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Why do strong SRIs (serotonin reuptake inhibitors) often cause / induce apathy, indifference and laziness? Maybe not in everyone, but it's one of the most common complaints. I regularly read about it on the internet. I myself was affected by it. My questions would be: 1.) What causes it? 2.) Were you affected? 3.) Did you successfully get rid of these specific side effects? If so, how so? 4.) Further comments regarding that "phenomenon"?

Both are second-generation SSRIs, both exhibit minimal drug interactions via Cytochrome P450, both are the most prescribed SSRIs and are considered first line antidepressants. Who's been taking both and what were your experiences? (How did they compare to each other?). I am looking forward to read your experiences... Which one did you like more?

My brief period (6 months) on Sertraline has been that it sapped my creativity and basically made me not want to do anything, not feel anything. I just sit at the computer and watch videos and occasionally walk around, or eat, or go to the bathroom. I just don't have any drive to really do very much of anything, except what is needed for continued survival. I don’t even want to watch movies and series! Is that normal?

In your experience have you taken an antidepressant specifically an SSRI and it made you activated, agitated, irritable and unable to sleep

Did you ever have a bad reaction to SSRIs? How did you treat it? How long did it take to get to normal?

I know that a lot of bipolar folks take an SSRI as part of their daily regimen of meds and apparently it seems to help. But there's some growing concern in the pdoc world now that SSRI's may be causing manic symptoms and even directly causing manic episodes. I was on SSRI's for 10 years before quitting last October. In chronological order: Celexa, Zoloft, Celexa again, Lexapro, Zoloft again, Prozac, Zoloft again briefly, back to Prozac to close it out. For me, personally, after stopping them altogether, I was able to see what they were doing to my system. I truly believe they made me much more unstable and greatly increased compulsiveness and just made a bad situation worse. Switching from Lexapro to Zoloft sent me immediately full-on hypomanic for over a month in early 2015. I was high as a kite and on top of the fucking world. It was unreal and so obvious at the time. From the beginning of it, I was certain something unusual was going on. Now I wasn't diagnosed bipolar yet, just depressed, so I didn't even know what hypomania was then. It fizzled out eventually (sigh) but I had at least two more, shorter, and less intense episodes late spring 2015. I've not had anything quite as euphoric as those since. My last pdoc expressed some concern about the prozac but wasn't very insistent on me stopping it, just that I would want to eventually. I've since read that there is increasing concern in the pdoc community. Yet a lot of bipolar people still take SSRI's and don't seem to have problems. Do SSRI's seem to help your causes? Do you notice any unusual side effects? Have any of you stopped taking SSRI's and noticed a change? Other comments? This could be interesting.

So I was manic for 8 weeks. I am now severely depressed and my pdoc took me of fluoxetine when i was manic, but now she has put me back on fluoxetine 20 mg. I'm worried I will become manic again. I had a very bad manic episode this time and don't want a reccurance. If you became manic on an antidepressant how long did it take for you to become manic. Was it gradual or sudden? I wonder could I recognize symptoms quickly and go off it.

Hello all, I have OCD/Anxiety/Depression I was on: - lexapro: 4 years Started late 2010. 10 increased up to 60 (there was single day 3 pills cant remember 20mg or 10mg high up dose) short time. decreases down to 5. and stop points with rejected change in meds. luvox: 3.5 years started early 2014. 150 ended in 100 decreased down to 50 after that 1.5 weeks attack of continuous eye pains. And stop points with rejected change in meds. and last full stop. What im feeling after approx. 7 months after stopping: 1.5 weeks atack of continuous eye pains. after the attack, right eye pulsating sharp/heating sensation (mostly for now), pains along with easily eye straining and drying, constant red spot/subconjunctival hemorrhage near tear canals reaches to cornea that persists most the day and decreases after sleep for short time.. Did any one experience this type of eye pains before? (what do you advice me/ what should i do?) - return to lowest possible dose and if so, in what size 13.5 or 17.0 or 5 mg or what med, and should I get digital scale? - Waiting while taking coffee and pain killers. - I still get light (with rarely heavy) ocd thoughts/ anxiety/ panic attacks/ depressive mood (current moment they are all mild to me); should I cut all that crap of evaluating with no meds and return to my original dose in sudden. - I don't know if ill ever go to psychological doctors I think the previous docs have a part in the problem. please excuse language and memory errors... Thanks in detail:

