Welcome to Depression Regimens

I've been taking Paroxetine 20 mg for the past five months, but lately, the brain fog has become overwhelming. I feel mentally dull, like my mind is completely blank—I can’t think clearly or even come up with simple solutions to minor problems. On top of that, my memory has been getting worse, and my energy and motivation levels have dropped back to zero.

Is there anything I can try or add to my treatment to help overcome this brain fog and mental state?

I have treatment resistant depression, OCD, and anxiety. My symptoms are finally getting better due to the combo of meds that I'm on.

I'm currently taking 300mg of Clomipramine, 10mg of Abilify, and 400mg of Modafinil (200mg in the morning and 200mg at noon).

I also take vitamin D3, vitamin B complex, and omega 3 after eating breakfast. And I try to exercise for at least 1 hour everyday.

What do y'all think about this combo of meds? I'm liking it so far and seeing a lot of improvement in my symptoms. I luckily don't have any side effects.

Anyone tried psychedelics or microdosing with benefit for depression?

Have you experienced anxiety, paranoia (for those sensitive or prone to that?)

And would you do it alone (if u have no trusted friend or professional to be or work with)?

there are still risks associated with the use of psychedelics, even in small doses. While microdosing is generally considered safe, it can still cause unpredictable side effects such as anxiety, paranoia, and altered perceptions…

I've tried many meds in the past 12-13 years without much success while dealing with Depression, Anxiety, OCD, ADHD and Aspergers. About 3 years ago I started dealing with a lot of weird symptoms like extreme fatigue, tingling and pain in certain areas of my body, nausea, regular headaches, temperature dysregulation, intense brain fog etc.

I've been assuming it was intense anxiety, it felt like something very wrong was happening with my mind and body. About a month or two after this I had a terrible experience with weed and soon after I was dealing with Depersonalisation/Derealisation and intense anhedonia.

I've had lots of tests done by doctors but they haven't been able to find anything wrong in the tests that I've done. I'm currently dealing with constant tingling in my hands and feet and I get weird pains in those areas as well.

Medications aren't helping much. I'm currently on Clomipramine, Propranolol and I've just started rexulti. The symptoms that I'm dealing with are similar to what people with POTS and Peripheral neuropathy deal with but I haven't been diagnosed with anything yet.

Life is extremely difficult at the moment and I'm feeling very lost. I feel like I'm in a dream every day and I get barely any pleasure from life. Are there any others that can relate to this?

Why does caffeine help my depression better than antidepressants? I have noticed every time I have an energy drink or take caffeine pills my depression gets better immediately. I know that caffeine is considered a stimulant but why would it help my depression better than antidepressants? Caffeine treats my depression only temporarily though until I crash in the afternoon and I start to feel irritable. I know it's not good to self medicate with caffeine for depression but it's better than nothing.

Will this side effect subside with time or not,

I am 10 years on high dosess antidepressants for my TRD , BPD and schizoaffective disorder. I noticed my penis went from 17cm(6.69'inch) to 13cm(5.11 inch).

Is this side effect of antidepressants? Anyyone has same effect?

Hi redditors!

I was wondering if red light therapy helps with seasonal depression.

I saw a few posts and videos talking about "SAD lamps" that are made to emulate sunlight (or something, not sure about the science.) I messaged my mom and asked if she could perhaps gift me one and when I got it in the mail it was not a SAD lamp, but a red light therapy device.

I've heard good things about red light therapy for aesthetic and pain relief purposes. However, I have also seen information claiming that in order for red light therapy to work It needs to be in a huge sauna filled with red light. So my question is does red light therapy work and does it need to be in a big room?

My mom bought this device for US$300 and a regular SAD lamp is only about US$70. So I was wondering if the results would be worth it or if I should ask her to return it. It's supposedly 400W if that's relevant.

Hi everyone! I wanted to ask if anyone has experience with a similar treatment.

