# I've decided to go on medication **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 4, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839 "2012-05-04T05:06:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/41 "2012-05-08T22:29:02Z")
Just got back from my ARNP’s office. She prescribed 20 mg Celexa (generic.) I’ll pick it up from the pharmacy tonight. She said I should start feeling better within a week or two. I go back to her in a month to see how I’m doing. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/42 "2012-05-08T22:33:47Z")
Also, being able to throw around terms like “SSRI” “SNRI” and “Class C drug” really helped. I don’t know why, but I really thought she’d argue with me more, or talk me out of it. Instead she said I was brave, and good for me for getting the meds I need. I feel a bit better now about going on medication. ---
**Author:** ![Winkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Winkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winkie)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/43 "2012-05-08T23:02:15Z")
**Good for you!** I vividly remember the day I finally talked to my doctor about being depressed (sobbed uncontrollably in her office when she asked how I was feeling - seems that isn’t the usual response to that question, so she asked some more questions). Depression runs in my family on both sides, and I was definitely exhibiting the classic symptoms. 10mg of Lexapro a day, and I feel like myself again. I had a lot of what I call “background rage”; I was angry all the time, and it didn’t take much to send me over the edge to furious. Now, I still get angry - but only for things that actually deserve it. I’m a much nicer person, and it’s been good for everyone around me too. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/44 "2012-05-08T23:08:12Z")
That’s precisely what I was originally prescribed, **Jackal**. The very first pill made me quite nauseous, so be prepared for that (i.e. don’t take it right before an important meeting with The Big Cheese or something.) The first couple of days I was on it I felt … twitchy, I guess, but that went away, along with the initial nausea. YMMV, of course. One thing to keep in mind is that it has a very short half-life in your body. In other words, you metabolize and clear it fairly quickly from your system. In other _other_ words, accidentally skipping or delaying a dose can bring on the beginnings of withdrawl symptoms. You want to be diligent about taking it _every day_, at the same time each day. I bought one of those pill-a-day weekly pill holders, and put it by the lamp next to the bed. I’m not “allowed” to turn off the light and lay down until I’ve taken one. I’m very glad that you have a supportive doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/45 "2012-05-08T23:14:15Z")
Be prepared to talk to your Doc about any side-effects. A few years ago my then doctor started me on Zoloft and within a day started having intense panic attacks! I’d never had one before in my life. I’m now on Movox (Fluvoxamine) which has been working brilliantly. I started on a small dose for two weeks (50mg) and then worked up to 100mg after that. As a few other people have said, taking meds for a chemical imbalance that the SSRI’s treat is no different to taking meds for a chemical imbalance like diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/46 "2012-05-09T14:14:16Z")
Tok my first dose last night and I’m shaking and throwing up non stop. Left a message for my doc. Oh my god, this sucks. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/47 "2012-05-09T14:33:09Z")
Yikes! Was there anything on the bottle about taking it with food? I’m so sorry! You might just need a different medication. Please don’t let this stop you from going on med’s, they aren’t all like this! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/48 "2012-05-09T14:37:35Z")
Go with what your doc says, of course, but my instinct is to tell you not to give up just quite yet. Can you take a sick day off work? The side effects were most intense for me the first day and tapered off tremendously a day or two after that. Stay hydrated, please. Sip water, even if you can’t quite keep it down. Better to bring up water than have the dry heaves anyway, at least for me. Hang in there. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/49 "2012-05-09T15:25:19Z")
She might tell you to start instead with 10 mg and step up from there. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/50 "2012-05-09T15:26:55Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > Tok my first dose last night and I’m shaking and throwing up non stop. Left a message for my doc. Oh my god, this sucks. Take it with food and as late as possible. Ginger in any form helps with nausea (I like the pills). It’ll get better. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/51 "2012-05-09T15:47:31Z")
I took it with food, and right before bed. I might try starting with 5 or 10 mg. But if I’m still wretching hard, I’ll stop taking. I mean I expected side effects, but this is crazy. I’m also so jittery! I don’t know if that’s the medication, or just being sick. I thought this was to make me less anxious, not more! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/52 "2012-05-09T16:22:20Z")
