Do the same SSRI's work second time round?

[steveo]

Unfortunately 95% of my panic symptoms are 'mental' rather than physical. My heart is normally very low as it is and I don't tend to shake that much. Right now for instance I am absolutely filled with panic but my heart rate is a steady 60bmp. Only during the height of the worse panic attack ever does it start thudding etc.

[Emphyrio]

For most of my life I've been on fluoxetine - I even stopped it for 8 months in 2008 and recommenced taking it at 20mg with no problems. Then last year I quit it, tried citalopram in the meantime, came off that and had really bad anxiety for a few months (with intrusive thoughts). I then took fluoxetine and it was hellish...sexual side effects, shaking, lost a stone in weight, etc etc. Even on 5mg I still had sexual side effects.

I think that something changed in my body which made me hypersensitive to meds/caffeine etc between giving up fluoxetine and reinstating it. I think maybe it would have happened without these changes however - I came off fluoxetine because I experienced a worsening of intrusive thoughts whilst on it (incidentally, those times when I've been off it have been the best periods as far as anxiety/depression go).

Just had to stop sertraline because of blurry vision and the general zombified feeling it gave me. Back to square one...

[xtopher]

Hi Stephen, I was just reading your forum post and really empathise with your situation. I was wondering how you are feeling now? x

[NoPoet]

Hi, for what it's worth at this point, you can always just try them again. Sometimes people find the same medication won't work a second time or creates side effects they didn't have before, but the internet is full of horror stories because people don't seek help when things are going right, so the internet is biased.

Remember, if the same med doesn't help a second time, it might just need to take a while, but you can always try a different one.

[fereshteh]

Hi there. I have exactly the same problem. i was on citalopram successfully for 6 yrs. but went turkey and after 3 months started to feel worse ever. before i quit, i was on maintenance dose of 10ml quite perfectly. but after stopping all i remember is nightmare and regret. now it has been nearly 7 months with the last 2 months on 40 ml but have made little improvement. not feeling the same as before. still feel depressed and have less motivation to do things. I do not know what to do and i wish i hadn't stopped.

[Aranden]

Hi, same here. 7 great years on 50mg of Sertraline, didn't even know I could feel that good. About two years ago I decided to taper down with my doctor, all went great, but after two months without it I suddenly felt way worst than I had ever felt... with syntoms I had never had...

We decided to go back to Sertraline, but it didn't work. In the next two years I:

Upped the dose from 50, to 150. No improvement.

Lowered it back to 50 and added Lexapro, gradually, up to 15. Made no difference.

Tappered completely of lexapro and keep on 50 Sertraline. Made no difference

Now I'm thinking about ading Prozac. I'll do it the same way I did it with Lexapro, keeping my 50mg of sertraline (not droping it again until I really start feeling better)

Right now I'm better than I was those first months, which makes me think that it was withdrawl... At this point I feel as I use to feel just before taking my first med... which is way better than after the big post tapper crash but worse than those 7 years on 50 zoloft...

I've come to the conclusion that the 50 zoloft isn't doing the same as it used to and that the big meltdown I felt after I tappered of it two years ago was probably withdrawl that has taken my brain a long time to come back from...

Now what?

[whatisthis]

For most of my life I've been on fluoxetine - I even stopped it for 8 months in 2008 and recommenced taking it at 20mg with no problems. Then last year I quit it, tried citalopram in the meantime, came off that and had really bad anxiety for a few months (with intrusive thoughts). I then took fluoxetine and it was hellish...sexual side effects, shaking, lost a stone in weight, etc etc. Even on 5mg I still had sexual side effects.

I think that something changed in my body which made me hypersensitive to meds/caffeine etc between giving up fluoxetine and reinstating it. I think maybe it would have happened without these changes however - I came off fluoxetine because I experienced a worsening of intrusive thoughts whilst on it (incidentally, those times when I've been off it have been the best periods as far as anxiety/depression go).

Just had to stop sertraline because of blurry vision and the general zombified feeling it gave me. Back to square one...

After Paroxetine I'm hypersensitive to everything now. Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, meds. I've improved with nearly coming off paroxetine with a withdrawal from 20mg in 2011.

[Lite]

If it does not help ,you need to read metacognitive therapy, it is freely downloadable on a search on google.

You also need to use both thought field therapy and EFT to remove negative emotion ,these simple technique are also available on Google and YouTube. AND THESE WORKS!!!

[panic_down_under]

Now I'm thinking about ading Prozac. I'll do it the same way I did it with Lexapro, keeping my 50mg of sertraline (not droping it again until I really start feeling better)

I think a non SSRI would be your best option as you seem to be no longer responding to them. Creating what is essentially a bespoke SNRI by adding the noradrenaline/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor nortriptyline (Pamelor) to the sertraline is likely to be more effective than adding fluoxetine. This combination was often prescribed in the past for treatment-resistant depression.

I've come to the conclusion that the 50 zoloft isn't doing the same as it used to and that the big meltdown I felt after I tappered of it two years ago was probably withdrawl

It almost certainly wasn't withdrawal if it only began 2 months after you stopped taking sertraline. The med would have been completely out of your system within 7 days. However, the brain changes which create the antidepressant therapeutic response could unravel within 2 months producing a relapse.