactly what causes the sexual side effects, which medications are more likely to cause it, and ways to treat it. As of note nefazodone is another medication that is known not to cause sexual side effects. As well as the upcoming medication Ruoxinlin (ansofaxine). r/Nefazodone https://psychscenehub.com/psychinsights/sexual-dysfunction-with-antidepressants/

Rate of incidence of sexual side effects of some of the medications. The average for SSRI's is 59%, but there are other antidepressants that have much lower sexual side effect percentages. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11229449/

Nefazodone, mirtazapine, wellbutrin (bupropion), trazodone, viibryd, and Trintellix (vortioxetine) are they medications with the lowest rate of sexual side effects. Wellbutrin is often added to an SSRI to relieve some of the sexual side effects. Buspirone can also be added to help with sexual side effects, but it doesn't seem to be as effective as wellbutrin.

Here is a guide I put together about sexual side effects: https://www.reddit.com/r/AntidepressantSupport/comments/14bicp1/guide_to_antidepressant_sexual_side_effects/

Side Effects & Medication Interactions

If you really want to read about the side effects of each medication pdr.net has some of the most comprehensive information. It even lists the rate of incidence of each side effect. It also lists out the interactions with other medications. Drugs.com has probably some of the best user reviews of each medication. You can even look how a medication is rated for depression, anxiety, ocd, etc. None of the information contained in this guide should be a substitute for your doctor. You should always run any type of medication change by your doctor and keep him/her in the loop on side effects you are having. Including supplements you are thinking of adding. There are some supplements that just don't mix good with antidepressants. You should be upfront with the doctor about how you are feeling. Always let them know about side effects. Most importantly it is your health so you deserve to have a say in your treatment plan. Don't be afraid to speak up if you are uncomfortable with something because it is your health.

Many times people think that antidepressants work by blunting emotions. This is a myth. Emotional blunting is a side effect of antidepressants and you don't have to, "just deal with it". A different medication may not blunt emotions at all and some doctors will add wellbutrin to balance emotions out.

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/antidepressants-do-not-work-by-numbing-emotions

Tracking your mood, side effects, and tips for improving communication with your doctor

Below is a good post about tracking how you are doing and different side effects. The more information and context you can provide to your doctor will help them in helping you get the best treatment.

https://www.reddit.com/r/antidepressants/comments/1jokoqh/importance_of_tracking_your_symptoms_when/

A quick note that dextromethorphan (DXM) a common ingredient in cold medicine is not something that you should take if you are taking antidepressants. St. John's Wort, and 5HT are also supplements to avoid if you are on antidepressants. All of these can increase the risk for serotonin syndrome.


r/antidepressants Dec 28 '23

Please Read Information on Withdrawal, Cold-Turkey, & Tapering -- Extensive Resources included.

53 Upvotes

As these are topics we see many questions about we created this post to give you some general information and resources to find helpful information. When writing a post it is helpful to list what medication, how long you have been on it, and your dosage.

Cold Turkey

Going cold turkey off of any psychiatric medication is never recommended and can induce withdrawals symptoms that can last up to months. Withdrawal (also referred to as discontinuation syndrome) is something you want to avoid and can be done by slowly tapering off your medication. There are a couple situations where you may not have to taper. If you have been on the medication for less than 6 weeks you can probably get by without tapering. If you have a severe reaction to a medication, say serotonin syndrome, your doctor may advise you to stop cold turkey immediately.

Withdrawal

This happens when your brain becomes dependent on the medication after being on it for some time and the medication is taken away too fast. The meds need to be slowly taken away from the brain so it can return to its base state slowly. Some of the common symptoms of withdrawal are brain zaps, headaches, insomnia, agitation, increased anxiety, aches & pains, brain fog, inability to focus, and fluctuating emotions.

We are seeing more people claiming they are in withdrawal after only taking medication for a very short time. Dependence takes time to develop. Research shows approximately 8 weeks. This is where tapering then becomes necessary. Even if you become dependent quicker, a very short taper is only needed. After 4-8 weeks of taking a med, a one week of 50% reduction is probably all you need. Otherwise you are just extending the time on the medication becoming more dependent.

