SSRI antidepressant associated apathy/lack of motivation

[pattismith]

I found Duloxetine lowers my motivation, this can happen sometimes with SSRI, I wish to share my experience.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors-associated apathy syndrome (nih.gov)

2020

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), commonly used to treat depression, are associated with loss of motivation, anergy, and lack of curiosity often referred collectively as apathy...

 

[Rufous McKinney]

somehow, it seems like the pill gives you the thing your taking the pill to prevent.

Motivation is hugely affected by this illness it seems. That takes something, too, which is in short supply.

 

[heapsreal]

Motivation is hugely affected by this illness it seems. That takes something, too, which is in short supply.

Spot. Motivation is tied to our energy, but i just feel like a lazy bum sometimes. Like an old lawn mower, keep pulling the starter cord and the engine wont turn over.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

well, we are not lazy bums...but its sure hard, isn't it?

I sometimes get temporarily excited and motivated, but then overcoming the associated obstacles becomes too taxing. Or costs too many spoons.

Its so often spoon theory. the analogy is rather perfect.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

but then overcoming the associated obstacles becomes too taxing.

I hear you ....

I'll think something like, "That plant needs repotting ....", and it'll all seem so simple.

But then I have to find all my little potting tools, and then the right potting soil, and then the new pot, and then the gravel for the bottom, then something to spread underneath it all so I dont have to spend the next 3 days getting ground-in dirt out of the floor/rug/whatever. And most of that's down in the basement that DB has turned into a corporate re-cycling center and junk yard, so just going down there is like visiting all seven of Dante's circles of hell ....

After which I apologize to the plant in question and take a little time out. Someties two or three.

Nothing's simple.

 

[heapsreal]

I hear you ....

I'll think something like, "That plant needs repotting ....", and it'll all seem so simple.

But then I have to find all my little potting tools, and then the right potting soil, and then the new pot, and then the gravel for the bottom, then something to spread underneath it all so I dont have to spend the next 3 days getting ground-in dirt out of the floor/rug/whatever. And most of that's down in the basement that DB has turned into a corporate re-cycling center and junk yard, so just going down there is like visiting all seven of Dante's circles of hell ....

After which I apologize to the plant in question and take a little time out. Someties two or three.

Nothing's simple.

I hear ya lol.
My backyard is beyond mowing. About 10 days ago i poisoned what use to be the lawn. Some parts are dying but it neefs another dose of poison and i just cant be f_____, i think thats a medical term. But then once its all dead and shriveled up, i then have to mow the thing. Its a dam big yard. The thought of it all🤕

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

But then once its all dead and shriveled up, i then have to mow the thing. Its a dam big yard. The thought of it all🤕

This is where xeriscaping with attractive gravels and slow-growing succulents might come in handy.

Or a can of gasoline and a match ..... try to avoid this solution on high-wind days unless you're also tired of cleaning house .... and really like sleeping outdoors .... and dont much care for your neighbor's or their opinions ....

Like I said, nothing's simple ....

 

[pattismith]

Spot. Motivation is tied to our energy, but i just feel like a lazy bum sometimes. Like an old lawn mower, keep pulling the starter cord and the engine wont turn over.

precisely, it seems that my energy and my motivation are not connected to each other.

Duloxetine gives me more energy, more muscle tone and strength, but mitigate my motivation...

During all my life, my motivation was fine, but I couldn't achieve much du to energy shortage.

I was like a Ferrari with a moped engine....

With Duloxetine, My engine is fine, I do have fuel inside, I just lack the engine oil that makes it all work.

 

[heapsreal]

This is where xeriscaping with attractive gravels and slow-growing succulents might come in handy.

Or a can of gasoline and a match ..... try to avoid this solution on high-wind days unless you're also tired of cleaning house .... and really like sleeping outdoors .... and dont much care for your neighbor's or their opinions ....

Like I said, nothing's simple ....

Great idea 🤣🤣🤣

 

[heapsreal]

precisely, it seems that my energy and my motivation are not connected to each other.

Duloxetine gives me more energy, more muscle tone and strength, but mitigate my motivation...

During all my life, my motivation was fine, but I couldn't achieve much du to energy shortage.

I was like a Ferrari with a moped engine....

With Duloxetine, My engine is fine, I do have fuel inside, I just lack the engine oil that makes it all work.

View attachment 46853

I think im low in dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline 🤣🤣🤣
Years ago i was on effexor and it gave me abit of pep. I ended up having issues as dr wanted to increase the dose etc which buggered things up, then tried to lower the dose and then stop etc and it was an awful experience and i was never going to try it again. Last year i tried it again, stupid me, too see if it would help with headaches and was hoping for that bit of pep. Well it did nothing for headaches and i just wanted to sleep all the time and i was on the lowest dose. But it did make me sweat like i was mowing the lawn while i was sitting in air con🤣🤣 . The body reacts differently to meds over time.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

The body reacts differently to meds over time.