Hi guys, I am suffering from Dystymia and SAD and have been taking Sertraline 50 - 75mg for over a year now. It helps with psychosomatic ailments and moderately attenuates the anxiety & fear. My problem with Sertraline is: It makes me an apathetic zombie, indifferent to life and very unmotivated. I have sleep disturbances, the sleep is unrestful. I've also lost quite a bit of weight and am more agitated. Besides that I have hot-flashes and palpitations on a regular basis. My pdoc said that I will have to live with the sides and that he can't do anything about it. He advised me that I should try to get used to it... My question: is there something that I could use to augment the Sertraline and make it all more bearable for me? Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate that! Greetings, maxor

There is a certain irony here: "Ugh, tricyclics! Low selectivity for the serotonin transporter over the noradrenaline transporter, and what's with all the antagonism at histamine, alpha and 5HT2A receptors? Dirty stuff! Thankfully this is the 90's, and we have Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors!" "...eh, maybe you do need a bit of a noradrenaline boost on top. Thankfully this is 2000, and we have SNRI's!" "...and maybe it would be nice to have some histamine/5HT2-antagonism-mediated anti-anxiety action, too. It's 2010, try some Seroquel or Mirtazapine on top of your antidepressant!" "...and we do want some alpha1-adrenergic receptor antagonism to normalize the HPA axis! And some FIASMA / BDNF would be nice. R&D, get started! It's 2018!" "...or just have a tricyclic." I would not be surprised if they try to market anticholinergics as new groundbreaking anxiolytics in a few years from now...

Hi, I have been diagnosed with Depression and SAD. I've been on Zoloft (75mg) for 3 months now. It's okay for SAD, but it is very "numbing": I've never felt so amotivated, apathetic and indifferent. Zoloft also exacerbates my agitation. Is this normal? Will it become better? Thanks and greetings, Alfed

Hello Comrades, I've been taking Sertraline (50mg daily) for 9 months now. Reason for taking Sertraline: Depression & SAD. Maybe some GAD. So Sertraline treats my baseline anxiety quite well, also got rid of digestion problems, but I am struggling with side effects: Motor restlessness, agitation. I've always been quite "hyperactive", but Sertraline has worsened it by a good amount. I cannot sit still, I feel I have to walk, to pace. I move my fingers and toes to "release" some of the energy. Also lots of fidgeting, rocking back and forth. I have the urge to crawl out of my skin. _ Indifference, amotivation, apathy, lethargy. I get less things done on Sertraline than before Sertraline. Just want to sit around and do nothing. It is really disconcerting, because things would happen like a major car malfunction or someone f*ck*ng me over and I'd be thinking "this SHOULD piss me off, but, meh.. whatever.."! I've been doing some reading & research and there is the hypothesis that SSRI-induced-stimulation of 5HT2C & 5HT2A receptors dampens the dopaminergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex thus causing these specific SSRI side effects. Antagonism / Inverse Agonism of these receptors should theoretically resolve the problem. What medications do antagonize / inverse agonize these receptors? Are there any other reliable theories on what is causing this? And what could help? _ Sleep disturbances, f*ck*d up sleep cycle, crappy sleep. Falling asleep is difficult, shallow sleep, waking up a lot in the night => daytime fatigue. (This week I've been sleeping a lot, maybe because the body wants to compensate for last months's bad sleep?) _ Heat intolerance + hot flashes. My entire life I've been loving warmth and heat. I was the guy who could sit at the top row in the sauna for 20min @ 100°C (212 °F), but right now I cannot even stand a mild summer. And I have been getting hot flashes lasting between 10-15 mins several times a day (I am a 29 year old male, so pretty sure it is not menopause related) _ I also lost quite a bit of weight, partially due to loss of appetite, but also due to increased metabolic rate. My appetite is back to normal, but I am still not gaining any weight. BMI 20 right now. _ Palpitations (BUM BUM BUM BUM. BUM . . . BUM . . . BUM) _ mild headaches and "pressure" in my neck. Nothing bad, but very annoying in the mid and long term. Now I don't know what to do. I need some meds with "less" side effects. I haven't tried any combination of medications yet. To my dismay my doc prefers the SSRI merry go around aka SSRI carousel. I found a new psychiatrist and I will have a first appointment in about a month, but I don't know what to suggest to him. Has anybody some experience with a similar situation? Which antidepressant would be suitable for me? If there is someone who had the same problem and found some solution: please write me. Thank you. Greetings from Germany!