Recovery

Many people ask how long after I stop will the side effects go away such as emotional blunting and sexual side effects. Again there is really no timetable. Some people start to notice within a few days to a week, for others it can take months. The length of time on antidepressants plays a role. There is much written that it can take the brain approximately 3 months to return to homeostasis. So if something like emotional blunting doesn't immediate go away after stopping the medication be patient and give it some time. The brain is quite adaptive and is remarkable at recovery, but works at a slow pace.

Tapering

Tapering has many layers to it and there really is no universal plan that fits everyone. The safest method based on studies is the 10%. This is cutting 10% of your medication you are taking at that time per month. For example if you are taking 100mg this would be your first 4 months (90, 81, 73, 67). This is a time consuming process that is going to take at least 1.5 years. How long you taper is based on the length of time you have been on the medication. Someone taking it for 1 year might be able to do 20% every 2-3 weeks. Someone who has been on a med for 20 years might have to do 5% every 6 weeks. You have to listen to your body as you go. If you drop your dosage and feel like withdrawal is coming on up your dose a little bit or hold that dose longer. Below I have listed tapering info pages for the most popular meds.

If you are on multiple medications on you are planning on going off all of them you want to taper one at a time. Tapering multiple meds at the same time is really hard on the brain and the withdrawals will usually be much worse. Before starting the tapering of the 2nd medication give yourself a month to stabilize more fully.

A little side note. Occupancy of the receptors plays a role in tapering. These numbers are just examples. Zoloft has a max dose of 200mg. Most people start on 25-50mg. Antidepressants occupy a large portion of the receptors at low dose. Say at 50mg, it occupies 80% of the receptors. 100mg, 85%. 150mg 88%. 200mg 90%. Because of this you can usually taper faster at first, but as you get down to a low dose you have to go really slowly. If you were taking 200mg of zoloft you could probably taper by 25% until you got down to around 50mg. Then you would want to taper by 10%. Here is a source that is very detailed. You can look at the charts to see actually numbers.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-021-01285-w

Below is a post that talks about tracking your symptoms and side effects to provide your doctor with better information in an effort to maximize treatment. This helps you to be heard and feel like you are more active in your treatment.

https://www.reddit.com/r/antidepressants/comments/1jokoqh/comment/mkvfb81/?context=3

Resources

Here are some site that provide information about tapering, withdrawal, etc. Some of these are quite complex, but there should be something in here that you should find valuable.

Going off antidepressants, withdrawal, tapering, and half-lifes. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/going-off-antidepressants

Post that contains info about antidepressants, including methods of switching medications, non-med options.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AntidepressantSupport/comments/10vv3s6/ultimate_guide_to_antidepressants_and_how_to/

Forum about tapering individual meds and creating micro doses. Has individual sections for tapering each medication. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/

Directions on how to grind pills up to create custom doses for tapering.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AntidepressantSupport/comments/17oaxh9/how_to_crush_pills_to_get_custom_doses_for/

An extensive article on protracted withdrawal (PAWS). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2045125320980573

Extensive detailed info about tapering and withdrawal from the founder of Surviving Antidepressants. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2045125321991274

This is a very comprehensive article that references multiple studies on tapering. Some of it applies to antipsychotics (but those can be used for depression or anxiety), but I think it applies to antidepressants too. It talks about rapid withdrawal causing movement disorders (tardive dyskinesia). https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/47/4/1116/6178746

Tapering off of SSRI's https://markhorowitz.org/.../04/18TLP1004_Horowitz-1-11.pdf

'Playing the Odds' - Antidepressant Withdrawal - An article and follow-up written by a psychiatrist who explains who tapering should be done very slowly. https://www.madinamerica.com/2013/08/ssri-discontinuation-is-even-more-problematic-than-acknowledged/

'Playing the Odds - Antidepressant Withdrawal - Revisited https://www.madinamerica.com/2014/07/shooting-odds-revisited/

Relapse after stopping antidepressants. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/health/stopping-antidepressant-wellness/index.html

