Cycling and antidepressants

[PhsychoCyclist]

Does anybody have any experience with any antidepressant medication? I have been on and off a few for the last 15 years and after a particularly bad period a couple of months ago I am now taking Citalis. It's working fabulously, I haven't felt so relaxed in years :banana: , but there are some side affects. Sexual disfunction :no: and a sluggishness on the bike :crap: . I'm cutting back on the dosage from 10mg a day to 5 to see if I can feel better on the bike and still be able to get out of bed in the morning. You guys are a pretty well rounded group of folks, got anything enlightening?

[Dekonick]

Dont change your dose without having your doctor in the know! Alot of medications require tight tolerances (in regard to theraputic drug levels) and even slight variations can mess with things.

Dont do it.

Sluggish on the bike is alot better than severe depression!

That said, perhaps you and your doctor can look into other anti-depressants? There have been a ton of new drugs recently approved. Side note then Ill shut up. Medications for depression really need to be taken under the watchful eye of a psychiatrist, not your run o da mill family doc. My wife is always touting new meds and their uses - meds that many MD's wont know about. Its too hard to keep up with the changes! (wife is not a MD; she is a LCSW-C but works with psychiatrists as therapy and medications work well together...I just get to hear the stories - and believe me- there are primary care doctors still using medications that havent been front line for decades...)

I need to RIDE!!! :crap: :crap: :crap:

Loving being a new dad tho... :D

Dek

[sc53]

Hi Psycho! I take Celexa and have since 1991. Actually, I started on Prozac and then switched to Celexa about 5 yrs ago because supposedly it didn't cause the weight gain and sexual side effects--NOT. Both side effects continued, but as a female the weight gain bothered me more than the other! (Sorry if that was not PC to admit, girls ). Anyway, it's never made me sluggish or slow in working out. Doesn't make me sleepy or wide awake. Just makes me cool calm and collected all day every day at work or at play or in the middle of family reunions! Couldn't ask for more, really.
Good luck with Citalis, but be aware that there are so many similar drugs on the market now, if side effects bother you with one, try another. There will be one that's a perfect fit, I'm sure.

[Skrawny]

Hey PhsychoCyclist,
I'm an MD (Internal med, cardiology fellow), but I don't recognize that medication. What is the generic name? Citalopram?
How long have you been on the medication? Sometimes the side effects are initial, but then taper off.

I would have to agree, however, with Dekonick not to make changes without consulting your MD
-s

[eddief]

would suggest you subscribe to Scientology instead. Seriously, I hope you find a solution that allows you to ride a lot and smile a lot.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that cycling itself acts as an antidepressant. Obviously, there’s the endorphin release, but there’s also the feeling of doing something I am in control of in a world where these days it seems there is less and less we CAN control. I wonder how many other cyclists do it for the same reason?

BBDave

[William]

. . . that cycling itself acts as an antidepressant. Obviously, there’s the endorphin release, but there’s also the feeling of doing something I am in control of in a world where these days it seems there is less and less we CAN control. I wonder how many other cyclists do it for the same reason?

BBDave

I don't use any medication other than Ibuprofen occasionally when my back is acting up. For me, all physical activities that I do, in part, are for stress relief. I love to go hard be it cycling, combative arts, rowing etc... I actually find that if I don't work out in some form or another for a few days I start getting grouchy/irretable & stressed out. Mrs. William says I become a bear and will start getting after me to go do something. I would agree, that for me, cycling (or training of any sort) is a form of anti-depressant.

William

[PhsychoCyclist]

Skrawny, it is Celexa, my bad, it ain't like my brain works anyway. i have talked to my doc about cutting back and she thinks it's O.K. as long as I don't slip back. I asked her about going back to Wellbutrin but she thought the Celexa would get me where I need to be quicker and then we'll think about changing. The side effects suck. My hands are always stiff and sore, like arthritus, I've put on a couple of pounds, I feel heavy on the bike but worst and the most unfair are the sexual side effects, every woman i see is suddenly so attractive, old ladies, news reporters, god help me if a copy of Playboy were open up in front of me BUT I can't do anything down there. Remember the episode of Seinfeld? "I think it moved" Well it ain't movin'

[Kevin]

. . . that cycling itself acts as an antidepressant. Obviously, there’s the endorphin release, but there’s also the feeling of doing something I am in control of in a world where these days it seems there is less and less we CAN control. I wonder how many other cyclists do it for the same reason?

BBDave

Cycling and Oreos keep me on an even keel.

