Vonnegutjunky Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 One if the things that has always bothered me was wondering while I am on antidepressants is how much control do I have over my brain, or are the ads hijacking it from me? So I recently contacted a researcher who studies things like mind over matter, and ways that humans control their thinking and emotions from a cognitive perspective - I will paste my email and his reply below : Hello Dr. Posner, I recently read an article mind over matter in reference to your research - I am curious to know if you might be able to answer a question for me - While on an SSRI will individuals still have ultimate control over their neurotransmitter levels and receptors, by way of exercise and meditation, and positive thinking? Or does the medication have final say regarding how much neurotransmitters and receptors are created and used? I hope my question makes sense- Thank you His reply: The best research in this area by Helen Mayberg suggests that SSRI and behavioral methods work by separate brain networks. Thus neither has a final effect but both methods can contribute in different ways to improved mood. all the best, Mike This makes me feel better than while coming off the meds I can still do things to improve my mood and heal my brain even if I am still taking them- I was feeling like I had to wait until all of the drugs were gone in order to begin feeling better, but I am glad to know that's not necessarily the case Hope this can help someone else *Currently at 8.2-8.5 mg of my 10mg pill of Paxil (they actually weigh 12.5mg) january 2023 I began reducing my med again. I was a 9mg weight for years, I went to 8.9 in January, went to 8.6mg in February, and in March 2023 I went down to 8.5-8.2 mg ( my scale varies, so I stick within that .3 range because of that) *No other supplements or vitamins *Taper schedule in the pdf Blank.pdf https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-5vShtJtwAOGA30OxIP87steLmMdFzD29F0fzAPD564 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btdt Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I think it sound hopeful as long as your doing a slow taper i don't believe it works the same at all if you do cold turkey... cause i did cold turkey and there was no way I was affecting my brain in any way ct wd controls the entire show. At least for a time... and there is delayed wd to think of too... for a time I was not too bad but when it hit it hit hard and stayed long. WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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