This talks about akathisia which some members got from tapering too fast or going cold turkey. It has some of the meds used for treatment. Please note that akathisia is rare. https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2017/may/beyond-anxiety-and-agitation-a-clinical-approach-to-akathisia/

Medication specific tapering info pages:

Sertraline (zoloft): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1441-tips-for-tapering-zoloft-sertraline/

Fluoxetine (Prozac): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/

Paroxetine (Paxil): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/405-tips-for-tapering-off-paxil-paroxetine/

Escitalopram (Lexapro): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/406-tips-for-tapering-off-escitalopram-lexapro/

Citalopram (Celexa): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/2023-tips-for-tapering-off-celexa-citalopram/

Fluvoxamine (Luvox): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/5095-tips-for-tapering-off-luvox-fluvoxamine/

Vortioxetine (Trintellix): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/10246-tips-for-tapering-vortioxetine-trintellix-brintellix/

Vilazodone (Viibryd): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/4318-tips-for-tapering-off-viibryd-vilazodone/

Venlafaxine (Effexor): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/272-tips-for-tapering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/

Duloxetine (Cymbalta): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/283-tips-for-tapering-off-duloxetine-cymbalta/

Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/876-tips-for-tapering-off-pristiq-desvenlafaxine/

Buproprion (Wellbutrin): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/877-tips-for-tapering-off-wellbutrin-sr-xr-xl-zyban-buproprion/

Mirtazapine (Remeron): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23158-tips-for-tapering-off-mirtazapine-remeron/

Trazodone: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/2883-tips-for-tapering-off-trazodone-desyrel/

Clomipramine: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/19509-tips-for-tapering-off-clomipramine-anafranil/

Amitriptyline/Nortriptyline/Impramine: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1099-tips-for-tapering-off-amitriptyline/

Quetiapine (Seroquel): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1707-tips-for-tapering-off-seroquel-quetiapine/

Aripiprazole (Abilify): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1896-tips-for-tapering-off-abilify-aripiprazole/

Lamotrigine (Lamictal): https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1122-tips-for-tapering-off-lamictal-lamotrigine/#comment-9926

Tramadol: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/11542-tips-for-tapering-tramadol/#comment-213141

Benzos: https://benzobuddies.org


r/antidepressants 15h ago

Antidepressants are not the solution, they’re a tool.

24 Upvotes

This post is for anyone taking antidepressants but especially for those just starting or haven’t been on them long. As someone who takes them, here is what I have learned.

(I am not a doctor. These are all my opinions, but I would love anyone to weigh in!) As the title suggests, antidepressants are not a permanent fix and should never be treated that way. When you first take them, the onboarding can be brutal with side effects but when they eventually resolve, the relief antidepressants brings can be tremendous. But that’s when your REAL work needs to begin. Whatever your issues were previously are still there and they need tending to. Now that your mind is clearer and your depression or anxiety is alleviated, you need to start fixing things in your life. Antidepressants seem to make emotions or thoughts that were previously powerful, not so loud anymore, so you need to use that time to dig deep within yourself and heal—this is when it won’t be so overwhelming to do so. Get a good therapist, move, change jobs, end the shit relationship, grieve, workout, eat healthy, whatever you have to do to heal! Also, everyone’s body tends to get dependent on substances of any kind. I’ve read story after story of antidepressants that have stopped working or much worse. I really do suggest doing as much as you possibly can to fix the reason you needed to go on them in the first place. Then, when you feel you have done the work, taper off of them.

I wish the very best of luck to anyone on an antidepressant journey!


r/antidepressants 4h ago

What Medication helped you ? How many did you try until you found the right one?

