Misc SSRIs - Zoloft - Prescribed Instead Of Klonopin For Anxiety/ADD

[OpiatEuphoriaReturns]

What dose of sertraline did you take? Maybe you started with a high dose. In any case, there are people who are more sensitive to SSRIs and don't tolerate them very well. The only one that made me feel a little strange was escitalopram but I took that for a little over 1 month.
I know a lot of people who take benzos every day and always the same dose. I believe that in these people the benefits outweigh the risks. In your case, also, it does not seem to me that you have been abusing your medication.

My dose was actually 25mg. I know it's low but it felt weird taking it.
Thank you and I really don't. 1mg a day and I'm good. I don't want anymore or any less. If I wanted anymore it would be to save in case one day I lose my script again or something like that.
But I started my Suboxone at a clinic many years ago and after testing clean every single time for 6 months, my counselor talked to one of the main physicians there and asked to see me.
I saw her and explained I just take 8mg Suboxone and 1mg Klonopin a day. I don't mess with anything else. Period. I just don't have any interest in getting high anymore (Weed from time to time)
Anyway, that was over 3 years ago. I have never tested dirty. I started on 10mg of Suboxone and dropped to 8mg shortly after and then never dropped or increased the dose.
She always knew I was taking Klonopin from the street but she said she couldn't prescribe it herself and I would need a psychiatrist.
Now I am finally seeing one haha.

 

[supersonic89]

My dose was actually 25mg. I know it's low but it felt weird taking it.
Thank you and I really don't. 1mg a day and I'm good. I don't want anymore or any less. If I wanted anymore it would be to save in case one day I lose my script again or something like that.
But I started my Suboxone at a clinic many years ago and after testing clean every single time for 6 months, my counselor talked to one of the main physicians there and asked to see me.
I saw her and explained I just take 8mg Suboxone and 1mg Klonopin a day. I don't mess with anything else. Period. I just don't have any interest in getting high anymore (Weed from time to time)
Anyway, that was over 3 years ago. I have never tested dirty. I started on 10mg of Suboxone and dropped to 8mg shortly after and then never dropped or increased the dose.
She always knew I was taking Klonopin from the street but she said she couldn't prescribe it herself and I would need a psychiatrist.
Now I am finally seeing one haha.

25mg is the starting dose, so if I were you, I'd flush that shit down the toilet.
Are you from USA? Apparently doctors are getting more strict when prescribing benzos and I think more so if you have a history of drug abuse.
Perhaps you could find another psychiatrist and avoid talking about drug use in the past.

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

Are you from USA? Apparently doctors are getting more strict when prescribing benzos and I think more so if you have a history of drug abuse.
Perhaps you could find another psychiatrist and avoid talking about drug use in the past

Not just in USA, that's in the UK too and I got told the other day by my friend they're actually banning benzos on the NHS

 

[supersonic89]

Not just in USA, that's in the UK too and I got told the other day by my friend they're actually banning benzos on the NHS

Wow that really sucks my friend. I guess patients taking benzos docs will make them switch to the almost always useless SSRIs. I was reading that just after 4 years and 7 different antidepressants there was some improvement on depresssion and anxiety patients.

 

[deficiT]

Update-10/17/2020:
I took the Zoloft now for over a week and all I feel is side effects.
I am finding it difficult to even wake up in the morning. I get hot and cold sweats. I feel completely off, somewhat dizzy, odd throughout the day. Just overall feel worse than with no drugs. It feels like poison.

