Introduction by David Healy
RxISK is being built by the efforts of people affected by medicines – for good and bad. One of the most extraordinary of all RxISK stories originally appeared on davidhealy.org – Driven to Drink. This was not only written by but was researched by Anne-Marie Kelly who had solved her own problems. The only role for us in this was to validate what she had done. Driven to drink has had more comments than any other RxISK story and has changed the way I view these pills.
It has also changed my views on the role that every registered member of RxISK and indeed casual visitors can play in what happens from here. We have tried to get a debate going on how RxISK should fund itself – what can it contemplate doing in order to survive – on Access to RxISK data. So far the debate has been very academic and very one-sided – it would be good to get more contributions. Why – because academics can often completely miss the wave. As this story demonstrates.
This story about antidepressants and credit card debt was also brought to our attention by Anne-Marie. It is really quite extraordinary that even credit card companies can recognize something and be more concerned about those affected than their doctors are likely to be. Doctors have become a risk-laundering service for companies. On average the recognition of some of the major side-effects of best-selling drugs is now delayed by anything between 10-20 years because of their status as prescription-only drugs. What does this say about conflict of interest? None of the academic contributions to the conflict of interest debate appear to recognize this issue. In my experience the blindest doctors in this respect are those with no ties to industry.
When happy meds lead to depressing debt
Reckless spending: A side-effect of antidepressant use
This article was written by Erica Sandberg and first appeared on creditcards.com
Can antidepressant use spur financial flights of fancy?
Millions suffering from severe depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder find relief with antidepressant medications. Yet while these ameliorants can dramatically improve the way patients feel and function, they may also cause an unexpected and financially devastating reaction: irrational shopping sprees, atypical gambling jaunts and reckless investments.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 11 percent of people living in the U.S. age 12 and over are currently prescribed antidepressants. If you or a loved one is among them, be alert to unusually compulsive or risky financial behavior — and know what preventive steps to take if the urge is coming on.
Meds affect financial choices
The number of antidepressant drugs on the market today is vast, from selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) with such trade names as Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft, to serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) including Effexor and Cymbalta.
According to San Diego, Calif.- based psychiatrist David Reiss, any antidepressant and stimulant can trigger hypomania, a psychological state that makes a person feel euphoric. And while a patient may gain such positive effects as being super-confident, creative and outgoing, it can also cause extremely poor judgment concerning money.
Reiss sees many patients through the California Workers Compensation system who have experienced depression due to their injuries and are treated with antidepressants. Among this group, he has noticed a spike in gambling.
“I am now much more aware to listen for and more closely ask how they are spending their time,” says Reiss. “Perhaps 20 percent of the time, people who are limited in their activity by physical impairment and finances will tell me that they go once a week or once a month to local casinos,” he says. As a result, they can’t meet their expenses and assume losses that their disability income cannot support.
Grandiose self-perception is also a feature of hypomania, and it too can lead to daredevil actions. “They think they can walk into a casino and win a million dollars,” says Soroya Bacchus, a psychiatrist practicing in Los Angeles. “When you’re hypomanic, you can do a lot of things mere mortals can’t. Or you think you can, anyway.”Many are surprised by what they’ve done after the euphoria passes, and are shocked and dismayed when they see their credit card bills. “This often triggers guilt and depression,” says Reiss.
Shopping till they’re dropping
Besides unrealistic and obsessive betting, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that hypomania also may result in “unrestrained buying sprees” and “foolish business investments.”
That was true for Wendy Honeycutt of Bellview, Texas. She had been prescribed antidepressants to help cope after a series of tragic events, including the death of her young son. While medicated, she began to spend and charge recklessly.
“My needs were being met by grabbing a credit card,” says Honeycutt. “I ended up with closets full of crap. When you’re on those drugs you don’t care. They cause you to be selfish. It doesn’t allow you to see yourself though a proper perspective.”
“My needs were being met by grabbing a credit card,” says Honeycutt. “I ended up with closets full of crap. When you’re on those drugs you don’t care. They cause you to be selfish. It doesn’t allow you to see yourself though a proper perspective. You have a craving for something, but it was more in the purchase. I would order stuff on eBay and Amazon and days later it came in the mail, and I didn’t remember buying it. By the time it came I didn’t want it anymore.”
After Honeycutt ceased her medication, she was nearly $25,000 in debt.