I have bad akathisia right now, driving me to suicide thoughts. If you don't know akathisia it is an intense restlessness both physical and mental. Every cell is screaming do something! DO SOMETHING! You twitch, pace, smoke cigarette after cigarette. You do not sleep. Your thoughts run wild. You see the only solution as ending your life. I'm typing this as an alternative to pacing, crying, banging head against wall. It is a fairly common side effect to neuroleptics and a less common side effect to other psychiatric drugs. I got it from 9 days of 20mg fluoxetine, then they switched to 5mg Citalopram (a crazy low dose) and I still have it. I have cut this today to 2.5mg after advice from the Surviving Antidepressants board. Also on 2mg diazepam (a tiny dose) and 60mg propanalol. Today is the worst it has been. It's one saving grace is it tends to ease now and again. There is no real treatment, in fact doctors tend to assume it is a worsening of your condition and up the dose of your meds, so you can't really get help from the medical community. I went on the anti depressants for a mild case of anxiety. I am now extremely ill Anyone else suffer this hell?

Hello there, I'am taking Duloxetine 120mg for Depression and Pure O (OCD) since Feb. 2017. Unfortunately, I still have intrusive thoughts and some symptoms of depression (low mood, no energy etc.), although I can handle my everyday life somehow. However, the whole situation is not satisfying for me and my family. I'm constantly tired, lethargic, grumpy, hungry and unhappy. So what's next? I've already tried to augment with Seroquel (300mg; horrible, horrible experience) and Abilify (2,5mg-5mg, quit working after two months). What's about switching the baseline med? Can I go back to SSRIs like Citalopram, Fluvoxamine or Paroxetine?* Or is it pointless, since the doctors kept telling me that Duloxetine and Venlafaxine were far more potent than the SSRIs... *Lexapro did considerably well in the past, but it unfortunately pooped out after two years. Sertraline did nothing for me (I'm an ultra rapid metabolizer).

I am a 28 year old female who recently was perscribed Wellbutrin 150mg per day. I had heard all of the stories about people's sex drive going through the roof, and so I was excited to start taking it. However, on day two, I noticed that I was having a difficult time achieving an orgasm, so I IMMEDIATELY stopped taking it. It's been two weeks, and I still don't feel back to normal and I am officially starting to panic! I'm a pretty high strung person if you can't tell, and I'm wondering if I'll ever be normal again. I can still get really turned on, but my orgasms aren't as strong and today I could not have one at all. It seems impossible that only two pills could have messed me up like this, how could that be possible? It will have no return to normal right? Has anyone else out there experienced this after taking such little medicine, and how long did it take to go back to normal? ANY advice, answers or comfort anyone can give me would be awesome, I am really starting to get worried!

Hi! I'm new and hoping to get some input opinions on things that can help me. I've been diagnosed with depression for almost 6 years now, just after I delivered my daughter in Feb 2012. I was on and off sertraline for about 3 years until I started having some serious anxiety attacks and then hydroxyzine was added. But all hydroxyzine does is knock me out. Sertraline never did much for me so in January 2016 they put me on Prozac which helped significantly with the anxiety but also made me not care if I lived or died. I was numb to everyone and everything around me including my husband and 2 young children. In January 2017 I went off my meds for a while until about July when I started spiraling down into my depression again. My Dr put me on paxil. BIG DIFFERENCE!I feel as close to my normal self as I have in years. BUT the only and worst side effect I've noticed is that despite being aroused, I CANNOT achieve an orgasm while on this drug. Not by myself or with anyone else or any of my usual tried-and-true methods. Now I'm 27 years old and at the height of my sex life. Like I know what I'm getting is good stuff. But this is really sucktastic. Any ideas on other drugs I can try that will not only allow me to continue feeling like I'm actually ok and also allow me to enjoy sex and masturbation again?

