# Do all anti-anxiety drugs make you angry?



## HateThisStuff (Sep 28, 2012)

I take Cymbalta 60mg and I am madder and outburst in anger more. I have been taking it for a couple of years and have really thought about it. Family too. I have OCD and really need something to be able to cope. Therapy is just not enough.

Anyway, I read that Cymbalta is an SNRI with norepinephrine. I wondered if all anxiety medication made people angry to some degree.

I tried 90mg one time and felt rage, real rage, and anything that made me angry. It was crazy, so went down to 60mg. Went off Respiridone too .5 just because I don't want to take medicine.

Sigh. Sorry for long post, but I also take Lamictal XR. It helped my mood very much from swinging. I only have OCD though. I was starting to have more extreme down periods so got the Lamictal. Thanks for reading.


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## Mustafa (Aug 15, 2012)

Punch the wall.


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## InnerPeace (Apr 21, 2011)

HateThisStuff said:


> I take Cymbalta 60mg and I am madder and outburst in anger more. I have been taking it for a couple of years and have really thought about it. Family too. I have OCD and really need something to be able to cope. Therapy is just not enough.
> 
> Anyway, I read that Cymbalta is an SNRI with norepinephrine. I wondered if all anxiety medication made people angry to some degree.
> 
> ...


It's not unheard of that antidepressants like SSRIs oder SNRIs cause anger/rage in a few people. I think I remeber that some killing sprees and murders have been linked to SSRI use and were the reason for class action lawsuits against pharma companies. However, this is a relatively rare side effect. Usually ADs tend to blunt emotions including anger and hostility.

If lowering the dose doesn't ameliorate your feelings of anger you should definitely quit the Cymbalta in consultation with your doc. It's not worth being a ticking time bomb just to get rid of depression as there is a long list of other antidepressants you can try with good chances that one of them won't cause this nasty side effect.
For instance you could ask your doc about trying sertraline. It's a weak to moderately weak DA reuptakte inhibitor. In theory the additional dopamine could decrease hostility and anger.

If that fails you might want to run a trial with Escitalopram which is the most selective SSRI. In case this won't work out either, you are well advised to stay away from SSRIs and try other pharmacological routes.


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## alittleunwell (May 27, 2012)

I used to take Wellbutrin, and it increased my anger and irritability. I was taking it for over a year, and didn't really realize how _much_ until I stopped. Now I'm on an SSRI and it's given me a lovely "who cares?" attitude at work which is just what I need -- definitely did not need the extra anger with the job I have.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

They make me angry because they don't do anything


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

HateThisStuff said:


> I take Cymbalta 60mg and I am madder and outburst in anger more.


Remeron/Mirtazapine made me into a complete @sshole. I was on it for 2-3 months but damn if you looked at me the wrong way...

Looking back it was a good medication to get me up to normal weight (which since i have maintained) however it took my patience and have me a horrible temper.

I felt as a result the extra rage and anger over the tiniest of things lead to more distress.

Getting off it was a good idea. Zoloft worked much better for me.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

blakeyz said:


> They make me angry because they don't do anything


You're so lucky. Doing nothing would be an improvement over doing plenty of sexual side effects.

Not being able to orgasm might induce anger in some folks. Makes me pretty damn mad.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

UltraShy said:


> You're so lucky. Doing nothing would be an improvement over doing plenty of sexual side effects.
> 
> Not being able to orgasm might induce anger in some folks. Makes me pretty damn mad.


Stopping medication that is helping your mental problems because of sexual reasons is bullshiz. If ED is a deal breaker then your situation can't be that bad and you don't need medication.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

blakeyz said:


> Stopping medication that is helping your mental problems because of sexual reasons is bullshiz. If ED is a deal breaker then your situation can't be that bad and you don't need medication.


SSRIs & SNRIs do *NOTHING* for me except produce sexual side effects.

Xanax is only minimally helpful, though at higher doses that too produces sexual side effects. These effects are clearly documented in clinical trials, though few will take benzos at levels high enough to ever discover such problems.

I would think you'd see the obvious irony in meds that can entirely kill sex drive & function. In the unlikely event the drug worked so that you could talk to girls, WTF does it matter when you have no sex drive?