Kevin

[Cranstone]

PhsychoCyclist

Here is an alternative approach you may wish to consider. As far as I can determine there are no unwanted side effects like you've been experiencing. It's a natural approach to treating depression/anxiety. The company was written up several months ago in the Discover magazine. There approach makes a lot of sense. If it doesn't work you can always go back to your current approach - here is the link to their web site. http://www.truehope.com/default.asp

I've been following this approach for nearly 3 months and there are no cycling or other side effects.

All the best,

[BumbleBeeDave]

What dosage of Celexa are you taking and how often?

BBDave

[neverraced]

[QUOTE=Cranstone]PhsychoCyclist

Here is an alternative approach you may wish to consider. As far as I can determine there are no unwanted side effects like you've been experiencing. It's a natural approach to treating depression/anxiety. The company was written up several months ago in the Discover magazine. There approach makes a lot of sense. If it doesn't work you can always go back to your current approach - here is the link to their web site. http://www.truehope.com/default.asp


Slick website, but what a load of crap. Like being written up in Discover magazine means anything. Do you suppose Discover magazine is kind of like the New England Journal of Medicine?

[Skrawny]

Hey Phsycho,
Sounds like you're doing the right thing by keeping your Dr. in the loop. The med you're taking does have the side effects you discuss, although I think you'd agree that the medicine "done you well" in the long run. After all, when you were very depressed you probably weren't that interested in sex anyway. I sympathize with your frustration though.

As Dekonick mentioned there are plenty of medications out there and if you work hand-in-hand with a knowledgeable physician you can probably tailor a regimen that will work well for you. As an example: Celexa (citalopram) has a younger brother Lexapro (escitalopram) which seems to work better and at lower doses, however, I THINK they have the same incidence of sexual side effects... Nonetheless, if you have adverse effects with one drug in this class (SSRI) that does not mean you will have it with all drugs in this class.

It is important to know that these medications should not be stopped abruptly (one of the reasons for keeping your MD in the loop) and should be safely tapered.

I, like BumbleBeeDave and William, cycle as much for mental as physical health. Studies have shown that regular physical activity decreases reliance on medications for mood. There are a whole lot of opinions out there about depression and its treatments; they range from cold & clinical (Drugs!) to kooky and judgmental (Tom Cruise) with the various supporters/detractors stunningly close-minded. I like to keep an open approach, drugs are wonderful and have revolutionized therapy for depression in the last 20 years, but have some adverse effects which need to be worked out between you and your MD.

Today I was reminded of a Lance Armstrong quote after he survived cancer: "For me now there are only good days and great days."

Good luck, and enjoy riding!
-s

[weiwentg]

Does anybody have any experience with any antidepressant medication? I have been on and off a few for the last 15 years and after a particularly bad period a couple of months ago I am now taking Citalis. It's working fabulously, I haven't felt so relaxed in years :banana: , but there are some side affects. Sexual disfunction :no: and a sluggishness on the bike :crap: . I'm cutting back on the dosage from 10mg a day to 5 to see if I can feel better on the bike and still be able to get out of bed in the morning. You guys are a pretty well rounded group of folks, got anything enlightening?

like everyone else said, DON'T cut back the dosage without consulting your doctor. discuss the side effects with your doctor. chances are that you will eventually adjust to the side effects. 10mg sounds like a pretty low dose, but i've never tried or heard of citalis. anyway, there are antidepressants that act as stimulants (eg wellbutrin), so discuss with your doctor. either way, keep riding as regularly as possible, it'll help your mood.

[BumbleBeeDave]

He said 10mg originally, didn’t he!

10mg is indeed a very low dose. If he is having side effects of this magnitude at that low dose, then I wonder if that’s the medication for him. But I also agree with the others. Don’t lower the dose without consulting your doctor and don’t do it suddenly.

BBDave

[Bill Bove]

A mix of Wellbutrin and Dissiprimine worked much better for me than massive quantitys of beer ever did. Every case is different and has to be treated so. Talk is cheap, talk therapy isn't but it is worth it. Drugs alone will only mask your symptoms, talk therapy will give you insight into your depression and how to manage it.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . but the thing that really gave me power was simply the knowledge of what was wrong--that it’s all just a few molecules of chemicals missing from my brain. (Yes, everyone, I DO have a brain! :rolleyes: )

Depression has run in my family for at least the past two generations. My dad has it and I remember how my dad’s mother never wanted to do anything and was always grouchy. My parents told me that wasn’t the half of it, since I was only 10 or so at the time and didn’t really have the maturity to see what was going on.

Simply knowing for certain what’s wrong--that the world is NOT against me, that every little setback is NOT the end of the world--is a powerful weapon. I wonder how my grandmother must have felt, being sad and feeling so empty and seeing other people happy and not knowing why. It must have been awful for her . . .

BBDave