I am going to my Suboxone Doctor on the 21st to refill my Suboxone and do a check up. She is the one who recommended this new psychiatrist to me and she knows I have been illegally taking Klonopin the past few years because my script ran out many years ago. She knows I take them responsibly, have zero arrest record, test clean for over 3 years straight now (except Klonopin, which she doesn't test for but I would be dirty for benzos if she did).
So I will ask her to recommend Klonopin 1mg/Day to my new Psychiatrist and that should solve it instead of wasting weeks or months taking SSRIs and feeling terrible on them when all I have is ADD and Anxiety, I am far from depressed or feeling nothing at all.
From my previous experience with Klonopin, my old Therapist wrote a letter/email to my psychiatrist and told her that he suggested Klonopin as a great chronic anxiety medication for me and it worked, the medicine and recommendation. So I will try that out.
I will update on what happens but I really don't know at this point. I am only hoping I either get prescribed the Klonopin or something else that works for chronic anxiety.

Hopefully that works out for you. A lot of times doctors will prescribe SSRI's as the firstline treatment if you will for many mental health diagnoses. Generally speaking they are well tolerated and helpful for many types of mental illness, but they certainly aren't for everyone. For me having bipolar, I ended up trying all the SSRI's before I was diagnosed w/ bipolar because doctors just thought I was anxious and depressed.

Zoloft and similar meds would take my inhibitions away and trend me toward a manic state, which was no bueno, especially when I was 18 or whatever and first started taking these meds. Just ended up drinking a lot and dropping out of college.

It took me taking many, many different meds before I finally found a psych to just give me the klonopin I thought I needed. I was on it for a couple years, and after a while for me they didn't work as well, and the withdrawal from benzos is far worse in most cases than SSRI withdrawal. A 1mg dose isn't that heavy though.

I've found gabapentin and hydroxyzine are "easier to be blessed w/", and they have a little more staying power as far as dealing w/ anxiety. I have such a benzo tolerance at this point, that they rarely give me true relief. The rebound anxiety when you become habituated to benzos is no fun at all. But it sounds like you've been down the road before and are adamant. If that is the case, they will very possibly want to give you more meds before putting you back on klonopin, most doctors are very tight w/ the benzos these days. PS Especially if you are on subs!

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

SSRI's are really tricky :/ They do work objectively? But then it can take a while to find the right one for the right person. Some of those things have god awful withdrawals. Legit people go insane. So you'd have to really not lose your script or just be in a situation where you can't get it for some reason somehow. Not to scare anyone.. some people don't withdraw at all. It's really complicated. But they can work and sometimes addicts on SSRI's suddenly use less of whatever else they're self-medicating because they do work.

 

[deficiT]

SSRI's are really tricky :/ They do work objectively? But then it can take a while to find the right one for the right person. Some of those things have god awful withdrawals. Legit people go insane. So you'd have to really not lose your script or just be in a situation where you can't get it for some reason somehow. Not to scare anyone.. some people don't withdraw at all. It's really complicated. But they can work and sometimes addicts on SSRI's suddenly use less of whatever else they're self-medicating because they do work.

Fair enough, the brain zaps can get shitty, I reckon I was never on one long enough to get the worst of it. And I w/d from both paxil and effexor, which are supposedly the worst I believe.

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

Fair enough, the brain zaps can get shitty, I reckon I was never on one long enough to get the worst of it. And I w/d from both paxil and effexor, which are supposedly the worst I believe.

Brain zaps? is anything potentially dangerous? like physically not regarding behavior.

 

[deficiT]

Brain zaps? is anything potentially dangerous? like physically not regarding behavior.

Generally at worst you'll get a kind of light headed spacy feeling at moments during SSRI withdrawal, and it can feel like electricity coursing through mildly, hence the term.

That probably sounds worse than it is. If you taper an SSRI properly, the withdrawal will be very mild. You can even use a longer half life one like Prozac to make it even easier. Nothing really remotely close to the acute suffering of an opiate, benzo, or alcohol withdrawal.

Worst side effects from the class in general are the sexual side effects, and for some the weight gain. Generally stabilizes after use though. Otherwise they are pretty widely used and well tolerated, a lot of people take them for a multitude of reasons. They definitely helped my depression at times, just having the motivation to get out of bed was life changing.