Sterling, Va., resident Elisa-Ruth Nelson was only on antidepressants for nine months, and during that time was compelled to not just acquire things, but credit cards, especially retail accounts. “They were pretty!” says Nelson, “I amassed so many of them. The Limited, Macy’s, Bloomingdales … I just did what I wanted. I bought St.John suits and Louis Vuitton. Whatever was in the window, I bought it. If the sales girl said I looked good — I bought it.”
When she went off the drugs, says Nelson, “Miraculously, it was over.” Debt remained, though, and like Honeycutt, Nelson is using a credit counseling agency’s repayment plan to deal with it.
“I can’t wear heels, yet I bought an entire collection of three-, four-, five-inch heels. With SSRIs, there is no turn-off switch.”
“I bought an entire wardrobe of sundresses and I only wear jeans!” says Rain. “I can’t wear heels, yet I bought an entire collection of three-, four-, five-inch heels. With SSRIs, there is no turn-off switch. I bought a t-shirt folder — not one, but three! It was crazy.”Stories like Honeycutt’s and Nelson’s are not at all uncommon, says Alesandra Rain, founder of Point of Return, a nonprofit that helps people find a natural way to address their psychological needs. In fact, she too went on bizarre spending sprees when she was on antidepressants.
Today, Rain and her organization help others identify the side effects associated with antidepressants. “I hear it all the time — impulsively buying cars, trading stocks, selling in the stock market,” says Rain. “One man who owned a $50 million company was making terrible decisions — his CEO was trying to talk him out of them — and it put the company into bankruptcy.”
Treat the ailment and remain solvent
If you believe a friend or relative has antidepressant-induced hypomania and is spending, charging or gambling detrimentally, don’t just rip away the credit cards. “It will escalate the mood, and if they’re bipolar, you risk a bad reaction,” says Bacchus. “Ask if you can take them to the doctor. Even the emergency room. They are equipped to handle these situations.”
Rain suggests sitting down with the person and calmly asking, “Do you know how much you’ve changed?” Don’t make them wrong. Instead say, “I looked it up and overspending and gambling is a side-effect of the drugs. It must be so uncomfortable for you.”
Offering hard evidence can be beneficial, says Laurie Campbell of Cronton, Ohio. Campbell had been prescribed Paxil for irritable bowel syndrome, and says her spending was so out of control she drained her 401(k) because of it.
“If someone has a loved one going through this and you know they were prescribed something because they were depressed, print out the information that is out there,” she says. “Be firm and say, ‘You don’t see what is going on with you, but here’s what has happened in the last six months before taking this drug.’ Do the tough love thing. It might have helped me,” says Campbell.
And if you identify the problem in yourself? Tell your prescribing doctor that your spending habits have changed and ask if it could be medication-related. A change may be in order. You may also be able to control your own financial actions before or during a hypomanic state. For example:
- Inform trusted friends and family members about the issue. Ask that they tell you if you’re sounding or acting unusual, and if they would be willing to talk to you before you make large purchases.
- Unsubscribe from your favorite retailers’ email advertisements.
- Avoid places where you tend to overspend. For example, if you’re a “shoe person”, do not even enter a shoe store.
- Redirect your energy. Write, garden, clean or contact old friends. Use this time in a positive way until the episode has passed.
The bottom line: Any change in antidepressant use has the potential to send some people into a hypomanic episode. It could be just starting the medication, changing the dosage, discontinuing it or even adding something to the mix such as an extra cup of coffee. If you fear the drugs are causing you to make foolish or dangerous financial choices, let your doctor and caring family know immediately.
Johanna says
It’s very strange … these same drugs have been recommended as a treatment for compulsive shopping, and other problems labeled as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. And I guess they work at least for some of the people some of the time. But mania or hypomania can also lead to shopping sprees. And the doctors have NO excuse not to know that antidepressants can make some people manic. That’s been written up often, and even publicized for awhile by some drug companies who saw a future in relabeling patients as bipolar. If you went manic after taking an SSRI, it just meant you were a hidden “bipolar” and should be glad the drug smoked you out in time.
Dysfunctional shopping in the USA is a complicated thing. We shop when we’re depressed and have low self-esteem; we shop when we’re manic and think we’re terrific. We shop to celebrate with friends, we shop when we’re bored and lonely. And we shop because we’re told to. In order to know why a given patient was messing up her life with irrational shopping you would have to talk to that person, get to know her and her history. But how many psychiatrists are doing that anymore? They have largely contracted out the job of talking to patients to non-medical counselors, and often do not even know the contractor. In many cases there is none, and the patient is utterly on their own.