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## Inspiron (Nov 30, 2011)

Antidepressants have been known to increase violent behavior similar to what you have mentioned. I hope you feel better.


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## Otherside (Jun 8, 2012)

I wonder if Propranolol is making me angry. Then I spoke to my doctor about it and she said that propranolol doesn't do that. At one point, I even just went cold turkey and came off it...that didn't help though so, I dunno. I'm beginning to wonder though if there's other issues that are causing the anger.

Propranolol seems to be helping anxiety though, just not the anger and depression.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

UltraShy said:


> SSRIs & SNRIs do *NOTHING* for me except produce sexual side effects.
> 
> Xanax is only minimally helpful, though at higher doses that too produces sexual side effects. These effects are clearly documented in clinical trials, though few will take benzos at levels high enough to ever discover such problems.
> 
> I would think you'd see the obvious irony in meds that can entirely kill sex drive & function. In the unlikely event the drug worked so that you could talk to girls, WTF does it matter when you have no sex drive?


I thought I remembered you said you stopped a medication because of boner side effects even though it was helping ? Maybe I am mistaken sorry


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## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

Wellbutrin caused rage in me. Celexa made me a robot with no desire for sex whatsoever. I am currently on benzos (klonopin) and find that I am now addicted to them after 2 years of ever increasing dosages. I function fine on Klonopin but don't like having the benzo monkey on my back. Benzos are hard on your liver and my liver enzymes have risen in the past few years because of them. I am trying to devise a plan to taper off them. It's a going to be a really rough road to travel...quitting benzos is very, very hard.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

ssri's/snri's have never put me in a rage. They also do not alleviate anxiety for me whatsoever. I use benzo's which are helpful at reducing anxiety and have never put me in a rage. 

I've never been in a rage in all my life and I doubt I ever will.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

A Sense of Purpose said:


> Remeron/Mirtazapine made me into a complete @sshole. I was on it for 2-3 months but damn if you looked at me the wrong way...
> 
> Looking back it was a good medication to get me up to normal weight (which since i have maintained) however it took my patience and have me a horrible temper.


I more or less had the same reaction to Remeron, as well as to Paxil for that matter. 
But just Google 'Remeron Rage'. I don't think were alone haha.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

I had the Remeron rage as well. The only truly bad AD imo


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## Luctor (Aug 10, 2012)

Zoloft made me super agitated and aggressive.

As for the sexual side-effects, I was still able to orgasm (with a lot of work) but it gave me stamina like I'd never had before. It didn't bother me too much.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

I have a question for those who have felt or had rage(s) from AD's, dou ever respond to your frustrations with rage. I know every ssri tends to make me irritable but just like everything I keep it to myself. So I wonder if the individuals who say yes were more prone to rages with or without AD's, or if you pretty much never experience rage but only with ad's?

Do Antidepressant's directly cause the rages to happen? or do they cause increased irritability which in people prone to rage puts you over the edge sooner than you would otherwise experience rage?

any thoughts?


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## Luctor (Aug 10, 2012)

istayhome said:


> I have a question for those who have felt or had rage(s) from AD's, dou ever respond to your frustrations with rage. I know every ssri tends to make me irritable but just like everything I keep it to myself. So I wonder if the individuals who say yes were more prone to rages with or without AD's, or if you pretty much never experience rage but only with ad's?
> 
> Do Antidepressant's directly cause the rages to happen? or do they cause increased irritability which in people prone to rage puts you over the edge sooner than you would otherwise experience rage?
> 
> any thoughts?


Personally speaking, it only exacerbated an already existing problem.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

Zoloft definitely made me irritable and quick to anger, i'm glad I got off of the stuff.
It also made my anxiety and depression worse.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

istayhome said:


> I have a question for those who have felt or had rage(s) from AD's, dou ever respond to your frustrations with rage. I know every ssri tends to make me irritable but just like everything I keep it to myself. So I wonder if the individuals who say yes were more prone to rages with or without AD's, or if you pretty much never experience rage but only with ad's?
> 
> Do Antidepressant's directly cause the rages to happen? or do they cause increased irritability which in people prone to rage puts you over the edge sooner than you would otherwise experience rage?
> 
> any thoughts?


I think I have it in me yes, but Remeron and Wellbutrin make it that much worse. SSRI's/SNRI's mellow me out.


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