Hi everyone

I just wanted to ask about the side effects of medications. My partner has just gone onto an antidepressant after fighting against it for years. For the first 5 or so days he actually seemed better, but yesterday he turned into what he calls a "zombie"... he slept 4 hours during the day yesterday, and when he's awake he's all spaced out, can't focus on anything, he's really tired all the time...

He just keeps saying "I really hate feeling like this"... its basically made a lot of his symptoms worse, even though it was supposed to give him more energy its just made him tired.

I want to know if anyone else has been through this... are these symptoms likely to go away by themselves, or will he need to try another medication? is there anything i can do to help him out while he's low?

thanks

It only took me 4 days to wipe out on Paxil, not 4-6 weeks of "let's see how you feel..."

This medication is clearly not playing well with his brain.

I have been on a ton of different anti-depressants. Some made me feel weird, some didn't work at all and then I found one that worked for me. They usually say that you can tell in 10 days if it will work or not and about 2-4 weeks for the full effect. Maybe give it a few more days and if he still feels weird, go back to the doc and try another one. There are tons of them out there. So many people take them today so there are lots of options.

Sisu

Listen, call the doctor please. Don't let me talk down to you and tell you to wait...if you feel worse on the med...than he needs to me off of it...

Might be of interest:

SSRI's - The Evidence For and Against
How Do You Know If The Meds Are Working Or Working Against You?
How Many Medications Do You Take?

Hi,

The meds should not be making him feel worse than he did before taking the meds. If he feels worse, I would really suggest calling the doctor. I don't know what med he is on, but when I was on Zoloft, I felt like a "zombie" and had my doctor take me off of it immediately. Good luck.

Best,
Rachel

I tried a number of different anti depressants that did just that to me and never took them for more than a week or so. I called my doctor and we tried something else. Sometimes she would tell me to take them at night before going to bed because the "tired" effect would take place at bed time and be gone by the time you wake up.

Also, there are lots of times the family and friends will see changes (good and bad) before the "patient" does when meds are concerned - so kindly talk to him and have him call his doctor with this info - very important not to suffer. This is especially important if he has been resistant for a long time so that he doesn't think that all meds will do the same thing to him. This might make him not want to try another.

Many of the meds I tried did the same thing to me but when I found one that helped - my family saw a difference in me and I hadn't told them I had started meds - they asked me if I was taking something.

Share this with him if he gets discouraged.

Most meds with give side effects....some more than others. My hubby has had bad side effects with all the meds so finally going back to basics.....the natural way...plenty of exercise, melatonin for sleep, and Omegas......brain food........after years of bio-contamination.......hubby has a full nights sleep with Melatonin.

Thanks, it really helps to hear that he's not the only one. He has picked up a bit, but we just have to see what each new day brings. He's going to the doc on monday and they will discuss the options.

Its great to have support through these forums

The side effects of some of the anti-depressants is to increase depression and to increase suicidal ideation. If a person is heading downwards on medication, it can be very, very serious. So, be watchful if your DH is acting that tired and out of it.