That’s what is making shrinks, more so than almost any other doctors, such effective (and hazardous) risk-launderers, I believe — and so radically compromised by their prescribing privileges. They have given up every other function; most would have to send you down the hall to get your blood pressure or weight. If not for the prescription pad, they would literally have nothing.
Robert says
Here is another example of this disorder. Members of my family were asking me for loans. I was giving out thousands of dollars. And then I would forgive the loans.
My psychiatrist was terrible. All he did for 8 years was shove more and more antidepressants down my throat. I finally fired him and my next psychiatrist weaned me off of everything so we could start over. once the drugs were out system, that compulsion went away.
Boy, I was pissed.
Anne-Marie says
Joanna I don’t agree totally with your comment that SSRIS only make people manic who are hidden bi-polar, from first hand experience I can say they energized me much more than normal and made me do things without a care in the world but that doesn’t mean I’m bi-polar. Thank god my GP saw sense and said I wasn’t bi-polar otherwise God knows what drugs I would be on now, he said they have stimulant effects on some people but it doesn’t mean they’re all bi-polar and I agree with him, both my friends also got energized and crazy on them and they are not bi-polar either they are quite normal off SSRIS. SSRIS can make people who are not bi-polar high as well especially when you drink on them. That’s my theory anyway from first hand experience.
Johanna says
I totally agree, Anne-Marie! What I was trying to say (apparently not very well) was that some drug companies were pushing the theory that mania or hypomania induced by their drugs only meant the patient had been bipolar all along.
I think the whole idea is baloney — they were only pushing this line to promote their own commercial interests, and to shield themselves from legal trouble from the damage caused by this side effect.
Drop on in at http://www.quittingadderall.com, and you will find lots of people who had the same experience with Adderall and other stimulants. Suffering from a drug side-effect, they were told instead that they were bipolar.
Lindy says
Hi. I support Ann-Marie in her comments. SSRI/SNRI therapy cost me dearly in more wys than I can count. Three years after beginning the withdrawal process, I display no signs of hypomania, the condition that drove me to move house very few months, buy things I did not need and could not afford and engage in shameful behaviours that I won’t recount here.
When I look back – as much as I am still affected by tardive dyskinesa/tardive dystonia – I can not relate to “that woman”; the person I was for almost two decades. I did not display hypomania before going on SSRIs, nor do I experience it now. But a warning: SSRI/SNRI withdrawal can – and does – throw many people into full-blown mania. For months, I painted, drew and wrote all day and well into the night. I painted six-foot tall anemones on the bedroom wall, redecorated (oh so badly!) the house several times. My medical notes include the word “manic” yet no one did anything to help.
And a note: Please, if you experienced any kind of medication-induced movement disorder or know people who have, leave a reply or report it on RxISK. Much here is devoted to suicide – and rightfully so – but this condition alone drove me perilously close to the edge.
Rachel says
Oh my, thank you! I have been searching the web for people who have had impulsive behaviors after taking an SSRI. Since being on them for probably 12 years I have engaged in gambling, sexual behaviors I never would have done before, risky financial decisions, alcohol and drug abuse. I asked my psychiatrist and she said I should be on ADHD medicine due to my impulsive behaviors. I never had those problems before being on these medications! I KNOW that they are the reason I did all of those horrible things. It helps to know someone else had the same thing happen to them!
Jim says
It pains me to know that along with so many others… I have suffered tremendous financial loss due to compulsive gambling after I started taking Zoloft. I was diagnosed with OCD, Bipolar Depression, Anxiety and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. I was put on several drugs over a few years… until I ended up with Zoloft from my Psychiatrist. I impulsively quit a 23 + year career with my employer. I spent all of my retirement savings including cashing in my 401k early and suffering huge tax penalties. I became addicted to gambling! It’s ruined my life! 2 divorces and 2 bankruptcies! I was so depressed I attempted suicide! I began abusing alcohol to self medicate. I drove from Michigan to Arizona straight through only stopping for gas and food…no sleep! 2200 miles! Who does that? It was insanely dangerous but I couldn’t stop! I still gamble compulsively and its all I think about! I lost the love and affection and relationships with my children who have estranged themselves and my grand children from me for years now. I was not invited to my own daughter’s wedding and have never been able to meet my 3 grand children. Sad. Just sad! I’m miserable and depressed so I continue the same drugs just to cope the best I can! The same drugs that are supposed to be helping me…have destroyed me! There must be some recourse and accountability for destroying people’s lives! Does anyone know a good attorney with experience in this area of personal injury? Anyone? I can’t and won’t go on anymore like this! I’m 52 having to live with my parents because of my financial decisions and harmful actions. This has been going on for 16 miserable years. I cannot go on much longer!!! Help!!!
