Mental Health Help, ssri vs snri for mild depression and severe fatigue?

[Jujuvoodoo]

Hi everybody, I have been able to find bits of info on this site but not a comprehensive breakdown anywhere. I'm a 30 year old woman. I'm not able to see a doctor/therapist right now, I'm adjusting my status so it will probably 5-6 months before I can actually see a doctor and I just can't wait that long! I know this will be an issue for people but hopefully for now I can just get some advice and I will absolutely get to a doctor the second it's possible!!

These are my issues, I'm mildy-moderately depressed, I have gained 40 lbs over the past 3.5 years (I'm no longer gaining weight but not losing either), my libido is nonexistent and intense FATIGUE. I was able to go to a doctor after my initial weight gain and all my blood work, hormones etc were normal, that was 2 years ago. I have no idea which medication to be looking at. My main issue is the exhaustion (pretty sure it's related to my depression), I'd like to not be bone tired every hour of every day. Secondly, I would just like to be taking something that doesn't fuck my libido or appetite up even more. Ideally I'd like to be taking one drug.

I take nothing but a multi-vitamin now. I took Prozac for a year in my teens and just never got a refill when it ran out, I don't really know if it helped. I've been reading about Wellbutrin, Cymbalta and Prozac so any experiences with those would be awesome.......

THANK YOU!!!!!

 

[rc_benzo]

Hi everybody, I have been able to find bits of info on this site but not a comprehensive breakdown anywhere. I'm a 30 year old woman, I'm not able to see a doctor/therapist right now as I don't have healthcare yet. I'm adjusting my status so it will probably 5-6 months before I can actually see a doctor and I just can't wait that long! I know this will be an issue for people but hopefully for now I can just get some advice and I will absolutely get to a doctor the second it's possible!!

These are my issues, I'm mildy-moderately depressed, I have gained 40 lbs over the past 3.5 years (I'm no longer gaining weight but not losing either), my libido is nonexistent and the worst of it all is the intense FATIGUE. I was able to go to a doctor after my initial weight gain and all my blood work, hormones etc were normal, that was 2 years ago. I just have no idea which medication to be looking at. My main issue is the exhaustion (pretty sure it's related to my depression), I'd like to not be bone tired every hour of every day. Secondly, I would just like to be taking something that doesn't fuck my libido or appetite up even more. Ideally I'd like to be taking one drug.

I take nothing but a multi-vitamin now. I took Prozac for a year in my teens and just never got a refill when it ran out, I don't really know if it helped. I've been reading about Wellbutrin, Cymbalta and Prozac so any experiences with those would be awesome.......

THANK YOU!!!!!

All antidepressants have a lot more side-effects than you can imagine. They cause you to have suicidal thoughts too. They were designed after benzodiazepines were demonized and doctors + pharmaceutical industry knew that they needed something else to help them stuff their pockets with money. SSRIs... SNRIs... You name it, they were all designed for profit, not to actually help you.

 

[Jabberwocky]

It's hard to tell from what you described what medication you could benefit from. Given what you have said and the fact that you will likely be paying for your meds out of pocket, you might consider starting with Wellbutrin. Fewer side effects than most meds, costs about $100 a month out of pocket (compare to Abilify which is +$1000 a month) you might even lose weight on it and sometimes it's all people require to get out of their depressive funk. That said, it often doesn't do enough for people who are severely depressed. You really ought to speak to a psychiatrist. It also helps to read the internet and learn to describe your condition more accurately. You want to save your psychiatrist the time it takes to diagnose you by accurately describing the symptoms so that you get your medication and a treatment plan that same visit.

 

[Jujuvoodoo]

Hi, thank you for your response! What other info should I be supplying to speed up the process? Everything I've read is just a list of symptoms which I tried to include? Is it just too long?

Mild-moderate depression
Severe fatigue
Weight gain

and I want a medication that can help those but doesn't completely ruin my libido or make me fatter......


Any more info I need to provide to get some help please let me know

 

[flyhighk]

TCAs will increase your appetite and may increase your fatigue.
SSRIs and SNRIs will probably ruin your libido.

Do you exercise ? Do you have a job ?


Healthy Living --> Mental Health

 

[Jujuvoodoo]

Hi, I do exercise, we just moved 20 mins away from my gym so that isn't helping but I hike w my dogs and go to hot yoga weekly. I'm in reasonably ok shape despite the weight gain. I don't work 9-5 but I am my husbands business manager so I do have a routine, deadlines etc.

 

[bladeerunner]

Mild-moderate depression
Severe fatigue
Weight gain

I use Effexor 75mgs (Venlafaxine) and it helps with those problems for me.

My libido disappeared for a couple of weeks, but it's getting back to normal. The pills won't increase it if that's what you're looking for.

 

[Jujuvoodoo]

Did you find that it helped the fatigue?

I just keep reading that Effexor totally exhausts people.