When you start taking them and get off, you might get an upset stomach. But that's about the worst of it, they just need to be walked down slowly and you'll hardly notice any withdrawal.

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

Generally at worst you'll get a kind of light headed spacy feeling at moments during SSRI withdrawal, and it can feel like electricity coursing through mildly, hence the term.

That probably sounds worse than it is. If you taper an SSRI properly, the withdrawal will be very mild. You can even use a longer half life one like Prozac to make it even easier. Nothing really remotely close to the acute suffering of an opiate, benzo, or alcohol withdrawal.

Worst side effects from the class in general are the sexual side effects, and for some the weight gain. Generally stabilizes after use though. Otherwise they are pretty widely used and well tolerated, a lot of people take them for a multitude of reasons. They definitely helped my depression at times, just having the motivation to get out of bed was life changing.

When you start taking them and get off, you might get an upset stomach. But that's about the worst of it, they just need to be walked down slowly and you'll hardly notice any withdrawal.

I don't entirely understand why everyone gets on them at one point or another and then ultimately gets off them. Nobody has ever explained that part lol. I've been meaning to ask my boyfriend because he has anxiety apparently enough to have been on those things. I don't really see it but then again anxiety is internal.

Thank god I'm done with collegiate BS. Legitimately thought that anxiety and depression to that degree was going to be perpetual. It turns out I don't really have anxiety or depression so much. It was just school. I suppose it would be irrational to state that I needed substances to get past it. I probably didn't? But then again the doctoral courses made me want to just get something flowing through me other than anxiety or depression.

 

[deficiT]

I don't entirely understand why everyone gets on them at one point or another and then ultimately gets off them. Nobody has ever explained that part lol. I've been meaning to ask my boyfriend because he has anxiety apparently enough to have been on those things. I don't really see it but then again anxiety is internal.

My moms been on Zoloft practically since it came out. So has my older sister. A good bit of people that you might not expect to take psychiatric medicine are likely on an SSRI, if anything. They are just mild and kinda make you feel better, immensely well sold blockbuster drugs, so doctors dole them out a lot and they can help moderate depression and/or anxiety pretty well in comparison to older classes of medicine.

 

[supersonic89]

Generally at worst you'll get a kind of light headed spacy feeling at moments during SSRI withdrawal, and it can feel like electricity coursing through mildly, hence the term.

I must admit that I did like the brainzaps when I quit sertraline hahaha Weird guy I know.

 

[deficiT]

I must admit that I did like the brainzaps when I quit sertraline hahaha Weird guy I know.

The ever so gentle little tingle. Makes it feel like my BRAINS moving!

 

[WitchDr]

I've been on ssri's for 20 yrs an have quit on an off an never was anything compared to trying to quit klonopin after being on it for 15 years an getting up to 3-4mgs a day.
Still havnt completely gotten off. I'm only on .25 mg now but I have to have it, after 15 yrs nothing else has any effect on the anxiety except either benzos, gabapentinoids or antipsychotics an had to get on anti seizure med tegretol cause I started having seizures.
Imo the ssri help a lil after a while but are nothing compared to benzos as far as anxiety relief goes, and they can actually make seizures worse. I've tried many ssri's an they don't have any effect on the anxiety that comes from cutting down on klonopin.

As far as getting klonopin prescribed it was explained to me that only psychiatrist will prescribe it an won't do it if your on any kind of opiate, which might include suboxone or maybe they worry if your an addict you may use opiate with the benzo. It was also explained to me I had to choose one or the other.
Might have better luck with gaba, possibly from regular dr, which is the closest thing to benzo that's not actually a benzo.
Also if you do get the script maybe try to not take the klonopin everyday cause it is addictive af. You may not have had trouble last time but most people who use it everyday eventually have real addiction on their hands. After 15 yrs the withdrawals from just cutting down were so bad I began having seizures, tremors an constant shaking.