I’m 35 and have been struggling with constant lows. Since I was 19, I’ve tried several antidepressants like sertraline, fluoxetine, Brintellix, venlafaxine and Wellbutrin.

TW: Suicide attempt Fifteen days ago, I went through a severe crisis and attempted suicide after a highly stressful situation.

I’m currently on: • Pristiq 200 mg • Topamax 50 mg morning and evening (helps with food impulsivity but not mood)

I’m worried about gaining weight with Abilify 50 mg due to my relationship with food and the medication’s profile. I’ve already noticed weight gain with Pristiq, which doesn’t feel the same as fluoxetine. Has anyone had a similar experience or can share their thoughts on this combination?

Like the title says would a low dose crystal meth be an effective way for depression that is not responding to regular antidepressants? And if you have done it did it work for you? Did you build up tolernace to it fast? And if not why would you not recommend it?

Hello!
After I dropped the vort and anxiety rebounded, I was given escitalopram. This thing works great for the anxiety, but kills my motivation and does nothing for my depression. Waking up is very hard with it.
So we tried to reintroduce vort. We dropped the 15mg escitalopram and started 5mg vort the next day, 4-5 days in I started having severe generalized itching. Hoenstly at thsi point I thought I changed my shower gel or soemthing and that caused the itching but nope. on day 8 We bumped it to 10mg. on day 15 I was supposed to bump it to 15mg but I mentioned the itching to my doc and she advised to stop. We tried dulxoetine, but SNRIs casue me to have severe dilated pupils, which makes it impossible to see clearly(My pupils are big by default, eye doc tells me i'm the only one in the whole country lol),

For the 15 days I was on vortioxetine, I felt amzing anxiety and mood wise. Only stopped because of itching + fear of it being an allergic reaction. At that point I didn't know know it was a common side effect

Sertraline gives me severe diarrhoea, even after weeks. At this point the only ssri I haven't tried is fluoxetine.

Doc is technically willing to give me vortioxetine If I want to, but cannot guarantee that the itching will go away. But it is unbearable- Mirtazapine(rn im on 45mg) is a potent antihistamine, and since taking it I doN't even itch if a mousquite bites me. so ig the itching side effect is due to the serotogenic effect of vortioxetine I think, are there any ways to block this side effect? Also is it possible that quiting 15mg escitalopram cold turkey caused the itching? My doc told me that withdrawal can cause many things, but not this.

Thankss

I was as normal as you can be my whole life until I was 36 years old. We had our first child and with complications during the birth it triggered my anxiety and depression. I went to bed feeling my normal self and woke up the next morning in a daze with anxiety and panic so severe I was scared I was losing my mind. It’s been 8 years and I’ve been stuck with this illness which has been relentless. You never get used to it but you do learn to accept it and live with it as best you can.

I’ve spent thousands on private psychiatrists in the hope to find a ‘cure’, but it has largely been fruitless. Trialing medication after medication for years which only made me feel worse. Then a couple of months ago my psychiatrist suggested I try one of the few antidepressants I haven’t tried before and I flat out refused due to past experiences. Surely it couldn’t possibly make me feel better. But I was so worn out and desperate that I finally agreed. To my surprise I had zero side effects, which is all I ever got, and within a couple of weeks I started noticing a difference. I’m still titrating up but it is the first time in 8 years that anything has made me feel a little more like my old self. And I can’t ask for more.

It’s tough living with this and you could never explain to someone just how horrid and debilitating it can be. But we have no choice so we soldier on. For anyone feeling they are at the end of the road, there is always hope. I am living proof. Life can and should be beautiful. We are only on this planet for a very short while anyway so we might as well give it the best go we can.

