Anyone have any experience with SSRIs? I know I've been opposed to medication in the past, but lately R has got me reconsidering. It's not so much for depression as it is for the constant counting, circular obsessions, and endless anxieties over minuscule matters that seem to have gotten worse in the past few months. Are there calories in Sprite Zero? In multivitamins? Toothpaste?
In therapy today, I was talking about my calorie-counting habit. How my brain seems wired to automatically start counting any and everything. R seemed struck by how present these thoughts really are for me, and how this might be the biggest barrier keeping me from committing to the meal plan and making real changes. He made me wonder: what would my mind be like without counting calories? Without all the background noise?
Lately, my moods and thoughts have just been so unpredictable. My brain is exhausted. What if a pill could regulate everything, bring me back to normal? I hate the idea of a foreign, artificial substance messing with my insides, but what if it helps?
Biggest fear: weight gain. ALLEGEDLY, according to R, Prozac doesn't cause weight gain like other anti-depressants, but I'm skeptical. Does it just increase appetite? Because I can deal with that. That would probably even be good for me, considering how unwilling I am to eat when I'm not hungry. But if there's some magical chemical process outside my control that will actually make my body bulk up - well, I don't think I'm down for that.
I haven't made any decisions yet, and I would absolutely rather NOT take anything. But sometimes my irrational obsessions and fears make me think my brain needs a little help.
The possibilities of side effects and dependency are really freaking me out, and I would love to hear if anyone has any experience or advice! Feel free to comment or e-mail me: kem0913@gmail.com.
I don't have a personal experience to add, BUT I do have a Significant Other with clinical psychology training and a couple of pharmacology classes under his belt. He's not an expert, but much better informed than the average bear. If you want, I can ask him his opinion on this. I know he thinks they're worth it in some cases, because he was a fan of it for my brother (who has Social Anxiety Disorder) a year or two ago.
ReplyDeleteI've never taken pills for anything so I can't be of any help...be careful though. I watched Dr.OZ yesterday about sleeping pill dependency and there is actually IP for that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't personally taken any meds for this purpose but some of my best friends and family members have benefitted from taking these. It is a big decision but I have almost always seen improvement in others when they are medicated properly (that is sometimes hard to figure out, though.) I do know that people complain sometimes about the "numbing" aspect of Prozac. It is really a tough decision to make but I tend to lean towards recommending it--you can always give it a trial and see what happens. If you are being properly monitored, they won't let you experience mega-awful side effects before changing it.
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