Need advice... Nicotine/Antidepressants.

[L86UK]

Ok... so I've just read the symptoms of quitting analogues thread and I'm not going to lie here... I'm on antidepressants. I've just read in horror that nicotine interacts with most of these drugs. Now, when I was smoking it was different, I didn't feel that the nicotine was getting in the way... is it that vaping delivers the nicotine in a different way? I need this explained to me in a very simple way... I can't lie, I've noticed a worsening in my depression since I switched to vaping 3 weeks a go. Could I have made things a whole lot worse for myself? I'm currently vaping 16mg... should I drop this lower? What about my cravings? I sometimes feel the 16mg isn't enough to satisfy those... Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks.

 

[Trevisan]

I don't take antidepressants, but I am thinking that the quitting smoking is the culprit- not the vaping. I was so freaking depressed when I first quit and I mean for months, not days. I felt like I had broken up with the love of my life, it was tough. You are probably still adjusting to that in my opinion. 3 weeks is not that long ago. Others more experienced with antidepressants will weigh in I'm sure...Hang in there and good luck. Make sure you seek professional advice if your depression is really getting worse!

 

[TomGeorge]

I experienced something similar, and I attributed it to the toxins for the cigs leaving my body. Many of the chemicals put into cigs are there to mask the effects of other chemicals in cigs. It passed in time. As you probably know, depression doesn't always remain at a steady level even on medication. Many things can influence it including exercise, sleeping habits, alcohol intake as well as caffeine and nicotine. If you feel that it is getting unbearable I would schedule an appointment with your DR and let him/her know what is going on.

I am not a doctor, but these were my experiences. If you think you need to, seek your doctor out asap. I wish you the best of luck

 

[FlamingoTutu]

Please, please talk to your doctor about this. The news might not be all that bad, it could be that your symptoms are from the withdrawal from the chemicals in the cigarettes and not the nicotine in your vape. I wish you the best of luck with this. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[pokemom]

First, talk to your doctor, given the difference in nicotine intake you might need to change the level of your meds. Also, let the doctor know that you have quit smoking and changed to vaping. Nicotine is taken in differently, but you still are getting nicotine in your system.

Don't discount the reality that you have quit smoking. This has more than likely been a "close friend" and even if it is a good thing, it is a different thing and carries with it different socialization issues, as well as coping skills.

You have a lot going on. Please don't leave your depression up to a "social message board." If you feel that your depression is worsening, talk to your doctor.


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[beatlefreak]

I've been on antidepressants for over 3 years. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I've been vaping for a month and a half and been cigarette free same amount of time. I feel no different. Iam at 18mg. Its like nothings changed. Honestly I think its the sudden change. Some of us dont like change.
Just hang in there. You will be fine

 

[AndriaD]

Actually I think it's because there are other substances in cigarettes than just nicotine that have a somewhat psychoactive effect. People mention MAOIs a lot, but I'm finding that adding WTA to my regular ejuice has a TREMENDOUS effect on my state of mind/mood.

You may have seen some mention around here of the "3 days/3 wks/3 mos" trouble spots. When I first quit, back in February, after a few weeks I was so negative, so depressed, and utterly convinced that everyone here hated me and wished I would just leave. Then I realized I was right at 3 weeks smoke-free! Within a week, the negative feelings had passed, but when I got close to 3 months smoke-free, I had the same thing all over again, plus I felt very angry. And again, the negative feelings faded within a week.

When I quit this time, I already planned to add some WTA when I got close to 3 wks, but I started having some serious cravings in the middle of my 2nd week, so I went ahead and added the WTA then -- the cravings completely disappeared, AND I sailed right thru the 3 wk mark without ANY of those depressed feelings.

I've struggled with depression and anxiety my whole life, and now I understand that this sabotaged all my efforts to quit smoking, before e-cigs; I was self-medicating, and when the medication was taken away, my life became unlivable. Nicotine replacement can help a great deal with this type of problem, but it's not the whole story, since there is more than one chemical in cigarettes which is greatly beneficial for people with depression an/or anxiety -- it's the whole tobacco-alkaloid cocktail.

