I tried sertraline for one day, didn’t last, just tried escitalopram for one day and that was worse. Not sure about this whole ‘power through the side effects’ I genuinely CANNOT function, so I stop them. Then I feel like a failure. Anyone else not able to tolerate day one of SSRI cuz they’re too sensitive?
You’re not alone! Our bodies are all unique. We each metabolize medications differently. Genetics play a role, serotonin, neurons, liver enzymes etc... I had a similar experience day one and two on Wellbutrin and a few others. You’re not a failure. On a cellular level we all tolerate SSRI’s different. I find sometimes a scientific explanation can ease thoughts of failure or feeling there’s something wrong with me. You can also look into pharmacogenomic testing. It analyzes your DNA and finds which medications would be most compatible. It could save you from the trial and error of trying a bunch of meds. Sorry for the long comment!! I hope some of this helps. Sending you good vibes.
@Lovenlemons No this is perfect thank you. I genuinely couldn’t function like I couldn’t look at a screen, dry heaving, would get so agitated started scratching my skin, my ocd brain just fighting the meds so hard the thoughts were non stop for 12hrs, then I would have periods of chill and normal and then I woke up after 2hrs of sleep with the worst panic and I wasn’t sure if I should go to the ER for all this. And it created new food aversions just as I was getting better so I’m scared I’m allergic to meat and stuff it’s so stupid.
@otothed Make sure you’re not on any other SSRI’s. They can sometimes interact and cause varying levels of seratonin syndrome among other things. Take it easy. Eat a safe food, remember to breathe and reach out to your doctor :)
Same.
You are definitely not alone! I was absolutely losing it and finally did the pharmacogenomic testing last month and it changed everything for me. Basically all the meds I've tried over the last few years were on the 'Severe Interaction' list for my genes. I finally feel some peace having actual guidance into medications that work for me specifically. Luckily my insurance covered the test since i've tried more than 3 meds in the last 5 years so might be worth looking into.
yeah the first 2 weeks of starting prozac was horrible i also felt worse. Around weeks 3 and 4 i still felt anxious but i felt it getting less worse. Now i am about a month in and i think it has helped with not freaking out and having panic attacks over my ocd, but i’m on 20 mg and i honestly want to try to go up to 30
SSRIs make me very sick mentally and physically which made my mental health really difficult to treat. Its really hard to find a psych in my area, but I was lucky enough to see a specialty one while I was getting surgery. I am now on Seroquel and Celexa (which is an SSRI) and my psych helped me start with really low dosages. Unfortunately, my PCP wasn’t knowledgeable enough to help me in this specific area. That being said, I’ve heard that mental health meds can be very trial and error (unless you’re lucky enough to get a full medication test). Don’t give up or get scared off for years like I did. It may just take some time to find something that works.
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