Lyoness

I recently asked about Remeron (thanks for all your replies! ) which did not work out for me. The psych doctor now wants me to try Brintellix which is a much newer drug that is SSRI plus. I guess it works on several receptor sites. I've been trying to read up on it, seems to have mixed reviews.

I have resisted going back on an antidepressant for two years and using supplements instead. But it hasn't been enough and depression has caused me to wind up in legal trouble. So I'm reluctantly willing to try again.

Which leads to me asking the same question about this med. I would greatly appreciate hearing about people's experiences with this medication. Thank you.

Lyoness

I guess this antidepressant really is new as no one has responded. So I'll write about my experience of it in case that helps someone else.

I just started it so not a lot to report. I resisted going back on an antidepressant for two years, after I got off my last one and it kicked me in the arse. But I've been struggling with ever worsening depression, getting suicidal and making plans, and so I'm giving meds another try. I still have mixed feelings but I realize I gotta do something.

I've taken two doses so far, and took half a pill instead of a whole one. Just felt like the right thing to start really slow. The main side effect has been nausea with a bit of headachey feeling and some overheating but nothing that is extreme or unbearable. And most important, it hasn't messed up my head like the Remeron did. That stuff was nasty.

So I'm hoping for the best, hoping it will work and that I won't have to stay on it forever. And that it doesn't cause the emotional numbing that some do.

kzaug2014

I've never heard of it Lyoness. I hope it works well for you!
Paxil did a number on me. I felt nothing! Completely empty...not happy, sad, angry, fear, absolutely nada. However, it worked for my mom. Different folks, different strokes.
I hope your having a good night hun.

Lyoness

Hi and . I'm hoping it will work well, too, without the emotional numbness that can happen with some of them. I was on Lexapro the longest and it was the most successful overall, even helping with physical pain a bit. But it also really emotionally blunted me which I didn't realize til I got off it which is kind of scary. I also did not dream on it and I'm a big, vivid dreamer/nightmare and it was just wrong to not dream.

I took my third dose today, still half a pill. The nausea is still there and I definitely need to take it with food. Also just a bit of the headache and that weird overheating. But again, nothing unbearable.

It apparently is supposed to work on several serotonin receptor sites and also acts as an agonist at at least one receptor site. My hope is that it might also help with the anxiety and PTSD (and maybe even the OCD) if it works. But I also find myself worried that because it works on so many different sites it could also be harder to get off of/be addictive.

All I can do is try it and hope for the best. If I worry too much I'll get back to being to being nearly catatonic and confused so I'm trying to be open minded and pay attention to how it affects me.

I don't have the info in front of me but I think it was one that was good or at least neutral on the dna test, too.

DrakeCKC

I had not heard of it either and after looking it up it is quite new for a drug, only coming into use in 2013. Thanks for the info and sharing your experience with it!

SSRIs were not the med for me, but I have done well with Bupropion (Wellbutrin) for the last year or so.

Good luck! Finding the right med is trial and error so hope this works.

Step12

You didn't say or not but hopefully you're not drinking on this I'm assuming you're not. Medication is a tricky thing specially asking about it online. I highly recommend listening to what other people say if the medication is not working for you don't quit taking it until you talk to the doctor getting off medications without a doctors approval will make you worse. One time I got off Abilify all by myself and dug a six foot grave in my backyard.I went to the doctor and a slightly tweaked the same medication and I was fine. I understand that these medications are sensitive just like you are and a little milligram here are milligram there can make all the difference in the world. Don't go around being your own doctor When you read good advice take what rings a bell to your doctor use the farm to formulate particular questions but please go through your doctor

Lyssy

I was on Brintellix for about 1 1/2 years. It worked really well for me. I felt "better" after about two weeks. I can't explain it, but lighter, happier. Things didn't bother me as much. I didn't experience any side affects while I was on it. I took my one pill a day in the evening (7pm).

After discussing getting off them with my doctor I finished the month prescription and then just stopped. Doc had said - you can "just quit or taper down". I just quit. After about one week I was having these weird feelings. Like electricity running through my body. After another week I decided to google the symptoms - I was having "Brain Zaps"

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...-or-brain-zaps

They were bothersome but not debilitating. Just knowing what they were and why I was having them and knowing they would eventually go away gave me peace about the symptoms.

Since I had already been off the meds for almost two weeks already I just toughed it out. Honestly it was about three months before I was completely symptom free, though they did taper down significantly as the time passed.

Would I take it again - yes. I had been on anti-depressants in the past (10 years ago) and tolerated these the best - by far.

If you have any more questions, please let me know and I will try and answer them.

Lyssy

Oh, and it did help greatly with my anxiety. I had/have xanex for panic/anxiety and my intake went way, way down. Even now being off B for 6 months my need for xanex is greatly reduced.