 

[bladeerunner]

I suffer from Dysthymia(chronic depression), sometimes I sleep for 15-16 hours a day, so I can relate to your issues with fatigue.
Some of the side effects from Effexor has been mild problems with sleep in the beginning of my treatment. But since my depression has slowly faded away due to the effects of the pills I've got more energy and less fatigue.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Mild-moderate depression
Severe fatigue
Weight gain

Sorry, didn't mean to imply you were unclear on your symptoms, but wanted to point out that suggesting a medication based solely on your list of symptoms is guesswork. Based on what you said, I think Wellbutrin would be a good one to discuss with doctor. It took me 5 visits to a psychiatrist to get a diagnosis and treatment plan mostly because I was unable to communicate to them effectively what the problem was and was hesitant to accept the label they wanted to give me. It seemed like you need this to move more quickly then that, so my advice is simply to take a self-inventory on what exactly has changed since you've become depressed. Sleeping habits, your emotional landscape, you inner dialog, symptoms of restlessness, anxiety, etc. I'm hoping you can get a diagnosis and treatment plan the same visit. Best Wishes.

 

[Jujuvoodoo]

Hi thank you guys for the responses!

Levelsbeyond, no problem at all, I wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving anything out! I will definitely write that stuff down before going into an appt.

Jammin83, thank you for this info, just to share a bit more, even thru the depression and weight gain I have always eaten reasonably healthily (weight is from over eating not what). I eat a shit load of protein and vegetables and luckily I don't care about carbs so they're not a staple in my diet. I don't eat fast food, drink coffee or soda. I do have magnesium in my multi but this may not be what you're talking about. I do light exercise weekly. I didn't know SNRIs are harder to get off than SSRI, that helps! CBD, THC etc is a downer/depressant for me. They increase both my appetite and fatigue so that is out.

I wanted to add that I know any medication I put in my body could have an adverse reaction. I know the first thing I try may not be right for me, I know there are alternatives to medication. I feel as tho i have explored those. I'm not psychotic, suicidal, homicidal or in search of a quick or life-long fix. I just know myself and I know something isn't right and I don't have the power to change it on my own. I'm hoping that once I find the right medication I can take a low dose for 8 months-1 year and just get the ball moving because I CANNOT go on like this. I'm avoiding my friends, hiding in my house in sweatpants watching Netflix every night and exhausted every waking moment. My husband thinks I'm boring and miserable because I AM! I know that with the right help I can change this.

I hope none of my replies sound snarky, contrary or combative. That's not my intention at all. I just feel the need to be clear about what I know about myself and my expectations. I really am so grateful for all the info and I know it's not easy to help via the Internet. Has anyone had any good experiences on any drugs? Does anything actually work?

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Honestly, I wasn't helped with the fatigue/depression that I had gone through without a decent dose of an SNRI. I can honestly say now that things are looking pretty positive. Sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error to find the right combination, but it's definitely worth trying. Some SSRI medications are activating, too. You mentioned Prozac, and that I believe is a stimulating SSRI. Drinking abou two cups of coffee per day, according to my research, is actually fairly healthy for the brain, so you might want to look into that.

You're not boring and miserable, and it is furthermore not your fault that you are mentally ill. Additionally, there is real help out there for you!

And yes, my antidepressant does work for me. Please don't give up!

 

[SixBuckets]

I've had far better luck with SNRIs than SSRIs. I've previously been on Effexor and am now on Cymbalta. I dropped down a third of my Cymbalta dose a few weeks ago and it was nowhere near as horrible as I'd expected.

Realistically, though, you just need to try a a bunch of meds until you find something that works. They all work differently on different people.

 

[doshiyo]

You should be aware that SNRIs can be particularly difficult to withdrawal from. Effexor, Pristiq, Cymbalta, etc. can be some of the hardest psych meds to come off of. Pristiq in particular can not even be reliably tapered. I had a good friend of mine who just came off effexor and she had a really difficult time, was even suicidal at times. If you only have mild/moderate depression then I would urge you to stay away from some of these meds as most mild cases of depression can be remedied with a change of diet and exercise. A magnesium supplement can help with depression as well, as many people are deficient in it. CBD oil has also been shown to help ease anxiety, depression and also acts as an antipsychotic at the right dosage. It's legal in all 50 states and most places in the world. It will have far fewer side effects then many of these pharmaceuticals do, which in all honesty, can be quite dangerous and have the opposite effect of what you are looking for in some people. I am not trivializing what you are going through at all, but you need to know these facts before you go on them so you can make an informed decision about how to approach this problem.

Some people do benefit from SSRIs and SNRIs but these generally aren't a life-long solution. They can allow you to make the necessary changes in your life and get a better grip on things but they are not really good for long term use. Lots of these meds have an expiration date on how long they will actually work for you.

Totally agree

 

[dez79]

I know this might be a bad idea but nicotine gum fixed my fatigue weight gain from AD , also mood lifting but down side highly addictive