Mental Health SSRIs and psychosis/schizophrenia

[Jabberwocky]

When I was diagnosed with drug induced schizophrenia 3 years ago my shrink gave me some Zoloft (sertraline) because I scored highly on the little depression questionnaire they give you.

I was already on several mediations (olanzapine, risperidone, lithium, oxcarbazepine, adderall, eszopiclone, propranolol, hdc thiazide, klonopin and librium) and always doubted the efficacy of SSRIs so I filled the script but never took any of it.

I didn't want to piss off my doctor since he was hooking it up with benzos and adderall so I told him I took it a few days and it made my schizo even worse. His response was "hmm yeah sometimes that happens.".

My thought was wtf? Why didn't you tell me? So I never took any and fast forward 3 years, I never tossed the pills. I was looking for motivation so I randomly decided to eat one. 50mg of sertraline which was the prescribed dose.

I actually had a very strong positive placebo for about 8 hours. So strong I almost convinced myself it was a real immediate effect....

Then the voices started again for the first time in over 2 years. The music hallucinations came back full force. I started feeling weird and dissociated again. It all came back to me: SSRIs can make it worse! Kicked myself in the ass.

It was really bad for several days. It's been about a month now and I still have more symptoms than before taking it, but not as bad they seem to be subsiding.

My schizophrenia was triggered by abusing LSD, DMT and plilocin so I guess it follows that my serotonergic system is damaged which then makes SSRIs an aggravant.

I don't understand the science but haven't looked into it.

I'm just curious if there is anyone else knowledgeable or experienced with this. Thanks.

 

[deficiT]

It is somewhat well known that you shouldn't give SSRI's to people with bipolar, as it can trigger manic states. I would imagine the result could be similar for someone with schizophrenia. I was told I'm schizoaffective so I've experienced symptoms of both bipolar and schizophrenia, and SSRIs definitely can make me manic if I'm not also taking mood stabilizers.

I used to get extra drunk when I first started taking SSRI's back when I was 18 and 19, they really killed my inhibitions. Nowadays they just make me feel better. But I'm also on olanzapine and aripiprazole.

 

[Jabberwocky]

It is somewhat well known that you shouldn't give SSRI's to people with bipolar, as it can trigger manic states. I would imagine the result could be similar for someone with schizophrenia.

Just popping in to say i second this.

What did your doctor say in reply to all this?

@SnafuInTheVoid

 

[Jabberwocky]

What did your doctor say in reply to all this?

It is somewhat well known that you shouldn't give SSRI's to people with bipolar, as it can trigger manic states. I would imagine the result could be similar for someone with schizophrenia. I was told I'm schizoaffective so I've experienced symptoms of both bipolar and schizophrenia, and SSRIs definitely can make me manic if I'm not also taking mood stabilizers.

That doctor diagnosed me as bipolar, which I NEVER agreed with, and still don't. I've been to a dozen or more shrinks in my life and not once has bipolar been brought up. I've never felt bipolar. In fact, I feel the opposite. I never have mood swings at all and my mood is always stable. Unless he knows something I dont, which is possible. In my opinion he diagnosed me bipolar because of some of the things I said like intrusive unwanted thoughts, and maybe the music hallucinations which I believe I read can be related to bipolar. I still have no idea why he diagnosed me that way. I've never had a manic state in my life. Lithium did fuck all for me only side effects.

Honestly he gave me a bunch of those depression/ADD/bipolar questionnaires which I filled out honestly. Guess that means I have all 3 because he gave me meds for all. Again, he gave me adderall AFTER diagnosing me schizo... which is.. well... risky is a good word.

I still, and will always, never believe I'm bipolar. Makes no sense to me.

ADD? sure.... who isn't ADD sometimes? Depression... sure, but my depression is directly related to how much I achieve and reaching my daily goals. I can be severely depressed for a period of time but as soon as I man up and get my ass off the couch and do something I instantly feel better. It's not something I would really take meds for.

Bipolar? No. My sister is bipolar and so is my father... maybe that had something to do with his diagnosis.

as of my use to SSRIs, they have immediate effect.

What kind of effect? Honestly I almost felt high in a way but kept convincing myself it was placebo. First time taking any antidepressant in 10+ years.

 

[✿Dai₷y✿]

I wasn't aware of SSRIs making auditory hallucinations worse so had a google search, found this, wonder why the hell doctors just hand out SSRIs without considering the consequences.

Sertraline and psychotic symptoms: a case series - PubMed

Sertraline and other SSRIs have a relatively favorable side-effect profile and are widely prescribed. We report the emergence of psychotic symptoms during treatment with sertraline in four patients. Three of these patients had a history of psychotic illness and were on antipsychotic medication...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I wouldn't know enough about the intricacies of diagnosing bipolar or schizophrenia , I just know diagnoses are not arrived at without a long period of time of assessment. Also, its possible to have more than one disorder which affect each other.

Mental health is something that needs fairly consistent and honest doctor-patient relationship. Sometimes a diagnosis arrived at based on the patients life at the time can change as life changes.


It should be fine with your doctor for you to cease zoloft immediately as its not helping. You could well be bipolar and have ongoing schizophrenia from drug use. The meds you listed should work without adding more into the mix .

Ssris dont work immediately, takes a few weeks at least to notice anything and this increases depression in itself.

SSRIs have never been proven to be effective at all against anxiety, they just don't increase it and are prescribed in place of benzos despite not working.

Maybe zoloft was given as its supposed to help with lethargy which may be caused by your other meds. Adderall will do that without fucking you around so just stick to that.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Maybe zolift was given as its supposed to help with lethargy which may be caused by your other meds. Adderall will do that without fucking you around so just stick to that.

Definitely possible. I was having narcoleptic symptoms for a few months, which ended up getting me fired from my job at the time. I was literally falling asleep standing up and the adderall only helped if I took at least 40mg.

 

[✿Dai₷y✿]

What about modafinil? Thats given for narcolepsy here. The drugs you're onto cause sleepiness , it rights itself eventually but that sluggishness is a thing, won't ever go away. Getting proper sleep helps, no late nights etc

Do you suspect your doctor will be trying to get you off adderall and Benzos and on to an SSRI as a long term plan as that's what happens here, doctors have to make plans to wean off these medicines ot risk losing their license.

If that's the case he might not be telling you yet and make some excuse to wean you off like "you're on SSRI now, you don't need the benzos and adderall anymore".

Maybe modnafil would help if that happens.


Otherwise, no idea what the technical term for your illness is, sounds like drug induced psychosis and something underlying, my mate has schizophrenia and takes clozapine, she has severe auditory and visual hallucinations and people trying to get her to do stuff for them in her head. Horrible drug but it worked.

 

[Flynnal]

Do you suspect your doctor will be trying to get you off adderall and Benzos and on to an SSRI as a long term plan as that's what happens here, doctors have to make plans to wean off these medicines ot risk losing their license.

One thing I just can't understand is why would you wean off medicines that are actually working and replace them with something that massively fucks up your sex drive and satisfaction? It's almost comical.