The pills I get are pre-scored so they’re easy to break/cut in half. Voila! 20 mgs becomes 10. Your body has to adjust to being flooded with a new medication, so it’s reasonable to expect initial reactions. The jitteriness will most likely subside within a week. Ask your doctor about the possibility of taking a half-dose tonight, and see if a few days of that helps out. Don’t give up immediately. FWIW, most birth control pills are known to cause nausea at first. Mine did, the first couple of days, and then nevereverever again. Since I don’t want kids (and couldn’t afford them even if I did) I’m glad I stuck with that, too. This is similar. You have to think long-term. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/53 "2012-05-09T16:38:49Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > I took it with food, and right before bed. I might try starting with 5 or 10 mg. But if I’m still wretching hard, I’ll stop taking. I mean I expected side effects, but this is crazy. > > I’m also so jittery! I don’t know if that’s the medication, or just being sick. I thought this was to make me less anxious, not more! Please do not be offended by this comment. (based on this thread) You seem to have built up taking medication in your mind as a horrible thing that is a failure and everyone will tell you is bad and shame you for. Perhaps you have told yourself it is so bad and so shameful so often, your mind is rejecting the process. NOTE: just because symptoms are described as psychosomatic doesn’t mean they aren’t TOTALLY real and completely unpleasant. They just may not be caused by the chemicals in the medication. All that said, I’ve been known to have unusually extreme reactions to certain medications as well as contradictory reactions to others. (Ex: caffeine makes me drowsy). Best thing to do is call your doctor. After discussion you may decide its best to keep soldiering through at a reduced dose, or to discontinue use, or change the time of day you take it, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/54 "2012-05-10T19:53:17Z")
Well, her receptionist finally called me back. I told her I’d already cut the pill in half and took 10 mg in the morning around 6 am. I figured morning was better for me, because I’d rather be jittery in the morning than night, when I’m trying to sleep. So she’s going to email her, because she’s in France for three weeks. Anyways, not so bad side effects today. Still feel jittery, and a tiny bit of nausea. I feel, weird though. It’s hard to describe, like foggy and my eyes won’t focus as fast as they should. I hope this passes. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/55 "2012-05-10T20:02:03Z")
Today is better than yesteday, huh? Well, tomorrow should be better than today. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/56 "2012-05-11T20:58:37Z")
Still on 10 mg. Almost no nausea today! Woot! The shakes are getting better too. My eyes still aren’t focusing properly. It’s almost like I’m drowsy but don’t know it. I can’t drive like this. Is it possible for this to give me both shaking and drowsiness? If the shakes get a little better, maybe I’ll starting taking it at night again, and I’ll be less drowsy during the day. I already feel much less depressed, but still quite anxious. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/57 "2012-05-11T22:52:47Z")
Well, hey - that’s a fine start. Be patient and give yourself some time to adjust. For me, the initial unpleasantness was manageable in a couple of days, and subsided completely within … a month or so, I’d say. By then, the problems the pill is supposed to address started to subside as well. I felt a whole lot better. 🙂 You’ll get there too; don’t feel like it’s all going to be better by this weekend or something. The anxiety: I noticed that I had to sort of re-train myself, and you may want to think about that. The anxious thoughts going round and round (I call it “The Bad Hamster Wheel”) had become so automatic, so much a part of the fabric of my mental life, that it was sort of like there was a gap that needed to be filled. That’s where therapy, either from a self-help book or guided by a therapis, can be of benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/58 "2012-05-12T01:49:37Z")
Honestly, right now the most concerning thing is the weird zombie like, cannot focus eyes properly thing. It’s very odd. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/59 "2012-05-12T03:45:44Z")
Ah ha. Figured out why I can’t see as well. Mr. Jackal says my pupils are like saucers. Hope it passes soon. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839/60 "2012-05-12T04:22:39Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > But after moving out to the Pacific North West, I’ve really struggled to find a good therapist here. > > So I’ve decided I’m going on an anti-depressant. I’m not sure which one yet, I’ll ask my doc about that next week. Hopefully I can find one that makes me feel better without too many side effects. Wish me luck. > ( Make sure you are taking Vitamin D. EVERY freaking doctor I’ve seen here in the PNW has said “oh, you’re a transplant, take vitamin D.” Best of luck. My wife has started some anti-anxiety counseling and pharmacology. Be careful when changing meds or dosages as you figure out what works best for you. My wife had an “incident” when she switched for a few days, didn’t sleep, and switched back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-decided-to-go-on-medication/620839.md?page=4)