# Suicidal Thoughts and Medication???



## FlickeringHope (Oct 12, 2009)

Okay, this is a seriously important question.

What is the relationship here?

Is there anything that makes strong suicidal ideation go away? I was under the impression that a person taking anti-depressants should not experience such thoughts, at least not so severely. Even while on medication, if a person still goes through periods of having strong suicidal ideation, what does this signify? Are they taking the wrong medication? Or could it be that the dosage is off?

Or do suicidal thoughts never necessarily go away for good? Can bouts of severe major depression still occur even while on meds?

I've researched a bit, and know that antidepressants work very, very well for some who claim that it works wonders, while for many others it's no "cure" and only serves as an agent in reducing symptoms...supposedly. :/

But, in particular, it seems very wrong to me that a person might still experience suicidal ideation while on medication. :/

I've also heard the thing about suicidal thoughts increasing in teens/young adults while taking certain antidepressants. Which really does not make sense to me at all. Could this also be true of adults? I don't think I've found anything linking the same problem to adults.


Anyway, I'm just very confused. I'm hoping some of you out there could be so kind as to share your experiences with suicidal ideation while taking medication....did you have the thoughts prior to it? Did the very strong thoughts go away during medication? Or did they still sometimes occur? Or did anyone not experience suicidal thoughts until you started medication? And what, if anything, can make them go away? Any tips from therapists/doctors that you've heard in regards to reducing suicidal ideation? 

Or maybe some of you out there have done a lot of research and know the answers?

Any feedback will be much appreciated. Thanks!


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Antidepressants often make you feel terrible (depressed, anxious, agitated) during the first weeks of use, I would guess this is the period most suicidal ideation could occur.


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## Catching Fire (Apr 23, 2009)

From what my therapist told me the reason for the link is mostly because the most likely chance of suicide is when a person starts to get better. This is because they now have new drive and energy from the medication. This only matters if the person did have thoughts of suicide though. 

If you've never had any problems with suicidal thoughts you should be ok. The whole issue is very confusing though and you'd probably want to discuss it with a professional instead of just relying on this forum because its complicated.


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Starting to feel relief from depression and anxiety is also the point where a lot of people only begin to feel comfortable discussing suicide with their doctor in the first place. They could have always been thinking about it, but merely weren't at a point where they could put it out in the open.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

FlickeringHope said:


> Is there anything that makes strong suicidal ideation go away?


Amphetamines may put one in a good enough mood that living another day doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

Opps, I forgot we can't treat depression with C-II stimulants because death is superior to addiction according to the DEA.


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## gordonjohnson008 (Nov 2, 2008)

Euphoria is correct. In my experience on SSRIs, I often become more depressed during the first couple of weeks. However, after the SSRI has really kicked in I feel great and my depression is almost completely vanquished as are any suicidal ideations I may have felt prior to starting the med.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

gordonjohnson008 said:


> In my experience on SSRIs, I often become more depressed during the first couple of weeks. However, after the SSRI has really kicked in I feel great and my depression is almost completely vanquished as are any suicidal ideations I may have felt prior to starting the med.


No SSRI has worked for me at all, so I wouldn't know.

I know the general theory is that an AD gives you motivation & energy before it makes you feel better. Thus, you take someone who thought about suicide, but just laid in bed and give them a drug that now gives them the energy to get out of bed an carry out their plan of death.

While this is a risk of ADs, many in the medical community think the FDA did more harm than good with their Black Box warning on all moderns ADs regarding this risk. Prescriptions of ADs to teens dropped after the Black Box warning was implemented and teen suicides increased. While I'm not aware of any study done to see if there is a causal link, it's not hard to suspect that less AD use by depressed teens = more depressed teens = more teens who choose to die rather than live in a hell of depression.

I have no difficulty imagining a well-intentioned government action having unintended consequences. Fatal consequences in this case.

Personally, the only drug I've found to produce suicidal ideation was Abilify, an antipsychotic that has absolutely no place in the treatment of SA. I'd never experienced any such thoughts prior to trying Abilify in 2004. And other than making me gain weight, Abilify had no other effect on me.


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## FlickeringHope (Oct 12, 2009)

euphoria said:


> Antidepressants often make you feel terrible (depressed, anxious, agitated) during the first weeks of use, I would guess this is the period most suicidal ideation could occur.


What about for a person who's been on them for a few months or longer and still gets those feelings now and again, though? :/



Catching Fire said:


> From what my therapist told me the reason for the link is mostly because the most likely chance of suicide is when a person starts to get better. This is because they now have new drive and energy from the medication. This only matters if the person did have thoughts of suicide though.
> 
> If you've never had any problems with suicidal thoughts you should be ok. The whole issue is very confusing though and you'd probably want to discuss it with a professional instead of just relying on this forum because its complicated.


okay...I have heard that first part before, and that makes sense.

I know speaking to a professional would be the way to go. Currently, though, I'm more interested in this because someone I know is struggling, so there is only so much I can do. I thought I'd see if I could collect experiences from others, see what's 'normal'...if there is such a thing in these cases in regards to how medications affect people. :/

This is something that's always bothered me in regards to medications, though. How some of them seem to make people worse. It doesn't make sense. 



