# Anyone else get antidepressant-induced DP?



## Guest (May 27, 2016)

I'm just curious, and I know it's not good to wallow in the past, but has anyone's else's DP/DR been caused by antidepressants?

Mine was caused by Sertraline/Zoloft. I took it for three days but stopped bc of seratonin syndrome. Three days after stopping I was having side effects including mild anxiety. I was still depressed three days later (as usual) and was having quite a bad day. But then started having a panic attack and then my DP came on almost instantaneously. It's been around for well over a month now after discontinuing the medication. It's gotten way worse in the last two weeks (mainly because of alcohol) and now I suffer from horrible existential thoughts about the self and conciousness and life and humanity. It's crazy and I hate it and I feel like shit every minute of every day because I don't feel the same at all.

I also used to smoke weed but not while I was taking the medication and I barely smoked in the couple of months before stating the medication. I don't doubt that has something to do wit it. Plus I have a lifelong history of anxiety and quite a few years history of depression. Plus I'm 19.

I'm curious to know if anyone else got DP after taking medication ?


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## dpsucks (Sep 7, 2012)

What other symptoms do you get? Any out of body feelings? Visual symptoms? I suspect that remeron (mirtazipine) had a role in the development of my dp.


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## Guest (May 27, 2016)

How did you get serotonin syndrome? I wouldn't think taking just an antidepressant alone would cause that, I thought usually it involves multiple drugs.


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## Guest (May 28, 2016)

dpsucks: I got this weird sleep vertigo thing as well as these weird twitches and during the three days I was on them I would sleep the whole day away. I know mirtazipine makes you sleepy too, I never took that one though. I was offered it but chose Sertraline instead because my doc said it was good for anxiety. It did say that DP is a rare (I think 1/1000) side effect. I think the sheet I got for mirtazipine said that too so it's very possible it caused or worsened your DP

soulsearcher86: well I don't know I'm not a neurologist, but I had this horrible episode and I searched my symptoms at the time and found that SSRI antidepressants can cause a dangerous amount of seratonin to be released in the brain. I felt giddy, light-headed, acutely anxious, my pupils dilated massively and I was violently sick. I heard this was seratonin syndrome and it can occur as a result of taking antidepressants like Zoloft so I stopped.


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## mezona (Sep 4, 2015)

I believe Paxil might have a role in my DP. Who knows.


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## James_80 (Feb 27, 2016)

Joesmith11111 said:


> I'm just curious, and I know it's not good to wallow in the past, but has anyone's else's DP/DR been caused by antidepressants?
> 
> Mine was caused by Sertraline/Zoloft. I took it for three days but stopped bc of seratonin syndrome. Three days after stopping I was having side effects including mild anxiety. I was still depressed three days later (as usual) and was having quite a bad day. But then started having a panic attack and then my DP came on almost instantaneously. It's been around for well over a month now after discontinuing the medication. It's gotten way worse in the last two weeks (mainly because of alcohol) and now I suffer from horrible existential thoughts about the self and conciousness and life and humanity. It's crazy and I hate it and I feel like shit every minute of every day because I don't feel the same at all.
> 
> ...


Mine was also caused by sertraline/zoloft. I got the derealization straight after taking it and after 4 days on it, I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't feel I was in my own body. I stopped the medication but the symptoms have remained for a year now. It's been horrible and I've tried everything to get out of it - socializing, ignoring it, distraction, therapy, exercise, eating healthy, supplements. I've decided to try the one thing that started it, and go on antidepressants again. This time I'm on fluoxetine/prozac and plan to add lamotragine. I'm struggling with increased dp symptoms but hoping they will pass once I'm used to the medication.


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## Plants (Jan 14, 2012)

This is really interesting. I take anafranil (clomipramine) for ocd and done so for 26 years. I have had dr and not dp for about the same amount of time. 
I also take a med called benztropine which is an anticholinergic. I was given this to treat the side effects from the typical antipsychotic Pimozide. (i take this for Tourettes syndrome)

Now why is it that the benztropine helps the dr ? 
The benztropine is only supposed to help with the side effects of antipsychotics.
Not treat side effects from Tricyclic antidepressants like Anafranil, that is assuming the dr is a side effect from the Anafranil in the first place.


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## Dragonz (Jan 6, 2018)

Any updates?


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## Hartigan (Aug 22, 2017)

time2wakeup said:


> yeah, my DP was triggered by prozac.


When you look at the side effects of SSRI's it says that DP is 0.1%-1%. There is NO way that this is correct. I know many who got DPed from SSRI's.

I was taking Lexapro and after 3 years i suddenly woke up with DP one morning.

People should use supplements such as 5-HTP instead of SSRI's.


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## FranticallyNumb (Jan 27, 2017)

Mine came a little after I stopped taking lexapro. It’s a foggy hard-to-remember period when I first experienced the dp.


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