mama4 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Hi all, Just wondering if anyone has any positive experiences on Fetzima to share. I have a long history of depression and anxiety....the depression part of which seems to be largely nonresponsive to most things that have been thrown at it. Current episode has been going on since November. Until recently on Zoloft 200 mg qd, Wellbutrin 450 mg qd, Adderall 20 mg TID (added as an adjunct for the depression, not for ADHD), and Vraylar 3 mg qd. Anyway....my psychiatrist has switched out the Zoloft for Fetzima. I've been on it 10 days, and have been a mess of brain zaps, nausea, chills, and hostility, plus I've resumed self injurious habits that I left off 15 years ago and seem to be having vague suicidal thoughts. Is there reason to push through with this????? I've been on the Zoloft for at least 18 months; it was added back to my med list at my request when I had a worsened bout of anxiety. I've noticed that the SSRIs don't seem to do anything for any depressive symptoms but do seem to help when I have worsened anxiety symptoms (at various points have been on and off Zoloft, Lexapro, and more distantly Prozac). More recently have been on Vybriid (awful, awful--made me a hostile ball of nerves) and Pristiq (at best null). Any thoughts or input appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama4 Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 Huh....I guess I'll take that as a "nope." Good to know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Remeron? I'd make sure ur doc is aware of how bad it is especially the self injury. That's a pretty big red flag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratma Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 I'm a little late to the party but I had a bad experience with Fetzima, in that it made me hostile and wanting to self-injure at a time when I hadn't done that in decades. It completely changed my personality. It did nothing to address the depression I was taking it for. I went off it after 8 weeks. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiet storm Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Its worth asking if you did a taper from zoloft before you went on fetzima. If not, it could very well explain brain zaps, nausea, chills, and hostility. All can be classic signs of withdrawal, especially the brain zaps. 200mg is a high end dose. And zoloft is potent in serotonin reuptake inhibition, probably second only to paxil out of the SSRI's. Fetzima is a SNRI and just isn't working on serotonin as hard as zoloft was. I'd put my money on withdrawal if you jumped off quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama4 Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 Thanks, everyone, those are all helpful thoughts. Ratma--I'm impressed you lasted 8 weeks. And quiet storm--yes, i probably did too fast a taper. Either way, as an update, I stopped the Fetzima super quick. I was never very impressed with Zoloft or any of the SSRIs so didn't end up going back on that. And....got really desperate and sought out some ketamine, which has been a whole different adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) @mama4 Do u like ketamine? Really helped me Edited May 8, 2018 by Iceberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choppa Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 I used to take 40 mg of Fetzima and it did help a lot. After stopping it I am taking it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BipolarSpinster Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 5 hours ago, choppa said: I used to take 40 mg of Fetzima and it did help a lot. After stopping it I am taking it again. Does it decrease your appetite? I’m trying to choose between this and trintellix atm. On 5/7/2018 at 8:19 PM, Iceberg said: @mama4 Do u like ketamine? Really helped me How did you get ketamine? Did insurance cover it? And hi again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 You can get IV at a special office or nasal through some pdocs as a specialty thing. Nasal is cheaper but IV is more consistent. No on the insurance unfortunately, but they are doing trials on esketamine which has little of the psychoactive effect and will probably be covered by some insurance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choppa Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 15 hours ago, GettingUpThere said: Does it decrease your appetite? I’m trying to choose between this and trintellix atm. How did you get ketamine? Did insurance cover it? And hi again! It's hard for me to say because I also have digestive issues which affect my appetite so it's hard to know what the cause is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama4 Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 On 5/7/2018 at 8:19 PM, Iceberg said: @mama4 Do u like ketamine? Really helped me Can't say I like the experience, but it has helped more than anything else I've ever tried. It's really amazing. On 5/14/2018 at 4:02 PM, GettingUpThere said: Does it decrease your appetite? I’m trying to choose between this and trintellix atm. How did you get ketamine? Did insurance cover it? And hi again! In re the Fetzima, I don't think I was on it long enough to say whether it decreased my appetite. Mostly it made me into an angry, crazed person. In re the ketamine, I've been getting it IV through a private clinic. Haven't tried to submit it to insurance, but I doubt it would be covered. But it has been amazingly helpful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethansmom Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Trintellix has increased my appetite so much. I don't feel full after any meal. I just left a message for my doc..... I don't want to put on more weight that i already have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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