Hello everyone, I don't mean to bombard everyone with questions but I would love to get feedback on anyone who has experienced this. If I had any earthly idea that antidepressants would affect love, I would have never started them. I was into my last year of nursing school and was very stressed out so I went to my doctor and he prescribed me 10 mg of Lexapro. I started taking the pills at the end of August 2015. In September I met the love of my life. Omg I loved him so so much. I couldn't believe I had met someone like him and I just felt so incredibly blessed to finally find my soulmate. Just thinking about him would make me tear up. I loved him so so much. We had an incredible, amazing 9 months together and I was done with school so I decided to get off the lexapro. I quit cold turkey around May 2016 cause I thought I could handle it and wasn't really concerned about withdrawl. Stupid I know. The next 6 weeks or so went great. I had maybe had a couple headaches and been extra tired but nothing that I couldn't handle. My anxiety had increased but I still felt good, very happy. And then out of nowhere, my world fell apart. I woke up one morning to realize my world turned upside down. I looked at the man I had been so crazy about and I felt nothing. He kissed and hugged me before he went to work and I had no feelings whatsoever for him. Just like that. I immediately felt dizzy and ran to the bathroom and threw up. I couldn't believe what I was feeling. The man I was certain I couldn't wait to marry and love more than anything. I felt nothing for him. I cried and cried. It has been 5 months since that day and the feelings still have not returned. I am terrified. I cry so often. I hate everything. I cannot believe what I'm feeling. I was so so happy and now this. I got even more terrified when I had read something about people sometimes fall in love with people they normally wouldn't if they weren't on pills. This makes me literally sick. I loved him so much on the pills, I just cannot even began to believe that the 9 months with him were a lie or all caused by some pills. I wish I would have never started lexapro or stopped them cold turkey. I pray with all my heart and soul that this is only from withdrawl and that my love for him will return as this gets better. I don't know what to do. It's getting so hard to fake it but we have so many amazing memories together. Please please please if anyone has experienced this please let me know. Even if it didn't get better, I would like to know what I should maybe expect or if I should plan on getting them back. I really need some help. I'm afraid if I keep going on feeling this miserable, I'll end up in a mental hospital somewhere. I apologize for the length, but I didn't know how to shorten my story. Please let me know if anyone fell in love while on pills and if you felt like you fell out of love during withdrawl. Thank you so much in advance.
Medications do have side effects and some effect male love life.
Sometimes after a course of AD our attitudes do change and some side effects are quite extensive.
You could look up the drug on the internet, or there may have been a sheet explaining the medications and possible side effects. In this situation I would talk to your Doctor and discuss your fears, He will know what problems this medication has, and anything has come about in the last few months. I know in my case I had problems and now things are improving.
Please talk to your Doctor, put your mind at rest
BOB
I haven't had an experience like this taylor but when you withdraw from these medications your emotions are all over the place so that may be the reason your feeling the way that you are so you might want to give yourself sometime before you question yourself.
I would definitely talk to whoever prescribed you the Lexapro and let them know what you are feeling and they could probably help you figure out what's going on and how to proceed from here. Good luck and hope you feel like yourself soon!!
The first rule in depression is never stop your meds cold turkey or without your docs advice. I was in the mental ward of the hospital and we had a group therapy session. One woman said " I was doing great so I stopped my meds and now here Iam after trying to commit suicide." I told her that was why she felt great, she was taking her meds. When your diagnosed with depression you need help. You should continue to see your doc and find the answer of a plan to help you. Understanding this disease is hard and it can get better with the correct meds, therapy etc. I don't believe anyone without the disease will ever understand it. Your change in how you feel about someone is probably not the meds. Yes when you are in a depressive episode you should never make any major decisions. I was involved with a man after loosing a dear friend and thats when I started seeing him. I knew he wanted a relationship with me and I knew it would never be, but I was feeling very bad and he was there for me. I didn't continue to see him after getting better. Your thinking when your depressed is not the same other wise. We don't get to choose whether we have it or not and it's not something any of us want. We are here to help each other and I hope you get the answers your looking for. Im truly sorry you are going through this and hope you get better soon. No one minds how long or short your story is we are just glad you decided to ask for help. God bless
Hi,
Taking medication for depression is a very important decision in your life. Your GP only makes that decision with you on the understanding you continue.
The medication is a drug to alter or balance your state of mind. You altered it, felt better and then stopped. So eventually the imbalance returned.
Go back to your GP.
Mike.
There are people among us who believe that feelings such as love or faith result from a chemical imbalance in our brains. Altering the level of serotonin certainly makes human beings happier and optimistic, which is the whole point of the therapy. In some patients SSRIs may even cause hypomania - a state where one can feel very energetic, full of positive emotions (love included), empowered by a divine blessing. You see... our bodies are quite complex.
However, in the end of the day, I think you're mistaking love for attraction. There is nothing wrong with it, you're young and still have the time to learn. Love is a promise we make to each other, does not depend on emotions and cannot be changed with medications. For example, it is difficult to love a wife who experiences frequent psychotic episodes or a husband who is addicted to alcohol. It certainly does not bring anyone joy, at least not in the 'happy feelings' sense.
My advice is simple - focus on your depression. Quitting citalopram cold turkey was a bad idea, but again - many people do it, you're certainly not alone. Do you experience other symptoms that could indicate a relapse (and are unrelated to love) - low mood, lack of energy, insomnia or excessive sleepiness, losing interest in basic things in life (hygiene, etc.), rapid weight gain/loss? If yes - see a doctor and find an antidepressant you can live with - something that levels your mood and cause only such side effects that you would be willing to accept. If not - well... this means that you're in your normal state now and the previous feelings were a likely manifestation of SSRI-induced hypomania. You'll need to come to terms with this and move on. Everyone eventually does.