To ask how many of you take antidepressants?

[Afternooninthepark]

I am 46 and have suffered from anxiety for 25 years. During that time I have tried everything (other than antidepressants) to help. Some things have helped a little but many have not.
I have always turned down the offer of antidepressants as tbh, I am scared of the potential side effects and potential addictive qualities of these meds.
Every time I feel that maybe I should give them a go, there is something in the media and often negative about them (only yesterday there was a discussion on Radio 2 about people addicted to antidepressants and unable to get off them),
However, I am now 46 and my anxiety is uncontrollable, it consumes me all day, every day, I have physical symptoms as a result which exacerbates the anxiety and so the vicious cycle continues. I am beginning to think I need something stronger than the things I have tried so far, as I can not carry on living my life as I have as it effects every aspect of mine and my families lives.
I read that there are around 69/70 million prescriptions of AD’s issued in the U.K. every year and so figure that some of you on here must fall into those statistics and I am confident you would give me an honest and realistic account of your experiences, good or bad of antidepressants (although, of course I appreciate we are all different).
So, can I please ask if any of you take or have taken antidepressants and have/did they help with your problems or are they the evil medications that the media will have me believe?

I am on citalopram. I have been since 2013. That partnered with lots of CBT stopped me killing myself.

I've tried to come off it a couple of times but anxiety gets really bad

Honestly give them a try, I resisted for so long but feel the most normal I have in my entire life since being on them (obviously still have bad days occasionally but nowhere near as often). I just worry now I will be afraid to come off them but it's only been six months so far...

I am also on Citalopram for anxiety.

Thank you Vape, I have tried CBT but on its own it hasn’t been enough for me. Think I need to try it again but with the antidepressants.

think that is all I want, to feel normal again!

I admitted “defeat” two weeks ago having tried everything else and asked the gp for help. Was prescribed setraline, for the first 5 days I felt shit but I ploughed on as he warned I may. I am now two weeks in and yesterday I noticed that I feel different - less “foggy” (for want of a better description) so feel like they are starting to help.

Me. For 12 years.

Can't do without them.

Not because I'm addicted but because my brain is imbalanced and I don't function normally without them.

I see it like being diabetic. They don't take insulin for a while and then stop. The issue is still there.
Some people might manage to get better if they have general depression due to aan issue that can be resolved or heal overtime but some people, like me, just need then indefinitely to stay functioning.

I have been on fluoxetine for a year now and it's been a total life changer for me. I have been on and off ADs for a few years since DS was born 6 years ago. Sertraline was good for a while, citalopram was awful.
Fluoxetine has been the best for my anxiety. Don't be swayed by the negative media.

The brain is an organ like any other.

If your heart was not functioning properly would you be reluctant to take medication because of the side effects? Or would you accept that is what was needed to help fix the issue?

This stigma over antidepressants needs to stop.

I’ve been on citalopram in varying doses since 2002. When I’ve come off it I’ve ended up incredibly depressed again.

To be honest I’m fine if I’m on it forever as long as it’s doing the job.

Pannikin Citalopram is my lifesaver. It turns me from a paranoid, angry, bitter, anxious, crying mess into a 'normal' (ish) person.
Funny how different things work for people.

I've been on very low dose (GP called it a baby dose) amytripiline since my dh died suddenly out of the blue (in his 40s) and I asked for something to help me sleep as I felt I needed to get enough sleep to be able to support my dc properly. It helped. I probably should try and wean myself off it

I've been on sertraline on and off since 2006 for pnd. Been on 150mg since 2014 and they have been really helpful. Without them I am a blubbering mess.

Thank you everyone, this is giving me the boost that I need to go and try them, will still be apprehensive of course but I just can not continue how I am at the moment.

I have been on citalopram for 8 months for anxiety. It does help.

Oh love it's such a dilemma. I remember feeling like I was standing on the cliff edge about to jump into the abyss, totally unsure I was doing the right thing and feeling like I was giving in or a failure.

I'm so glad I started though, it has changed everything. I took sertraline for a while and after initial side effects (mild in my case, but increased anxiety), I started to feel and function like a well person. I had never felt like that before tbh.
I've changed to citalopram for now and it's fine but sertraline suits me better I think so I'll go back once the baby is here.

I do think about whether I'll be able to come off antidepressants in the future, but life is so much happier and calmer now that I will choose to stay on them if necessary. Mental ill health is shit and accepting that I suffer from it and need to take medicine to feel better is hard - but so worth it.