I wonder whether there´s an SSRI antidepressant also effective for sedation. From my short little search, it seems sedating ADs (Mirtazapine, Doxepine, Trazadone etc.) rather belong to other classes instead of SSRI.

The med tinkering is driving me nuts. Anyone with me here? Sigh. I have had depression and major depressive episodes for the past 20 years, but I have only been doing the med thing for the past three years. I feel like I get so close to finding a combo that works, albeit with some intolerable side effect... and then I try to get the combo better and wind up making it worse. My latest foray brought back my PMDD crying/depression/irritability for the past week and I'm just at a loss of what to do next. My psychiatric nurse is pretty much up for whatever I want to try, but I don't know what to do anymore. Maybe you all have some ideas? Here's what I'm on right now: Lamictal 200mg (for MDD; *supposed* to be my main antidepressant), Wellbutrin XL 150mg (for giving me more energy and helping with my sex drive), and Lexapro 2.5mg (I had been up to 15mg, but completely lost my ability to orgasm and decided to go off it; hence going on Lamictal). Dx: MDD, PMDD, Primary Insomnia (which may or may not be related to my depression) Antidepressants I've been on: 1) Prozac: numbed me to the point of apathy, caused periodic limb movement disorder at night, sedated me 2) Zoloft 75mg: improvement over Prozac! actually helped me sleep through the night! Yay! Killed my ability to orgasm. Boooo! ... until I added Wellbutrin, then WOW! Sedated me so badly that I only survived on caffeine pills that I had to carefully time through the day, at 100mg every four hours. I hated the sedation (as in I would fall asleep wherever I was multiple times a day if I ran low or out of caffeine), so decided to try something else... 3) Wellbutrin 150mg: Added to help give me my sex drive back. Worked wonderfully! Love this one! Wish it still worked with Lexapro... 4) Lexapro 15mg: Swapped out the side effects. Caused periodic limb movement disorder like Prozac, but NO SEDATION! :-). Sadly, killed my ability to orgasm so completely that not even 300mg Wellbutrin could touch it. I could say that I could live with this, but the endless frustration in my relationship has made me want to pursue another option. 5) Lamictal 200mg: I started this in January of this year, for the purpose of getting off Lexapro, and have been titrating up ever since! Holy crap; it's been forever. Within that seven months, I tried to go off the Lexapro three times. The first two times, my Lamictal was at 100mg and I got down to 7.5mg of Lexapro before having a return of depressive symptoms. This past attempt at going off Lexapro, Lamictal was brought up to 200mg for two weeks before attempting to titrate down on the Lexapro. I titrated by 2.5mg every 5 days and I got down to 2.5mg before having discontinuation symptoms, including depressive symptoms along with headache, irritability, and nausea. So now I'm at 2.5mg of Lexapro and have been holding there, afraid to go off it completely and afraid to go back up. Clearly the 200mg of Lamictal, plus 150mg Wellbutrin are not enough to deal with my depression, particularly the menstrual/hormonal version of it. I was at 200mg of Lamictal for 7 weeks before this last period hit, so I know that there was plenty of time for it to work. If I increase the Lexapro, it defeats the purpose of why I went on the Lamictal. I've never had good anti-depressant results from Wellbutrin, only increased energy, so no reason to go up on that. I am disappointed at the possibility that I've given Lamictal this entire year to work and I don't know if it is marginally working, or not really at all. I'd like to think that the reason I was able to get down to 2.5mg of Lexapro without return of symptoms this time means that the Lamictal is doing *something.* Do I ask to increase the Lamictal? Go up to 300mg? Do I add a different SSRI and go off Lexapro completely? Pdoc thinks I should try Zoloft again. Aaack! Must I live in a sedated state for the rest of my life?! I don't know if there is even the possibility that another SSRI would be better than Lexapro with the side effect profile. But maybe try Celexa and hope for the best? Do I add an antidepressant that is not an SSRI, like Strattera, Abilify, etc.... Since I know y'all are going to ask, I have tried Mirena and Nuva Ring to control the hormone influenced depression and it has been a crap shoot. Mirena turned me into a raging bitch for months and I bled and bled for weeks at a time. So I had that taken out, needless to say. Nuva Ring caused weight gain, pimples, break through bleeding, and did not seem to make any difference with the hormonal depression. So I went off that too. Talk to me, people. Lend me your ideas.