David says
I have been on sertaline and began gambling out of control, any one know of this
Ruth says
Yes , I have made a huge mess . So compulsive it’s crazy . To go without the meds I’m way outta balance . With them
Compulsive shopper , gambler it’s ridiculous . I feel shame and embarrassment .
Paula says
I am so glad to see what you wrote Rachel, I don’t feel so alone. I too have done things I am not proud of and I know deep in my heart that antidepressants did this to me. I have thrown away a man I loved and made my life miserable. I think today I may have even lost my job due to poor judgement and I feel so helpless.
Linda says
You are not alone. I am feeling the same way about SSRI’s. I developed a compulsive gambling problem which would be unusual for me. Once when I ran out of Cymbalta after taper. I did not feel compulsive at all or get thoughts about gambling. When I started new prescription about 2 mos later the gambling thoughts gradually returned. These thoughts don’t just go away either. Even if you push the negative thoughts to the back burner, they lurk beneath the surface. I began to suspect my antidepressant may be causing this very undesirable side effect. Although this medicine helps my mood, I know I can’t stay on it. I’m going to try an alternative. I have a connective tissue disorder, Lupus. I really wish the powers that be, would allow the TRUTH to be known to all people taking SSRI’s. Any type of compulsive behavior is scary because at the time your engaging in it, you can’t stop. Regarding credit cards, I did that too. Kept applying or ordering more and more. I knew it was crazy! Couldn’t stop. I feel better now that I know there are other folks out there that have gone thru the same thing. Lawsuits no doubt may someday be on the horizon but what about now? I’m gonna amp up my exersise and try to find some alternative! Stay strong!
Pat Goldfinch says
I had several forms of Prozac prescribed for me just over two years ago.
They made me sick, gain a great deal of weight which I have as yet been unable to uloose the drug seems to have totally upset my metabolism and has left me with a almst uncontrolable desire for sugar, and this is the cause of further depressive thought.
Nothing was explained to me to expect this as I am not used to taking any medication at all except for HRT, which has also caused me problems.
mattie says
Two people I love dearly were horrible affected by an SNRI. One was depressed by a breakup with his fiancee and by long hours at college/work. His GP put him on effexor. On effexor he had horrible rages that made him want to hurt people and animals. Fortunately he quit the drug but had after-effects that caused him to give up on college. The other person dear to me has been on high dose effexor for more than 15 years. He can no longer hold a job. His doc says he is bipolar now. His erratic (and selfish) behaviors have pushed his family and friends away. Being around people irritates him. Now he abuses alcohol and drugs. His bipolar diagnosis got him on disability but his assets are being used up. Why would anyone stay on a drug that causes daily nausea, vomitting, headaches, weeping, irritbility, body aches, and both insomnia and hyper-sleep as well as fear of leaving the house? And makes you want to harm people and animals?
Jen says
This happened to me, not with SSRIs but with strong painkillers after a serious injury. I have now gone off them and realise what I have done. I don’t know what to do. Beware everyone this can happen to you!!!!
Deirdre Doherty says
I agree with Joanne, Anne Marie and Lindy. As a lay person, it’s bewildering.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of twenty three/four after an episode/s of drug induced mania when I was prescribed Seroxat in 1999/2001 (before any warnings whatsoever) and for stress at work! I too went gung ho, hell for leather – suddenly sexually promiscuous, shoplifting, amassing debt I am still paying off, doing all sorts of ‘crazy’ things (including almost killing an elderly man under the delusion I could drive), and raised total havoc on my life. In terms of ‘switching’ from major depression or episodes of major depression, I wasn’t depressed and I had never suffered from depression before – a teenage broken heart maybe, or sadness – quickly passing – but not clinical depression.
This was followed by the shock of my first brutal experience of ‘depression’ (and what I call ‘violent’ suicidal depression) in unwitting cold turkey withdrawal on my first leg of a round the world trip (booked when manic, having given up my then career and Postgraduate course) and to my eternal regret, knowing no better, soon resulting in another SSRI prescription. Previously generally happy and mentally well, either despite or because of follow up SSRIS, panic attacks, severe anxiety and depression then became regular features in my life, then chronic. I haven’t been able to work in a classroom for years (so easily startled, anxiety set off). In withdrawal from fifteen years of a follow up SNRI and SSRIS, I became so physically debilitated, I felt I finally had to apply for Sickness Benefit.
