Anti-Depressants

[rawcakie]

I have been on taking Prozac for the last 3 1/2 years and gradually increased from 20mg up to 60mg (3 tablets a day now). To put it bluntly - I'm sick of being on anti-depressants. I can't stay on them forever, and I don't want to keep increasing the dose once my body gets used to the current level I'm on.

I hate hate HATE the excess sweating (even in Winter I have to wipe sweat off my face almost constantly), and I have gained around 30kg (66lbs) since I started taking Prozac.
The thing is - without a health change, I do need anti-depressants. My depression and anxiety was so bad that I wouldn't leave the house (literally) and in the past I have self harmed. I hated who I was back then. I do like the person I am now, so Prozac has definitely helped me, but it's time for me to move on.

I'd like to slowly start reducing my dose over the next few months so hopefully by this time next year I'll be drug free.

So my question is - can a raw food diet help me?

[EscapeArtist]

Yes I think it can. Partly because the raw food diet excludes many foods that can drain you of serotonin- gluten, lactose, eggs... things that the majority of people are sensitive, which affects their brain chemistry. And the other partly.. because of the great properties of raw food and how it makes you feel!

I went on a raw food diet to help with my anxiety and depression. I've only been on it for 9 days, but I am now able to go to school (I had dropped out because of anxiety), I am going out every day which is remarkable because I'm normally housebound, and, I'm not as depressed at all.

I think that even if you do not choose to do the raw food diet, you should definitely try excluding gluten, lactose, and/or eggs, because these food sensitvites can cause major depression and anxiety if you have one. I had a gluten lactose and egg sensitivity that I did not discover until this year. I pretty much think that it saved my life, because on gluten especially, I became very suicidal, depressed, brainfog, etc.. In fact, you might even want to exclude these foods first, just to see whether you have a problem with them or not, and then take the raw next step. (Not also that, if you decide to elliminate these foods, you'll have to check whether Prozac contains gluten if you are still on it) Goodluck!

[ray34iyf]

Congrats on your decision to get off. You and I are in somewhat similar spots. I am now currently in Celexa withdrawal after having 3-4 years of negative experience with antidepressants in general. I was not myself at all and I was in a lot of mental/physical pain on the drugs. Now that I am off, I feel much happier, but am having a hard time with the withdrawal symptoms.

In fact, since drinking 1-2 green smoothies per day, my liver has been in a lot of pain. It feels swollen. I am guessing this is some sort of detox.

Anyways, I would imagine that the raw diet would help a lot! My piece of advice to you is to go slowwwly off of the ssri. Take your time. If you do it too quickly, you may not feel that well.

Good luck.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Vitamin D, B12, raw chocolate are natural anti-depressant that i know. Many time when you are low in vitamin D you could have severe depression symtom.

You will need to find a way to get that poison out of your system. Those pills are highly addictive. Search for an homeopath or a good doctor that do raw food.

I send you love

[vegetize]

I was on a cooked vegan diet when I went off antidepressants a few years ago (I was on some pretty heavy ones). I noticed a change with just doing yoga every time I felt sad or anxious. The dietary change that really affected me (more than just vegan) was going completely raw.

A word of caution - be careful to focus on green smoothies and salads, with a higher concentration of fruit. And, a dietary choice isn't going to fix the social situations you might be in that are causing / contributing to stress.

Namaste.

[rawmiss]

Prozac is scary because it is 16% fluoride, which is a class II poison and a carcinogen and which accumulates in bones and weakens them. There are lots of herbs known to help with depression.

[SunshineMN]

I was on Welbutrin for two years. I started having some pretty bad memory problems and I was very angry all the time. I stopped taking them cold turkey, and had some pretty long days of intensive migraines. And I have never had a migraine before in my life! It was horrible. If I didn't distrust and dislike doctors so much I might have tried to get off them a lot slower.

Prozac is pretty heavy duty, I think I'd try to find some kind of doctor that could help you with combining raw food and decrease in medication together so it's not such a shock.

[Mikey_H]

Depending on who you are, you might have to wean yourself off the medication no matter what the dietary circumstances are...
Though I can tell you that in my opinion, switching to a more raw, natural (and organic) lifestyle will no doubt lead to a better balance in body and mind. Not to mention you will feel better about yourself and will probably discover much about yourself on the way.