I have had one of the worst year of my life We tried to lower my Effexor from 75 to 37,5 and it went to hell (diarrhea fear you name it disruption of my period) reinstatement didn’t work we upped dosage and I did a serotonin syndrome so we lowered and waited for three months Now we ve upped the med again it didn’t seem to give me serotonin syndrome but I woke up a week ago with my head beating extremely strong and SI I am in the hospital again and they are scared to touch the Effexor so they think about adding abilify Effexor was my life savior and I feel that my life is over Please help me

Hi all,

Some background: History of depression, anxiety, epilepsy and drug abuse. Sober for 8 months now. I am currently prescribed 2000mg Keppra, 1000mg Depakote ER, 150mg Armodafinil, 60mg buspar and 7.5mg Mirtazapine. I take Caffeine and Kratom very regularly and I go to the gym 2-4x a week.

Just like most people on this sub, I too have been on the quest for bettering my mental health and sense of well being. Tried many different medications throughout the years, but could never stick to most of them due to side effects or underwhelming relief of depression/anxiety and/or anhedonia.
For the past couple of months, I noticed things were starting to feel more off than usual. I've always had or experienced anhedonia to some extent, but I was starting to notice that I was feeling more angry/irritable lately, inability to relate to my peers and gf, loss of interest in socializing, difficulty in enjoying light hearted content (I've been having to watch more serious/dark content lately as that was the only thing that was keeping my attention at home). I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong, but I knew that I wasn't totally myself. A lot of things were running through my head: Is it the weather, stress, unemployment, maybe the kratom was finally turning on me, maybe any of my current meds were having a bad reaction, or maybe even any of the previous meds! I was sort of at a loss, but I will be starting a new job next week, so I was still optimistic that things were going to be okay.

I used to take a P5P supplement earlier this year. For some reason, while I was trialing out pramipexole, I had ceased most of my vitamin supplementation. I'm not sure why I did this, but I think I experienced brain fog that either made me forget, or I just simply didn't care to do it. Yesterday night, on a whim, I decided to take my P5P for the first time in months. And holy, I felt like I had taken a drug. I was on a low dose of DXM and my regular kratom dose, I felt like the effects were potentiated (I take DXM sometimes at lower doses, so I knew what I experienced was unusual in the context of these last couple of months). I experienced some strong deja vu about how I used to feel and act earlier this year. I was convinced that I am deficient in B6. I've never had a blood test done to confirm this, I can only speculate subjectively. It's only a day later, but I still feel that I no longer have this anhedonic wave on me and I'm able to feel more interpersonal emotions. I can actually pay attention to light hearted content on youtube and enjoy it. I feel much less angry and irritable too.

I will update in a week or so and see if the effects persist.

I’ve been thinking about getting on anti depressants to numb emotions. Does anyone regret getting use to the feeling of having your emotions numb? If you could go back in time would you prevent yourself from numbing your emotions in order to maintain what they once use to be? I feel like numbing my emotions would be like me getting on cocaine and really liking it and then being to scared to stop using it and then become dependent on it. And id rather just deal with the rawness of emotional pain if that means I get to by pass withdrawal and dependency .

Mirtazapine is the only drug I've been able to tolerate and it helps a lot. it makes my memory a bit worse and it's made me fat. Other than mirtazapine, I've tried (in various combinations & dosages) paroxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, aripiprazole, and cariprazine. I never stayed on any of those meds because of akasthisia, concentration issues, emotional blunting, and sexual side effects.

It was extremely consistent so I have no interest in SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs, and MAOIs. Bupropion makes nicotine stop working so I don't want to try that either. So basically 95% of meds.

As far as I know buspirone is a med that doesn't really have that side effect profile. A lot of my anxiety is around health so I don't want to try lamotrigine because it can cause severe life threatening side effects with considerable frequency and there's not a lot of good evidence behind it.

Probably just more of a rant than seeking advice because there's basically no other meds other than the ones that give me intolerable side effects that are reliable and effective.