I had almost totally forgotten that I had once been diagnosed and treated as being bipolar and Type 2 until I requested my medical records – struggling, off the tranquilising spell of SSRIS, to make sense of what happened to me. Fifteen years later, having never suffered from mania or hypomania before Seroxat or since (on or off follow up SSRIS), I went to see my psychiatrist today to better inform him of my medical history as he didn’t appear to have medical notes from that time in my life (as I had long assumed my present practice had) and to request a re-evaluation.
A lovely man, he is the first doctor or psychiatrist who didn’t give me ‘the look’ and who seemed aware somewhat aware, as I wasn’t years ago, of the possible adverse effects of these drugs. Though not quite convinced that my former ‘anorexia’ (I didn’t have a problem with food) and a sudden start and stop drinking problem when prescribed Effexor in my second withdrawal from Seroxat (which may have exacerbated my suicide ideations; culminating in an unpremeditated suicide attempt I’m told I should haven’t survived) could possibly have been linked with the drug. In his wisdom, according to revised guidelines (the new DSM IVV), I am still a sufferer of bipolar disorder. Officially. And I am trying to make a case against GSK (by, hopefully, re-joining the group action case under new legal representation).
To some psychiatrists in their expertise, this may well make sense. It makes no sense to me. Or to any bipolar friends – who just take the piss!
Michael says
In my case, I began gambling compulsively and contacted my GP. I am hypomanic quite naturally. In fact, shortly after beginning treatment with Lamotrigine, it wasn’t enough in such a small dose and I began transitioning into full blown mania. My GP and I decided to go with depressants in an attempt to mitigate the amount of norepinephrine, noradrenaline, and dopamine I was overproducing. SSRI’s would have sent me from the stratosphere into low Earth orbit. You can only chase dopamine so far before it becomes neurologically dangerous. I work in a high pressure environment so my problems begin with the Locus Coeruleus, (fight or flight), then to the Ventral Tegmental Area where dopamine is synthesized and carried to the Nucleus Accumbens, (the pleasure center), and released into the Nucleus Accumbens Shell, which is also considered part of the extended amygdala. When the amygdala is active, the Medial Prefrontal Cortex sends a signal back to the shell in order to regulate the amount of dopamine being released into the shell where it impacts dopamine receptors. I am taking high doses of depressants and 80mg of Prozac to buffer the dopamine in the NAcc, and going to hypnotherapy. Meds alone will not be the solution, seek help from family and friends, as well as your physician.
Mia says
I just went through a $53k bankruptcy…and I am retired.
Left my Husband for another guy I had know many many years. It effected me so much emotionally that my Dr. prescribed Cymbalta. I ran up cards to over $30k and refinanced to pay them off. Turned around and did it again…only $53k this time.
I need to go grocery shopping today and I am afraid to leave the house. Afraid to spend the money. Sick to my stomach.
Not sure what to do. Should I just ween myself off the Cymbalta? I don’t even have a Dr. right now…He had a stroke and isn’t back to work yet. I know if I stop taking Cymbalta I will become a nervous wreck and a bitch to live with. I was prior to. I take after my Mom so much, it’s scary. She was an alcoholic…something I fought very hard not to become…I was successful, but apparently replaced with food, shopping, and sex. 64 years old and I can’t get my shit together….
jan says
Mia. I feel your pain. I have been taking Cymbalta for years now after a lose of a very special friend. And the loss of both parents. All with-in a years time.
And suffered all ready from daily pain of a spinal cord injury. Due to Auto accident where I was rear ended. 5 surgery’s were done on me for that.
I had been a very outstanding citizen all my life, helping people, children and animals to be the best they can be. Raised a wonderful family.
But after taking Cymbalta for my personally changed. Be came more self absorbed and was arrested for shop-lifting 3 times? And got in credit card card.
Help came by way of jail. Still awaiting trial for that. Still suffering from a lot of pain, the cymbalta helped alittle with it. But going to jail way out ways the little help it gave me.
GG says
Could SSRI’s also trigger/worsen this same compulsive-type behaviour in some individuals, but instead as a pornography addiction?
Very Broke says
Mine was destined for failure. I had managed to build my credit score up to 821. Had hardly any debt. Then I want on sertraline ( zoloft). Now I owe five thousand to Amazon, two thousand to walmart, eleven thousand to my bank.
