Date: Tue Apr 10, 2001 10:49am I was very disappointed with ssri treatment..I discontinued prozac in 5 days because I felt like a zombie and I got tinnitus. I tried both paxil and celexa for 5-6 weeks. They were ineffective. I think I got an allergic eruption from paxil...Every ssri that i took caused major sexual side effects. Serzone made me very sleepy..I have just recently started a low dose of bupropion, and am crossing my fingers. I found the group with a search of yahoo.. Bernie Date: Tue Apr 10, 2001 2:11pm Response: Bernie, I'm beginning to wonder if the side effects you describe below don't effect everyone that takes these drugs. Please be careful with the buproprion if you didn't tolerate the others. These doctors will keep putting you on different drugs as long as you're willing to participate; I know, I took just about everyone they had, and none of them worked for me. If you find one that does, god bless you, but it sounds like the pattern they always use. You try one for a couple weeks, it makes you sick, you try another. All the while, where's the counseling, the real therapy? Heather Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 10:10am Over the past three years,I have been on zoloft, paxil, serzone, celexa, prozac, and bupropion..I have had to stop because of side effects..I have never known for sure that I was on any one of them long enough for the antidepressant effect to kick in.I have begun a trial of low dose bupropion at 100 mgm.daily..I hope this will cut down the side effects, and enable me to continue for 6-8 weeks. Does anyone have any experience with this approach? Are there any comments, criticisms,or questions that would help me think this through? Bernie Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 9:02pm I`ve been on the low dose of wellbutrin for 4 days..I just feel like a semizombie..I`m not sure I can go the 6-8 weeks to give it a chance to kick in..I started this trial because I was really miserable, kind of my last hope.. Bernie Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 9:56pm Response: It's already kicked in. Why are you so miserable? What about therapy? Miserableness isn't usually cured with these drugs. Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 10:28pm I just can`t stand the way I feel on wellbutrin.I just threw it down the toilet..I`m really anxious, but I`m going to try to live withot pharmaceuticals..I`m starting with inositol and omega 3..I`m going to use this group for support..I will be grateful for any advice I can get. Right now I`m just feeling tight and anxious, and not ready to deal with outside stress. Any coaching from you would be helpful. I already have trouble reading and a foggy head. My neck creates a lot of tension and noise in my head. I also have a crushing compression in my chest and gut. Bernie Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 10:38pm Response1: Bernie, you sound so sweet. Please use this group for support! I made it through, so you can make it through! It may be rough going, you'll have bad days, but you can depend on us for support, friendship, empathy...and we don't charge by the hour! And yes there is life without anti-depressants. In fact, your life is just beginning! Love and mercy, Heather, a survivor Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 11:08pm Response2: Well all i can say is to hang in there.I am currently going through withdrawl myself and it is NOT easy,You need to focus on something to get you through for me that is my kids. Just remember you can give an alcoholic alcohol to stop dts but when they stop the dts are still there. Do you have Dr Tracys book? It is nice to have during withdrawl to help understand what your symptoms are and that you are probably not dying although you may feel as though you are!!! I have never done drugs i do not smoke or drink caffeine,or alcohol, so i can not imagine anything more terrible than this.I was told this is my head from the doctor i have been to for 10 years,he tried to send me to another psych.Do you have family you could stay with?Good Luck and hang in there! Kim Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 9:37pm I tried prozac for 1 week and quit because it totally deranged my head. I waited 2 wks and started welbutrin. That`s when I found this group. I stopped welbutrin yesterday after only 4 days..I was taking the soma until today..Now I am on omega 3, inositol (2 gms) ,and multivits. I haven`t started St.Johns, that would just be confusing, don`t you agree? This morning I felt almost phobic..I`m calmer now; the tinnitus and neck pain (osteoarthritis) are my only current complaints..I only did 2 cups of coffee, I`m stopping that in hopes it will make the buzzing go away.. I have a dog named Ozzie with whom I take walks.. Thanks,,stay in touch..I find this really helpful..It`s the first day for me and I don`t believe in miracles. Bernie Date: Sun Apr 15, 2001 7:19pm I was in analysis for years..I do feel like a victim, and I remain very angry about the inability of therapy to make an impact, and for the analyst to insist it would work in time. But I feel mislead about ssri`s..That I read about and became an enthusiast..I persisted for 3 years until only now acknowledging that they are inefective and dangerous..I have no doctor to blame for that.I just read the wrong stuff first. Bernie Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 2:28am Response: Hi Bernie, First of all, I'm wary of all the psychs or should I say psychos!!! (psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, psychoanalysts etc) as they try to pigeon hole people into fitting into their labels as opposed to reaching the root cause of the problem and I think they can do a lot of damage. I am more in favour of person-centred counselling as individuals are encouraged to talk about what's bothering them and various options for solutions will be pointed out, leaving the individual to make their own decisions, thus allowing them to take control of their lives and empowering the individual. At the end of the day, the psychos need to justify their own existence so they will clutch at straws to make out that it is a deep rooted problem when in most cases people are experiencing a normal reaction to their circumstances/nutritional deficiencies/food allergies/physical illnesses etc. As for you not blaming the doctor for the effects that you have experienced as a result of the drugs, I disagree unless of course they were telling you not to take the drugs because of their dangerous effects and the fact that they can cause the very symptoms they are supposed to be treating, and you were ignoring their warnings. OK, you may have been reading the wrong stuff at the time but you were also very vulnerable when you turned to people you thought you could trust, for the help you so desperately felt you needed. I'm all for taking responsibility for one's actions but I don't feel that you should take responsibility for this - the doctors/medical 'professionals' should be held accountable so don't be so hard on yourself - that's how we all ended up in this situation. You have every right to be angry and to feel misled and cheated. You have been. You're well on the way to recovery because you are starting to be in touch with your feelings and you have recognised how ineffective and dangerous these drugs are. It will get better so keep hanging in there. Ramo