I took Celexa for 25 days in 2019 for generalized anxiety disorder. I quit because it made me totally numb and lose all sexual feelings. Sadly I’ve been stuck this way ever since. I went from super sexual and tons of emotions to feeling nothing at all for over 5 years straight. It’s a common called r/PSSD and there is no cure. Most doctors know nothing about it. The anhedonia is so severe. I haven’t felt pleasure, joy or excitement ever since. No orgasms or sexual function. I want to end it all everyday because of this :(. Totally ruined my life. Some of you will say PSSD isn’t real and that’s okay. I’m used to seeing those comments. But it is, unfortunately, and it permanently destroyed me.

So I’ve been taking bupropion (300 mg) since 2019.

For the past few years, I’ve been kind of lacking motivation to do basic things, like cooking and cleaning. Like I just don’t feel like doing those things. I’m in grad school and work part time on top of that. And I have a TikTok, which I spend hours on daily.

Idk. I think burnout combined with TikTok/doomscrolling has really affected me. I don’t have the energy or motivation to work out, cook, clean, etc. I just don’t feel like doing those things. And sometimes I procrastinate with school because I just don’t want to “do the thing.”

But I also have a lot of general anxiety and a fear of things. My biggest fear is that there will be a fire in my apartment when I’m not there and my pets die. I also fear choking to death because of TikTok 😅

Could this have anything to do with bupropion? Idk if it’s depression, anxiety, or both.

Anyway, my PCP prescribed me Prozac because she said that bupropion can make anxiety worse ✌️

Note: Don’t take iron supplements without talking to your doctor and getting blood work done first. Taking iron without a confirmed deficiency can lead to iron overload, which is dangerous.

Just sharing something I found interesting for anyone who’s had success with serotonergic antidepressants but struggles with that awful motor restlessness (akathisia) - the feeling where you can’t sit still, and it’s just physically uncomfortable to stop moving.

This can happen with antidepressants that boost serotonin because serotonin can suppress dopamine in the brain, and low dopamine is linked to akathisia. This is well-documented in people taking dopamine-blocking medications (like antipsychotics). So basically, serotonin goes up → dopamine goes down → akathisia.

This small study from 1992 suggests a link to iron levels. The researchers looked at people on imipramine (a potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor TCA) and found that those who got jitteriness from it had much lower iron levels compared to those who didn’t. We need iron to make dopamine, so low iron might make akathisia more likely, especially when paired with a serotonin-boosting medication. Iron deficiency can cause akathisia even without dopamine-lowering/blocking drugs. This means that low iron levels might lower the threshold for these drugs to cause akathisia - for example, the effect might appear at lower doses than it would if iron levels were sufficient.

Even though imipramine isn't much in use today, these findings are most likely to also apply to SSRIs, since the most plausible explanation for akathisia from imipramine is its potent serotonin reuptake inhibition property, which is shared with SSRIs - which also are known to cause akathisia in some people.

Study: Imipramine-induced jitteriness and decreased serum iron levels

Full paper PDF here.

Here’s Table 1 from the study, showing the difference in serum iron levels between the jitteriness-positive and jitteriness-negative groups: the patients who got jitteriness from imipramine had serum iron levels almost 50% lower than those who haven't. Serum iron isn’t the best marker of iron status (ferritin is better), but it’s not useless.

What this means: If you’re dealing with akathisia, it might be worth checking your iron levels, especially if you’ve had symptoms of low iron (like fatigue or hair loss). Talk to your doctor about testing ferritin and other markers to get the full picture before trying supplements. And of course, this is just one piece of the puzzle - there are lots of reasons for akathisia, and meds can often be adjusted to help.

I (54F) have suffered from major depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and anxiety ever since I was a child. I once made myself fall down a flight of stairs in the hopes I would injure myself to avoid dealing with bullies at school the next day. I was 6 years old.

I've been on so many different meds. I couldn't hack the weight gain from perimenopause and atypical antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. I'm now on 3 meds: Bupropion (SNRI), Sertraline (SSRI), and Fetzima (NDRI). I've taken THC gummies on the weekend so I can focus on my painting and art. It really just loosens me up, makes me laugh and I feel like everything is OK.