 

[Undercontrol]

As

I'm taking anafranil which is the strongest serotonine noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor in the market, she works perfectly the effect is
confidence in self
anti-anixety effect
make sounds more HD
stimulant effect
antiejaculation speed (sex) but libido is still there she just stop the muscle that ejaculate i can musterbate for hours now
strong motivation
sadatation (histamine)

she definitely will make the reward system sensitive for cute things and love you will be more able to enjoy cuteness and talking to others, you will hug the pillow when sleep.

I agree with all this anafranil is the best for anxiety and side affects compared to shitty Zoloft. (My delayed orgasm stopped working though).

So try that but klonipin works the best I just buy it illegally.

 

[OpiatEuphoriaReturns]

Why is your friend getting them yet you can't? I'm not being nosy, it just seems weird.

On July 9, 2020 I was at the emergency room because of issues with renewing an anti-seizure medication, since I couldn't speak to my neurologist (and he wasn't responding to faxes from pharmacy nor would my general practitioner do anything). There was also a woman in the room next to mine, in walls where you could hear EVERYTHING being said. One of my seizures is triggered by anything to do with mentioning, reading, watching, or personally dealing with the circulatory system (such as at medical appointments). I mentioned this trigger to the triage nurse and even the fucking doctor. I had a seizure due to being triggered since some doctor was in the room next to mine and announced to this woman that she was going to listen to the woman's heart - the doctor loudly announced every part of the examination they were going to do, even though neither they nor the woman was deaf and the place was quiet. I had a seizure and, even though I had one right in front of the doctor, she refused to do anything about my prescriptions; she wouldn't even contact the neurologist . Yet they prescribed a written prescription for Ativan for the woman in the room next to mine since she was having panic attacks (I heard everything said).

It sounds like cherry picking, to an extent, since at least the psychiatrist is prescribing something for you and not just telling you that they won't help you yet will help your friend.




I have been on numerous drugs for anxiety, unfortunately most of them were anti-depressants.

I have been on Zoloft, Effexor, Prozac, Paxil, Trazadone, and BuSpar. Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, and Trazadone are all SSRIs. I don't recommend any of them. Effexor is an SNRI (still an anti-depressant). The side effects were shitty, like Zoloft. I found Zolofty and Effeor to be the worst for side effects.

BuSpar didn't have any bad side effects, nor did it really help me either. The only thing it did was make me fall asleep if I accidentally screwed up the dose. BuSpar is supposed to be anxiety; you could look it up and talk to your psychiatrist about it. Most doctors would rather prescribe BuSpar instead of Clonazepam or other benzodiazepines even though BuSpar doesn't do anything.

Funny story:

I once went to this hospital meant for mental health since I needed a renewal for BuSpar, in May 2017. My psychiatrist wasn't able to be contacted since he was out of the province so I went to the mental health hospital since BuSpar is a psychiatric drug that is non-addictive. I thought that because it's on my file as a drug I was on and is non-addictive the doctor in the hospital would prescribe it. I was wrong. The triage nurse and doctor were nasty and the doctor actually used the excuse that he didn't know me well enough therefore didn't feel comfortable prescribing it. I would understand that if this was an opioid or benzodiazepine but it wasn't; I challenged his comment about not knowing me and pointed out that this is an emergency room so how could he know me if he's working in an emergency room and not as my general practitioner or psychiatrist. He didn't respond to that question, he just repeated that he wouldn't do anything and for me to see my family doctor (who wasn't even available either since they were on sick leave).

