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 a low dose, 5mg escitalopram. Its changed my life. I struggled to leave the house before. I'm a lot better now, still have slightly anxious days but nothing like before. No nasty side affects.

I have a long history of depression and anxiety and have been on a number of ADs over the years as well as betablockers for anxiety.

It is always scary taking a new one for the first time, especially when you have anxiety, but to be honest to worry about it is usually the worst part. If side effects are too unpleasant you try a different type, I went through a few before finding one that suited me and when I did it made such a difference to my life!

I largely self-manage now and have various (healthy! That bit's important) coping strategies so have managed to stay off ADs for a long while, though I still have the betablockers for when the anxiety is too much. If I needed to ADs again though, I'd take them.

I'm on venlafaxine, amytriptyline,.propanonol , lansopranole, diazepam. I was on just sertraline. This caused me to have a.nervous breakdown. So now on the 5 meds. I don't care about the media ,or side effects or. Addictiveness.

I've been on and off them for years, different ones.

I'm currently on citalopram and had a course of cbt.

Thankfully I'm now no longer suicidal and have my anxiety under much better control.

I'm remaining on them for now with a view to possibly trying to come off them next year but if I'm still in need of them then my Gp said we won't be withdrawing them until I'm ready and stable.

I’ve been on AD’s for about 20 years now. I tried SSRI’s first but they were hell. Made me feel a million times worse. Then I got put on Venlafaxine which helped a lot. But I still always felt low level suicidal. As in, I wouldn’t act on it but I still didn’t really want to live. Then I had 2 major traumas within 6 months of each other and totally fell apart. Ended up on venlafaxine and Mirtazapine. Finally they are working as they should. The suicidal feelings have gone now, for the first time in over 40 years. Do they numb my feelings? Maybe, but my feelings needed numbing! I couldn’t carry on as I was. I felt everything too intensely, now I feel more “normal”. I tried all the “therapies” going but they didn’t help.

I would say there has literally been one drawback for me with the mirtazapine and that is that it made me pile on the weight (it’s used for anorexia) but it did even out in the end. I never had any side effects from venlafaxine. I will stay on them forever if I can. I never want to go back to feeling how I did before. So I guess I am addicted but I really don’t care.

My mother is on a quite low dose of citalopram for a few years now for anxiety snd sleep disorder. Works well for her

How come peoples Dr's let them stay on it for years, and mine took me off it after a year because she said "You can get too dependent on it and it can cause long term physical health problems"....?! Seriously baffled now.

It could depend on lots of things - the drug, the dose, your own medical history, and/or just differing degrees of caution among GPs. There are risks - my GP gets me to have annual blood tests to check my liver function for example - but it's always been fine.

I know my med has been associated with health problems, but apparently only at a high dose, in over-75s or if you drink and smoke a lot. My GP explained this and said recent evidence had made the issues clearer and it shouldn't affect me. I did a lot of my own research too (being a worry wart!) and satisfied myself that cases of people having problems were when they were having 5x my dose and drinking heavily, for example.

High levels of cortisol also come with a significant health risk, so it's a judgement call.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. I have changed gp surgeries this week and will discuss my options with my new doctor.
I honestly feel that I have exhausted all non- prescription options, I have had many years of counselling, 4 months of CBT last year, I exercise a lot, don’t drink, eat well, listen to lots of relaxation apps, try to get lots of sleep (sleep for too long but that’s probably the depression which I have denied for so long!) and many other things, yet still I keep struggling and yes, it is annoying but why I refuse meds god only knows!!
But with a son also suffering from anxiety and school refusal, menopause looming in the not too distant future, my poor mum with Alzheimer’s and my dad not coping (and me being there for them every day), I’m going to need something to get me through. I know we all have these every day issues to deal with and I am far from unique but anxiety don’t half make these problems a million times heavier on the shoulders!!
I have to bite the bullet but I’m not going to lie I am crapping myself (but also bloody angry that I keep wimping out!!).

They're gamechangers for a lot of people but the media needs a new stick to beat people with.

I think there's still that old "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" image of ADs as a cosh that The Man wants to use to keep us all docile and stupid, and if you take them you'll be giving in and lose your personality, kind of like a lobotomy. That can happen with some powerful medications for schizophrenia and bipolar, though not always - but it shouldn't happen with ADs, you should be able to find one that suits you and lets you live more normally without horrible side effects.

I also think people have always had anxiety and depression - they are very common. Before ADs, people turned to other drugs, alcohol, or just suffered, or had "trouble with their nerves".

Been on SSRIs of one description or another for about 20 years after having a bit of a breakdown after university. Had a few breaks from them, but basically they allow me to function. I'm on a low dose, and have had several rounds of counselling as well.

Bear in mind that at 46, peri menopause could be exacerbating your anxiety as well, so HRT might also help.

