RFK said it's harder to get off SSRIs than to quit heroin

[tishaLA]

In the middle of the GD hearing. It's insane--and somehow nobody on our side pounced and ridiculed him for saying it. I want to pull my hair out.

[iemanja]

1. Ah, no

[MineralMan]

2. Nonsense!

[John1956PA]

9. Agreed. I got off Zoloft without subsequent cravings for it.

I got back on Zoloft after I realized that that I function better with it than without it.

[MineralMan]

10. Yes, people stop taking SSRIs all the time.

Often, like you, they return to taking them because they are effective. There's no "withdrawal" from stopping. It's just that symptoms tend to return.

Sadly, there is no universal treatment for depression, bi-polar disorders, or other related illnesses that works for everyone. So, getting back to relatively normal health is always a process of trial and error to some degree.

[Historic NY]

3. He ought to know about heroin

he was jailed until he snitched.

[Deep State Witch]

4. Getting off of SSRIs Is No Picnic

I'll give him that. I guess he would know about heroin, though.

[Sneederbunk]

5. Whoever said he quit heroin?

[womanofthehills]

28. He's has been in AA for over 40 years

Says he has gone to an AA meeting almost every day for 40 yrs and still goes. Says he’s heard thousands of stories at these meetings.

[33taw]

6. Does he have a medical background to make this claim?

[IzzaNuDay]

32. LOL, he's just a rich privileged white guy

Of course he’s qualified!

[TBA]

7. I've gotten off SSRIs

Tapper slowly, Very slowly. Took me about 6 months. Now because of this clusterfuck I'm back on them.

[Lovie777]

8. He and the rest of the psycho pack are....

hurt a whole lot of people including their psycho base.

[Lunabell]

11. I've quit cold turkey.

Not one problem except my gloom feelings returned. My small dose of Zoloft is a life saver.

[RobinA]

17. I Never Had A Problem

and I've been on ADs for 30 years. Always followed doctor's protocol, which can be slow, but no problem.

[IzzaNuDay]

12. great, now a junkie wanting to govern public health!

the only needles RFKJr is interested in are for shooting up dope. He and Hegseth will make a great couple!

[Solly Mack]

13. Any medicines he does like? Any treatments? Anything at all based in science?

[womanofthehills]

19. She was referring to a statement he made

Last edited Wed Jan 29, 2025, 04:16 PM - Edit history (1)

In the past about school killings - he had said something like the shooters were influenced by video games, social media , etc and some were on SSRI’s.

She said she was on SSRI’s in the past and he was putting down people on SSRI’s.

Didn’t quite get the connection myself.

[Solly Mack]

20. He was putting down both SSRIs and people who need them. He calls them addicts.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/rfk-jr-senate-confirmation-hearings-lies-antidepressants-adhd-medications-addicts-addiction-wellness-farms/

He doesn't like SSRIs.

[TexasBushwhacker]

29. SSRIs do have a black box warning

In pediatric patients (those under 18) SOME studies have shown increased suicidal behavior, but not all studies. Furthermore, the risk of suicide for untreated major depression is very real and should not be ignored.

[misanthrope]

21. Do you mean publicly or privately?

Because he's had no qualms with using steroids and other growth hormones in the past, solely for shortsighted and vainglorious reasons. I suspect he has also had the benefit of much of modern medical science but doesn't talk much about that.

He has no problem with modern medical science's diagnosis of his spasmodic dysphonia. I suspect he has undergone therapy for the still-largely mysterious condition, but his frustration with it along with his ongoing grift led him to list flu vaccines as a possible cause for it. I guarantee if valid science came up with an effective treatment, Kennedy would waste no effort in securing it for himself. Whether he would admit it or not is another story.

[Solly Mack]

22. Exactly right. I agree. Publicly one thing. Privately, another.

[Dave Bowman]

27. "Any medicines he does like?"

Yes, he likes heroin a lot.

[John1956PA]

14. He is probably confusing SSRIs with Xanax.

Xanax is an anti-anxiety medication which can become quite addictive. My experience with taking the SSRI medicine Zoloft has never entailed any addition to it .

[TexasBushwhacker]

30. I know some folks had issues tapering off Effexor

which is an SNRI. Xanax is a benzodiazepine (sp). Yes, it benzos can be abused and you can build a tolerance. Totally different drugs than SSRIs.

[Mountainguy]

15. I take an ssri...

And there are plenty of days I forget to take it and don't notice any difference.

Do heroin addicts usually forget to take their heroin and only realize it hours later?

[Meowmee]

16. If confirmed he will try to stop

Any medications that help people and will endanger many and I believe murder millions given the chance.

[GreenWave]

18. Is he going to "worm" his way out of that one?

[leftyladyfrommo]

23. Do Republicans really want the welfare of

their families in this guy's hands?

[Paladin]

24. Yet another reason he should be kept from public healthcare responsibility. (nt)

[karynnj]

25. I think they will come back with medical experts to say that

it is not true. At most the Senators could say it sounds wrong. I hope their staff is putting together a long list of inaccuracies.

[Klarkashton]

26. Toast face has spent years talking shit with no pushback

The minute he gets any guff he folds up and doesn't know anything about anything.

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. "Toast face" LOL

The guy is a walking ad to remember to use SUNSCREEN.

[Crunchy Frog]

33. No it isn't. I've gotten off of loads of them because they don't work for me.

Yes, the withdrawal effects can be pretty nasty and last a long time. No, you don't get cravings for them like you would with heroin.

He really doesn't appear to know anything about anything.

[NickB79]

34. Stopping SSRI's cold turkey put me in the ER in college

I got so incredibly sick when I forgot to refill my meds before Christmas break, my roommates insisted I let them take me in. After half a day, an IV for dehydration, anti-nausea meds, and an SSRI refill, they sent me home.

But you know what? When I tapered off gradually a year later, absolutely no issues.

[Sparkly]

35. If you've ever seen someone try to come off heroin addiction

(or methadone), you know there is NO comparison at ALL.

What an IDIOTIC thing to say.

(There's are also criminal, legal, financial, health insurance limitations for most heroin addicts -- maybe not the privileged ones - that prevent challenges so absurd that a successful person couldn't jump through the hoops. Not so with prescribed anti-depressants that didn't cause arrests, felonies, jail sentences, drivers' license revocations, the "box" that makes employers say no forever, etc...)

[haele]

36. Really? It takes 1 weeks to 1 months, depending on the dosage.

That's if you don't want any withdrawals. I've heard Heroin junkies need Methadone in tapering doses for six months at a minimum. Some take it longer (co-worker in the cubicle next to me in the 90's; he was calling the insurance company to arguing about his son's treatment coverage at work every month for almost a year)