I don't use while I'm working, but I'm afraid I'm probably messing everything up with the anti-depressants. I know I need to tell my psychiatrist, but I'm miserable and the gummies are the only thing that make me feel OK.

I'm just really lost and am having a hard time trying to see my psychiatrist before my next appointment, but I can't get in. I'm having trouble functioning at work. I've been crying a lot, anxious, self harming.

How bad have I messed up by using gummies? I need help and my shrink appointment is on 12/17. Does anyone have some experience with what I'm going through? I just need to feel like I'm not crazy. I also see a therapist 1-2 times per month.

Any input would be appreciated.

Especially for chronic cases.

My psych prescribed valproate for me under an unspecific mood disorder after a bad reaction to pregabalin. It works really well for my anxiety and just feeling relaxed. I don’t try to regulate my anxiety with alcohol, which is good.

My friend takes lamotrigine and suffers social anxiety like I do. So, I was wondering if people have tried the two and what the differences between them are.

Valproate is good but I am on a starter dose because going higher seems to make me a bit more lethargic.

I have depression and anxiety. My current regimen is: lamotrigine 100mg, pregabalin 300mg, amitriptyline 50mg, perphenazine 8mg and mirtazapine 45mg. I've been treatment resistant for years. This regimen seems to work!! For the first time in years I can normally talk to people without any anxiety. I feel free to express myself without any fear. I feel happy. Please send prayers and good vibes, I really don't want this to stop working.

Adding mood stabliser will even out the antidepressants induce mania ???

I’ve been on and off depressed for 10 years and never took meds for it. It’s more of a seasonal depression and sometimes I’ll have a good winter. This winter, that is not the case. The week of daylight savings was like a light switch for depression. I’ve never been this bad. Been affecting my relationship too. Sigh.

Hesitant to try SSRIs because i simply don’t know that much about them. Don’t know if you become dependent on them, don’t know if there’s withdrawal. I’ve had addiction issues in the past so I am concerned coming off an SSRI might trigger an episode.

I don’t want anything permanent, I just want to get through this rough patch and hopefully change some of the extremely negative thought patterns. Could I benefit?

I’ve had great success before overcoming depression from ketamine believe it or not. But it later became a drug of abuse and stopped helping.

What meds should I try next? Currently I’m just on Lamictal and I’ve reached the max dose. It makes me feel a little high and gives me energy but the depression is very much there.

I gave all of these a proper try, like 3 months on each

• Lexapro worked for like 1-2 weeks and I felt amazing and then it made me extremely tired and I still felt depressed
• Prozac same thing as above
• Imipramine same as above although the start wasn’t as good
• Lyrica makes me feel great. It’s my favourite meds of all, even better than benzos. But I know I could build a tolerance so I only take it twice a week
• Benzos I don’t want to build a tolerance so I take it twice a week
• Medical marijuana is fine but doesn’t remove my depression
• I tried Welbutrin for a week and it made me tired and made my hands shake. I did take it at the morning so that could be the reason for tiredness. I would be willing to try it again but it’s x6 the cost of other antidepressants in my country

I know SNRIs are an option but I’m so scared about the withdrawals if you want to stop. SSRI withdrawals were bad enough. I was having brain zaps for like 6 months

Does anyone have any suggestions? I feel like I’ve tried so hard and I’ve missed out on so many social events because I just want to stay at home and be sad here. Honestly being social makes me feel better but I get burnt out and I know it’s a distraction because as soon as I come home I’m sad. I’ve tried several years of CBT and DBT therapy, somatic therapy. I know how to feel my emotions and I know my depression stems from my trauma and I’ve talked about it 100 times and I don’t even cry about it anymore because I’ve re-lived it over and over again. It makes me feel like medication is my only option but I can’t find anything that works :(

Come scalare pramipexolo 0,5 mg? Per l astinenza e la daws