4 ms·

Tricyclics are the absolute worst. They were the first generation and are very rarely prescribed for their on-label usage anymore because the side effects just

Tricyclics are the absolute worst. They were the first generation and are very rarely prescribed for their on-label usage anymore because the side effects just aren't worth it. SSRI/SNRIs aren't much better though. Adult use is one thing but giving this stuff to kids is seriously messed up. I was raised on a cocktail of Prozac, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Cerezone, Zoloft, Depakote, and Vivanse from the age of 9 years old that I am certain caused profound physiological and mental issues to this day, yet they are still pumping kids full of this stuff. We are literally giving pharmaceutical grade meth to kids just because they can't sit still. This has to be the symptom of a sick society.

GordonS 8y ago
> They were the first generation and are very rarely prescribed for their on-label usage anymore Yes, I wasn't taking it for depression, but for chronic neuropathic pain (it didn't work).
- alex_hitchins 8y ago
  I'm on Amitriptyline for pain management. Did you do a hard stop or taper off over the two weeks?
  - GordonS 8y ago
    I'd only been taking it for ~4 weeks, then tapered off over 1 week.
dorchadas 8y ago
A good book to read about this is Lost Connections. It was a really eye-opening look at other methods to treating depression (and really views the increasing rates as an over-diagnosis, such as if grief of a death lasts over a year, as well as a cultural issue). He talks about how over-prescribed anti-depressants are, especially to younger people, as well as withdrawal effects and the fact they barely beat out placebo in clinical trials.
- narwally 8y ago
  I've been dealing with a severe case of major depression for the last five years. I've been on every class of anti-depressant under the sun, at one time being on five different medications at once. None of it was able to fully lift me out of a depressive episode. ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) was the only thing that was able to bring me back to anything resembling happiness. Lexapro was the sole medication where the benefits outweighed the side effects, so these days I'm just on that and Adderall for ADHD. Those, along with a SAD lamp to help regulate my circadian rhythm throughout the year is much more effective than any other combination I've tried. Unfortunately, it was hell trying to convince my psychiatrist that I needed to be weaned off the other medications he had put me on. I had to do the research myself on how to safely do it, then weened myself down to just Lexapro and Adderall on my own. He was absolutely shocked when I eventually told him that I'd been on just one antidepressant for four months straight. If I ever have another severe depressive episode (highly likely), I'm going straight to ECT. I've done two rounds of ECT over that last 3 1/2 years, and it's been two years since my last round. The medication and lifestyle changes I made (again, against doctor recommendation) seems to be working well to keep my mood relatively stable, though I still have relatively minor periods of depression each year that last a few weeks each. The medication cocktails with all of their side effects and withdrawal symptoms just aren't worth it, especially when I get depressed enough that my life is literally on the line.
dvcrn 8y ago
I recently got put on an tricyclic (1 week in) and this worries me. I suspected withdrawals anyway, but reading this makes me think to stop taking it directly. Thank you.
- fsloth 8y ago
  "but reading this makes me think to stop taking it directly. Thank you." If you suspect the competence of your primary caretaker to administer an effective therapeutic regimen, (a valid worry) I would find a second opionion from another doctor. But not from an internet forum...
  - krageon 8y ago
    There is a lot of value in reading (a large amount) of anecdotal experiences with withdrawal, as a distressingly large amount of doctors either doesn't remember or for whatever reason doesn't care that it is the case. That being true, it's easy to find yourself in a situation where even your second opinion says that you have nothing to worry about, when in reality you do.
    - fsloth 8y ago
      Sure. But I think one of the keys in fighting depression is to find primary caretakers you trust. Healing process is really complex, and the patient-caretaker relationship - especially in mental illnesses - is a non-trivial component. Hence, it's important you can trust the caretaker. My advice was given in this context - it's not as important to find a withdrawals symptom expert than it is to find an expert that you can trust. This is not to belittle withdrawal symptoms, but just to observe that in many cases they are not the most important concern of the parties in the healing process.

GordonS 8y ago

> They were the first generation and are very rarely prescribed for their on-label usage anymore Yes, I wasn't taking it for depression, but for chronic neuropathic pain (it didn't work).

alex_hitchins 8y ago
I'm on Amitriptyline for pain management. Did you do a hard stop or taper off over the two weeks?
- GordonS 8y ago
  I'd only been taking it for ~4 weeks, then tapered off over 1 week.

dorchadas 8y ago

A good book to read about this is Lost Connections. It was a really eye-opening look at other methods to treating depression (and really views the increasing rates as an over-diagnosis, such as if grief of a death lasts over a year, as well as a cultural issue). He talks about how over-prescribed anti-depressants are, especially to younger people, as well as withdrawal effects and the fact they barely beat out placebo in clinical trials.

narwally 8y ago
I've been dealing with a severe case of major depression for the last five years. I've been on every class of anti-depressant under the sun, at one time being on five different medications at once. None of it was able to fully lift me out of a depressive episode. ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) was the only thing that was able to bring me back to anything resembling happiness. Lexapro was the sole medication where the benefits outweighed the side effects, so these days I'm just on that and Adderall for ADHD. Those, along with a SAD lamp to help regulate my circadian rhythm throughout the year is much more effective than any other combination I've tried. Unfortunately, it was hell trying to convince my psychiatrist that I needed to be weaned off the other medications he had put me on. I had to do the research myself on how to safely do it, then weened myself down to just Lexapro and Adderall on my own. He was absolutely shocked when I eventually told him that I'd been on just one antidepressant for four months straight. If I ever have another severe depressive episode (highly likely), I'm going straight to ECT. I've done two rounds of ECT over that last 3 1/2 years, and it's been two years since my last round. The medication and lifestyle changes I made (again, against doctor recommendation) seems to be working well to keep my mood relatively stable, though I still have relatively minor periods of depression each year that last a few weeks each. The medication cocktails with all of their side effects and withdrawal symptoms just aren't worth it, especially when I get depressed enough that my life is literally on the line.

dvcrn 8y ago

I recently got put on an tricyclic (1 week in) and this worries me. I suspected withdrawals anyway, but reading this makes me think to stop taking it directly. Thank you.

fsloth 8y ago
"but reading this makes me think to stop taking it directly. Thank you." If you suspect the competence of your primary caretaker to administer an effective therapeutic regimen, (a valid worry) I would find a second opionion from another doctor. But not from an internet forum...
- krageon 8y ago
  There is a lot of value in reading (a large amount) of anecdotal experiences with withdrawal, as a distressingly large amount of doctors either doesn't remember or for whatever reason doesn't care that it is the case. That being true, it's easy to find yourself in a situation where even your second opinion says that you have nothing to worry about, when in reality you do.
  - fsloth 8y ago
    Sure. But I think one of the keys in fighting depression is to find primary caretakers you trust. Healing process is really complex, and the patient-caretaker relationship - especially in mental illnesses - is a non-trivial component. Hence, it's important you can trust the caretaker. My advice was given in this context - it's not as important to find a withdrawals symptom expert than it is to find an expert that you can trust. This is not to belittle withdrawal symptoms, but just to observe that in many cases they are not the most important concern of the parties in the healing process.