Hello, everybody. I just wanted to post this thread out of curiosity for those of you who have taken Zoloft or Sertraline HCl before. I've been on it for about 5 years now, started at 100mg after titrating up to it for a month or two, and stuck to that for 2 years. After 2 years, I had an episode of anorexia that landed me IP where I was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive personality disorder, and was titrated to 250mg daily at the end of my stay. After leaving, I kept it at 250 with my pdoc, but we decided to go down on it since neither of us thought the dose was having a clinically significant benefit and was just adding more negative side effects. For the past 2 years or so, I've been on 150mg daily, but upped it to 200mg about 2 months ago. It felt like the 150mg wasn't cutting it anymore, and I've found that my anxiety levels have gone down since I went up to 200. I was just curious how many of you guys have been on doses above 100mg, since from what I've read, it seems like most people on Zoloft / Sertraline take about 100mg daily. I've met a couple people on 150mg who have more severe anxiety problems, but few others who have been at 200 or above. Knowing that there are a great deal of affected individuals on this forum, I thought it'd be a fitting context in which to ask what your highest dose was if you've ever been on it, and whether or not you think it was beneficial. Thanks in advance!

Howdy i'm new here, Question. I'm on 10MG lexapro on week 7 (prescribed for anxiety!) and I never have really felt anything much either way from this stuff- (a good thing?) my anxiety continues (but perhaps not as bad?) and in some cases I wonder if if it's Lexapro causing anxiety...I feel like 7 weeks in I should be seeing results and as such I wonder if this is a wrong drug for me...I've taken it in the past and I don't really seeing it doing much either way.. The anxiety feeling is vaguely different- it's not a mind thing but a body high sort of thing- my mind is solid and not choosing to go to dark places or anxious about stupid shit, but my body anxiety is pretty significant- enough to make me lose my appetite and not want to eat, etc.... it doesn't push me enough to feel like I have to get up and go for a walk or run 500 miles or whatever...thank god..And I don't crash too hard after it goes away.. In fact sometimes I feel quite good after it disappears-- who wouldn't? I'm trying my very very very best to not take benzos but I get so damn tired of the symptoms that I just feel like I need relief- Benzos def work and in fairly small doses- 1mg of ativan is probably overkill, .5mg xanax will relax me, and/or .5mg of klonopin....(hours later of course)...I do not take benzos daily/frequently so whatever's happening isn't a withdrawal from one.. Thank you to all,

Hi All Jusy looking for some support and advice. I have moderate - severe OCD the intrusive thoughts type or "pure O" as they call it. Psych has started me on Prozac. Oh. My. Goodness. My anxiety has gone through the roof, I am jittery and the intrusive thoughts are coming hard and fast. Some new ones, like really bizarre things. For example, I was making chicken last night and got freaked out at the thought of cutting up my baby and eating him!!! Really intense and think I'm going crazy!!! Today I'm on day 6 and I feel shit. The mornings are the worst, I have to run to burn all that excess adrenaline I wake up with. Until midday I'm toast and anxiety is sky high. I really want to give this SSRI a good go because according to the psych "it's the only thing that'll make the thoughts go away" - is that even true? I take a low does Valium to take the edge off as well as Zyprexa just to stabilise my mood. But it's hard. Should I push through? How long will it take to make me feel normal again? Or should I stop and try Seroquel, I've heard it's good for OCD / intrusive thoughts. Please help!