Lyoness

Hi, thanks for your post!

I'm not drinking on it, I think that's a mistake a lot of people make on antidepressants, smoking pot or drinking, not realizing that they're messing with the receptor sites and the way the med can work.

That must have been scary, your experience with Abilify, yikes! It just shows how powerful these drugs are. I think it's easy to forget that!

I hear you on tweaking the medication, too. I do try to be careful and thoughtful but I also listen to my body and it just said to go even a little more slowly. But you're right that I should talk to my psych. about that.

Lyoness

Oh, it's so great to hear from someone who was actually on this med! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. And I will probably be asking you questions, so don't let me pester you, lol!

Actually I already have a few. If you feel okay to answer, was wondering how long you were on them and what made you decide to stop taking them? I ask because, I too, have been on antidepressants a lot in the past twenty years (yikes that's scary to write that, twenty years!). Not all the time but a good amount of that time.

I found the one that worked best for me was actually one I got from England, called reboxetine. It was supposed to be introduced here in the U.S. but the pharmaceutical company that bought the rights just gave up when the FDA wanted further testing. I think, honestly, they just didn't want anyone else to get it which sucks because it was effective for me.

I have hopes for the Brintellix. I really appreciate hearing that it helped with your anxiety because I take lorazepam and would like to not need it if possible. But I get panic and have daily anxiety so I take it to help me function. Thankfully I am on a low dose.

I know about the brain zaps and withdrawals. It makes me crazy when doctors say you can cold turkey off of antidepressants. You just can't in my experience. Not only some wicked effects like the brain zaps but it can also cause rebound anxiety and depression, sometimes severe, both of which I've experienced. They should be tapered and I wish all docs understood that.

ETA to add another question. Did you find that you had any issues with irritability or feeling short tempered on it? I have been noticing that a bit more the past couple of days though it could be other things including PMS. But I am going to pay attention because a couple antidepressants I tried made me very aggressive and angry and that was very scary because I am not normally that way. So I'm trying to be aware but not paranoid.

Lyssy

I was on it for about 18 months. I stopped taking it because I was doing better and had been for quite a while. My life had calmed down and I didn't think I needed it (which, for the most part is still true). I also quit because I wanted be be able to take it again in the future if I really needed it. I know that some anti-depressants can stop working or not work as well. I really liked this medication as I didn't have any real noticeable side effects from it. I slightly remember nausea when I first started taking it, but that subsided within a week or so.

No. If anything it was the opposite.

If I were you, I really wouldn't dwell too much on the taking of the pill or over analyzing the effects - for me at least, it seams, my brain plays tricks on me with meds (I tend to be sensitive to even sinus medications).

I did rely more on the Xanax while the brain zaps were at their worse, but again, that was only about two weeks.

Lyoness

Thanks for answering. I do tend to over analyze but I also did have scary surges of anger and suicidal feelings on a couple of meds I tried before so I do need to be careful and pay attention. But not obsess.

I felt the nausea but also felt less anxiety and better mood for several days so was feeling hopeful. But then the irritability and short temper started along with anxiety surging so I'm not sure what to think or do. I'm going to call my psychiatrist and see what she thinks.

I do think it's a good idea to do what you did and go off them when you feel well or stable so it can work again if needed.

Lyssy

Been off line for a week or so (on vacation). How are you doing? How is the irritability/temper?

Maybe it has nothing to do with the meds and may be another trigger? I found that as my head came out of the depression and fog that I was actually feeling more emotions (good and bad) that I had stuffed through years of dealing with my AH. It could also be an environmental or physical issue that is causing it. It is ok to be angry - my therapist said so (LOL). What I found is that at the core of my anger it wasn't really anger but hurt and disappointment.

Lyoness

Thanks for your words of wisdom.

I wound up going off the Brintellix because it was making me much, much worse and very suicidal. It took me awhile to be aware that maybe it was the drug and not just me, as being worse and suicidal is pretty common for me. But somehow the thought occurred to me that maybe it was the drug. So I went off it and each day started feeling a little better, a little saner, a little less suicidal.

I am taking that black box warning a LOT more seriously now. I have had two other antidepressants cause aggressive and suicidal feelings but it was fast and obvious so I got off the meds. This time it was scary because it just crept up on me like my depressions can do. I'm just grateful I figured it out.

I'm going to try yet another one, Viibryd, we'll see how it does. I am going to be very careful with it and make sure to pay attention to mood changes. If I start feeling worse, I'll stop it right away. It may just be that there is no medication that can help me.

I'd be open to using supplements, acupuncture, naturopathy but I don't have that kind of money. Unfortunately a lot of stuff that works is not covered by insurance. I also would want to work with an expert. You can deal with mental illness "naturally" but you have to really know what you're doing and have a lot of experience in treating it.

Anyway, I appreciate your support!