antidepressants UPDATE 💭 | TWO MONTHS ON + ANSWERING your QUESTIONS

[@Megansjournal]

little update in my recent vlog linked below if any of you are interested! SERTRALINE UPDATE.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/haOxf3h6ipekhac *thank you all for your support on this video*! 🩶

[@DEBateBookz]

The vulnerability in this video is just commendable, it’s going to help so many people ❤

[@Megansjournal]

thank you debs! I hope so!💭💫

[@clairypie]

When I was diagnosed wirh GAD the first medication I was given to try was escilorapram. I had some rough side effects the first week, but my anxiety was more manageable within 2 weeks. Basically it put a lid on my anxiety so it wouldnt bubble over into a panic attack. I ended changing to sertraline and found it to be more effective with less side effects. At higher doses in the beginning it gave me horrendous insomnia. Anyone out there don't give up on the first you try, it can take awhile to find right dose or medication that works best. If you're reducing dose or going off, do it with doctors advice which will be slow. I get night sweats and dizziness if I forget to take it for more than a day

[@Megansjournal]

that’s one thing I think I forgot to mention in this video! when I started sertraline I had night sweats. ps.. thank you for sharing!

[@alexiscombs5287]

Great video. I recently started it back up for the 2nd time and I’m a month in. Some weeks are good and some weeks I have a lot of increased anxiety and panic. I look forward to watching your journey

[@Megansjournal]

I wish you luck on starting back on them! Also thank you, welcome aboard!☺️

[@tinajohnson5685]

Excellent and very helpful video! Thank you for the update and for answering our questions!

[@Megansjournal]

thank you Tina! my pleasure, I hope you continue to enjoy! take care

[@tinajohnson5685]

@@Megansjournal ❤️

[@amieboulton8326]

Thanks for sharing, it's so nice to hear someone so informed go through the same thing. I'm curious, as a trainee therapist, have you ever been hypnotized as part of therapy? My therapist did it as part of mine and I honestly think it had the best effect out of anything ☺

[@Megansjournal]

thank you so much, you're welcome it's a pleasure! and no I haven't! but its definitely on my list for self discovery haha! thank you for watching- take care!

[@Itspetespective]

So informative!! Keep up the good work

[@Megansjournal]

More to come!

[@jennifer05lpify]

I can definitely relate! My dad was diagnosed with ALS in January 2022 and passed February 2022. I also have GAD and have started sertraline. Your videos are helpful! Hugs to you!

[@Megansjournal]

Thank you so much for sharing, I would love to speak to you in more depth about your experience, my email is [e-mail] or you can reach me on instagram @meganrubytherapy! I’m sorry for your loss, I have been through it, and it’s so cruel. My dad also died with Motor Neurones Disease. - we never found out what type. Thank you so much for watching, it’s a pleasure to help. Meg

[@jennifer05lpify]

@@Megansjournal just emailed you!😊

[@clairypie]

Its interesting that you mention the working memory and focus etc issues and treatment with stimulant medication. I've been doing reading myself as someone who has been going through ADHD diagnosis. I wondered, why is it an issue more so now than before? And there is research saying SSRIs can lower dopamine, which is associated with those issues, and a main target for ADHD medication. Trialling stimulant medication has helped with my anxiety too indirectly, sometimes ADHD symptoms are the root of anxiety and depression, or they just commonly co-exist. If you're female, hormone changes during your cycle also influence severity of symptoms. Anxiety itself can cause some ADHD symptoms to further complicate things. So many intersections of neurobiology, neurochemistry and environmental situations

[@Megansjournal]

that’s so interesting thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment in such detail! the ADHD factor is so interesting, thank you again!

[@clairypie]

@@Megansjournal I really appreciate how open you are in this video but also that you explain any potentially confounding issues when describing the effects. I've found it really hard to find information and especially lived experiences around medication (and why I like to share my own too!) - so keep up the great content 😊 You may be interested in looking into how poorly current official diagnostic critera is at capturing female (or anything other person other than cis white males) presentations of ADHD and ASD, it's interesting but infuriating 🤪

[@Megansjournal]

@@clairypieno problem, thank you too!! I shall definitely take a look into that! Let me know if you have any more recommendations for areas of study! :)

[@ThePhobosAnomally]

Hi. I had OCD since I was a kid, and had two extreme episodes. The last one started in december 2022 and it until February. After I started doing extreme compulsions, my therapist said that I should go back on sertraline. Now, after a month, I feel noticeable better. I'm on 100mg at the moment, but will probably have to go higher.

[@Megansjournal]

hey! firstly thank you for sharing about your struggle with OCD. I’m so glad that it’s helping. I definitely feel my own rumination has got better too. It’s easier not to go into spiral mode, that’s how I can best describe it for me personally! Let me know how going higher is for you, good luck! Blessings

[@ThePhobosAnomally]

​@@Megansjournal It was not nearly as bad as when first starting. Increasing the dosage was easier. I went from 50 to 100. The side effects were milder and lasted less time. The only thing that I have since I started taking sertraline is insomnia.

[@rachaelkatehopper990]

Hi does the 100g help with your OCD I'm on 50 and doesn't seem to help

[@sobeitsky5091]

Hello cute Megan, I only used Levocetirizine (an antihistamine) often last year to not get random hives and itches, and Clotiazepam (a thienodiazepine anxiolytic) only in situations I felt would get stressed, I got a recipe for Sertraline but couldn't keep taking it because of the nausea, besides I really felt like it was doing nothing, I wasn't feeling any better, to the contrary. I want to avoid being drug dependent, so I want to take the least drugs, to the point where they are absolutely necessary although this is subjective, but what I would really like is to not to have to take drugs at all.

