Symptoms: Brain zaps, emotional blunting, cognitive impairment, depersonalization/derealization, suicidal ideation, severe anxiety/panic, GI disturbances
I was not told about the risks of getting on this medication at 16. The doctor let me know I probably had a slight chemical imbalance that a lot of people experience and that this medication could help balance me out and that I could be so much happier and that it was a simple fix. It was not.
After 5 years I would wake up every morning drenched in sweat that smelt sour. My anxiety wasn't really completely resolved, and I was violently exhausted all of the time. Barely able to work 4 days a week, napping 3-4 hours a day just to function. No emotions to boot.
Once I got off the meds I had the most horrific withdrawals. 2 weeks of being completely debilitated and 2-3 months of agoraphobia. I still, a few years after the fact, struggle with panic attacks and the occasional brain zap.
After getting off my meds I contacted my doctor to tell him the horror I had experienced, and he told me maybe I was really mentally ill off the medications and that that wasn't normal and that I should get back on them. I'm very thankful for the internet because hearing other people's stories of their withdrawal symptoms helped push me through. I knew in my heart he was wrong.
All of this because of a bit of what I would consider normal teenage anxiety about navigating high school and CPTSD that could've been solved with therapy. I believe these meds should be extremely difficult to be prescribed and honestly shouldn't be prescribed at all. Access to education and therapy should be available and pushed onto patients. Not once did he talk about eating habits, the importance of sleep, or even exercise.
Something needs to be done. Thank you to all of you who are helping bring this issue to life because these meds have significantly affected me negatively, and I'm happy I had a good therapist who was able to help push me out of this mess.