Anti depressants..

PinkFinal said:
They put me on a combo of Venlafaxine and Mirtazapine and for the first time in my life I'm a lard arse.

I've improved drastically but not sure how much is down to meds.
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I'm on the same combo, 300mg Venlafaxine and 45mg Mirtazapine, but with promazine chucked in for agitation. Believe it or not but the V and M is a potent combination thats known as Calafornia Rocket Fuel within the industry. I was warned that one of the Mirtazapine side effects is an insatiable craving for carbohydrates, but my biggest issue is feeling groggy and drowsy in the morning, up until about 2pm. I don't come round properly until about half four in the afternoon.
 
The side effects didnt last long for me, but certain tablets gave me really bad dizziness and insomnia. you need to try and get therapy or counseling as well, as tablets dont solve the problem on its own.
 
Best thing is to make a change on your life and self empower. Easier said than done but the truth is there to be found.....
 
Depends what you are given. Mirtazapine is good for sleep, but has a direct effect on your metabolism. Venlafaxine seems to work for people who have mood swings. Citalopram, Sertraline and so on are all supposed to be much of a muchness but I noticed a bigger effect from Sertraline - but I did have problems with agitation and impulsivity.

I'm about to start a long term therapy, and one of the requirements is to come of the meds. That's very unusual tho, and I would think therapy + meds is better than just meds for the vast majority of people. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR! Anyway, there's something a bit ironic about asking people with mental health problems for advice ;)
 
I speak as one who went through a very disturbing, torrid time mentally twenty years ago and I've tried nearly all the SSRIs and can confirm several of the posts thus far:
They can and do help massively. They can be the difference between wanting to get out of bed and crawling under the duvet. They can be the crutch you need.
You may need to try several before you find the one for you. Seratonin made me suicidal. Venlafaxin has been a godsend. I've taken one a day for the last 18 years. I know and recognise that I have a chemical imbalance - I have a family history of depression that runs deep (there are long and convoluted arguments about whether you can "inherit" depression - this isn't the time and place for that now though).
Exercise - vital. Get a bike, go and swim, go for a run, join a gym.
Cognitive therapy - brilliant, would highly recommend.
Stay absolutely 100% clear of any recreational drugs.
Read Dorothy Rowe: The Way out of your prison. Fucking great book. Here's a snippet of what she's like:
https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/dec/10/life1.lifemagazine4
 
PW said:
I'm on the same combo, 300mg Venlafaxine and 45mg Mirtazapine, but with promazine chucked in for agitation. Believe it or not but the V and M is a potent combination thats known as Calafornia Rocket Fuel within the industry. I was warned that one of the Mirtazapine side effects is an insatiable craving for carbohydrates, but my biggest issue is feeling groggy and drowsy in the morning, up until about 2pm. I don't come round properly until about half four in the afternoon.
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Yeah my psychiatrist used the term California Rocket Fuel. I'm tempted to stop taking Mirtazapine as the weight gain is becoming a real problem.
I'm not sure my improvement is down to the meds at all. Maybe it was just placebo.
 
Aguero_Element said:
Best thing is to make a change on your life and self empower. Easier said than done but the truth is there to be found.....
Click to expand...
Very true, but I do believe medication can be the gateway to those changes. I found the right medication allowed me to see the light, so to speak, where once it had all been so much darkness. That led to daily swimming and getting back into cycling. I couldn't live without my exercise now. I still take one tab of venlafaxine a day and I think I probably will for rest of my life now - I see it as providing me with something my body can't naturally produce. I've tried to come off it, to disastrous effect, so I know what works for me. It will be different for each and every one of us. Back to your point though, you're absolutely right. The change has to come from within - be that a destructive relationship, poor work environment, etc, etc. As the saying goes, if you keep putting your hand in the fire, you'll get burnt (an analogy I used when I kept trying to convince myself my fucking awful job would, one day, get better. I fucked the job off, went on work experience in schools and have never looked back since getting my 1st teaching job. but I had to make the change.) By the way, a side effect of venlafaxine, apparently, is a tendency to ramble...
 
PW said:
I'm on the same combo, 300mg Venlafaxine and 45mg Mirtazapine, but with promazine chucked in for agitation. Believe it or not but the V and M is a potent combination thats known as Calafornia Rocket Fuel within the industry. I was warned that one of the Mirtazapine side effects is an insatiable craving for carbohydrates, but my biggest issue is feeling groggy and drowsy in the morning, up until about 2pm. I don't come round properly until about half four in the afternoon.
Click to expand...

I was on Mitrazapine for a while and it really helped me with anxiety and sleep but fortunately I didn't get groggy and lost quite a bit of weight on it, so I guess it affects everybody differently.
 
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