Does anyone use anti depressants and run high volume?

If you need to be on antidepressants, then that's the important thing, so maybe give it a shot.

My experience is that you lose all drive, which makes running, especially high mileage, rather difficult to say the least. You simply won't want to do it, and surprisingly, you won't really care much that your running is falling apart. Doesn't seem as important all of a sudden.

. And they're a b!tch to get off. The brain zaps are terrible. I've tried Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Zoloft, Luvox, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin..... I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Point is, I gave them a try and tried to be patient.

You might want to give some old-school ones a try that won't give you some of the side-effects that others (SSRI, SNRI) do, or are milder. I tried a SARI (Trazodone), which is an interesting drug. It will give you some sexual dysfunction to a degree, but not as much as the ones used today. Weight gain often doesn't occur. You likely will feel very sleepy on it at first, which goes away to some level, but a minor sedative effect will always be there, which is why it is prescribed off-label as a sleep aid in doses at a lower threshold than used for depression, and also is perfect for those with a depression/anxiety combo. There's also possibility of priapism, but it's not very common and usually only in larger doses.

One thing I liked about trazodone was the unbelievable dreams. Crazy, vivid, and the occasional ability to have a lucid dream experience, which can be worked on if you're into that, so you get better at controlling them. Once I looked up "trazodone dreams" on Google to see if I was the only one experiencing such amazingly vivid, awesome dreams. I quickly realized it's definitely a thing, and there's websites dedicated to people who take trazodone even though they don't need it, just in order to experience lucid dream states.

Thanks for this in depth reply. I have tried Trazadone in the past as a sleep aid, didn't stick with it because I felt like it wiped me out but yet didn't put me to sleep if that makes sense? I am very depressed and its primary manifestation is in disrupting my sleep. But from all I hear about anti depressants, loss of energy, weight gain, sexual dysfunction I am just not sure those risks could be worth maybe sleeping a bit better or having less time in the "dumps" so to speak. And Iwith running being one of the only things in life I enjoy most of the time I am doing it I am loathe to risk compromising it.

So while it would seem I have made up my mind, I often wonder about giving some a shot. My drs are always pissed thatI refuse to try them. Seems like nobody is as anxious over potential side affects as I am.

I've ran fairly well for years on lexapro, better than I did without it. I've trained up to 80 mph week (and I'm a girl) with no problem.

Does alcohol count?

Giveitatry wrote:

I've ran fairly well for years on lexapro, better than I did without it. I've trained up to 80 mph week (and I'm a girl) with no problem.

What about being on it improved your training? Just overall feeling better?

Manic Depressive wrote:

So while it would seem I have made up my mind, I often wonder about giving some a shot. My drs are always pissed thatI refuse to try them. Seems like nobody is as anxious over potential side affects as I am.

I'll use my usual handle to reply (I'm "my experience" and there's no reason for me to hide behind a different name).

Here's my take, and even though you don't know me, I've been there and I think this is really important for you to know if you are just thinking about heading down the antidepressant road:

If you are depressed about specific, tangible things in your life, whether it be events or even just being sad about where your life is going (aimlessness, whatever), or a bad breakup.... whatever, this type of thing is often not helped by antidepressants. The people that these drugs work for are people who can't really put a finger on why they feel this way.

So if I ask you, why are you depressed? And you can answer by talking about sh!t in your life that seems to suck, don't take them. You are better off doing a myriad of other things to cope, because all the antidepressant pills in the world aren't going to make you forget why you are depressed to begin with. Get what I'm saying? They don't work that way. If something about your life bothers you, antidepressants won't fix it. Talking to a qualified person will, or making tangible changes in your life. This is what I found out, and it took a long time. They are for people who have a chemical imbalance, and could be having the best life in the world, but don't really feel good about anything. No pleasure about simple things, no little victories... everything is grey.

And you might feel that way too but if you know why, you don't need the drugs. You need to make changes. If you truly feel that you don't know why life gives you no pleasure, and don't think making any changes in your life (or if you were in a different situation magically) would help, then maybe give them a shot.

I hope I've helped. Depression is crippling, and I have suffered with it for 40+ years.

I slept better, ate better, had a better schedule, was more positive about my training and workouts. Enjoyed my teammates and training partners more, thus wanted to run more runs with them and push myself. I was also hesitant thinking that it would dull my drive but it didn't at all. It really made me able to think and train and enjoy life and running more. I have been on 2 different SSRIs and never had issues with weight gain either. I would give it a good try 3-4 months, and if you don't like the way it makes you feel, you can always stop. Counseling my help too.

This is still Op: But in general I agree with you man. I don't like to play a victim and I actively fight against my depression, I run I go to grad school etc etc I try and fight it daily. But swinging from feeling ecstatic to feeling suicidal is something that I have never been able to shake off, and that I feel is genetic. It has been with me since was young. That being said I am still loathe to use pills that could make certain things: weight,sex,running challenging for me. I feel like I already have a fragile mental balance in the pleasure of these activities and have always been terrified of messing this equilibrium up.

I guess I was just fishing for anecdotal experience as I once more contemplate anti depressants. I also have used benzos for sleeping on and off for around 3 years and hate them, so I always kind of wonder if anti depressants would be a more stable choice for helping me sleep, providing I can handle their effects. But one thing I love about running is being thin, I feel like if I gained 10 pounds I couldn't live with myself.

Giveitatry wrote:

I slept better, ate better, had a better schedule, was more positive about my training and workouts. Enjoyed my teammates and training partners more, thus wanted to run more runs with them and push myself. I was also hesitant thinking that it would dull my drive but it didn't at all. It really made me able to think and train and enjoy life and running more. I have been on 2 different SSRIs and never had issues with weight gain either. I would give it a good try 3-4 months, and if you don't like the way it makes you feel, you can always stop. Counseling my help too.