About twenty thousand dollars in debt on nothing. Shoes, suits, bicycles, camping equipment, etc. I guess I’ll put on an Armani suit and ride my bicycle to the campground. I feel so stupid. It took litterally years to build my credit score. Now it’s 651 and I am beyond broke. I worry all the time. Two years ago I had over 4k in savings and No credit card debt.
ifeelyou says
Well, at least you’re funny; “I guess I’ll put on an Armani suit and ride my bicycle to the campground”. After reading all of these depressing ass post, not to mention my own shitty life which lead me to this site, you literally made me laugh out loud!!!
Seriously tho, Idk what the fuck is wrong with me…. and i say that because I started having existential depressing thoughts when I was 14 mixed with intermittent “normal” thoughts and hypomanic thoughts since and I’m pushing 40!!! l always thought it was the Adderal (I was diagnosed YEARS ago by a psychologist, took over 2 hours of test, had symptoms my entire life… I guess I feel the need to “prove” I actually have ADD because so many people are (seemingly) over prescribed) and maybe because I’ve gained 10lbs the adderal doesnt have me doing the things I typically wouldn’t do but after reading these posts and putting it all into perspective, maybe it IS the SSRI. I’ve been taking welbutrin for years and never got manic from it, taking add meds off and on for years, but took my first SSRI vibbryd bc I heard it didn’t cause weight gain. It would take me an hour to write my psy history plus I don’t want to get too personal here anyway, but I thank you guys for your honesty and want you to know you’re not alone. It’s so fucked up too. And tbh I don’t even know if it’s the drug companies fault per se. I think the docs should do a better job of monitoring us when we start these meds, even if they aren’t controlled meds, also docs should be more knowledgable. Someone earlier wrote that when they told their doc they were having probs with compulsive spending, sex etc the doc put them on ADD meds because they were compulsive. I’m not a doc and even I know that that will only make matters worse. ADD drugs increase dopamine! wtf. anyway… idk what the answer is… it’s a horrible existing living with depression and anxiety; it’s hard for people to understand. We’re not lazy, it’s so much more than that and it takes SO MUCH ENERGY, mental energy even, to just live like everyone else does.
Donna Rogers says
My life has been turned into a nightmare. My depression and lack of self confidence improved along with my ability to do my job and keep an organized home but I am buried in debt from compulsive gambling and spending since starting on generic Effexor, to the point of almost losing my home. Neither my Internist nor a psychiatrist or my family believed me that I felt that this could be triggered by this drug. I was switched to Celexa but this did not help my depression and because I was risking losing my job I switched back to Venlafaxine. BIG MISTAKE! I do not know where to turn!
Lauren says
Scary. I went off SSRIs because of the side effects and they did nothing to help the symptoms I complained of. I was told side effecrs were really rare. HA. Also that I just needed to try a different one and to not research them online because they’re all horror stories and all made up. Yea because I’m going to trust what a psych nurse says. If it weren’t for these awful drugs, she wouldn’t have a job.
Rach says
Hey everyone thank you so much for your brave posts. I am really sad to hear how life has been going but sadly also really happy and reassured that I am not alone. Finding info on the links between anti depressive medication and compulsive shopping has been really hard to come by but here you guys are. Thank you again for sharing and giving me a much needed life line xxx
Laurie alone broke and lost says
Has anyone found a way to stop the shopping shopping shopping?? Now add the words broke and hoarder to describe my issues. I have a house full of great crap, bought multiples of everything. Was a financially responsible human most of my life. Now broke and broken. Currently taking Wellbutrin and Cymbalta. I think that I am doing well but it’s an illusion. Been on this bum trip for over 25+ years.
Erica says
I was prescribed lexapro for my breakdown and severe anxiety. That was 5 months ago. I began opening credit cards w no job. I’m now 10,000 in debt. My marriage is on the rocks. I’m miserable but w no anxiety. What am I supposed to do? I wonder if I was misdiagnosed or is it the meds?
Joy says
I agree with all. In 2000 I started Effexor and have been taking Norco for migraines for 25+ years. I have attempted suicide twice and lost my job due to poor judgment, spent my entire 401k, ran up credit card debt, and I am still on meds for depression, anxiety and migraines.
Who can I sue? First doctor died three years ago current doctor goes along with my history. I just put two &two together to figure out suicide, spending money and whatever else are side affects from my meds!
