YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I've been on meds for about 5 yrs...
Lexapro - great for warding off pesky orgasms
Welbutrin - im not into feeling my own heart beat
Zoloft - worked amazing until it stopped working
Effexor - made me want to punch people
Celexa - currently on it and hoping its not like zoloft


i started taking meds after i had a nervous breakdown right after college. they really do work in terms of getting me out of bed in the morning and letting me face the world. but they're not a cure all and there are drawbacks. the biggest drawback for me is that it has zapped my natural creativity. so now i feel like i have to use substances to get where i want to be as an artist and that makes me resent the meds a bit because they've taken something from me.

i started taking meds after i had a nervous breakdown right after college. they really do work in terms of getting me out of bed in the morning and letting me face the world. but they're not a cure all and there are drawbacks. the biggest drawback for me is that it has zapped my natural creativity. so now i feel like i have to use substances to get where i want to be as an artist and that makes me resent the meds a bit because they've taken something from me.

I'm in the same boat! I've only been on Prozac for a year and a half now, and that's the biggest problem with me. As a musician, I've realized it's been over a year or so since I've actually completed a single song. The depression seems to be replaced by apathy, which I've read online that is common in people who have too high of a dosage. Unfortunately I'm only on 10mg daily...and after being on it so long you'd think I'd have more of a tolerance!

Also the sexual inability side-effects, though it's never really a concern of mine.

As long as nothing really pushes buttons, the Prozac is mostly okay, though like any med I wish I didn't require it. My fear is that if I try another that I'd go through worse side-effects. (Heck, it took me long enough just to get on this one!)

all i can say for sure is that even though you feel like you havent finished any songs, dont stop writing. i quit creating for about 2 years and i regret it big time. i really believe that making bad art is better than making no art. and theres no sense in being idle.

If your meds are leaving you feeling flat or apathetic, you may want to try another med.

I took Prozac when I had postpartum depression and it helped a lot, but it also left me feeling kinda flat, mildly buzzed all the time. I'd get bad news and not really feel it. What really bothered me was not feeling the highs - I had twin babies and a preschooler so there was lots of great stuff going on too and I felt like I was missing it.

(Caveat - DO NOT JUST TAKE YOURSELF OFF YOUR MEDS. Do it with a doctor's supervision - you have to wean off. Learned that one the hard way.)

I was on Lexapro a couple of years ago for anxiety and depression and liked it a lot better than Prozac. I felt better but I didn't feel flat, you know? I still got pissed off, sad, happy, whatever instead of cruising along in neutral. The side effects were a big drag, but some of that was anxiety too. In any case all the side effects were gone about a month after I started the meds.

I took Lexapro for four years. It worked okay, but it really did make me drop off sexually. About two years ago, I started taking Cymbalta. I really, really like it-60 mg per day. I haven't felt much in the way of side effects.

I think the SSRI crowd is like what you mentioned with Zoloft - works and then stops working. It happened to me with Zoloft and I think it's happening with Celexa too.