[@natasha9465]

It has taken me a month to just start this… I’m on day 4… and I am feeling horrible at the moment… I’m hoping it gets better but I’m afraid that I will end up bailing and stop taking it… did you take it in the morning or at night?

[@Megansjournal]

keep at it, i worried i would bail too! but i stuck at it. take it one day at a time, and i take it at night :) x

[@Whocares77778]

I stopped having negative self dialogue about myself when I was around 20..i worry about my son my mom and a few other people but I rarely worry about anything else …sucks it’s draining.’

[@Megansjournal]

that's interesting about the self-dialogue! and I understand, I guess certain anxieties may always stay I suppose it's about their severity! thank you for sharing!

[@rachaelkatehopper990]

Im on sertraline 50mg have been for 3 years and having bad ocd symptoms. It doesnt seem to help ocd at all could anyone give me some advice

[@Megansjournal]

I can make a video soon showing what I’ve learnt regarding that

[@rachaelkatehopper990]

@@Megansjournal thankyou do you think upping my dosage would be better

[@alexisrojas8635]

Yes ! For OCD they usually prescribe 200mg to find relief.

[@thelittlesthobo7100]

I’m two weeks off Sertraline, the brain zaps and dizziness are real 😒

[@Megansjournal]

I hope it gets better soon for you!!

[@mikewillings1312]

Stop taking fluoxetine cold turkey about a year ago, had been on it for over 4 years. Zero therapy before, during or after. Smoked weed almost everyday and drank alcohol often when taking them. I do feel significantly better after stopping taking them, mainly I got my libido back lol. Which is something the doctor had never mentioned to me would be a side effect I’d experience. It will be different from individual to individual of course! Watched the whole vid and seems like you understand the implications both positive and negative. Wish you the best🤞🏼

[@Megansjournal]

interesting! thank you for sharing Mike, I hope you are continuing to do well. wishing you the best also🙏 how did you find going cold turkey?

[@9battlefieldheroes9]

Sertraline kinda ruined my life

[@Megansjournal]

how so?@@9battlefieldheroes9

[@mikewillings1312]

@@Megansjournalwas mainly mental side affects that I noticed. Slightly disturbing but had lots of suicidal thoughts, (wasn’t too bad at the time as it’s something I have suffered with the majority of the time being on them). Also the lows which would usually be a lot more mellowed out due to the antidepressants were a lot more intense. The memory of that time is very vague to me now so I do believe it wasn’t THAT awful. Just had to keep busy tbh. I cut out weed at the same time both cold turkey🤦🏽‍♂️

[@Nisa25399]

How did you avoid gaining weight?😭

[@Megansjournal]

I have just been maintaining my workout routine! Has your hunger increase or has the cause of weight gain unknown?

[@Nisa25399]

@@Megansjournal cravings increased when I used to take meds but hunger didn’t increase that much. I would try to eat less and control my cravings. But still gained 10+ kgs. Now that I stopped meds 4 kgs were down but then I am stuck with the weight and really fat.

[@melodym.84]

Hair loss???

[@Megansjournal]

I didn’t experience hair loss :)

[@Ohkeh640]

Weight gain?

[@Megansjournal]

I haven’t experienced weight gain :)

[@kirakeynow]

Zoloft makes fat fast

[@Megansjournal]

I haven’t had weight gain! But definitely increased appetite! Have you experienced weight gain?

[@Whocares77778]

@natalienicole2222 really it never affected my weight but the brain zaps came out of nowhere and made me feel super strange ..I took a 25mg and then after certain events was put on 100mg ..waaaaaay to much for me…I felt ..zombie like but I also had mono around that time. I stopped taking it because I think that I was sad for a reason and it wasn’t helping…I take around my period for pmdd..it use to help with anxiety but it doesn’t do anything at all and Prozac is too strong for me..i don’t know if want to try anything else. Some people gain weight because they weren’t eating much because they were anxiety/unhappy ..I’ve known some people told me that it just simply made them hungry

[@NurturePalettePlayASMR]

⁠​⁠@@Whocares77778 are you taking anti depressants occasionally? I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice but I hear that it needs to be taken continuously for it to be effective

[@xinox6668]

Hello Megan. Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't see the reasons why you started taking Sertraline or Antidepressants. I understand that you may be feeling quite low since you're possibly disappointed in your life or something, as far as I can tell. If you want more then, use the force and break free. Let me know if you want to know more. -Xinox.

[@Megansjournal]

My dad died of a terminal illness, i did say this multiple times in the video. The video hasn’t even been up long enough for you to watch more than 3 minutes. Please watch before spam commenting.

[@xinox6668]

@@MegansjournalOh I see, my bad. I didn't watch the entire videos, I only went by the time stamps. I don't mean to spam comment either. As I said, my bad and sorry for your loss.

[@Megansjournal]

@@xinox6668no problem, thank you.

[@xinox6668]

@@Megansjournal I'd like to apologise again, I know you forgave me but I'll elaborate. I watched a short you made mentioning that your father passed away, so I did hear about that but I forgot. Sorry again and sorry for your loss. It must be difficult.