The body changes under the many outrageous slings and arrows ... it's why so many of us re-trial stuff that either worked, then stopped working, or that we had a negative reaction to in the past. Hoping for some kind of unpredictable, miraculous break is what keeps me going ....

It's part of the thrill of this twisted little carnival ride of an illness ....

 

[Judee]

This coffee seems to give me a tiny bit more motivation the next day: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Sigmatic-Mushroom-Coffee-Concentration/dp/B00ZWA7LQ4/ref=sr_1_6_mod_primary_new?keywords=think+coffee&qid=1666832734&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjYwIiwicXNhIjoiMi40OCIsInFzcCI6IjIuMjgifQ==&sbo=RZvfv//HxDF+O5021pAnSA==&sr=8-6

It's the THINK version with chaga, lions mane, and rhodiola. I only take 1/4-1/3 a packet in with my other instant coffee and then some sweetener because it has a slightly bitter taste. (I pour the rest of the packet into an old prescription bottle with a snap cap lid and put it back in the box for the next couple days.)

Amazon has multiple listings, some of them allowing ebt for payment. They also have pods and grounds for people who brew their own coffee in a maker.

Edit: I can sometimes make my heart feel like it's racing just a bit so a caution to those of us who have that. It's not too much though and I like the motivation so I'll take it.

 

[pattismith]

a recent review about SSRI induced apathy:

Apathy associated with antidepressant drugs: a systematic review - PubMed (nih.gov)

The reported prevalence of antidepressant-induced apathy ranges between 5.8 and 50%, and for SSRIs ranges between 20 and 92%. Antidepressant-induced apathy emerges independently of diagnosis, age, and treatment outcome and appears dose-dependent and reversible. The main treatment strategy is dose reduction, though some data suggest the usefulness of treatment with olanzapine, bupropion, agomelatine or amisulpride, or the methylphenidate-modafinil-olanzapine combination.

Another option might be Tianeptin augmentation:

Tianeptine combination for partial or non-response to selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor monotherapy - PubMed (nih.gov)

Tianeptine decreases serotonin in the brain!

 

[Judee]

They also have pods and grounds for people who brew their own coffee in a maker.

I since realized the pods and the grounds are missing the rhodiola which I think is part of what makes the packets work for motivation.

 

[cheeseater]

Slippery slope. Interesting that only when the newer drugs begin marketing that they start telling the truth about earlier versions of similar drugs. New and improved means there was something wrong with the previous version, and they do not yet know what is wrong with the new version. Takes time for the truth to come out.
AKA extrapyramidal damage. ie movement disorder, parkinsonian syndrome, etc etc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5175115/

""Pathophysiology of parkinsonism resulting from SSRI and SNRI group drugs is still not clearly understood. It is reported that it can be derived from the interaction between serotonin and norepinephrine in the cortex and basal ganglia and might be related with dopamine function [4]. The inhibitory effect of increase in serotonin transmission on dopamine pathway is another proposed""

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Takes time for the truth to come out.
AKA extrapyramidal damage. ie movement disorder, parkinsonian syndrome, etc etc.

Church !!! Or if you prefer, 'Word' .... generally because of the disinterest of pharma co's in discovering and making public the side effects of their primary money makers....

""Pathophysiology of parkinsonism resulting from SSRI and SNRI group drugs is still not clearly understood. It is reported that it can be derived from the interaction between serotonin and norepinephrine in the cortex and basal ganglia and might be related with dopamine function [4]. The inhibitory effect of increase in serotonin transmission on dopamine pathway is another proposed""

Translation: screw around with the functioning of a critical organ system that even neurologists, if they're honest, will admit that they totally don't understand, at your own peril ....

 

[L'engle]

With Duloxetine, My engine is fine, I do have fuel inside, I just lack the engine oil that makes it all work.

Do you find it overall increases your ability to function, or decreases it? Like you I have no shortage of motivation, but can't use it because very short activity sequences burn out what little energy is there.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Like you I have no shortage of motivation, but can't use it because very short activity sequences burn out what little energy is there.

I hear 'ya .... It's one of the more frustrating aspects of getting a little better .... the spirit is willing, but everything else gives out way too fast ....

 

[pattismith]

Do you find it overall increases your ability to function, or decreases it? Like you I have no shortage of motivation, but can't use it because very short activity sequences burn out what little energy is there.

in my case the effect was different, my motivation was decreased, while my energy and muscle tone were improved...

 

[L'engle]

@pattismith Sorry I probably wasn't clear. I meant my natural ME state is to have motivation but not energy. I haven't tried duloxetine.

I just wondered if you had an idea, on balance, if the energy gain was worth the loss in motivation for you?