Hi guys, I'm reading parts of a book (linked below) that notes how SSRIs are sometimes known for impeding the absorption of other meds that are being taken concurrently. It notes that Luvox is the worse SSRI regarding this. The book says that Klonopin and Xanax are two of the drugs that interact with Luvox through "CYP 3A4 inhibition." Does this mean that Klonopin and Xanax are less likely to work when taken with Luvox? By extension, would this mean that any other meds taken together with the Luvox will probably not be absorbed as well by the body? Page 536, along with Table 32.29-2: https://books.google.com/books?id=ubG51n2NgfwC&pg=PA536&lpg=PA536&dq=Luvox+inhibiting+CYP1A2&source=bl&ots=tn2I5qAjuY&sig=T7tJZyksY4cc1kjyeSsnZMoL0Xs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvn_Cz9rHJAhWM5yYKHRX_BMoQ6AEIQjAF#v=onepage&q=Luvox%20inhibiting%20CYP1A2&f=false I came across another source that says that Luvox inhibits CYP1A2, which it said included "caffeine and other drugs." What does this mean? Does it make a person less sensitive to caffeine? More sensitive? "You're right about Luvox inhibiting CYP1A2 for sure. My psychiatrist says this makes it a less attractive option." http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f30/switching-from-luvox-fluvoxamine-to-prozac-fluoxetine-666234/ I don't know anything about "CYP ..." enzymes. What are these CYP things that are being referenced? I'm switching from Prozac to Luvox, hence this research. Let me know what you guys think about all this, thanks! troop

Hello all, I am new to this website after doing lots of research on Latuda over the past 3 weeks. For years I had been suffering with anxiety/depression and nothing seemed to work for me. My tendency became to self-medicate with alcohol and that obviously just made things worse. This all started in my early to mid twenties as I slowly became a shell of my normal vibrant and social self. Just a year ago I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 and the direction of medications prescribed to me took quite a turn. Originally my prescriber had started me on Lamictal to "create a base" for the antidepressant medications to work. At that time I was also started on Brintellix which ended up helping my anxiety a great deal, but left me at an all time low with my depression. After adding Abilify, it seemed things were staying the same if not getting worse with my depression. I was on Lamictal 150mg, Brintellix 20mg, and Abilify 5mg prior to starting the Latuda. Just 3 weeks ago I was started on Latuda 20mg and told to taper off the Lamictal and Abilify, which I did. As directed, I took the medication with my biggest meal of the day, lunch, and I didn't really feel any effects that first week. After a week on 20mg, I was bumped up to 40mg of Latuda. That first evening on 40mg was probably the scariest I've ever had on a medication. I got home from work and could not settle down. I am usually fairly depressed when I get home from work since I don't know what to do with myself, but this was different. I was restless and somewhat scared but couldn't really identify what was going on. I ordered a pizza at 5:30pm and then felt like crawling into bed and curling up into a ball. I then started freaking out that I would fall asleep before my pizza was delivered so I got even more restless, waiting for the delivery which typically takes 30 minutes or so. At around 6:15 I actually called the pizza place because I was so eager for the pizza to be delivered, and then I called again at 6:30 because 60 minutes was now feeling like an eternity with what my body and mind were going through. The second time I called they apologized as they were having an exceptionally busy delivery night, but they still didn't know when my delivery would arrive. At that point I couldn't take it anymore so I got into bed with my cell phone and started falling asleep. At 7:00pm the pizza delivery guy called and I just told him to cancel the order, which I felt bad doing but there was no way I was going to get out of bed at that point. This was quite an episode for me to go through. I had read the side-effects of the Latuda and still didn't really think much of what could have caused the episode. The rest of the week on Latuda was fine for me and I actually began feeling a bump in my overall mood and depression on the 40mg. I did not have another episode like the first night until yesterday, although it was a little milder. Thankfully today I had an appointment with my prescriber and I could tell her about those restless episodes, which after reading about the Latuda I thought might be Akathisia, but I wasn't sure. She confirmed that it was most likely Akathisia as a side-effect and prescribed me Cogentin today so I will be starting that along with an increase in the Latuda to 60mg. I am also going to start tapering off the Brintellix as my prescriber wants to see how the Latuda works in monotherapy for me, and SSRI's can sometimes be counter-productive when it comes to Bipolar 2. Additionally I will be taking the Latuda at bedtime since it seems to make me tired. I had been taking it around 1:00pm and I had been wanting to get into bed each night around 7:00 which is way too early for me. The good news is I have slept very well on it, and it has been easier for me to get up in the mornings. I hate to eat another 350 calories before bed but we'll see how it goes. All this to say, I am really hoping that Latuda continues to have a positive effect on my depressed mood and that the Akathisia can be controlled or goes away. I hate taking another medication for a side-effect but I have never had hope for a medication like I do with Latuda, so I am going to do what it takes to see if this might be the right medication for my disorder. Anyway I just wanted to share my journey thus far. Comments or suggestions are welcome!

