Symptoms of depression are common in schizophrenia; they can occur at any phase. Besides having low mood, patients suffering from depression report declines in their physical health, as well as the quality of their lives; there is risk of the schizophrenic patients committing suicide.
It is recommended to treat patients with schizophrenia and depressive symptoms firstly with an optimal dose of second generation antipsychotics and a supplemental anti Parkinsonian agent; if significant depressive symptoms persist after optimization, antidepressants, preferably SSRIs, are recommended.9,58 However, there is no simple answer to the question whether antidepressants could overall be beneficial in treating patients with schizophrenia.
To our knowledge, the effectiveness of adjunctive antidepressants on the depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia varies considerably. This variation is possibly associated with divergent states of psychotic illness and depression, various psychotropic medications and substance use/abuse, different properties of antidepressants themselves, individual variance in the activity of drug metabolism enzymes, and utilization of psychosocial interventions.127 Further, there is a substantial risk of worsening psychosis and other symptoms by adding antidepressants into treatment.
Good clinical practice should carefully evaluate the individual diagnosis and medication/psychotherapy.
Appropriate use of antidepressants could improve depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, but extra caution should be given in terms of adverse effects.
My antidepressant says it may aggravate schizophrenic symptoms. I think I have depression, thoughts and feelings. I constantly thought of death, I couldnt enjoy my hobbies, I was overtaken by thoughts of suicide, I had constant negative thoughts about life and my future.
I asked my psychiatrist if I should try to stop my antidepressant because maybe it is why I needed 12hours of sleep a day. He said no I should stay on it because It is helping control my depression.
I heard horror stories of people who stopped taking Nortryptaline which is the antidepressant I am taking. Not somthing I look forward to.
My antidepressant also helps with anxiety and panic attacks, I might have to take it for life or who knows maybe change it or get off it.
I think my antidepressant worsens my schizophrenic symtoms like telepathy and mind control but it is controlling my depression well enough to stay on it.
My pdoc said SSRI antidepressants would only hurt me not help me. I have been all the SSRI antidepressants and some other antidepressants; no MAOis. The first antipsychiatric medication the prescribed form me was a trycylic antidepressant, Elavil. You know, they prescribed for my parents’ poodle, also; at a much much lower dosage, though.
For me it’s a risk. Every anti-depressant I’ve taken along with my anti-psychotic(s), has made me relapse. So, no anti-depressants for me anymore I hope, although I suffer from depression too.
I was considering seeing if I should be put on them, as I have an OCD-like intrusive thought issue. I read online that SSRI’s are used to treat it. Is it common in SZ patients?
I have no other symptoms of OCD other than the intrusive thoughts issue, and that’s true down to the word in this description:
Intrusive Thoughts - Intrusive thoughts, in the spectrum of OCD, are where a person generally suffers with obsessional thoughts that are repetitive, disturbing and often horrific and repugnant in nature. For example, thoughts of causing violent or sexual harm to loved ones.
Because the intrusive thoughts are repetitive and not voluntarily produced, they cause the sufferer extreme distress - the very idea that they are capable of having such thoughts in the first place can be horrifying. However, what we do know is that people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are the least likely people to actually act on the thoughts, partly because they find them so repugnant and go to great lengths to avoid them and prevent them happening.
Intrusive thoughts can cover absolutely any subject, but the more common areas of OCD related concerns covers the following sub- categories:
Relationships.
Sexual Thoughts - Fear of:
Magical Thinking - believing that:
Religious - believing that:
Violent Thoughts - fear of:
The question is whether this is SZ or something else?
I know my antidepressant helps me because I notice a difference if I don’t take it. But I think mental health professionals confuse negative sz symptoms and depression. I wouldn’t consider those to be the same thing. I stiil have prominent negative symptoms despite my antidepressant and my treatment team is considering switching my antidepressant to see if that makes a difference.
I could really do with an antidepressant but i’m afraid of getting PSSD (Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction). There is bupropion but it’s difficult to get in the UK as they don’t prescribe it for depression. Thing is with the bupropion i’m afraid of it making me slightly unstable as i’d like to start reducing my dose some day.