Anti depressants can send you manic

[BrittaPerry]

Can I just ask anyone who is fairly new on anti depressants to keep an eye out for signs of mania? It is fairly rare, but for me it made me very ill, but it doesn't feel ill to start with, if you catch my drift.

If you start making rash decisions, get an insatiable sex drive, start spending loads, can't sleep, see or hear things that others don't, start having brilliant business ideas, become really creative, realise you are better or more important than everyone else, realise everyone is looking at you or that tv, radio, etc are messages just to you, or start drinking/taking drugs more than before, speak o your doctor.

On't stop the anti depressant without medical advice, and don't worry - most of these symptoms could just mean you are coming out of your depression and getting back to normal. It is worth being aware though.

Will def look out for these symptoms, although I think my other half might like insatiable sex !! Did you stop the pills and if you did what happened?
Thanks for the warning.

I got put on other pills, and there was a lot of messing about, but now I am stable on a mood stabiliser :)

I have a few of these symptoms but I'm not manic at all :-) but thanks for the heads up.

It is well known that SSRI can cause symptoms of mania in a small minority of people who have bipolar disorder than than bog standard unipolar depression.

"If you start making rash decisions, get an insatiable sex drive, start spending loads, can't sleep, see or hear things that others don't, start having brilliant business ideas, become really creative, realise you are better or more important than everyone else, realise everyone is looking at you or that tv, radio, etc are messages just to you, or start drinking/taking drugs more than before, speak o your doctor."

Sadly if someone is that ill, I doult that they will have a clue what is happening to them. I have never experienced mania, but friends who experienced mania had no clue that they were ill. It would have been pretty hard for friends or family to get them to go to the doctor.

Generally if people start displaying the symptoms that you describe, which are of hypomania / mania, then the medical advice is to STOP taking anti-depressants with imidiate effect and for the doctors to use other types of medication to manage the depression.

They are certainly not signs of returning health.

It happened to me too
It all crept up on me over many months or maybe a whole year or two. Well it had to creep in slowly, because I was a shy person, and the changes in me took some getting used to! I mean that I had to justify my changes of attitude to myself. It's hard to explain... I got to the stage where I was drinking 10 units a night when I was a non-drinker before, I had joined dating sites - I fancied flings... I told my DP of 20 years that an open relationship was the way forward. He was a bit surprised! and I spent a lot - I am currently £8,000 in debt when I had savings before.
I did realize what was happening to me after I read an article somewhere about SSRI-induced hypomania and recognized all the signs, but I carried on and tried to keep a lid on the excesses, and was amazed to find I couldn't!
I came off them abruptly last winter after I scared myself, and was duly able to stop drinking without even trying, as well as stop all the other impulsive behaviours -there was overeating too- but tbh I'm almost considering going back on them because I was taking them for social anxiety, and I am now back to feeling shy and awkward which it is not a good place to be when job searching/volunteering/training . Does anyone know what other ADs I could take for social anxiety? I was feeling cool as a cucumber when I was on citalopram. It was physically impossible for me to blush or panic. It took the worry out of social situations and made me act spontaneously... It was especially useful at work, but all relationships improved. I do miss it. Perhaps if I took a lower dose? Although I was already on 10mg which is supposed to be the minimum. Which AD triggered your episode BrittaPerry?
I fear that any drug that is going to make me sociable is bound to lift inhibitions in other areas too, and I find it hard to believe there are alternatives...

I agree with Reallytired - do you think it was the diagnosis that was wrong and you have bi polar rather than unipolar depression. I appreciate that you are just warning people but I am a bit worried that this will scare a lot of people as so many posters are scared of taking ADs and I think this is because there are so many myths around about what they can do to you. I know that for some people ADs produce bad side effects, and often the meds have to be changed etc.

Mary I think you have abswered your own query as you say citalopram suited you very well in the past. I don't think any of us can say which sort of AD is best for someone else, and medics don't really know. It's all trial and error.

Oh, I know the iagnosis was wrong. It is just if I had known to be aware for these smptoms, I could have got them sorted out sooner.