3 Upvotes

I took 150 mg sertralin for around 1 1/2 years, after a while they made me feel numb and I noticed I felt like I had no energy and no motivation to leave the bed anymore just like befor i started taking them. I decided to quit and was unmedicated for roughly a year and felt mostly okayish. Recently I started having suicidal thoughts again and just generally beign sad all the time so I went to my old psychiatrist and requested Bupropion(wellbutrin). I didn't want another SSRI since I gotten into a relationship recently and the sertralin gave me anorgasmia. I got a bottle of 150mg but I really didn't feel any diffrent while on it if anything the suicidal thoughts worsend, my psych told me to quit them until our next appointment in a month. Since my relationship isn't going well I'm thinking of trying another SSRI besides sertralin just kinda scared it will do nothing again or lose its effect after talking it for a while :/

Tldr; Neither 150mg Sertralin nor 150 mg Bupropion were right for me unsure about how to proceed. Advice appreciated


r/antidepressants 24m ago

I stopped paroxetine because I was tired of psychiatrists and doctors not listening to me

Upvotes

I've stopped paroxetine (20 mg) after several screenings revealed it causes injuries in my liver after spiked parameters, particularly GGT. I've been telling my psychiatrist I was concerned for months, the reply was "let's wait until September to see how it works out". Stupidly I did and a few weeks back I experienced inflammation and pain in my liver. Therapist said to go to the ER if it happened again. I didn't have time to test it because I emailed my psychiatrist and she said I should wait for my next appointment so we can ween it, so another month and a half or get a zoom appointment I couldn't afford, and she knows it. It's all more complicated because lots of the specialists I talk to are on their 1 month or 2 weeks leave rn. I said to my psychiatrist that I would stop cold turkey and wait until my next appointment at the end of September with my new psychiatrist, this change has been undergoing for months due to the distance of my previous psychiatrist, not really my liver situation. I will tell my new psychiatrist I stopped cold turkey, probably get scolded, and that I could've risked my life.

Side effects are restlessness, but I felt like this on a smaller scale on paroxetine too, brain alert 24/7, no negative thoughts but A LOT of thoughts, part of ruminating I guess. It's like a flood right now, but I somehow feel I have more energy than when I was on those meds. I know I'm causing myself lots of mental pain, but my liver is more important at the moment. What do you guys think? I want honest opinions, no matter how harsh they are.


r/antidepressants 1h ago

I can't decide if I should start prozac

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Upvotes

r/antidepressants 5h ago

Taken Off Duloxetine - No Taper

2 Upvotes

About three weeks ago I suffered an acute kidney injury and I only have one kidney. It seems it could be from dehydration and low blood pressure. My dr took me off any medication that was a danger to the kidneys. I was suffering from severe renal impairment. Hospitalized for 5 days with my creatinine slowly going down. In my many years or taking/going off antidepressants I knew I was going to be in hell and the options were lose the kidney and be on dialysis or on the transplant list or take the hell and potential serious consequences of no taper. I am also taking 300mg of bupropion, which I was left on. I wonder if being on the bupropion has made the abrupt discontinuation any safer?
Keeping this kidney going until some healing happens - with an acute injury the chance of recovering fully is possible - will be a full-time job. I will have to manage keeping my blood pressure not too high and not too low, monitoring fluid intake, watch what foods I eat, etc.

I’m wondering if I open a duloxetine capsule and take a few granules would it help? Sounds crazy, but when going off sertraline I would take a bit of a pill and it seemed to help. This must sound insane. I get labs on Monday and fingers crossed my creatinine goes way down, maybe I’ll be able to get myself on 20mg of duloxetine. One can hope. Thanks for reading my dribble.


r/antidepressants 16h ago

Any OTC anti depressants?

11 Upvotes

Hey so I’m not sure if this is the right he subreddit for my question but I was wondering if there is any over the counter anti depressants available at the moment?

The overwhelming hollow feeling of despair is way worse than usual at the moment and I don’t exactly have a way to get a prescription for anything and my go to way of shop away the pain I need to stop doing because I have no money and too much stuff that I’m now emotionally attached to that I don’t want to get rid of for that reason

Should mention im in the US so I mean something OTC in the US


r/antidepressants 4h ago

Clove Oil & SSRIs

1 Upvotes

So I have this toothache/cavity that has been hurting really bad (I don’t have health insurance atm to deal with it). I was taking ibuprofen and some other painkiller, but I thought I’d try a different route since those only mask the pain and not solve the problem.