Mary says
I used to pinch a penny until Lincoln screamed. About 30 yrs ago, I was put on Prozac, and it opened up my world so much, I felt like a different person. I felt happy. I began taking vacations, learned ballroom dancing and began living my life. The increase in spending just seemed like a natural result of going from no life to a life. I lost a lot of weight and began to buy new clothes because I was so confident about my body, and I just wanted to shout, ‘hey, look at me!’ I’d never wanted to be looked at before because of pervasive shame that began in childhood. I actually liked myself for the first time in my life! I deserved to treat myself to pleasurable things and activities that I’d been denied because of social anxiety disorder and debilitating panic attacks that began at age 12. Those things cost money! Everyone else gave themselves these treats! Now it was my turn. It was an investment in myself! All of it built upon the confidence the Prozac gave me and I was growing by leaps and bounds.
Until I wasn’t. The ‘honeymoon’ with Prozac ended after about 4 yrs, and I tried numerous other SSRI’s, trying to recapture what I was beginning to lose, only to end up back on Prozac again because even though it had pooped out on me, it was still better than any of the others I’d tried. I wasn’t feeling inspired and loving life as I had during my honeymoon with Prozac. But one thing remained. A tormenting compulsion to spend that was fueled by QVC and HSN, which I watched addictively. They could make me ‘need’ stuff I’d never even heard of before, and soon I’d be on the phone charging a $200 14k garnet bracelet on three Easy Payments.
It took about 15 yrs of wasting my time in front of the TV and my paycheck on crap I didn’t need before I stopped watching and ‘got clean.’ The craving—at least for that—was gone. But I didn’t stop spending money—I just changed what I spent it on. It dogs me to this day, even as I enter my 4th yr of unemployment. I feel soul sick as I place the orders but I can’t stop.
It was only in the last month that I learned that SSRIs could cause compulsive spending. Before I got on it, I had nothing and I spent nothing, other than making my car payments so I could hold down a job. Then the spending began after I’d started the Prozac. I’d always thought that had been ‘good’ spending because it all helped support my recovery, and the things I spent it on gave me real happiness—not just a momentary high, followed by a crash. But what it it was the beginnings of the compulsive spending that threatens to destroy me financially at this very moment? I switched some time ago from Prozac to Effexor because they both felt the same, but Effexor didn’t cause weight gain. I know I can never get off it because the withdrawal never ends, and the constant brain zaps are horrific, as well as the sudden bouts of sobbing and the rage attacks that nearly cost me my job the last time I tried going off. I have facial tremors and tremors in my hands and fingers that are permanent. I don’t think my brain is capable of even returning to what it was pre-Prozac. I struggle every single day WITH the Effexor, just as I did pre-Prozac, because ‘my brain on drugs’ has become my baseline after 30 yrs of it. If I didn’t have the Effexor, I’d descend into a hell, the likes of which I’d never even known existed.
One thing about this article that bothered me was the plug for ‘tough love.’ That’s old school, and it can do more harm than good. People who suffer from this condition also suffer from extreme shame, and tough love is internalized as shame. And shame only perpetuates the addictive cycle, because shame is pain, and spending is usually the only way we know to drown out that pain.
bumblebee says
well this is interesting,
Similar stories I don’t know whether to be relieved or dismayed. on Cipralex and wellbutrin for 5 years when my job became too stressful, and developed a super compulsion for gambling. in the end lost a relationship of 24 years over gambling, and about $200K. Ive now moved on to a shopping addiction/ near hoarding/ overbuying, buying multiples, amazon and every delivery guy knows me by name. Sickening. While I seemingly kicked gambling before the covid lockdown, (what a relief since casinos here in canada have been closed for a year +) I’ve just replaced it with another compulsion. Online shopping and inline auctions Buying shit I dont need. and more, and multiples, and crap. so f ing disgusting. im retired and have no income im doing this on RRSPs (401K s to the US ppl)
This is strange though, I’m here because my Dr moved to another province and i ran out of my cipralex prescription about 4 or 5 days ago, and while i just got a teleprescription today im now rethinking it. Ive felt the best I’ve felt in a while. Im not sure if im delusionsal, or onto something. I think I’Il hold off getting it filled. and see how it goes.
Michael says
I was prescribed high doses of Effexor that cause hypomania. I drained my 401K, took out home equity loans (my house was paid for), took out personal loans and ran up credit card debts. The total was approximately $365,000. Eventually I weaned myself off the drugs and dug myself out of debt. Having to start over with my 401K may delay my retirement which is a sad reality.