The answer is definitely not to stop taking the pills. It could mean changing the medication

ADs made my anxiety worse and the light headedness was awful. There are different ones out there I would consider changing them or taking a smaller dose.

I wanted to offer the opposite perspective on this I am a type 1 bipolar with severe pychosis and I have periods of catatonia, I had my first episode of Mania when I was 13 where I changed from a straight a student the girl thought of as a geek in to the bad girl, lost my virginity on a one off broke up with my long term boyfriend and slept with numerous boys/men one of which was 21. As the child of a drug addict I was always vehemently anti drugs yet started taking them, and drinking a bottle of vodka a night and entered into abusive relationships because I found it a thrill to have physically agressive fights with someone bigger than me.

I also stopped going to school and didnt bother coming home at nights. My mother was worried sick tried to get me to see someone but was unable to convince me to go I didnt realise I was seeing things but I knew voices were talking to me. Then one day I sort of woke up and racked with guilt and nightmares over what I had done I started trying harder than ever to be good, I had a few minor episodes but did not have another big one till 15.

On this one I was first admitted to a normal hospital after a failed suicide attempt on a depressive episode, and as I hadnt eaten properly in months was physically unable to stand. I was kept in for 2 months before I was physiaclly able to be discharged where I was admitted to pychiatric services. I spent over a year in and out being very closely monitered. my life continued up and down before I was diagnosed at age 22 after a major mixed episode. I am saying this so people can see I am not a mild borderline case of bipolar, yet when I gave birth a year ago and started feeling depressed my pychiatrist prescribed seroxat and trazodone, I asked about the risk and he said it was minimal, and just monitered me closer.

(anyone who is depressed would be monitered closely) it is only now nearly a year after that my CPNs and pychiatrist feel I need to switch to a anti pychotic. The risk of switching is very low and as a manic episode is not usually a sudden onset but a gradual one HCP (either CPNS or Pychiatrists or pychologist)will be trained to spot the signs and act accordingly. Please dont let anyone be afraid of taking antidepressants. Believe it or not most pychiatrists have spent 12 years studing and know wat they are doing they also have access to studies that we dont and trust is needed in order for people to relay and depend on thier pychiatrist. HTH with anyone who reads this and feels nervous about taking anti ds. Sorry for the essay.

Don't apologise crawling - I think it is very brave of you to post the details of your psychiatric history, without a hint of self pity. You certainly have had a very hard time, and is very difficult to understand how you have coped when your mental illness started when you were still a child really (at 13) and it's a difficult enough time being on the brink of adolesence, without all the problems that you had.

You sound like you are very positive about HCPs and that you have had a good service, which isn't always the case as I'm sure you know. I do hope that you will be able to enjoy your baby and that you continue to get the support that you need. Thank you very much for your post.

crawling I have a huge amount of respect for you posting that.

I had my first severe depressive episode at the age of 15 and that was hard enough without going psychotic. Considering your history the way that you've handled having your baby and your condition, I hope it doesn't sound patronising to say you should feel rightfully proud of yourself.

NanaNina thank you I am sad not everyone has not got the same experience of HCPs Ido hope in time that will change. I got through for two reasons both of which my illness has actually given me, one the memories dont feel like me to be honest it feels like reading a book, and two when you are upset about something it can be hard to deal with but then you get depressed and its 100 times worse then you are ok and the thing that was upsetting is not as bad now you feel normal IYSWIM. I dont mean to sound like everyone should trust their HCPs but maybe some positive stories will help them to trust or complain about their treatment if it is not positive.

Thank you very much keema you have supported me greatly on my thread as well as this, incidently my baby is my third and last , I had my first at 17. It doesnt sound patronising at all, and pychosis is not only negative, believe it or not I noticed years ago that I can create a new world in my head if needs be and actually believe it is true as long as I need to(perfect escape from depression) sounds silly but one of the pychologists I saw said it was most likely because of the pychosis, so I am able to escape when I need to IYSWIM. And it sounds like you have had a tough time as well and you should feel very proud. I hope that what I am saying doesnt sound silly.