OK <deep breath> tell me about anti depressants

[Tzibeleh]

I've been fighting depression for years. Ive had various forms of talking therapies (most of which have helped, but the effect has not lasted). I've self-medicated with chocolate (doesn't help) and kava (helps acute episodes but not long-term), but have always refused ADs.

Quite frankly, I'm afraid of ADs.

But I'm getting to the end of my tether.

I feared them destroying my libido. Well, I have no effing libido any more.

I feared addiction. What the hell does it matter any more, as I'm addicted to food, anyway.

I feared they might cause me to self-harm. In self-harming with food anyway...it's just a slower form.

I feared turning into a dulled zombie. My distress turns me into a zombie already.

The only fear left is the fear of ADs making me fat. Fatter.

And the fear that they won't help, but I might not be able to come off them.

Please help me think this through.

[fluffydressinggown]

Honestly my ADs have no real impact on my day to day life (aside from perking me up!) I don't feel like a zombie, my libido is the same, I am not addicted to them (I am not reliable and when I forget them I don't get side effects), I SI anyway so can't advise on that.

I am on fluxoetine. I find it helpful.

I have also tried citalopram, mirtazipine and trazodone and not had bad side effects on any of them. Citalopram made me yawn and have amazing dreams and mirtazipine did make me put a bit of weight on. Sertraline made me very twitchy but I have read on here that a lot of people get on well with it so I think I was unusual.

I hope this helps :) Take care!

[Tzibeleh]

Why did you try so many?

[fluffydressinggown]

To find the right one, I have OCD+depression so it took a while to find the right one, I also take other meds so it was finding the right mix with them!

Sometimes you do have to try a couple. This is over three years that I have tried so many.

[CaulkheadUpNorth]

I'm on citalopram. No issues other than wild dreams.

Fluoxetine helped me deal with my eating disorder but didn't give me enough of a lift.

I've never had weight changes on them, or have they changed whether I wanted to self harm of not. They did however make me happy enough that I didn't want to self harm.

Currently on quetiapine and lorazepam as well as the citalopram and had no issues, except feeling more able to cope.

[winterland]

Try not to be scared. There are so many types it takes a while to find the right one. I've tried many and am currently on venlafaxine which helps with my anxiety but does make me sleepy and tbh my libido isn't great x

[guggenheim]

I think it's worth trying- you could ask to start on a small dose and then review?

I'm in a horrible situation at the moment and am taking ad's for the first time. They have helped enormously. Rather than sitting around crying constantly I can deal with some of the shit heading my way.I'm not quite back to being 'me' yet but I hope that with time I will be able to pick up the pieces.

I didn't give a shit that they made me feel a bit odd in the first 2 weeks,nothing could make me feel worse than the crap situation I'm in.I actually wake up happy some days.

No real side effects so far. I'm still not sleeping well but I have long term insomnia (from childhood) and have an awful lot to worry about,so I can't tell if the ad's are having an effect there or not.

Honestly,go to the dr. Good luck!

[massagegirl]

I was the same as you. Really didn't want to use AD. Reached breaking point (anxiety, tears) been on citalopram for three weeks and I'm starting to feel like a normal person again. It's really really good for me and my family. I'm backing it up with meditations, mindfulness so that hopefully I'm more resilient and better equipped when I come off them.

[INeedSomeHelp]

I have been on fluoxetine and citalopram in the past and didn't experience any side effects with either of them.
My emotions had been all over the place and they made me feel "steady" and I was able to address some of the issues that were causing me problems.

[Tzibeleh]

I really am very frightened of gaining weight. I managed to get from obese to borderline overweight/healthy, and my emotional eating means it's a constant battle to just stay in the overweight band. I dread going back to what I was.

[Tzibeleh]

One of the reasons that I'm in a bad way is that I'm struggling with menopause. I'm on HRT, and when it works it is fantastic, but when it doesn't, oh god I can't cope with the mood swings and panic attacks.

[INeedSomeHelp]

I honestly didn't have any problem with weight gain. If anything it helped me focus on healthy eating and being more active as I actually had the energy and enthusiasm to do things.

[KeepAbreast]

I was on paroxetine. I gained three stone and craved alcohol a lot. Coming off it was pretty awful but I was gaining weight at such a rate I just couldnt take them any longer.

