# R U on Anti-Depressants? I have a ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 7, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532 "2003-02-07T19:10:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/21 "2003-02-08T21:21:43Z")
I was on Prozac for awhile. It turned me into an asexual zombie–no emotions at all, and no libido. I switched to Effexor, which did nothing at all, although I may not have given it enough time. Right now I’m not taking anything, but I gotta get something. My life sucks now, and I’m not gonna make it much longer without a little help, be it therapy, drugs, or both. Not like I’m a total whackjob, but I have good days and bad days, and the bad days are getting worse every time. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/22 "2003-02-08T22:36:18Z")
**Payne** , my best advice would be get to a doctor for a prescription and get on it ASAP. There is no reason why you should be hanging on by the skin of your teeth when help is so readily available. You might be experiencing something I go through every time I have to have my prescription adjusted; something about my anxiety disorder makes me not want to go to a doctor and get help for myself when it’s acting up particularly badly. Sort of a negative feedback loop, if you will. Take yourself in hand (figuratively, of course :)), and get yourself to a doctor. Once you’ve got the right drugs in the right dosage and/or the right therapy, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. I know I always do. ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/23 "2003-02-09T03:57:20Z")
Does “no insurance” count for agood reason? The therapist my kids went to for their ADD stuff charged a co-pay of 25 bucks a visit, and the pills are a buck apiece. I hope the pills are an appetite suppressant, because I wouldn’t be able to take them and eat at the same time.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/24 "2003-02-09T15:37:39Z")
Does anyone else have a hard time telling if the pills are helping? because the way stressful things keep happening to me on and off I’m just not sure. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/25 "2003-02-09T22:51:39Z")
I couldn’t tell for a while, but it just sort of hits you when you think back over things. What I’ve found is that I don’t notice things as much … like I used to have bad days when I would feel lonely or depressed or whatnot. Now, I’ll just be hanging out and realize that I haven’t had one of those days in a long time. It’s not like I feel miraculously better all the time, I just notice that it’s been a long time since I felt like crap. I don’t see an addition of the positive - I see the absence of the negative. Or my mind is playing the old placebo effect. Oh well, either way, same conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![laserkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@laserkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laserkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/26 "2003-02-10T00:40:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trinopus \* > \*\*Paxil, to control obsessive/compulsive disorder… > > Dry mouth, and the absolute annihilation of any trace of libido I might once have had… > Trinopus \*\* I used to take that too and had the same problem.:rolleyes: Not a good thing… ---
**Author:** ![laserkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@laserkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laserkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/27 "2003-02-10T00:43:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chicken Scratch \* > \*\*Former user of Celexa to battle depression. No weird food cravings, but every time I yawned, I had to hold onto something because of the vertigo. \*\* I have this same problem!! Not when yawning, but if I forget to take it, I seriously can’t concentrate and have a hard time standing up. It sucks! ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/28 "2003-02-10T02:51:30Z")
Zoloft…since last July. No side-effects whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/29 "2003-02-10T03:37:57Z")
Celexa ~ no side effects. ---
**Author:** ![Tree\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@Tree\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tree_Boy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/30 "2003-02-10T03:40:40Z")
So if a lot of these meds cause delayed ejacualtion, why don’t they prescribe them as a remedy for those who suffer from premature ejac.? ---
**Author:** ![soulburnz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@soulburnz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulburnz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/31 "2003-02-10T03:44:11Z")
I’m currently taking Zoloft for depression. I only take it during the winter months when I tend to be on the depressive end of things. If I took in spring or summer it would make me manic. My first manic episode was induced by Prozac. It’s interesting how we can tolerate one drug in the same family and not another. Alot of different variables I guess. I believe my doc at the time told me that Prozac was originally a weight loss drug. Thus the side effect of lowering the appetite for some. I could not find a cite for this. The libido sucks with Zoloft. Just takes a little extra work. ---
**Author:** ![Jude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jude)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/32 "2003-02-10T04:26:53Z")
I took Paxil for social phobia. It helped a little but it also wiped out my sex drive and made it impossible for me to reach an orgasm (very bad, since I had a girlfriend at the time). It also made me yawn all the time. Stopping the Paxil was an ordeal; even though I tapered for two weeks I still experienced some fairly serious withdrawal symptoms (anxiety, depression, insomnia, dizziness, ringing in the ears). Paxil is not a drug you want to discontinue abruptly. I started Lexapro (the new version of Celexa) a few days ago and I’ve noticed no effects so far. SSRIs generally take a few weeks to kick in so I’m not expecting anything for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/33 "2003-02-10T12:23:01Z")
To **Sock Munkey** ’s question, I had a hard time at first, although as the meds built up in my system I could feel the difference. There is a lessening of the negative feelings and reactions to outside forces. I had reached a point where I was blowing up at people at work over any little thing every night and my mood would last for the entire shift regardless of how good or bad a night we had. Since the meds, even on rough nights, I haven’t reached that level of anger or despair in a long time. There are still plenty of things I hate about my life, but for the first time in a long time I can seriously consider making changes for the better. This time a year ago I couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_Schmeese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Marconi\_Schmeese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_Schmeese)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/34 "2003-02-10T13:19:41Z")
600 Mg. of Effexor per day here - no strange cravings. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/35 "2003-02-10T16:13:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sock Munkey \* > \*\*Does anyone else have a hard time telling if the pills are helping? because the way stressful things keep happening to me on and off I’m just not sure. \*\* I have to agree with **interface2x** , it’s the absence of negative effects I notice. I don’t blow up at minor things and things don’t send me into gloom and doom. The way I put it is that it doesn’t so much raise my mood as put a floor on it; I don’t drop below a certain level anymore. It’s hard to notice because you are really looking at a negative effect. You aren’t feeling better, you just aren’t feeling as bad as you did before. That’s how it is for me anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/36 "2003-02-10T18:16:57Z")
That’s sorta what the prozac did for me. It allowed the depression to bottom out at a tolerable level, but I couldn’t get up off that “floor” and be happy about anything. And libido? Fuggedaboudit. Frustrated the wife no end. ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/37 "2003-02-10T18:39:07Z")
20mg Celexa daily - inital drymouth and sleeplessness (that was FUN! I didn’t need to sleep at ALL for a week. I wish I could do that more often 🙂 ) and now (my mother thinks) increased appetite and (I have noticed) sleeping slightly more than usual. Overall, it’s been well worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/38 "2003-02-10T18:46:17Z")
Celexa user here. Only side effects I notice are harder time falling asleep and diminshed sex drive along with the inability to orgasm. The last parts not to bad seeing asi’m single right now but I freakin’ need a good nights sleep. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532/39 "2003-02-10T20:20:31Z")
I just started taking Lexapro a few weeks ago, it’s a new form of Celexa. Seems to be working fine so far. The first few days were weird, of course, but now I feel no side effects. However, I haven’t had sex, so I don’t know if it’s going to affect that. I hope not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-u-on-anti-depressants-i-have-a/153532.md?page=1)