Good luck with your decision, I hope you find peace

I'm not but DH has been on them for years and they help keep him calmer. I've got friends who've been on them for years too and say they help.

I took them briefly years ago and just got side effects and for some people they don't work but its worth trying.

Other thing I wondered though given your age (I'm similar age) is could it be perimenopause. Though they sometimes give ADs for that and sometimes HRT. Ask the doctor though, no expert.

They keep me alive. I take sertraline, no side effects at all. Trazodone made me too tired and citalopram stopped working after a few years but sertraline makes me feel like a human being again. I wish I'd taken them 20 years ago, my life would have been very different.

I had Post Natal Anxiety but to be honest I had always battled mood swings and anxiety since childhood.
I too resisted ADs but I just couldn’t function any more so was prescribed citalopram and propranolol.
Side effects-weight gain, hunger. Very tired at first.
Propranolol is a beta blocker which basically gave me some respite from the constant adrenaline and fear. But it does affect sporting performance because you have no adrenaline! I was out of breath running.

I came off the tablets completely after around 9m. I didn’t feel addicted at all and for me it seemed to reset my brain and although some anxiety will always be there I’m now able to manage it.
It was worth it to have some respite. I was going mad and completely overwhelmed. Definitely give it a go.

This is such a reassuring thread to read! I have been on 20mg citalopram for 10 years and when I phone for my repeat prescription, if I get the young male doctor he always lectures me on the need to come off them. (Older female doctor says no need to stop, can keep taking them forever at that dose and it might help me during menopause!)

When i started taking them, I found they didn't make me miraculously 'better' but helped me see the wood for the trees - I still get a full range of emotions but don't feel the black cloud enveloping me and can usually work out which way is forward.

I don't have to take one every day anymore ie missing one doesn't cause any problems and I think I average 4 or 5 a week. Last year I tried to come off them and, after two months of reducing the dose was down to 10mg 6 days a week but the worst of my depression came back in spades and I was lucky not to lose my job . I had horrendous brain fog, couldn't focus, didn't care about anything, each day was a massive effort to just put one foot in front of the other. Went back on them and although I get the brain fog (thanks peri meno!) its copable with.

Does anyone else find they're a bit more - i'm not sure how to explain it - maybe not effected or even not bothered by things on Citalopram? I used to be a fairly emotional person and i've been described by my sister and mum as "hard" the last few years. Not much makes me sad or angry. I thought it is most likely the citalopram.

For example, if someone I used to know (old school friend or someone I used to work with) dies and I hear about I am very "meh" whereas a few years ago I would have thought about it quite a lot and been very sad for few days.

OP, like you, I've suffered with low level anxiety for most of my adult life, but a year ago, it was ramped up to the point that I had trouble leaving the house. Started on 50mg of Sertraline, and it's changed my life in every good way. I felt awful for the first 10 days, and then it was like magic...I never knew it was even possible to go through life without constant dread and overthinking. I was also resistant to take meds because I was afraid they would make me a zombie, but that hasn't happened, I'm still myself, I'm just so much more even-tempered and relaxed now. If I have to stay on them forever (I'm 46), I will happily go along with that!

I’ve been on anti-depressants for about 20 years, started on citalopram then switched to sertraline when pregnant. They’ve allowed me to have a normal life. Depression is a horrible, horrible illness and I don’t regret for a moment using anti-depressants. They are very effective. I expect to stay on them for life.

OP your anxiety sounds awful, I can’t imagine anything you’d have to deal with around addiction/withdrawal would be worse.

Me,have done since #2 child was about 6 months old.

Started on citalopram, switched to setraline when pregnant with #3.

They changed my life, tbh. I went from permanently feeling under siege, snappy, worried, sad, a whole gamut of emotions to feeling level for the first time in my adult life. I don't feel numb, just level. I'm better equipped to deal with 'stuff'.

I'm not on a very high dose, but they work for me.

I was on citalopram twice after suffering with bad post natal anxiety. I found it really worked for me and I also managed to wean off it very successfully. I didn't find it addictive at all. I think people who struggle to wean off it are perhaps doing it too quickly and not with medical supervision. I was on 20mg and it took 3 months to wean off completely with zero Ill effects.

You mention in your post that life is unbearable I really think you should give it a go and I think it is your anxiety that is putting all these doubts in your head. What you describe as your daily life is far worse then the side effects of any anti d. Mind yourself and I hope you find something to help, anxiety is awful