I left, feeling shitty (due to other things said to me before I saw the doctor - the triage nurse was a huge fucking bitch that made me really upset), frustrated, and did something I had not done since 2012: I went to the liquor store, bought a 1 Litre Orange Flavoured Bicardi Breezer and two Vodka Mudshakes and, when I got home, I drank them all. I was not addicted to alcohol, it doesn't appeal to me; I have only drank on some of the occasions when I felt extremely upset. I didn't even get sick or hungover, nor did I get drunk. Since then, I only drank one more time, the next year, in December 2018: I had a horrendous experience with a bully that picked me up in a taxi; I knew this person from High School. I thought that since we were both adults (29 years old) the bully would be respectful. I was wrong. I ended up getting dropped off somewhere else since I didn't want the bully knowing where I lived in case they tried to rob me later. After I got out of the taxi, I went to the liquor store and bought alcohol (1 Litre Orange Flavoured Bicardi Breezer and two Vodka Mudshakes) and, when I got home, drank them all. I was already out of it since I had taken Clonazepam earlier due to anxiety but the taxi driver made me extremely upset so I bought alcohol again. That was a bad idea since I had taken Clonazepam earlier and was already high (I wasn't high on purpose). I ended up changing the password to my Hotmail, telling off a (now ex) friend (we became ex-friends for a different reason), and posting random crap on websites. I did not know about any of this until the next day when I went online.

I find it ironic that you go to a mental health hospital for help but leave feeling worse; you leave feeling so much worse that you buy liquor to try to numb the pain. I swore after that date that I would never go back to that hospital but unfortunately broke my own promise, twice, since I had no choice - in January 2018 then again this year, because of medication issues. I was helped in January but not this year.

By the way, I turned on the TV when I started drinking after I got home from the liquor store the day I was neglected at the hospital. A movie that I saw the last time I was drinking (Se7en) was on TV when I turned it on (I think about when I drank whenever I hear about or see anything about that movie lol).

Yeah so now she has me on BuSpar and I will give that a shot tomorrow. But from what I remember the pills look similar to Xanax Bars but I remember they made my brain feel weird and electric and this odd body feeling I HATED. But I could not tell my psych this since I took my friend's medication and this was so many years ago when I confused it for a Xanax Bar. So Zoloft down, BuSpar next. I mean if it works for my anxiety I will keep taking it and I am trying to give myself a good mindset on it. I exercise regularly and eat fairly well, I mean I know all the work around of not taking meds or just wanting to get high etc. That is not the case with me.

 

[OpiatEuphoriaReturns]

Hopefully that works out for you. A lot of times doctors will prescribe SSRI's as the firstline treatment if you will for many mental health diagnoses. Generally speaking they are well tolerated and helpful for many types of mental illness, but they certainly aren't for everyone. For me having bipolar, I ended up trying all the SSRI's before I was diagnosed w/ bipolar because doctors just thought I was anxious and depressed.

Zoloft and similar meds would take my inhibitions away and trend me toward a manic state, which was no bueno, especially when I was 18 or whatever and first started taking these meds. Just ended up drinking a lot and dropping out of college.

It took me taking many, many different meds before I finally found a psych to just give me the klonopin I thought I needed. I was on it for a couple years, and after a while for me they didn't work as well, and the withdrawal from benzos is far worse in most cases than SSRI withdrawal. A 1mg dose isn't that heavy though.

I've found gabapentin and hydroxyzine are "easier to be blessed w/", and they have a little more staying power as far as dealing w/ anxiety. I have such a benzo tolerance at this point, that they rarely give me true relief. The rebound anxiety when you become habituated to benzos is no fun at all. But it sounds like you've been down the road before and are adamant. If that is the case, they will very possibly want to give you more meds before putting you back on klonopin, most doctors are very tight w/ the benzos these days. PS Especially if you are on subs!

I got prescribed BuSpar and actually like it mixed with Klonopin but I got my Klonopin from a friend, so I am unsure how to tell my psychiatrist next week that I like it, but then she will keep me on it and not work more toward putting me on Klonopin. What would you recommend? BuSpar doesn't seem to get rid of anxiety for me, it excites my brain when I take 20mg at one time, but other than that I cannot imagine what it would be like without the Klonopin in my system. I might try but other than this odd feeling of excitement in my brain and upping my productivity for a few hours, it does nothing.