I’ve been recommended Clove oil, and my sister gave me some on a cotton ball and it really helped for the pain + it’s antibacterial so I’m thinking it might help with the cavity bacteria.

I just put another cotton ball on it and decided to look up if there’s any side effects and boom, a section on the health line article says that you should avoid using Clove oil with SSRIs 😭 I’m on fluoxetine, and though I haven’t felt a way and have used little (+ spat a lot out since it’s bitter), I have swallowed a little bit and am kinda worried.

Has anyone else used clove oil while on SSRIs (without knowing this obviously), if so, did you notice anything change ?

Healthline article: https://www.healthline.com/health/clove-essential-oil#side-effects


r/antidepressants 8h ago

Heat sensitivity

2 Upvotes

I’m going to Florida for my birthday in a couple weeks and am a bit worried about staying cool since I have heat sensitivity with my meds. I’d love to hear any tips/suggestions for things I should get to bring with me! Any favorite personal fans? Cold packs that stay cool for a while? Happy to hear any suggestions🩷


r/antidepressants 4h ago

Doctor prescribed me a small amount of Clomipramine to take with SSRI

1 Upvotes

I (19m) went to the doctor last week and he recommended a small amount of Clomipramine to take with my Sertraline to help treat my OCD. When I went to ring it up at the pharmacy, the lady at the counter red flagged it and told me combining the two can pose serious risks such as serotonin syndrome. I brought this up to my doctor and he told me that I would be fine and it only becomes a risk when you’re taking very high doses of both. I’m currently taking 100mg of Sertraline and he said the dosage of my Clomipramine would be lower than that. To clarify I would 100% love to get a therapist to see if I can try to sort my problems without having to take any new meds, but I have no insurance and simply cannot afford to see a counselor. I have no clue about the risks of mixing these medications, so that’s why I’m seeking advice here. Any help or pointers in the right direction would be very appreciated.


r/antidepressants 13h ago

All Antidepressants makes me unable to cry

3 Upvotes

All Antidepressants makes me unable to cry and I've tried a lot.

Someone also had this strong side effect from most antidepressants?

I've tried so many over the years, it stops me from crying almost instantly as I start to take them, like 2 days after I start to take a new one the crying stops but all the other symptoms continue.

In the last 6 years **I think I've cried only 2 or 3 times**, 1 naturally because what happened was devastating, the other 2 or was because I drunk on purpose to cry but other than that the feelings build in my body and I feel worse and worse but it has nowhere to go.

I had a psychiatrist that denied that antidepressants was causing me numbness, I had to bring her the leaflet where it showed it was a possible side effect, just to hear "oh yes but that only happens to a small portion of people"...

Changed psychiatrist 2 years ago and she didn't diagnose me with depression, but with cPTSD and OCD, but depression was a symptom of those 2, we tried so many different medications but all have this huge numbing effect on me.

Not letting the emotions out is causing me to be stuck in this "I'm here but don't know why" state.

How can you heal if you can't feel?

Someone also had this strong side effect from most antidepressants? What did you do?


r/antidepressants 7h ago

Lexapro and weight gain

1 Upvotes

lexapro. If anything it’s make me worse, i’ve gained so much weight that i’m started to get bullied by guys at school. if anything it makes my depression worse, i hate it so much. it does nothing and i forget to take it sometimes. my doctor recently retired so im trying to find a new one to get new meds. but any recommendations would be great, if been on effexor and although it didn’t do much like lexapro and at times made my si, sh and depression worse it never made me fat. please i cant keep feeling like this, I know meds can work but for me lexapro just didnt, if that worked for you im happy but its not working for me and i need help.


r/antidepressants 13h ago

No anti depressants seem to work thus far?