UltraShy said:


> Personally, the only drug I've found to produce suicidal ideation was Abilify, an antipsychotic that has absolutely no place in the treatment of SA. I'd never experienced any such thoughts prior to trying Abilify in 2004. And other than making me gain weight, Abilify had no other effect on me.


Did the thoughts stop after taking it, then? :/

I wish there was a magic pill that could just make all these crappy feelings go away for everyone without any sort of negative side effects.


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## FlucksCapacitor (Apr 17, 2012)

I had an experience with Venlafaxine I thought I would share. I was having a really tough time, my Daughter was born suddenly at 30 weeks with Down Syndrome, unbenknownst to us, and with Duodenal atresia, and was going to have to spend 2 months in the NICU, 45 minutes away. That mized with work stress, money stress etc made it feel like the world was coming down around me. 

I asked my doctor about a generic AD and he suggested Venlafaxine. After a few weeks I remember thinking at one point,"Hmm, I suppose I could just pull my car into the oncoming traffic at 55 mph." It was a very matter of fact thought. It didn't register at the time, but when I remebered that thought, it scared me.

I told my doctor and he suggested a see a shrink. I thought he would just recommend another drug, but he didn't. By my doctors reaction, I could tell that he thought the suicidal thoughts may have already been there, in some form or another and the AD just enhanced it; or as people said, made me more energetic about carrying it out. Which also scares me. I guess I have been in denial about that for some time, but this thread made me understand what was happening, and that maybe I do need to see a Psychiatrist or therapist.


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## gilmourr (Nov 17, 2011)

FlickeringHope said:


> Okay, this is a seriously important question.
> 
> What is the relationship here?
> 
> ...


The medications if they work, DO make suicidal ideations go away permanently. People sometimes will have their down moments where they might be like, life sucks I wish I was dead, or the odd suicidal thought for a really bad moment, but if you are thinking about it 24/7 and it's bombarding you EVERYWHERE and I mean like literally everywhere it is because A) The medication is not working or B) The medication is causing it.

Bouts of major depression should NOT occur on the right meds, only mild-moderate. You will NOT think about suicide 24/7 if you're on the right meds, your mind just will not wander there. Or it really wander there so infrequently that even you notice.

Nobody really knows why some of these pills make you have suicidal thoughts. But they do. It's pretty rare, I'd say maybe 5-10% of them cause this. Also, a lot of people are in such a depressive state (borderline hallucinations) that when they start to feel better, they kill themselves because they actually are physically capable of doing it. It is very possible that a person SO depressed cannot even hang themselves because it requires too much energy.

Just keep it simple. Give a medication 6-8 weeks. If you think about death, suicide, have low energy, very low libido, can't concentrate, you're still depressed. Try another. If you were wrong, you can always come back to the med.


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## firoze (May 11, 2014)

setraline work good


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## elitebutterfly (Feb 2, 2014)

SSRI's have been linked to cause suicide ideation...not sure about the mechanisms there. From what I know they can take 2-4 weeks to work and while they do work for some, there is a HUGE proportion in which they aren't even effective at all. Have you had any psychotherapy coupled with medications?


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## JesusIsTheSonOfGod (Jun 21, 2017)

*Agreed*

So many meds have caused me to feel suicidal. DON'T DO IT--- it's not the right med!
Zoloft was great on my mood, but there were other side effects so I had to stop.


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## JesusIsTheSonOfGod (Jun 21, 2017)

Meds can make you kill yourself. Sometimes, alot of times (when it comes to meds) it's just not you. It's the meds. Don't take those meds. When you quit taking them, you'll feel 100% better in 1-7 days is my experience.


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## JesusIsTheSonOfGod (Jun 21, 2017)

If you want to be free of suicidal thoughts, pray to Jesus, the Son of God, who died for our sins by being crucified on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He will help you.


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## Alex4You (Jun 19, 2017)

JesusIsTheSonOfGod said:


> If you want to be free of suicidal thoughts, pray to Jesus, the Son of God, who died for our sins by being crucified on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He will help you.


Instead of telling suicidal people to pray their thoughts away, maybe you should tell them to see a therapist and/or psychiatrist. Last time I heard praying doesn't make people's suicidal thoughts vanish, meds or therapy does.

If believing in Jesus/God puts you at ease that's fine, but don't tell suicidal people to pray away their symptoms. They need serious help immediately. That's why modern medicine exists. It's literally life and death we're talking about here. Do you tell cancer patients to pray away their disease? Ridiculous.


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## SFC01 (Feb 10, 2016)

JesusIsTheSonOfGod said:


> If you want to be free of suicidal thoughts, pray to Jesus, the Son of God, who died for our sins by being crucified on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He will help you.


nice one, very funny but this is a serious thread.


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## sad1231234 (Jul 10, 2016)

Suicidal thoughts can come from depression or if you dislike your life. But things can get better, especially if you take small steps towards improving your life. And you wont feel suicidal when your life is better. Also, some meds might be altering your mood, so you might want to try to find out which ones. Good luck


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