That's the danger with information put out like yesterday. There's genuine people in need who can be alarmed by the info. ADs are not addictive in themselves like narcotics and you may not need to be on them for a lpfmg time.

OP I am on some medication. Twice I've tried to go off it to be 'normal' and both times I've crashed badly. The GP very kindly expained some people like me do need meds long term and that's okay

However, I am now 46 and my anxiety is uncontrollable, it consumes me all day, every day

Same age. Maybe discuss HRT with the dr too. My peri menopausal symptoms included such bad anxiety I could barely leave the house. (Despite AD working well for the last decade) I’m a new woman on HRT patches but when the chemist gave me a different patch due to supply issues it didn’t work as well and my anxiety went back through the roof! Happily settled on my usual patch and Positively laid back in comparison to my old anxious self.

Honestly OP I felt the same as you but the improvement in me was almost instant-DH noticed it too and they changed my life, I was gutted I waited so long really.
You deserve a break from all this.
I had the idea of deranged housewives clinging on to “Mother’s little helper” on Prozac spaced out all day long but it’s just a stereotype. No one apart from those I told could even tell.

You could be me! I started 6 weeks ago on a very low dose and life is 100% better. I had the same concerns but I won't go back now, do it!

I’m definitely feeling more confident to try after reading your replies. I do also think I may be in perimenopause too, I have many of the symptoms and my friend who is the same age has never experienced anxiety, ever but has been wracked with it the last year or so, so I do think it may be a possibility. But I do and have always suffered from anxiety, my mum and sister do and most of my mums family have ‘suffered with their nerves too’ so I may just have some kind of genetic/hereditary chemical imbalance in my brain??

Oh also about valium / diazepam - another "mother's little helper" drug associated with being zonked out. It is addictive and not something to take every day, but I've been given a low dose to have on hand to help if a panic attack looms, as it has an instant calming effect. Just having it there makes a big difference and I've only ever taken one once or twice.

As for "mother's little helper" - I was discussing with a friend the other day how motherhood is a huge challenge to your mental health, especially if you lack family support and/or a useful partner. It's a recipe for anxiety, worry, exhaustion, sleep issues and being overwhelmed with stuff to do, plus distanced from yourself because your life is restricted. The phrase "mother's little helper" is sneery and dismissive but actually we often do need that help for very good reasons.

Me

OP it was a comment from my mum about trying AD to address a chemical imbalance that spurred me on to do it, I had also tried everything you have and am in peri menopause

Like Vape being on Citalopram 10mg (tiny dose) was enough to make me more in control of my emotions, and I felt pretty much indifferent (or meh) about things.
I went through a stressful time and was put up to 20mg but I couldn't tolerate that as it gave me compulsive jaw clenching so I put myself back down to 10mg.

I decided recently to stop taking them and to wean myself off them, and I found it easy with no problems.

However, should I find my anxiety coming back I'll have hesitation to start taking them again. They stopped the anxiety and agitation and made me back in control of myself.

A known side effect of anti depressants can be loss of sex drive and/or the inability to orgasm. There is some concern that this doesn't always return even after you stop taking the medication.

For me, it would have to be a life threatening situation to risk that, although I appreciate this can sometimes be the case.

I'm on 40mg citalopram and 120mg of propranolol a day.

I couldn't cope without.

I've been on citalopram for just over a year, after putting it off for five years. I had counselling which helped for a while, but the problems that caused my anxiety were made worse so I 'gave in' and went to the dr. I have to say, they have made my life so much easier, and have given me the head space to be able to deal with things rationally. I do still get a small amount of anxiety, but when this gets too much I take a beta blocker, but that is very rarely.
They don't always work for everyone but if you feel you may need to, give him a go. There are so many different types that I'm sure that between you and your GP, you will find one that suits you. X

I get what vape and others have said about the effects of certain ad’s such as Citalopram. Last year I visited a friend. I hadn’t seen him in over a year and during our conversation he mentioned he had had a stressful year and was now taking Citalopram. I had thought at the time that he seems different but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, now you mention this, it was some sort of indifference, he didn’t seem like his normal self and I did think at the time he seemed to have lost his kind, sympathetic attitude, he almost seemed, as vale mentioned ‘hard’. Although I spend far too much time feeling too much empathy for everything and everyone and just watching a little old lady crossing the street can bring tears to my eyes!!, I wouldn’t want to be devoid of all emotion. I will definitely need to discuss all possible ad’s with my gp.

OP when you say “addictive nature” are you confusing them with tranquilisers?

I’m on them on for life. It took me a long time to accept it but now I have, I just see it as taking anything that’s essential for health. I wouldn’t stop eating veg, I’m not going to stop antidepressants.

I wouldn’t be here without them, never mind holding down a job.