If you take antidepressants, which had the least side effects for you?

[Armyofprawns]

I know humans are all different and we all react differently to meds but I am desperate to real better.

I think need to take antidepressants as I am in a horrible place mentally. I care for my mum who suffers from Alzheimer's and breast cancer and the strain of this is taking it's toll on my mental and physical health. I have terrible tummy troubles and having suffered from IBS for the last 26 years I can honestly say that the last few years have been dreadful. I now have almost daily gut problems which affect my upper and lower gut (nausea, belching, acid, pain, gurgling, bloating, flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation...i suffer from the lot).

I have had almost every gastro test available and thankfully they are all clear. I have spent a small fortune seeing gastroenterologists, dietitians, nutritionists. I have had endless counselling, CBT and other therapies. I am very careful what I eat and drink, I exercise, keep my weight low, meditate, listen to hypnotherapy etc but it really does not matter what I do or try, the gut issues continue. I have become mentally obsessed (I do suffer from ocd) with my digestive system and feel every movement, gurgle, belch, pain, fart....everything. I have a real problem with visceral hypersensitivity and I know that the anxiety from worrying about having a toilet 'accident' and stressing over my parents situation is having a hugely detrimental affect on my mental and physical health.

I can not see any other way to better health than to try to dull my hypersensitivity to everything with some anti-depressants but I am petrified of ending up with more issues than I already suffer from especially any additional gut issues.

I read that SSRI's like Sertraline and Citalopram have a very high chance of diarrhoea as a side effect, even if it is just a few weeks this would be an absolute nightmare for me.

Are there any anti-depressants which are less likely to cause digestive issues? (not TCA's though as there is a risk of dementia with some of those).

PS I have asked my GP but she says if they cause diarrhoea to just take imodium. It isn't that simple because when my gut issues flare it affects the whole of my digestive system so I have pain, acid, bloating, belching etc and imodium often makes that worse because it causes constipation then overflow diarrhoea. I have taken it on/off for years and it really messes with me.

I struggled with Sertraline but I've been on Citalopram for a year now and have had no negative side effects whatsoever. My GP started me off on just 10mg and slowly raised it to 30mg.

You should take Sertraline with or after food. On an empty stomach, it may cause stomach upset- just eat a couple of crackers before you take it.

DD is on Sertraline. She had to take it before bed or she feels really sick.

Amitriptyline doesn't affect your digestion but can have other side effects and the lowest therapeutic dose for depression is 50mg. Most do disappear within the first few weeks so it's well worth trying to see if you are one of the minority who can tolerate it in higher dosages.

Forgot to say it is TCA but pretty much all SSRIs can give you a dodgy stomach so you're a bit limited really.

I'm on Escitalopram which apparently has the least size effects. Apart from some dizziness in the first few days, I've had no side effects at all.

I've been advised to avoid most TCA's due to the dementia risk as my mum has Alzheimer's and it runs in the family.

This was suggested by my GP. I'm considering trying it. She said I could cut it in half and gradually build it up. I can tolerate dizziness but not stomach upsets.

Prozac gave me almost immediate psychosis, so that was exciting!

I was then 3 years on tricyclics.

I can't say they did much but no side effects.

Good luck, OP.

I also had ridiculous stomach problems for YEARS. I tried everything, had tests, followed the FODMAP etc.

Then I tried the Blood Sugar Diet (Michael Mosley) and everything improved within a week. You could double up the quantities given if you wanted to try it but not lose weight.

I started sertraline a couple of months ago. Side effects only lasted a couple of weeks and for me were a dry mouth, drowsiness and sweating like a horse. No gastro troubles at all except some loss of appetite. I’ve actually lost weight and am eating much better now my mental health is in a better place - you might find that anti-ds help your IBS if it’s linked to stress/anxiety. From what my GP says it’s a bit of a suck it and see in terms of side effects and they’re not for everyone. I got lucky first time and the improvements in my mental health have been like night and day.

Tbh, noting can be any worse than the crap I am going through atm. Caring for a loved one with dementia is pure hell, 6 years in and getting worse week by week, I no longer have the strength of character to carry on without something to help.

Brilliant, I'll check that out, thank you.

I found my IBS improved greatly after about a month on Sertraline, and had minimal side effects just initial slight drowsiness.

That's good to know, thanks.

I’ve been too sensitive and suffered really bad side effects from sertraline, citalopram and fluoxetine but then tried mirtazipine and it was great. It made me very sleepy at first but this was great as I had struggled to sleep. That wore off after a while and I’ve been fine since.

I have been on various antidepressants over the past 20 yrs, I know from my personal experience and professional (doctor) you can’t assume you will or won’t get x,y,z side effects until you try and drug for a decent period of time.

sertraline - didn’t work for my anxiety but I had no side effects
citalopram - ditto
amitriptyline went up to 100mg a night - good for sleep but I got a very dry mouth, constipation and postural hypotension. Not ideal.
mirtazapine - great for anxiety, makes me sleep MUCH better, get some morning sedation first week but it wears off
venlafaxine - really helped me in combo with mirtazapine, slightly dry mouth and some night sweats around my period but not a great problem.

try one and see how it goes

Minimal side effects when I started Sertraline, compared to horrendous gastro symptoms with Fluoxetine. It's been very helpful.

I've been on Sertraline, Citalopram, Venlafaxine, Lamotrigine, Mirtazapine and Fluoxetine. The only side effects I experienced were with Mirtazapine. It knocked me out, I slept for a solid 24 hours. Never had gastro issues, and I've been on ADs for about 25 years.