Discussion Your experience with benzos vs SSRI's?

[nigelhernandez]

Which one do you prefer? I must say (and I think many will agree) that benzos despite their long term effects of withdrawal far surpass antidepressants. Benzos offer immediate relief from anxiety/mental distress whereas antidepressants take six weeks and even then, it's a crapshoot.

The first antidepressant I took was fluoxetine which actually made me more suicidal. That is a reported side effect.

 

[GoBack]

Benzos are great. If you have a reliable supply. If not it can be chaos. Ssri I loved at first, last time not so good. Taking anti d really is a roll the dice sometimes

 

[bukowski]

I think benzos and antidepressants are two of the most dangerous drugs out there. For immediate anxiety relief I think gabapentin is much more effective and far safer. SSRIs have been proven to not work and in fact make you more prone to depression long-term: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172306/
See if your doctor will prescribe lithium. It works great for depressive disorders not just bi-polar.

 

[Nem]

I think all meds are a form of poison, never really experienced an AD that worked. Benzos can cause a lot of harm though. That's what helped do me in, the withdrawals were pure hell and are probably still with me a few years later. I wish I took zero meds but benzos you pay a price for that instant calmness...some people don't get the withdrawals as severely as others but holy crap that stuff destroyed me. A coworker offered me some and should've thrown it out after the first pill
Peace/hugs

 

[GoBack]

Gabapentin was more dangerous for me, or lyrica, same thing? It rewired my brain completely. Benzo made me a nervous wreck in withdrawal, but I'd prefer that to not knowing my own mind.

 

[bukowski]

Lyrica is a gaba analogue. What did it do for you? I haven't been taking it that long but it has helped immensely with anxiety and racing thoughts.

 

[Nem]

I was on Lamotrigine and gabapentin, both generic and both garbage and I am sure it was because they were generic. Teva Lamotrigine was crap and a lot of people mentioned they had problems with it as well. For some stupid reason I stayed on it and was getting all sorts of side effects and don't know how I didn't connect the dots...all meds are poison unfortunately
Peace/hugs

 

[GoBack]

Lyrica is a gaba analogue. What did it do for you? I haven't been taking it that long but it has helped immensely with anxiety and racing thoughts.
[/QUOTE

It made me sleep. It took away all my aches and pains and worries but it made me really detached from reality. Changed my personality too, I used to be positive, it's made me negative. Very depressed and sick from it , took it for about 2 years, it's a weird drug.

 

[bukowski]

all meds are poison unfortunately

Yes, you are probably spot on. But when you reach the point where it's try a med or ctb you will generally take anything to hopefully feel better. I'm hoping that lithium works out for me. It's a naturally occurring metal so hopefully that makes it less likely to have side effects. Hope you all figure out what works you, whether it's drugs or no drugs.

 

[BlackPoppet]

I'm on Benzos to help me sleep. I've taken two already, for the Euphoria it gives me.
Om also on Diazepam for anxiety.
These two are awesome! I haven't had diazepam for a while though.
I will order some more today.

 

[jesse]

No SRRIs made even a dent in my MDD or Anxiety. Klonopin (benzo) helped my anxiety/panic immensely and immediately. However, I'm currently tapering off it because I started to experience slight dependence. The tapering has my anxiety spiking. Waking up over and over in panic again. Fun stuff.

 

[TotallyIsolated]

I've never been prescribed benzodiazepines (I think diazepam what the NHS use in the UK), but I have tried several different antidepressants over a period of years. I'm currently taking venlafaxine and its crazy effective. The side-effects can be nasty (withdrawal/discontinuation sydrome is HELL if you forget to renew your prescription!) but I think it must be safe for long term usage because I've been on it for 2 or 3 years now.

 

[RileyTanaka]

I hear that benzos put you at significant long term risk of developing dementia, parkinson's, and other CNS disorders. And I know people who have irreversible damage from SSRI's, including one girl who had inescapable psychotic delusions that she never had prior to starting treatment. I understand why people need to try the conventional methods of treatment first, but consider that psychiatrists don't do any kind of testing to confirm that you wouldn't be at risk of an adverse event if you did take these drugs. No testing. At all. Think about that and proceed with the highest level of parsimony possible in ingesting this stuff.

 

[TheGoodGuy]

I think all meds are a form of poison, never really experienced an AD that worked. Benzos can cause a lot of harm though. That's what helped do me in, the withdrawals were pure hell and are probably still with me a few years later. I wish I took zero meds but benzos you pay a price for that instant calmness...some people don't get the withdrawals as severely as others but holy crap that stuff destroyed me. A coworker offered me some and should've thrown it out after the first pill
Peace/hugs

Totally agree with this, I think the price we pay in withdrawals far outweights the benefits I mean benzos like diazepam and alprazolam immediately sweep away the anxiety but I was surprised by how bad the withdrawals were I felt cheated like sure they got rid of my anxiety but nothing more than that so unless you have constant panic attacks or anxiety so bad that it feels like withdrawals it´s not worth it.

I also wish I had just thrown away my pills after trying it for the first time I just felt a little calmer and it gave me the munchies a little I mean I can´t say it enough how unfair the pros vs cons is the effect is so subtle and the side effects are worse than you can possible imagine.

 

[miguel6565]

Just started on 1 mg of xanax per day of the one that last long and makes me numb so numb and robotic,still have ctn thoughts,also on lexapro but till few weeks i wont feel anything

 

[CTB-London]

Benzos are great. If you have a reliable supply. If not it can be chaos. Ssri I loved at first, last time not so good. Taking anti d really is a roll the dice sometimes

Benzos are good in the short term but then you build up a tolerance and develop an addiction that is difficult to treat