SSRI Medication

Hello,
I have been looking into SSRI withdrawal symptoms and I found these two interesting links.
I have been taking Citalopram and Trazodone for the last couple of years and after seeing these 2 websites it makes me wonder if I would have been better off never taking them at all.
I certainly think I have been worse since starting the Citalopram a year ago, before that I was just on the Trazodone.
I had decided to slowly cut them out which is why I was looking into witdrawal symptoms.

Its dificult to know what to believe after reading and listening to these.

http://www.drugawareness.org/Archive...ex.html#anchor

Look here towards the bottom of the page and listen to 2 interviews with Dr Ann Blake Tracy.
http://www.cincinnatihyperbarics.com/radioshows.html

I would be interested to hear anyone's comments, you trust doctors to prescribe these for you but according to Dr Ann Blake Tracy they are no good at all.

Chris......

Chris

Medication has its place and it is not for everyone. I hated it and came off as soon as I gave it enough chance to work and it didn't atall (apart from helping with depression).

I recently went for a psychotherapist evaluation for CBT and she wanted me back on meds and I refused because I don't want all those horrid side effects and never knowing who I was.

It is personal choice but I gave them all up 8 years ago and don't intend to start again.

I believe in curing the underlying condition and not masking it with medication.

If you look hard on google you will find bad news for everthing we take including aspirin, cold remedies, paracetamol etc etc.

SSRI's change the brain chemistry so if you don't want that then stay away from them I guess - though they do help thousands of people cope better with panic etc.

Anyway - just my thoughts


Nicola

Hi Nicola,
I feel the same way you do, I've tried these medications for quite a while now, I've given them a really good try, but now I want to see how things go without them.
I decided that before I saw the website's above.
I was put on this medication because I had quite bad anxiety 2 to 3 years ago and I was willing to try anything to feel better.
I can't honestly say whether the medication I was on did any good or not.
I kept thinking they were to blame for my tiredness and lightheadedness/dizziness, I did feel worse after starting on the Citalopram.
The only way to prove that the meds have caused this is to come off them and see how I feel after a few months, I have been feeling more tired dizzy since I have cut them down, this is in line with what I have read about withdrawal symptoms.
I'm going to stay at this lower dosage for another month and then cut them out completely over the following month.

I like your approach Nicola about just trying to cure the underlying condition and hopefully get a more relaxed happier life.
That's what I'll be trying once I get off my medication, keep busy at work and enjoy my leisure time.

Thanks for your reply.


Chris

Hi Chris, I agree with the withdrawl effects comming off cipralex, they weren't very nice, but while I was taking them during my anxiety/panic, they served their purpose and helped me a lot!
But as I started to feel stronger and started to face up to the issues that were making so unhappy, nervous,anxious, depressed, i knew the tablets were no longer a help, i had to sort out the problems. Now I have done this and I am med free and very happy with my life and where I am at. So i totally agree with nicola the under lying issues are a great start on our way to recovery.

agree with all the above!! I was just 16 when put on a mixture if meds including citalopram and seroxat and I swear they have made my problem bigger, i took loads of different meds for a year and a half and didnt improve at all in this time but once i said no and tryed to overcome it without meds, ive come on leaps and bounds!! I am still not well enough to work but I can actualy go out now and see my friends!!!
Ammegxx

Hi
I agree with all that you have said but I also believe that meds have their place. There will always be some horror stories about meds but sometimes we dont have an option and meds is the only method available to us at a certain time. I wish there was more options available to anxiety sufferers in the beginning and not just a hand out of meds. I do think they add a great deal of anxiety and before long you are taking other meds to cope with the side effects! I have been on a 8 year battle to get off meds and I am getting there slowly but surely. Sometimes I wish I hadnt taken them, but if I hadnt who knows what would have happened.
I think reading through web sites like the ones you listed only makes us worse - its hard enough trying to ignore the leaflet that comes with the meds. Yes I agree there are other techniques available but sometimes if the condition is too far gone then meds are the only hope at that time.
As for trusting doctors - I moved house and had to change GP - the best move I ever made. My new GP was horrified by the amount of meds I was taking and for the period I had been taking them for. I have been reducing the dose with close monitoring and I have stopped taking 2 types of tablets which were meant to be helping the side effects. I have a "clear head" now and although I am not 100%, I do feel a whole lot better. I have also been formally discharged from psy services and i am coping better.
So while I thinks meds have there place I think all they do is block out what is really going on in us. But it takes times to realise this.


Take care and we will all get there some day - with or without meds.

Darkangel


........life is for living not just for surviving