Antidepressant medication after quitting Oxy.

[AS_Steve]

  I saw my doctor today and told him for the first time that I am done with the Oxy's and told him how and why I did it. He was a little concerned for me about quitting so fast without talking to him first and also for the fact that he thinks that I should accept pain meds as a way to have some quality of life because of my spine disorder. When he put me on them 10yrs ago I was crying in his office about having to live with so much pain and that I had a hard time doing my job as a mechanic because of my pain and stiffness.
  He now thinks I made a rash decision based on things I've read on the internet. He asked me how I was feeling in general and I told him that I was going through mood swings where one day I would wish that I was dead and the next I have hopes that things will be better off the Oxycontin. He told me that I seemed depressed and that I might become even more depressed in the near future so he wrote me a script for an antidepressant called Cipralex. I've been on Effexor before and he said that this was faster acting with better results.

  Anyone take this before? Any comments?

  Steve  p.s. the wd's are getting a little easier each day.

[fengirl09]

I think that you telling your doc that you were done w/Oxy's shows how strong a person you are and that is very powerful.  I also think the AD's could help more then you could imagine.  It won't hurt to try.  They helped me with coming to terms w/my addiction and my recovery.  I also have to say therapy helped greatly too.  You will be in my thoughts.

fengirl09

[troubleinohio]

i think the AD's will help you greatly. Even if this particular one doesnt work right with your physiology, try another until you find the right one. If it werent for my prozac Im not sure Id be here today.

[bladerunnerb]

Cipralex is the same thing as Lexapro in the US.  I've been on Lexapro for over two years (maybe longer) and I can't tell you how well it as worked for me.  Tried Zoloft, Effexor XR, Paxil, Paxil CR and could not tolerate any of them.  Gave up for a year, and then went back to the doctor and we tried Lexapro.  Side effects were about 10% of the others (for me) and within one week I noticed a HUGE difference.  After six weeks, I was back to normal and did not have one anxiety or panic attack until this week when I went off of lortab cold turkey.  The doctor increased dosage to 20mg from 10mg, because he thinks that will help a little with the anxiety, and he thinks that 20mg is the best dosage anyway.  Different SSRI's/SSNI's work different for people.  Some tolerate meds that others can't at all, so don't be afraid to try others.  However, this one he put you on has a very mild side effect profile.  The only thing I have now is delayed ejaculation, and that is not always a bad thing...lol.

[Chi_Chi_Lover]

You are going to have depressiong after being on the pain meds for so long. It's just part of the process. A lot of people in here do start the anti-depressants after w/d's. I'm sure they can give you some good info from their experience. For me, giving up the pain pills was just part of my issue. I wanted to give up all meds if possible and get really healthy so that's what I have done. I was blessed to be able to do this but for some it's just too much and I think anti-depressants do wonders for those people.

I took Zoloft for years, it made me feel like I was in a daze. Kind of like cold med makes you feel. Effexor is a newer anti D so good luck with it.

[shadowknight]

Hi Steve. Your doctor I guess would know which one would be better. Cipralex is an SSRI where as Effexor is an SNRI. What I know is that SNRIs are given when SSRIs dont work. Even I am on an SSRI right now and an antipsychotic. It took around 3 or 4 weeks for me to start feeling great. SSRIs take time to kick in. But once they do, you'll feel great!

[Coolio Hernendez]

I have been thinking about Effexr,  How was it for you?

[Rose703]

I don't know anything about AD's so I can't really answer your question but I wanted to let you know that I'm here and always wishing the best for you.

This will also give your question a gentle push so you're back up at the top!!