[AwkwardSquad]

I'm on Citalopram, and really the drugs do work! No longer depressed or suicidal, and the anxiety is under control. The intensive CBT really helped too, I needed both.

Downsides - now feeling emotionally flat, and I think I'm nearing the time to come off the Citz. No libido, but hey no change there. Wild dreams and I've really had about enough of them. They're exhausting.

Weight wise - stable, but I have to pay attention to what I eat. I have had a few episodes of feeling hungry all the time and craving sugar. If I didn't eat what I know to be a sensible diet and if I instead gave in to all the food impulses, I'd have put on loads of weight. I'm nearly 50 so this is an issue for me anyway.

[Firedemon]

They helped me start living again. Suffered from depression all my life, took them for three years and stopped about a year ago.
They helped pull me through a terrible bout of depression.
I had to try a few though so you have to really want to give it a go.

[ifancyagreencard]

Citalopram gave my family "me" again . . . . and gave me back my life
Apart from the yawning (which was bizarre) there were no other side effects for me. Good Luck, OP

[PinkSquash]

I've been on Fluoxetine (?) for just under 1 month now, after trying everything to stop myself from going onto ADs for 10 years, but I have been diagnosed with BPD and I need something to try and keep me stable to start.

So far so good and the side effects haven't been as bad as expected- barring atrocious heartburn for a few days. I'm not cured, not by a long shot but I haven't been as fluctuating mood wise so it has been a good thing for me and I wished I'd had them earlier, but I am glad now to have tried.

[PunkrockerGirl]

They made my life worth living.
They made me start to enjoy my life.
They made my family's life return to normal.
They made my sleep pattern improve.
Did not make me gain weight.
It was a return from the absolute depths of depression and I thank God for those pills every bloody day.

[Queenofknickers]

I've been on ADs since I was 22 and I'm 40 now. They have saved my life. Don't be afraid of addiction and the only one I have put on weight on was mirtazapine. I would advise good psychotherapy to go with them though

[DramaAlpaca]

Seroxat (paroxetine) makes me feel normal. I've taken it off & on for years, since I had horrendous post-natal depression after my third DC was born. I only need a very low dose these days to allow me to function completely normally. I haven't gained weight, I enjoy life again, I sleep well, I don't have any side effects. I accept that I will almost certainly have to stay on them for life, but I see them as a necessity that puts my body chemistry right.

It's not prescribed so much these days, but it works well for me. My GP tried me on Lexapro (escitalopram) but it made me feel anxious so I changed back.

[Pandora37]

I wish I'd taken ADs years ago. I was always afraid of them although I'm not entirely sure why. I did feel worse to start off with and yes they did make me feel sick for the first few days (but I took them on an empty stomach which was a bad idea) but the difference on sertraline was amazing. I thought the way I'd been feeling was normal and I realised actually it wasn't and I'd wasted years of my life being depressed when I could have had it treated. I didn't have much of a libido but when I was taking it I was working shifts and not in a relationship so hard to tell what was causing it.

I have put on a bit of weight with mirtazapine but that's because I'd lost a stone and couldn't really maintain that weight long term. You're not likely to be put on mirtazapine as a first drug anyway, your GP would prescribe an SSRI unless you have severe insomnia.

[Tzibeleh]

If I tell the GP about my fears, especially weight gain, will he take me seriously and specifically prescribe an AD not associated with that side effect, or will he assume my concern is just part of my overall depression-relate anxiety, and not relevant? Every time I've been offered ADs, it's been Prozac, as if that is a standard one-size-fits-all first drug of choice.

[fluffydressinggown]

I am sure your GP will understand about your weight gain worries, they have always been very sympathetic to me about weight gain.

FWIW I have lost weight on fluxoetine (prozac)

I think they offer SSRIs as a first line because they have the least side effects.

[Ohbollocksandballs]

Anti depressants changed my life. I had crippling anxiety, early 2013. Tried citalopram, made it worse, had a very bad reaction.

Was put on imipramine and within weeks I was feeling like myself again. Came off them when I got pregnant with DS (now 10mo). Been very anxious again recently, so tried sertraline, found the side effects to be absolutely horrendous. Bear in mind my issue is anxiety, not depression. Trying to ride it out myself after finding the only trigger and getting rid of the bastard it.

Have propranolol (beta blockers) incase I have a bad attack, which I really don't think I will.

Again I realise depression is your issue but quite often anxiety and depression go hand in hand.