How does someone who’s suicidal get through the symptoms of SSRIs??

[Pryras]

Tried lexipro and it made me feel the worst I have ever felt. Couldn't move and my head was in so much pain. I wanted to die. So many people tell you to bare the symptoms for months "until you start feeling better" but how is that possible when you are suicidal?

Any amount of discomfort or pain can push me over the edge so months of discomfort is really pushing it and unrealistic.

 

[platypus77]

I feel you.

I also had a really hard time with any medication I ever tried, that's how they work. It takes quite a while for your body to get to the stage where medication will actually start working.

What you can do is let you psychiatrist know how you are feeling and trying to adjust the dosage. But the tradeoff is that it might take longer to harvest any benefits from it.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

I've never taken SSRIs before but I am pretty sure that they can sometimes cause headaches. They should clear up after a couple of weeks. Have you tried taking some Tylenol or any other sort of OTC for it in the meantime?

 

[pyranha]

i'm sorry that you had such a difficult experience, it's sadly way too normalized to just "wait it out". the thing about medications like ssri's and birth control pills, as two primary examples, is that they are really delicate. so many factors go into these things, something as simple as weight fluctuation can throw them off. everyone is different, and therefore, intense research should be done before these medications are assigned/chosen, because what works for one person might be someone else's medication sent from hell.

it's really normalized to just bear with it and wait the symptoms out, but in reality, it's not supposed to get that bad. yes, of course, there's going to be differences in how you feel, but if the medication is right for you, you shouldn't be getting even more suicidal or suddenly growing 200 pimples on your face overnight. in fact, if you're on an ssri and you start to feel something even stronger than the norm of your suicidal feelings, something that isn't going away in a few days time, that's pretty much an immediate sign that the medication/dosage/both are not right for you. it's very similar to how, if you start on a specific birth control and now all of a sudden you're gaining 50 pounds and wanting to die all the time, it's very likely you're on the wrong medication and this one just happens to interact badly with you.

overall, i'm sorry you had such a negative experience. the answer is: they get "through it" by assuming that this is normal just because it's been normalized, and because so many doctors and health professionals in general prefer that over actually doing their job. these professionals so often want some kind of magic pill that works for everybody- that's just not how things are. everyone is different, everyone will require a specific medication with a specific dosage, and small things can change what medication and dosage you need at any given time. the human body is difficult to predict and requires a lot of effort, specially in cases of mental health. i hope you're able to find something that works better for you.

 

[Pryras]

I feel you.

I also had a really hard time with any medication I ever tried, that's how they work. It takes quite a while for your body to get to the stage where medication will actually start working.

What you can do is let you psychiatrist know how you are feeling and trying to adjust the dosage. But the tradeoff is that it might take longer to harvest any benefits from it.

I feel like a complete zombie when im on medication. I noticed it was hard to ruminate when I was on Lexapro since I suppose the meds make it difficult for you to concentrate on purpose. I was dealing with a lot of emotional pain ruminating in the past but when I took the Lexapro I was in physical pain and then felt even more depressed since I couldn't concentrate or memorize anything.

It's really surprising to me so many people can push through the symptoms. Maybe it's hope that there's something better coming? I don't have that kind of outlook sadly

 

[platypus77]

I feel like a complete zombie when im on medication.

Same here, usually I get completely numb or even more suicidal in the first few months.

It's really surprising to me so many people can push through the symptoms. Maybe it's hope that there's something better coming? I don't have that kind of outlook sadly

Truth is, people are more resilient than they think they are. Time goes by in a blink of an eye, our perception is what makes a few month look like an eternity, specially when you're younger. Now that I'm over 30, a month feels like nothing.

Sorry for your bad experience, everyone with reacts differently to medication. I know some people who got lucky and found the proper medication/dosage pretty fast but that's not the majority that I know of.

 

[KillingPain267]

Yeah, it makes no sense. For me, they eventually gave comfort meds (sleeping pills and benzos) for the time it took to get adjusted.

 

[dust-in-the-wind]

I've been changing up my meds for 2 years! I suffer from major depression. Most of the meds have done nothing but some have made me more suicidal. It's a fucking crapshoot as no one even really knows how these meds work.

 

[galaxid]

I had a gene test done for a pretty penny a couple of years ago. I'd been taking medication for about a decade around that time, and the report they gave me was incredibly interesting. It explained my sensitivities in my metabolism that might hinder or accentuate the effects the psych meds would have. These were unique to me, spelling out every neurotransmitter, telling me what to look out for. Doing that taught me that 99% of medication management is a shot in the dark.

These doctors have no clue what will really work. They have an idea, they have training and research, all that good stuff. But they are limited by the information that's out there, and frankly, there isn't a lot. You know how they realized Lithium is good for people with depression? They looked at the patient's urine.

So, Lithium doesn't work? Lets increase the dose. Or, okay, let's try Abilify. Is it not working? Increase the dose. Still no? Let's add some more medications. And god forbid these really finicky psych medications fuck with your brain. Like some people can't smoke weed without losing their minds-- some people shouldn't be taking adderal, yet they've been prescribed it anyway.

There are places that do brain scans for actual diagnoses. You know, to find a conclusion that isn't based on hand-wavey guesswork. Because if you misunderstand your symptoms and you report something that isn't true, well, how the hell would they know the difference? And, how would YOU know, without proper education? I mean, is it bipolar disorder, or BPD? Schizophrenia or severe anxiety alongside OCD and maybe a little bipolar in there just for funsies? Etc.

There hasn't been nearly enough study on the brain itself regarding these disorders, and that has directly resulted in people being given medications they don't actually need. Some folx are lucky and the first one works. I sure wish I was one of them.