5+ years of SSRI's & Entheogen Neurotoxicity

[Pandora]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone experiences "neurotoxicity" results due to long-term SSRI use.

Please only respond to this poll if you took SSRI antidepressant medication for five or more years.

Sadly, I took a daily dose of antidepressants for over 12 years (Lexapro for most of them)! Now, I find that I have a great deal of difficulty "getting off" on entheogens other than DMT. My husband can take a single hit of acid and be to where we want to be when it takes me four to six. Even with this I am frequently down enough to sleep after about 5 hours.

Mushroom trips below six grams are mundane.

I cannot seem to get off on 2-CB at less than 40 mg!

This seems slightly fucked up to me and I cannot help but think about those big-pharma drugs that I took for so long that have a direct effect upon my precious serotonin receptors.

Anyone else noticing these kinds of lingering effects (I've been off the meds for well over six months now)?

Peace & Love,
Pandora

 

[۩]

I've been hearing reports of this often.

I've read that caapi (maybe harmalas in general?) has the ability to literally grow new sites for seratonin to bind to. I wish I could site the source, but I know tests have been done on humans who have drank aya for years and the results are consistent.

Thus, I have been working with caapi a lot these past few months and have noticed some profound effects from this medicine...I highly recommend it.


***************

Edit: This may shed some light

Ayahuasca, Neurogenesis and Depression

Daniel Mirante A hypothesis suggesting Ayahuasca may be growing healthier brains…

www.ayahuasca.com

 

[Pandora]

۩

Interesting. I am skeptical that anything can cause new neural growth, but you did say sites, so maybe you are talking about additional axon connections or something similar? Additional axon connections would by definition create additional synapses, thus re-charging the burned out receptors.

Another issue here is that caapi (as any MAOI) is a well known antidepressant. I wonder if the antidepressant effecs were perhaps mistaken for new sites . . . ? I guess the follow-up question would be how did they image or "count" the before/after serotonin sites?

Peace & Love,
Pandora

 

[Ginkgo]

Sadly, I took a daily dose of Lexapro for over 12 years!

Not to be rude or anything, but Lexapro (escitalopram) was not even invented before 2001...

 

[Oncewas]

I was on ic fluexatine aka prozac for I think 2-3 years. I still answered the poll saying I now need smaller doses. I have been off of it for 3 years I would say now.

If I damaged the poll in any way please have a moderator remove my vote.

 

[Pandora]

Sadly, I took a daily dose of Lexapro for over 12 years!

Not to be rude or anything, but Lexapro (escitalopram) was not even invented before 2001...

Evening Glory,

Hmmm. Let me see. This will be hard to remember. It started with Serzone, . . .then Wellbutrin, . . . then a couple of others and some scary cocktails. The entire thing went on for over a dozen years.

Are you sure about the 2001 date? If that is correct and my memory is shot on this front then my doctor (Feelgood) pushed the Lexapro the day it hit the open market. I do remember when I started taking it and for a few years after there were no generics available and it was very expensive.

So, I will take you at your word and correct it to read eight years, with a note of 12+ years total antidepressant use.

Thanks for the heads-up. I am searching for information not trying to push bullshit.

Peace & Love,
Pandora

 

[Garulfo]

Develloped in 1997 but FDA approved in 2002 (wiki source).
SWIM took it for one year and stopped. No serious changed were noticed about DMT dosage (but it's only one year...)

 

[Ginkgo]

Thanks for the heads-up. I am searching for information not trying to push bullshit.

Peace & Love,
Pandora

Thank you! I must admit, I was uncertain whether you were bullshitting or indeed speaking the truth with a certain degree of memory loss. Thank you for clearing that up! I am certain about the date, yes, the development of escitalopram was officially done in march 2001. FDA approval for major depression came in august 2002, for anxiety disorder in december 2003. It is not my intention to be bitchy, I just want the information presented to be correct. You might as well call me a perfectionist...

Garulfo: Development started in 1997, finished march 2001.

I have never tried a SSRI, and will never, so I will not vote on this poll. I am, however, looking forward to see the results!

 

[acolon_5]

ACK!

Pandora, I feel for you, I really do. Long term SSRI useage is not healthy, and somewhat dangerous.
I am under the impression though that SSRI's actualy shrink seratonin receptor sites (similar to the way long term opiate abuse will shrink endorphin receptor sites).


Caapi has been proven to increase the # of seratonin receptor platelets. I'm not sure if this will help your situation, but it sure wouldn't hurt.

 

[antrocles]

hey pandora the explora-
i was on lexapro for just about 5 years. started taking it when my dad passed. interestingly, it was my introduction to spice that inspired me to ween myself off...which i did over the next couple months.....

it'll be a year soon and i will say that i do actually seem to break through on very little spice (.02-.025), if i want a total ego-death journey i can just load up .03.... as for other medicines, i have always had a pretty high tolerance even before the lexapro. the only other medicines i've only done since dumping the SSRI have been salvia, mescaline, LSA, cannibis, mushrooms and some home-made absynthe. all of these worked unequivocally and without having to take herculean doses....

....maybe i just lucked out....not sure...just know that i will NEVER go back on that SHIT!! EVER!!!!

anyone got any suggestions on a good way to take caapi daily...in a doseage that can help rebuild these receptor platelets? Acolon, my dear brother?

L&G!!

 

[jamie]

I took 2 grams of caapi in a tea mixed with cocoa powder for a while each morning on my way to work..it was great!

Now I have been taking a caapi extract along with bufotenine every second night, after some yoga and it seems to really mellow me out after the trip and I get wonderful afterglows..

 

[Infinite I]

That sounds great fractal.

I took 5g a day for a few weeks just to test it, felt good but could have been placebo, sure it wasnt though!

 

[bonestoner]

i remember reading a study about a year back where someone was studying substances that could in inhibit future psychadelic experiences by doing some rewiring to the serotonin networks...i believe some of the drugs used to facilitate this state where ssri's

 

[idtravlr]

Hi Pandora. I took SSRI's including celexa, lexapro and fluoxetine for somewhere in the range of 10 years. I was never taking large doses however. I took them for social anxiety, and I was always concerned about their long term effects and thus stuck to the minimum doses possible. Doses that offered some relief, but still required me to deal with my anxiety. I think the lexapro was like 20mg (not positive tho), and the fluoxetine (prozac) was 30mg daily.

Anyway, I never had any issues with any true psychedelics, i.e. LSD, mushrooms, DMT. In fact I seemed to be almost hyper-sensitive to mushrooms, but I think that's just me. I absolutely noticed the complete inability to get anything from ecstasy however, which is actually a bonus in my opinion because I really liked ecstasy, but knew how horrible it was for me.

I don't know if that offers much help... I replied to the poll as well.

Peace!
-idt

 

[bluecurry]

Just wanted to add my experience with this:

I was prescribed Cymbalta (SSNRI) and prozac for approximately 3 years (14-17). During this time I found that I was much more sensitive to hallucinogens, phenethylamines in particular were quite potent and I could not do tryptamines due to getting headaches.

After I ceased taking the cymbalta for about a year, I started getting back into hallucinogens. I've found that I can handle experiences better than most people I've met and enjoy higher doses, but I am effected by normal doses just the same as anyone else (ie, not hard headed).

I would say that during the time I was taking Cymbalta, I was very much a light weight to hallucinogens. I've used hallucinogens since I was 13 and for the most part could handle any dose during 13-14 (prior to being prescribed cymbalta and prozac). I am assuming this had more to do with the SSRI/SSNRI than it had to do with age.