I'm not saying that WTA will definitely make your depression go away; what I am saying is that for people with these kinds of problems, WTA may be more beneficial than nicotine alone, in quitting cigarettes. I don't know if that means I'll always need WTA; I guess I'll find out. I do know that I won't be discontinuing the WTA until some time after the 3 month mark, and then, I'll do it slowly rather than all at once, and maybe that way, I can keep my mood disorders from sabotaging my efforts at staying free of cigarettes.

Andria

 

[eratikmind]

L86UK, I trust that you are simply experiencing withdrawal symptoms. However, for peace of mind, a visit to doctor cannot hurt.

I hope that you feel much better in short time.

 

[BiLLi0]

Ok... so I've just read the symptoms of quitting analogues thread and I'm not going to lie here... I'm on antidepressants. I've just read in horror that nicotine interacts with most of these drugs. Now, when I was smoking it was different, I didn't feel that the nicotine was getting in the way... is it that vaping delivers the nicotine in a different way? I need this explained to me in a very simple way... I can't lie, I've noticed a worsening in my depression since I switched to vaping 3 weeks a go. Could I have made things a whole lot worse for myself? I'm currently vaping 16mg... should I drop this lower? What about my cravings? I sometimes feel the 16mg isn't enough to satisfy those... Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks.

From my personal experience, vaping does not get you the satisfaction of a cigarette in that way. When I was stressed, angry, anxious, etc, i would smoke and it would make me calm because it helped clear my mind.

With vaping I see it differently, I vape all day, indoor, outdoor. I don't have the need for nicotine anymore because I keep vaping. When I need to clear my head I now do something else, usually helps.

But I guess I was more addicted to the smoke itself rather than the nicotine. I'm a weird guy.

 

[twgbonehead]

Andria's post above said a lot. I would just add the following paragraphs (from wikipedia's MAOI page). You may want to bring this up specifically with your doctor:

Nicotine, a substance frequently implicated in tobacco addiction, has been shown to have "relatively weak" addictive properties when administered alone.[31] The addictive potential increases dramatically after co-administration of an MAOI, which specifically causes sensitization of the locomotor response in rats, a measure of addictive potential.[32][33] This may be reflected in the difficulty of smoking cessation, as tobacco contains naturally-occurring MAOI compounds in addition to the nicotine.[34][35][36]
Withdrawal

Antidepressants including MAOIs have some dependence-producing effects, the most notable one being a withdrawal syndrome, which may be severe especially if MAOIs are discontinued abruptly or over-rapidly. However, the dependence-producing potential of MAOIs or antidepressants in general is not as significant as benzodiazepines. Withdrawal symptoms can be managed by a gradual reduction in dosage over a period of weeks, months or years to minimize or prevent withdrawal symptoms

As others have said, talk to your doctor. But I hope the info here can help you have a constructive discussion with him/her.

 

[djsvapour]

You were a smoker? You took anti-depressants and smoked?
You are now vaping instead and getting nicotine, only in a much safer way.
However, there is a good chance your nicotine intake is different (less or more) and you are experiencing withdrawal associated with quitting smoking.

I stopped my tablets 2 months after quitting smoking for vaping nicotine. 2 years later, I am on 6mg nicotine and no drugs at all.

You're possibly going to have a tough time, but don't read too much into comments about drugs being affected by nicotine... nicotine itself has anti-depressant qualities.... so many smokers are effectively self-medicating to lighten their mood. Vaping and AD drugs should work fairly well together. Once you have kicked smoking and clean for a while, you might even be able to wean yourself off your SSRIs. Smoking is evil and does nasty things to us. Deal with the smoking first, then go whichever way you feel best...

and talk to your doctor.

 

[Bernard Marx]

I'm pretty nervous about doctors and antidepressants. They are very busy and the whole psychopharmacology thing is suspect as far as I am concerned. All the same, once you are on the treadmill you had better be careful if you want to get off. Weigh your risks and decide if not smoking is the most important thing for you.

 

[Margie123]

I am on anti-depressants and I find the nicotine lifts my moods actually. I would think something else is going on with you. See your doctor as soon as you can it's important to nip depression in the bud. Good luck!