Hello fellow humans! I'm xlmplmplmp, which is just an unpronouncable internet moniker. The powers that b got me when I was young (12 years old) and told me I had OCD and needed SSRIs. Fast forward thirteen years and I decide I'm done with meds and taper off too quickly. Low and behold I discover the wonders of PSSD and furthermore experience the consequences that 10+ years of SSRI usage have on the developing brain. I discover and devour Robert Whitaker's Anatomy of an Epidemic and realize we've all been fucked from the beginning, by design, for the benefit of the most ruthless organizations on the planet. I'm trying to claw my way out of the shitty situation I'm in but I don't think I have much of a way out besides ODing or jumping off a bridge. Anyways, if anyone has found a way to beat OCD or withdraw from their meds successfully or treat PSSD or whatever please let me know before I show myself the door out. Uh, I guess since I gave out my sob story I should offer to hear anyone else's. Best of luck and may you find at least a tiny shred of happiness or meaning before you die, xlmplmplmp

Hello! Erectile, libido, and orgasm disorders are very common when taking SSRI or SSNI drugs. This reduces quality of life, and can cause secondary depression. I wish to find a way to manage my psychological ailments, while retaining normal sexual function. Background: I have anxiety disorder and mild depression. My first SSRI/SSNI was Cymbalta. It worked very well. However, after a few years, I realized I had erectile dysfunction. I am no longer on Cymbalta. Why is there hope? There is anecdotal evidence from various sources, which state at least limited success with various drugs, herbal supplements, or combinations of both. For example, Wellbutrin is reported to ease depression symptoms without causing ED (erectile dysfunction). Plan: I intend to try various solutions, and report success or failure in this thread. Also, everyone is more than welcome to post their own experiences, both male and female. (While women don't suffer from 'ED', they do experience delayed orgasm, no orgasm, and reduced libido). Baseline: I am currently on 10MG of Brintellix. This is the highest dose I have found that keeps me from experiencing ED. Note: This is a "half dose". The usual Brintellix dose is 20MG. Because I am on a half-dose, my anxiety/depression feels "half managed". I need something more to fully treat my psychological conditions. This is the purpose of adding supplementary drugs or herbs to my regimen. Methodology: I will try various substances, in combination with the baseline dose of Brintellix. I will weigh 'morning erections' more heavily than other erections, to rule out the possibility of psychological issues affecting ED. (This concept is supported by my Psychiatrist). Tried so far: For ED: Horny Goat Weed Viagra (This of course works very well for ED. It is also insanely expensive, it requires pre-planning because it takes at least 30 minutes to work, and it can wear off in as little as four hours.) For Depression/Anxiety: Magnesium Currently Trying: For ED: Yohimbe (Click for Wikipedia article) L-arginine & Pycnogenol (Click for clinical study) Exercise For ED & Depression/Anxiety: Trazodone (Click for clinical study) I am very tired right now, so I will fill in more information tomorrow about the things I have tried, and the things I am currently on.