Knowing many doctors though, don't get discouraged if you cannot find a doctor that can "lead" you through a transition into a more raw lifestyle while weaning you off medication, as some doctors might think your "issues" are being manifested in what they would think is dietary obsession or eating disorders. That's just the way a lot of modern doctors think, but that doesn't mean you can't find some professional to help you, it definitely would help because you will definitely need a hand through the transition.
Good luck!!

[raspberryswirl]

I'm sick of being on anti-depressants. I can't stay on them forever, and I don't want to keep increasing the dose once my body gets used to the current level I'm on.

The thing is - without a health change, I do need anti-depressants. My depression and anxiety was so bad that I wouldn't leave the house (literally) and in the past I have self harmed.

So my question is - can a raw food diet help me?

First - a raw food diet can definitely help you feel your overall healthiest. A happy body makes for a happy mind. I think Western culture makes it too easy to see these are two separate things but your brain is an organ in your body, so it obviously benefits from proper nutrition.

Secondly - exercise is a wonderful way to naturally boost endorphins in your body, which in turn, makes you feel a lot better, emotionally. A regular exercise routine would provide a constant supply of endorphins in your brain that are naturally occurring, not synthetic like an SSRI.

Third - (I'm in graduate school for professional counseling, fyi) SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are typically only effective for a person for 2 to 3 years. You can continue adjusting the dosages but eventually you'd either have to switch from Prozac to something else or continue increasing dosages until you hit the max. This is why a regular exercise routine is so important.

Lastly - if you can receive counseling services, that would be a wonderful way to learn coping strategies and relaxation techniques. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been shown to be very effective for both depression and anxiety management. If you are not in an area where counseling services are available to you at low costs (or free) and you don't have health insurance, there are a ton of CBT workbooks and books available online and in bookstores.

Honestly, I would say that raw foods and an exercise routine would be a wonderful start to an overall better health. If you find you're still having problems with depression and anxiety, talking to your doctor about a counseling referral might be an additional option you could look into.

Good luck! :)

[walnutty]

Watch, "Food Matters". It talks about this issue specifically!

[hellicat]

Maybe my story will help: I was on Effexor and Valium last year for depression, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Granted, it was a fairly low dose of both, but I had been on them for 2 years.

Since going raw I never had another panic attack so I was able to stop filling my valium prescription immediately.

I weaned off the Effexor (UNDER DOCTOR'S SUPERVISION) after 4 months of about 90% raw. High fat raw, btw. Had no withdrawal symptoms (Effexor is particularly bad).

I'm now eating primarily fruit with some greens and a little bit of the gourmet stuff here and there like chia crackers or rawsagne or zucchini marinara. My depression and anxiety have almost totally gone and I feel better and better everyday. There IS hope, stick with raw and you'll get there. Please make sure you discuss any medication changes with your doctor, though. And remember it's your right to get off medication if you feel ready for that.

[rawcakie]

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who replied to my post :) I haven't been ignoring you, I took a few days off to start to wean myself off Prozac and focus on my health. I just didn't felt like using the internet.

So far so good.. I managed to wean down to 2 tablets for a few days and felt great. The first two days I felt like everything was a bit surreal but I focused my energy on eating healthy and got through it. Today is the first day I've gone down to 1 tablet (but was willing to take a 2nd if I couldn't handle it). I'm actually feeling great! It feels so good that I'm not relying 100% on medication, and I'm handling everything really well.

One thing I have discovered: refined sugar really is evil.
The other night I had some chocolates from a box of chocolates that my Mum got for Christmas and within about 30min I was feeling so much rage. I had to sit on the couch and close my eyes because it felt like my head would explode out the top.
I thought it may have just been a fluke but it happened again the next day when I had some white chocolate. I was getting these episodes frequently the past few months - since I took up cake decorating! To handle the rage, my doctor upped my Prozac. I had no idea it was sugar doing it to me all along.
Since switching to a high raw (most days 100%) I haven't had any anger issues, and I've felt so calm and relaxed. I can eat raw chocolate without any problems (yey!).

I'll be staying on the 1 tablet til after the new year, and then seeing how I go without it.

Raw food is truly amazing :)