Why are my anti-depressants making me mentally slow all the time?

This is a very common side effect for many of these medications. You are trading depression for zombie hood. Anti-depressants flat line your emotions, good and bad. A double edged sword.

You may need to have your doctor adjust the doses, and it can take several weeks for your body to adjust, however, I am not a fan of anti-depressants and my one and only experience with Paxil about a dozen years ago was horrible. I tried it during a situational depression during a divorce and yep, I was a complete zombie, hated it, quit after 10 days, never again. Situational depression is fixed by changing your situation but if you have brain chemistry issues that’s a whole different thing and I am not qualified to advise in that circumstance.

@Drush545 Let your doctor know, you made need to adjust the dosages to get the right effects without all the side affects. It can be like BP meds. It needs fine tuning.

I just read a bit about the drug Effexor and it can take a month to six weeks for your body to adjust to it. So you may just be going through an adjustment stage, you probably could talk to your doctor about it and find out more.

Ask your doctor for an alternative.

I am probably taking the anti-depressant you can’t pronounce. I felt the same way as you during the first few weeks. It takes at least four weeks until you feel the benefits from the anti-depressants. Try to be patient and schedule a follow up with your doctor.

No you are not an odd case. What worries me about taking these is that not only is my mind foggy but that I constantly want to sleep! I drag myself around like a half-dead lizard. I feel as though my head is blocked of air, always sleepy. While I am eager to go out and get things done, my body will not let me. Xanax also gets to me the next day and not when I need it. So, those two combined have made me death warmed up!

I had similar issues with Paxil years ago, and am currently going through similar issues with Lamotrigine, an anti-seizure med that has the “side-effect” of also being a mood stabilizer like Lithium.

With nearly any med that affects the brain, it usually takes a few weeks to adjust.

@Coloma hit the nail on the head, trading depression for zombiehood! And in most cases as soon as the medication mask falls off, depression is back again!

@ZEPHYRA True, and for “simple” depression, the cure may be worse than the disease. But if your issues are more complicated, it may be a worthwhile trade. I like not having seizures, so I tolerate the side-effect of zombiehood.