 

[avaokernow]

20mg citalopram for past 3 years, just started vaping 5 weeks ago on 12mg nic never felt better . more energy, less aches and pains, loosing weight because I have more stamina , sleeping better.
Talk to your doctor first for piece of mind tho.

 

[Amish Ed]

The MAOIs mentioned already can make a big difference to those us with mental illnesses (I'm Bi-Polar). Definitely talk to your Doctor. I had to have my meds adjusted after starting vaping. Also, as mentioned think about trying WTAs. They are expensive, but could be just what you need. I wish I would have tried them when I first made the switch.

 

[incanibus]

I can sympathize with a lot of the comments in this thread. After about a week into my switch to vaping, things began to unravel. I had never previously seen a mental health professional, so no antidepressants or other medication. I just got by with ungodly amounts of coffee and cigarettes. Thought it was normal...Anyway, once i quit smoking my trouble focusing increased ten-fold. I also felt pretty depressed and lacked any real motivation. It really caused havoc in my personal and professional life. Needless to say i am now speaking to a doctor to get to the root of why i self-medicated all these years.

In the mean-time i am getting by with WTA e-liquid mentioned in earlier comments. It has worked wonders for me. The calmness and focus i got from smoking returned instantly. Might want to give swedish snus a try as well. Did not work as well as the WTA, but certainly better than relying on just the nic only eliquid.

Amazing how powerful cigarettes are...

 

[jumphour]

I feel I have to preface this like others and say talk to your doctor. In my OWN personal experience, with past attempts at quitting, I was miserably depressed (and suicidal when taking Chantix....but that doesn't happen to everyone. Lots, though!)

I'm still depressed and totally anxiety ridden (I'm pretty much homebound), but if I push that aside and not think about that for a moment, I'm so HAPPY that I discovered vaping. It's giving me the nicotine I crave, but most importantly for me, it's taking care of the hand/mouth thing, so I don't feel like I'm missing anything. My doctor knows I smoked (she doesn't know I quit yet) and never mentioned anything to me about nicotine and my medication. Only warnings that if I did quit, I'd likely get more depressed, but be healthier. LOL (ya gotta laugh sometimes).

I do hope everything works out for you!

 

[NymeriaSand]

There seems to be something about the dreaded 3! At my 3rd week of vaping and quiting cigs, I felt horribly depressed! Just wanted to go to bed and forget about the world, on top of weird mood swings and other signs of withdrawal. This must have something to do with coming off all the other rubbish in cigs as Andria explained.

I've never suffered from clinical depression so felt safe in the thought that it would pass in time and it did in a little more than a week. However since you already have depression, it would be sensible to see your doctor. It might help to discuss possibly up'ing the dose of your meds to help you move through this period without getting stuck in a depressive episode.

My sister has depression and my bf has an anxiety disorder, so have some second hand knowledge of living with mental health problems. Having a helpful, friendly and knowledgeable community like this to come to and lean on will really help, I'd imagine.

Good luck on your journey [emoji4]

EDIT- I would never recommend changing the dose of your medication on your own, I advised discussing this with your prescribing doctor/psychiatrist. Just wanted to clarify that.

 

[AshMPWrites]

I just wanted to pop in and offer you some support.

First off, quitting smoking isn't something that's easy, our bodies build up a dependency on nicotine, sure, but also on the other chemicals inside a cigarette. I want to echo everyone here when they call your doctor. If you're quitting for your health, then your health has to come first -- and that includes your mental health as well.

I also want to say, on some level, I'm right there with you. I'm sure some of it has to do with your body chemistry...but some of it also is the giving up of actual cigarettes. I'm not prone to depression, but I've noticed pretty big mood swings over the last few days. Sometimes hour to hour makes a big difference on my worldview. So again, you could just be going through something as minor as that -- or, it could be more serious. The only way to know for sure is talk to someone who can ask the right questions and make the right assessments.

I wish you tons of luck.

 

[Larry J]

Studies have shown that people with depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia smoke more than the general population. Apparently it's a form of self-medication. L86UK, definitely talk to your doctor. DON'T increase your meds on your own but you might try upping your level of nicotine.