I still would urge caution before taking any amount of SSRI[1]. They are very useful tools that work well for many people, but some people do get very serious side effects. They can also be difficult to stop, sometimes requiring very slow dose tapering over many months.
In my personal experience from both a multi-year experience with fluoxetine and (~5 years later) a short (~4-weeks-ish? I think?) experience with tramadol, there were serious side effects that lasted many months after I stopped taking the drug. I think I was still getting regular 'brain zaps' for almost a year.
Every medication requires weighing the expected benefits vs the adverser effects and risks. I'm not saying SSRIs/etc are bad. I just urge caution and respecting them like the powerful tools they are. Powerful tools - like SSRIs, opiates, or a table saw - are great if you need them, but you do need to understand them properly or you might loose a finger.
(that said, any SSRI side effects is almost certainly a better option than dying from covid, but... seriously... get vaccinated and do what you can (masks, limiting crowds, etc) so you - and the people you interact with - hopefully don't get covid at all)
[1] or anything that messes with serotonin like the SNRIs, SNDRIs, MDMA and related phenethylamines, or even stuff like the painkiller tramadol (it's also an SNRI)
I'm sorry to hear of those troubles. Yes, I'd have said some of the same things minus the direct experience if I were to give my opinions -- just wanted to counter where the GP comment seemed unreasonable.
In my personal experience from both a multi-year experience with fluoxetine and (~5 years later) a short (~4-weeks-ish? I think?) experience with tramadol, there were serious side effects that lasted many months after I stopped taking the drug. I think I was still getting regular 'brain zaps' for almost a year.
Every medication requires weighing the expected benefits vs the adverser effects and risks. I'm not saying SSRIs/etc are bad. I just urge caution and respecting them like the powerful tools they are. Powerful tools - like SSRIs, opiates, or a table saw - are great if you need them, but you do need to understand them properly or you might loose a finger.
(that said, any SSRI side effects is almost certainly a better option than dying from covid, but... seriously... get vaccinated and do what you can (masks, limiting crowds, etc) so you - and the people you interact with - hopefully don't get covid at all)
[1] or anything that messes with serotonin like the SNRIs, SNDRIs, MDMA and related phenethylamines, or even stuff like the painkiller tramadol (it's also an SNRI)