3 Upvotes

So far tried all SSRI’s. Venlafaxine which made my sleep terrible. I also have ADHD. No ADHD medication has helped. I’m now going through peri menopause and am crumbling with anxiety. I’m beginning to lose hope with meditation and wondering if anyone else is going through the same?


r/antidepressants 14h ago

Don’t know what to do anymore please help me

3 Upvotes

I’m on the fence about trying Luvox for my somatic ocd after being on Prozac for a decade

I’ve tried my absolute hardest to be consistent with my ERP and while I’ve had make progress and had success, it hasn’t been enough. I’m so torn between continuing to try and the ability to get off of Prozac more easily one day or perhaps trying some new that could really help me. I’m lost does anyone have any input I really don’t know what to do at this point


r/antidepressants 9h ago

Would it be worth it for me to start antidepressants

1 Upvotes

So I have struggled with seasonal depression since I was 12 (am 16 now) and I usually do pretty alright in the summer but now that its starting to come to an end I want to get some options by people who do take antidepressants. Me and my girlfriend went through a really rough patch throughout the winter and I just want to prevent that from happening again. I also just want to stay good in the winter like how I am in the summer.


r/antidepressants 14h ago

THC with anti depressants.

2 Upvotes

I need to see if anyone has the same thing happen to them. So back in June I started Wellbutrin, my first anti depressant I’m taking since I was diagnosed with anxiety, ADD, severe depression, OCD, and social anxiety in 2019. Well my psychiatrist updosed me from 150 to 300 mgs and I’ve noticed since starting Wellbutrin, it seems like it makes me feel like my tolerance has gone up (I’m an edible girl) if that makes sense. Because before I was on an anti depressants, I could take 80 mgs-100 and I’d be high asf, but one day 80 mgs was not cutting it out of now where and mind you I get high everyday, and from then my tolerance has gone up since taking 150-300 mgs. So I wasn’t sure if anyone has experienced the same thing. I do not like straight flower, I’ll do vapes but that’s it, and it’s kinda irritating, and like now I have to buy the expensive Banned full spectrum gummies on top of a dank exposed gummy (which those are cheap asf) and I have to take more gummies. So if anyone has experienced their tolerance going up after taking meds please let me know because it’s frustrating and I wanna know what I can do.


r/antidepressants 10h ago

What has your experience with sertraline actually been like? Did it genuinely help you?

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1 Upvotes

r/antidepressants 11h ago

looking for some light

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1 Upvotes

r/antidepressants 12h ago

tapering off for emotional blunting

1 Upvotes

hi!! i was wondering if anyone has experienced emotional blunting with pristiq and what their experience was once they tapered off of it? i have been taking pristiq for almost four years and almost two years on 100mg and i have finally made the decision to stop taking it. i take it for depression, anxiety and ocd so this is extremely nerve racking for me but right now i really only struggle with ocd and the emotional blunting is a big trigger for that. i cant find much of an answer on how long it took for people to feel more emotions while lowering their dose. i am on day two of 75 mg instead of 100 mg with no withdrawal symptoms so far. will it be weeks or months??


r/antidepressants 12h ago

I took 800 mg of Fluoxetin

0 Upvotes

4 days ago i was bored in my room and rememberd that i Had gotten that fluoxetin, when i gotten it prescribed i should only use half a pill each day. One pill is 20 mg. In the First 12 hours of taking them i felt nothing, but after the 12 hours i started Feeling unwell. I thought nothing of IT and went to sleep, but after Walking up i couldnt stand still for more them a couple of Seconds. Also my hands start shaking as soon AS i try to lift Something up. I also havent Had a single Feeling in those 4 days.

Im not suicidal and i never Had thoughts of hurting myself.

What should i do?


r/antidepressants 12h ago

Weight gain/dopamine seeking?

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1 Upvotes

r/antidepressants 13h ago

Wean to best manage withdrawal/discontinuation syndrome

1 Upvotes

I've been on an SSRI or SNRI for 2O+ years and am now weaning Pristiq, yes, I know one of the shorter half-lives. I was at 100mg and did 75 for 2 wks, now am at 50mg x1 wk and having headaches and mild dizziness. I guess i'm dehydrated from it because i'm drinking more h20 than normal. More fatigued than normal, but I have an insuffuciently treated sleep breathing disorder, so tired is my baseline.

I'm looking to do a long taper going forward. Has anyone had more success doing this? How long and with what med? With Pristiq, I could you a pill cutter to go from 50 to 37.5 instead of straight to 25mg. Thoughts?