Vadar Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Hi Folks, It's that time of the day again, the brief window where I'm able to function and think properly. One of my biggest issues with MDD is not knowing what I'm feeling at any given moment. At the moment my biggest problem is psycho-motor retardation. Up until recently I thought I was just having a bad day, feeling hungry (not able to concentrate), generally tired, overslept or dehydrated. I really couldn't put my finger on why for the first few hours of the day (max) I would be alright, then suddenly my mind/concentration would almost stop and my body would feel exactly like you would normally feel if you just got woken up at 3am from a deep sleep. One minute I'm 'alright' and then over the course of 30 minutes I feel like I've been awake for 50 hours and I just need to sleep, relax, take a nap.. I no longer can read more than a sentence of anything, can't string a thought together or even get up off my seat.. It really is crippling and then I start to think is it one of the above? do I lack exercise (I know it's not that) or is it the change in my medication. Am I just waiting for one to fade away and the other to kick in? (I've recently decided to change from Effexor 150mg down to a low dose 37mg and then swap over to Prozac 20mg) This has actually been the case with me for a very very long time. I honestly can not believe I never knew what it was called until recently. I genuinely think this is the worst side effect of depression, it makes me feel like I'm running on fumes when I'm fulled fed, rested, hydrated and semi relaxed.. I really hope the Prozac helps with this in some way, just enough so I can function again on some basic level.. because right now, not having the mental capacity to make up a shopping list is extremely frustrating... Writing this alone was some challenge. Put down one sentence, read back over it, check! move on.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sync Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Psychomotor retardation has always been a huge problem for me with my depression. It's so, so physical, like my entire body is so heavy I could fall right through the ground and keep going forever. It's extremely hard to just move. It sounds very plausible that it could be the med change. For one, effexor is an SNRI, and norepinephrine is very activating. And for two, I believe it should take 4-6 weeks for prozac (assuming it's a brand new med) to really show effects. Have you mentioned this problem to your pdoc or asked for their thoughts? Exercise is one of those catch-22 things where it would probably help but maintaining an exercise regime when lifting an arm feels like moving mountains is an extreme ask of anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Did you try the combination of Effexor and Remeron before moving off of Effexor? The combination is called "california rocket fuel". It's known for its efficacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 3 hours ago, Sync said: Psychomotor retardation has always been a huge problem for me with my depression. It's so, so physical, like my entire body is so heavy I could fall right through the ground and keep going forever. It's extremely hard to just move. It sounds very plausible that it could be the med change. For one, effexor is an SNRI, and norepinephrine is very activating. And for two, I believe it should take 4-6 weeks for prozac (assuming it's a brand new med) to really show effects. Have you mentioned this problem to your pdoc or asked for their thoughts? Exercise is one of those catch-22 things where it would probably help but maintaining an exercise regime when lifting an arm feels like moving mountains is an extreme ask of anyone. Agree to both points here 1) exercise can be really helpful but obviously way easier said than done. 2) I think unfortunately you might have to give the Prozac some time. While there is some serotonin effect crossover, 20 mgs is a pretty low dose, you might need time to ramp things up a bit before it has time/strength of effect to get you back to baseline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juniper29 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 I get bad psychomotor retardation with my depression, Sync described it well. I haven't had it on my current cocktail at all, as far as I can recall. I'm on a high dose of Prozac and low/medium dose of Abilify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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