Posted by yxibow on December 1, 2008, at 19:42:01
In reply to Re: damage from SSRI's, posted by Valero on December 1, 2008, at 14:12:23
> > i stopped SSRI's 2 years ago. since then, i have continued to have these symptoms. i am assuming they will never go away. does anyone else have permanent damage from using SSRI's? is there any way to improve it?
> >
> > a). Word finding troubles
> > b). Absolute emotional flatness and deadness
> > c). Permanently reduced sex drive
> > d). An odd, pervasive social anxiety/awkwardness
> > e). Trouble with coordination
> > f). Bad memory
> > g). Trouble retrieving words
> > h). Overall paucity of thought and expression
> > i). Lack of creativity and intellectual fluidity (mental fog)
> > j). A lack of ability to "steer" or control the tone of your voice
> > (I've noticed this- that I sound shaky and agitated no matter what my
> > mood is, and people think I'm upset when I'm really not)
> >
> Hi
> Most of the above sound like depression symptoms, ( though your formulation of this post, suggest that your cognitive faculties are above average!)
>
> Maybe the SSRI'S didn't do much for your original depression. ( They didn't for me)I would agree with the above that they sound like symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. People who are antimedication may say otherwise but its rather hard to see how one could be "damaged" from SSRIs. Much more powerful agents like conventional antipsychotics can cause long term effects, but that's another story. Anything is possible, ACE inhibitors can cause nasty stuff too.
Though often people who go of SSRIs discover that they were better on them. It reflects the subtlety of some of the drugs and the period of time that they take to work and one feels that the symptoms have gone away so they quit -- agents are there for a purpose, they are palliatives for a disorder.
I'm not sure what your primary diagnosis is, but moderate to severe depression/anxiety can bring on any of those as well as the accompanying psychological symptoms.
I'm not sure I would go straight to MAOIs, that's a serious commitment, there are other alternatives like TCAs such as clomipramine. Have you been through the major list of SSRIs (I know there are a lot, but they aren't all cut from the same mold)?-- best wishes
Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:866079
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081123/msgs/866162.html