What difference have antidepressants made to you?

[cheeseisthebest]

There has been a thread on this recently but I can't find it!!

The right ones (citalopram) have made an enormous difference to my mood stability, irritability and overall quality of life.
It shouldn't have taken so long and so many trips back and forth and misdiagnoses and waits for appointments and hand wringing over breastfeeding to get them but that's another matter.

Massive difference. I was in a very bad place before I started them and within a few weeks I felt normal again.

Huge huge difference. I have been on them for nearly 4 months and feel like a completely different (better) version of myself. My crippling anxiety and constant negative self-talk has all but gone and I have bags more confidence. I have so much more patience and very rarely fly into rages like I used to. I still have the occasional bad day but this is usually linked to being unwell/particularly tired/time of the month.

About ten years ago Citalopram really got me out of a hole.
I had to come off them eventually but they certainly helped at the time.

Thank you I've been on and off them for years and just going back on them. Maybe this time I will finally be on the right ones.

@cheeseisthebest Good luck, I hope they find something that works for you.

Antidepressants helped me massively, I'm on fluoxetine although I don't take it for depression or anxiety so can't really say if it helps for those particular conditions/symptoms. Previously been on several other antidepressants but fluoxetine and amitriptyline are the only ones which have helped me.

Saved my life! I was very depressed and suicidal and they just made life more liveable again whilst I did other things to help too. (E.g counselling.).

Some made no difference, the right one (venlafaxine) was life changing

I have Sertraline sitting in my drawer for a year as I suffer anxiety .. dark thoughts , mind racing etc and I am too anxious to take them 😬

Started setraline a month ago, and it's making a difference to how I felt before starting on the medication. I am not plagued with constant worry. I can sleep better. Going to keep going as it's really improving my symptoms.

Sertraline saved my life 7 years ago. I couldnt even breathe or function with anxiety. Every associated health issue
..they all got better on this medication

Back on mine after accidentally coming off them for a few months. I'm on day 4 of taking them. The only thing I've really noticed is that it's easier to wake and get up in the morning

I was on mirtazapine for 6 months and it enabled me to function as a mother. I had psychology sessions along side it and was the best thing I ever did. My DS nearly died and I needed help after that just to get through each day.

I'm resilient again. Without them I spiral down until I struggle to function. With them I'm quite tough! I've recently taken the decision to stay on them as long term as I'm allowed, because I really don't like myself and can't cope when I'm off them.

Citalopram saved my life, once they got the dose right. It got me through a course of therapy, a break up, a new job & two house moves. I’ve been off it for about 6 years now but if I needed it again I’d go back on in a heartbeat.

Literally the first day I took sertraline, it reduced my anxiety and stress. It felt absolutely amazing. I could just get on with work and life without that knot in my stomach and the constant chatter of self-blame and worry in my head.

I was only on them for 5 months until my therapy got going but I believe they did a great job.

Thank you. I regret coming off them and hoping these are the right ones. Do they help you be more motivated? I could literally sit and stare at the wall all day if I could.

I feel low when not on them but feel quite flat when I am on them.

Just bumping for any more views.
thanks

I am pretty much the same use described.
Have anxiety since 16. But meds changed my life and made me feel myself even though there were some initial side effects.
Took paxil for an year, made me stable but i gained weight. After an year i weaned off.
In 2009, when I was 19 yrs and in university, i got back on antidepressants this time prozac. Took them for 4 years till 2013.

In beginning of 2015, had moderate to mid anxiety so got back on prozac and it made me stable.
I got married in 2015 and had kids in 2018 and moved to the uk in 2020 pre pandemic. No major anxiety.
I was born in India and there was some stigma attached to meds there. I was initially worried about my in laws since my husband's father, grandfather were very strict and were from warrior clans but they didn't make me feel off. So yes support is vital.

But all in all, they made me balanced and feel normal

Sertraline enabled me to function somewhat normally again. Pretty sure I’d be divorced by now had I not started taking them. I’ve been on them 5 years (low dose) and I can’t see me ever coming off them tbh.

Sertraline saved my life five years ago. Had a relationship breakdown, financial worries and felt suicidal. Was on them for about five months and they really helped me to feel like myself again.

I'm on 2 different types (venaflaxine 75mg and nortriptyline 50) and it works well