IamNotBipolar says
I feel for all of you in this section and I agree that antidepressants are just bad in general. I was on all kinds of stuff and I did horrible hypomania things. First, I lost friends then my jobs, and I eventually I lost my family. The worst things I did were to my family. I started antidepressants when I was 27 and this year I turned 53. One day, I was casually talking to my mother about how much weight I had gained since starting Abilify. I was always the skinny one in the family and, suddenly when I was about 35, I started gaining a lot of weight. I thought it was just because most of my family had gained weight as they got older so I didn’t think much of it. But as the years past, I gained more and more. I originally weighed about 120 to 130 pounds. Then, at 53 and talking to my mom, she mentioned the fact that most everyone gained weight on antidepressants. I had asked my doctors about this and all they would say is that you need to exercise or ‘oh, don’t worry, I’m overweight too’ like that was supposed to help. I suffered for years from low self esteem and confidence because I gained so much weight: it just added to the depression. Anyway, I began looking online. I was diagnosed with bipolar at 27. So I watched videos on that on YouTube. A lot of people in the comments section were complaining that Abilify had made them gain about 70lbs to 100. One doctor actually told one woman that she had to be ‘fat to be happy’ and be on the medication for life. I couldn’t believe it. So I started taking half a tablet of Abilify 15mg a day and then a quarter and then none. I couldn’t believe how much I changed. It was hard though, going off of it, because I became so depressed that I was suicidal. So I told my mom and sister to help monitor me. I also thought of my mother, who was in terrible health. I had to watch her during the day and my sister watched her at night so nothing would happen like a fall or something. Anyway, I couldn’t commit suicide thinking of her in that shape, plus I thought of my sister, who would have been devastated if I’d taken my life. And I had my cats who depended on me. So I fought through 2 weeks of that and it stopped. I was still on other meds, one of them was causing me to be irritable. I remember being so pissed off that I had done all these horrible things over the years. The worst thing was that everyone said they were shocked by my behavior over the years. I really changed a lot since I started antidepressants but, somehow, no one noticed. Everyone including me bought into this ‘you must be mentally ill’ to do all of this. My first doctor, who put me on antidepressants, told me the side effects are rare and not to worry about them. He also claimed that all antidepressants worked the same way. Both of which led me into a downward spiral. I believed the doctors when they said that I just needed to find the right pill to help with my depression. So, I ended up on about 5 to 8 different meds. All of them seemed to make me worse yet nobody thought to look into my meds. Everyone just thought I was crazy. It was terrible. When I lost my family it took me 5 years to get them back but we still thought I was bipolar and ‘crazy’ most of which was caused by me spending money or stealing it from family members.
Back to when I started Abilify, I got off of it and started almost immediately not being as hungry as I had been at all. I started eating small meals and only 3 meals a day. I also stopped a terrible addiction I had to sweets (I would buy bags of candy and eat them). Suddenly, I could even walk down the candy isle in the supermarket at not feel a need at all to buy any candy. It was so strange. All my bad behaviors stopped too and I stopped spending so much money. So I looked up Abilify and found out it had 2100 legal cases against it due to people gambling and overspending money. But it didn’t completely stop there. I did end up only buying things I needed. However, the urge to spend money did eventually come back when I was down to 2 meds: prozac and lactimal. Now I have found out that those were a problem too. So I stopped those. I finally have been off all meds and gotten myself clean. I have been doing much better for about 9 months. Everyone says that I have changed back to the person I was. But I still feel devastated and haunted by all the things I did. I am trying to go to therapy. But so far, the therapist isn’t helping. Honestly, idk at this point if anyone can help? I mean, my family believes me but, when I try to explain it to others, they think I’m just using it as a crutch to explain my behavior. Why would I go 26 years on antidepressants to go ‘crazy’ and then suddenly say I was back to being myself? It doesn’t make sense. But I admit it is hard to believe.
I now tell everyone I can about antidepressants and antipsychotics (that’s what Abilify is). I tell them to ask their doctors about any and all side effects that the medication might have. Also, I have recently found out that pharmacists know more about these medications than doctors do. So please, also go over them with your pharmacist. And, lastly, go online and see if anyone else has had any problems with the medication and if it has any lawsuits against it. I am now pretty much afraid to take anything. I mean, even heart pills and diabetic meds can have adverse side effects. So look into everything! Beware is what I say.
I personally think the pharmaceutical companies are making so much money by overmedicating people. I also found out that doctors actually make money from pharmaceutical companies by writing out prescriptions for medications. I thought doctors made enough money but apparently not? I get mad every time I think of it! To me, it is a scam, especially with the psychiatric meds. Maybe some meds are necessary. But I still say: look into what pills you are putting in your mouth! Be ever so careful.