Good for you! that sounds awesome. do you still use lexapro? I want to believe I could do it and see improvement, I have just deeply ingrained "terror" I guess over the potential downsides. But maybe I'll finally take the Zoloft prescription I got 3 months ago.

I don't know you. I am not a doctor or certified in any way. I read your post and I honestly do not know the answer, but I feel like I need to voice something here due to experiences I've seen go down. These "anti - depressants" are horrible. How empathetic they make you, the weird rush, addiction, withdrawal etc... Like I said, man, I don't know how much you are suffering. I don't know your situation. I'm sure you've looked through a lot of research and anecdotes, but these pills are f*****. I hope you can get through this and ultimately make the decision you feel will support you. Have you tried Marijuana? I'm almost certain you've looked through every other situation, but I would never recommend these to anybody. Again, I'm a nobody little kid, but I have some story with these things and the more I think back, the more they scare me. Good luck, man

It sounds like you are mildly bipolar, not suffering from standard depression. Antidepressant drugs generally make this situation worse, not better. I'm also a nurse, and take an interest in these things that goes further than standard training. You could very easily have a dangerous manic episode from antidepressants and not sleep for 4 days while you resemble someone on meth (slightly joking, but a lot of the attributes of both are similar, believe it or not). Or you could decide it makes sense to end your life today.

Tell your doc about the part I put in bold from your post. Maybe you should try medication for bipolar disorder instead. There's also some reading material I could suggest, if you are interested.

I am open to suggestions. I used to be classified as sort of bi polar except in my day to day life I have never had a truly "manic episode" I have never hurt myself or anyone else. Yet I did take lamictal in grade school and after years of being on it at very high doses I was repulsed when I realized just how much of the drug I was prescribed, and I know it negatively affected my cognition and energy levels. So that is another reason I 1. Took up running to cope and 2. have a distrust of medicines in general.

I see therapists or have on and off, it helps me think through things but the anxiety component is always there, and I think that makes my depression worse, basically as you can see I have a lot going on, yet I am very high functioning and I have never taken one medicine that seemed to really make an overall "difference" I appreciate everyone's replies.

They scare me too. I just have a nagging feeling of doubt that maybe just maybe they would help me sleep more evenly, help me not use the restroom constantly due to anxiety. But the fear of the unknown they bring is also great. I generally do not like to add unknown variables of any kind into my daily life.

Manic Depressive wrote:

Basically I have resisted using anti depressants for years. Even though since my high school days (about 6 years ago) my drs have always tried to make me take them. Basically the increased weight gain from both a running standpoint and general self image standpoint has always been a reason I avoided them. I realize that everyone reacts to medicine differently and they would most likely help me cope with my depression more effectively than I do now, but if I gained 10+ pounds from taking them and it affected my running I am certain my self image would severely deteriorate.

tl;dr does anyone have experience competing effectively while on anti depressants?

Yup, lexapro 20 then 10 mg per day, training up to 80 mpw. The med hasn't effected anything,

I think everybody fears them in some form or another. But as the guy said above, they never "fix" anything, only put it off. Do you have anxiety triggers? Past Trauma? There are so many things out there and if you feel this is what you need, go for it. If you truly can not find any other substitute(yoga, other sports(?), learning an instrument etc...) Just remember that peace starts within. If the abnormal sleep is the issue, then take melatonin. They have been known to cause some abnormal effects(a big one being that it gets hard to sleep without them after consistent use) but they are no where near as harmful as the pills.

I do this for a living (not a MD but the fake kind) but I'm always apprehensive about sending people for just medication. And if you're in your early 20s (a guess?) it could be amplified because it's a bad age.

Medication without therapy can sometimes work, but if you're going from no medication to some medication it's a bit of a crap shoot. Across my patients who take meds, it seems like the older ones work best. If you're going to go down this road, you might have to try a few to find one that works. Cymbalta made me cry a lot, MAOI's made me suicidal, but what seemed to work was low dose paxil (20mg.) It helps with the anxiety so I can focus and not feel as manic, but I still have rough moments.

Have you seen a therapist/psychologist?

Hello! You have some really good questions and I am so glad you are taking your options seriously. Despite what the pharmaceutical companies, and doctors even, want you to think, antidepressants do effect your body and can have negative consequences. I am someone who has done both:taken them For years, been off for years, and have now been back on. Even though I am currently on something, I would strongly urge you to really think about what is going on in life that could be co tributing. Or maybe it’s lifelong patterns of learned behavior. I truly believe there is always an explanation for those types of moods, and NONE of them are related to “chemical imbalances”- which by the way, that theory has actually been disproven. There can be physiological factors at play though- thyroid, iron levels, insulin resistance, all sorts of things can contribute to those moods.

If, after lots of therapy with a GOOD therapist who isn’t quick to judge you and label you, and checking your diet and everything else, you still struggle, and want to try drugs.. I’ve had positive and negative experiences. For the positive, the current one I am on -Citalopram- I have not gained weight. I don’t do super high mileage but I was running the most I ever have and racing the most I have before I got injured. So, it didn’t seem to effect me that way. You can get on a super small dose. A lot of people feel better from the “placebo effect” anyways so just taking an antidepressant, even if a super small dose, can have a positive effect without all the negative side effects of taking a lot. Anywho... just some things to think about. Withdrawal DOES exist and it’s a bi*ch for some people, myself included, which is why I advocate really dissecting everything else in your life. There are almost always reasons to explain these behaviors.