AD's-if i dont take them i go nuts,but when i do i feel numb and emotionless.help!!

[Divastrop]

i am fed up with this.am i really going to have to spend my life feeling like an emotionless zombie?

i am on fluoxetine for the 4th time,this time for PND.i was on it when pregnant with dc5,and carried on untill she was about 9 weeks when they stopped working.i tried seroxat but couldnt handle the SE's.having tried almost every other AD at one time or another i was put on venlafaxine(effexor),which were great at first but then just zombie-fied me plus i was feeling like i was addicted to them.so i came off them and went back on prozac,but after about 8 weeks the numbness returned so i stopped them cold turkey(bad idea) and within 2 weeks i was a wreck,screaming at the kids,paranoid,and in the end suicidal.so i started taking them again.

its been 3 months now and i am so sick of feeling nothing.its nice not to get wound up with the kids or dh but i still feel anxious all the time,i just cant express myself or deal with it.i have no sex drive.dh think s i dont care about him anymore and i dont blame him,i am just a nothing.

i dont know what to do,i am so frustrated i want to scream,but if i tried i would probably just end up offering dh a brew

Message withdrawn

Go see your GP and discuss alternatives and also discuss the possiblity of cognitive behavioural therapy with them. It may help to get to the root of your problem or at least help you to manage the symptoms better.

i am having group therapy which is CBT-based.it is helping alot,but we are only halfway through.

dior-i honestly think there arent any AD's left that i havent tried.before i was put on the effexor my gp wrote a list of every one i'd tried and it was very long,and made me feel im too fussy.i have tried a few tri-cyclics but they all made me too drowsy,i cant take anything that will make me drowsy when i have 5 kids to look after.

Message withdrawn

Speak to your GP about alternatives. I'm on fluoxetine at the minute and have had it before and sooo agree with the zombie like state.

More recently I've taken sertraline for PND as I was Bfing, and that made me feel so much more normal, with a normal sex drive and everything. I stopped when I found out I was pregnant again (cold turkey as well....baaaaad idea as you say!) and lasted three months before things kicked in again. now back on fluoxetine and back to feeling numb .

there will be something out there that suits and has you feeling your normal self again. Take Care

have you seen a consultant psychiatrist? he/ she will be much better at prescribing the right meds in the right dosage for me

for me, the numbness would be more bearable than feeling out of control.

right dosage for you* not me! ooops!

Message withdrawn

i am on 20mg,i have heard there are 10mg ones available but my gp has never suggested this.

dior-ive not heard of that one.i will see my gp again.prozac has worked great for me in 2 pregnancies,but doesnt seem to have the same effect when im not preg.

no advice just empathy as I feel the same quite often. I am not on anything at the moment and have been off them for about 4mths as last time I went back onto venlaflaxine I was suicidal, self harming again and generally a wreck. Now I just live with the constant mood swings and anxiety that makes sleeping a nightmare and going out horrible.

lulu-i cant see a psychiatrist as the only one in this town had to close his waiting list.my gp told me this when i was on effexor and she was unable to increse the dose as only a psych could prescribe higher doses-but i couldnt be reffered to one!

that is terrible. can you be referred outside of the PCT? can anyone lend/give you the moeny to see somoene privately?

and nemo, i am sorry you are having a hard time too x

i dont know,but i doubt it.the PCT covers a large area and i wouldnt be able to travel anyway.i know nothing about private healthcare,except that it's for posh people.

i know i have been feeling like this for about 2 weeks,before that i was ok ish,not great but not too 'numb'.im starting to wonder if it has something to do with being given different brands of the drug.i know its supposed to be the same but how would i know?