Do antidepressants work? What’s your experience?

[Verity35]

I’m seriously considering taking meds. Please see my thread in my anxiety for more context. Not sure how to add links but I’ll try:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3950808-How-to-get-over-feeling-nervous

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3950808-How-to-get-over-feeling-nervous

That said though, I have come to accept that this is a part of me and I'm never going to be "better" as such but that I'll probably have to manage this all my life. I'm not "normal" but I'm okay and happy.

They worked brilliantly for me! I have taken escitalopram for three pretty dark periods in my life. I was seriously depressed and had huge anxiety. and stress. Even at low doses (I never took more than 10mg) the difference was unbelievable. Even 5mg made a big difference.

My psychiatrist had to threaten me with being sectioned before I would take them (I really didn't want to and didn't believe anything could help me) but within about 2 weeks I was a different person.

I'm off them now (I tend to only need them during really stressful life events) but I wouldn't hesitate to take them again if I need to.

No significant side effects - I sleep more when I am on them and find it harder to wake up in the mornings, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I rely on them having had a lifetime of mental illness. The most recent being venlafaxine about 4 years ago and have found them very effective. The only downside is that it’s apparently not easy to come off them, but I don’t intend to do that at least in the near future. I would say anti-depressants have probably saved my life. No weight gain.

Yes, in the long run.
In my experience they made me feel 100X worse until they were properly in my system.
I completely plummeted and OD. I felt worse when I started them than without them, but stuck With it and eventually felt better.

I suffered from pnd and anxiety. I didn't want to take antidepressants if I could avoid it as I was worried about the side effects so decided to take st John's wort instead, and if it didn't help after a month I would go to the gp for a prescription. However the st John's wort really really helped, after a week I could feel the difference so I've just continued taking that for the last 4.5yrs. I did stop for a month, but my anxiety shot through the roof and I was having sleepless nights worrying over silly things so I started taking it again.
Maybe it's worth a try? Otherwise, take the help you need. You wouldn't tell an asthmatic not to take their inhaler if they needed help to breath, and the same goes for getting help with mental health.

Some years ago, I was put on Flueoxtine for anxiety and panic attacks. The day after I started taking them, I had dilated pupils, brain zaps, seizures and hallucinations that I was flying through stars and outer space.

My GP instead put me on Citalopram, and on these I had severe panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.

I weaned myself off of them, bit by bit, until a few months later I was off them completely.

Personally I would not take them again as the side effects far outweighed the benefits for me.

I've had a mixed bag experience with antidepressants and it's taken me a while to find the right one for me (started on Sertraline which stopped me sleeping then moved to Mirtazipine which made me confused and suicidal, now on Fluoxitine which seems to work well for me). As PP have said you do need to be patient when working out the right type and doses but once they've had a chance to work the difference is unbelievable.
I have used them in a combination with therapy and have gone from barely functioning, considering suicide, crying in the street and not being able to look in a mirror to feeling like myself again since I found the right antidepressant. They're not some magical cure that stops you ever feeling bad but they do mean that you can cope with things more easily, they have saved my life.
Totally appreciate that side effects can be an issue but a lot of that can be avoided if you find the right antidepressant - don't be afraid to try new ones out until you get the one that suits you.

They worked for me, in conjunction with some CBT that gave me tools to start thinking more rationally. I used them for moderate depression with severe anxiety (according to the questionnaire thing!).

I tried Citalopram and found it made me feel sick as a dog. Kept at it for three weeks but no improvement.

Sertraline was next, but gave me headaches that made me more miserable than I was before I started!

Finally started on Fluoxitine and within 3 days it was as if the sun had come out. Everything felt easier and lighter, without feeling like I was distanced or in denial about the things I needed to change. Just free enough to be able to function properly while I worked on the things that needed to change to reduce my anxiety in the long term.

I took them for 5 months and have been off them for nearly 8 months. The improvement in my anxiety and depression has stayed since I stopped taking them. I don't see any reason that I'll need them again, but if I ever feel the anxiety or depression becoming an issue again I wouldn't hesitate to ask the GP to prescribe fluoxitine again.

Good luck, whatever you choose to do

Absolutely!!

I take literally the lowest dose of 10mg per day, but it keeps me on an even keel. I can't see myself coming off them to be honest.

First few days on them are a bit rough but within 10-14 days you'll feel so much better

Yes they work, although as everyone is different it can take a bit of tinkering to find the right medication and dose. I find venlafaxine works well for me, although it’s not the first line treatment any more.

Be careful about taking herbal remedies in combination with prescription meds as they can interact - always check with the pharmacist. Just because it’s ‘natural’ doesn’t stop them being pretty potent, St Johns Wort and Valerian especially.

Stay as active as you can - exercise triggers the neurotransmitters that give your mood a boost. A combination of antidepressants/anti anxiety meds, CBT (to give you strategies to recognise and head off the heebie-jeebies when the try to sneak up on you) and a cardiovascular exercise (even a brisk walk or some vigorous gardening/floor mopping!) are your best bet. A multi pronged approach is much more likely to be successful

For your particular issues around nervousness in meetings etc, I wonder if a public speaking course would help. It might be helpful giving you strategies to regulate your breathing etc.

Often when you’re anxious you start to hyperventilate which makes you feel nauseous and lightheaded, and then it becomes a spiral into a panic attack (I would get you a large slice of cake you’re hyperventilating quite a lot of the time - your body can get stuck inflight or fight mode). You can see physiotherapists who specialise in breathing, who’ll give you exercises to do to regulate your breathing - ask your GP. www.physio.co.uk/what-we-treat/respiratory/symptoms/hyperventilation.php

Most important - don’t be embarrassed about it. Your anxiety and physiological responses are because the neurotransmitters in your brain that aren’t doing what they should be but it’s fixable. At least 1/4 people at your work will have experienced something similar. You aren’t alone, and you deserve to feel your best. If it was any other part of your body you’d not think twice about taking medicine and getting physio so don’t feel it’s different because it’s brain related - it’s just another organ that can go wonky.

20mg citalapram, I love them. Have put about a stone on but then it levelled off. No other side effects.

Escitalopram here too, before it was available as a generic so I had Lexapro. I was diagnosed with SAD which manifested as severe anxiety and depression. I was suicidal before taking them. Saved my life. No problem starting or stopping - I was on them for 18 months at 20mg and switched to 10mg for a few months (I think I did did by taking each type every second day, can't remember if I was on 15mg for a while but I don't think so). Back up to the 20 for the winter as 10 wasn't enough, fully off (again I think I took one every second day for a bit) by the following summer, back on in October. Continued with them every winter for about 5 years. Didn't take them the year I was pregnant, managed ok, I was breastfeeding for a couple of years after that so I didn't go back on them and I seem to get through winters ok now.

Looking back I was very stressed and unhappy with my life but I didn't know how to get out of the situation I was in. I'm more aware now of how to manage my life to avoid getting that anxious, though there have been times I could have probably done with help. I did ask my GP (different GP) at one stage but he was reluctant to prescribe my beloved Lexapro and gave me something else for anxiety instead, possibly sertraline, I can't remember, and I started taking them instead. I was hit by a bereavement which overwhelmed me with grief so I didn't feel really feel anxious anymore and I stopped taking them. They hadn't helped with the anxiety but I wasn't on them long, a few weeks maybe. I knew after the bereavement I wouldn't be able for the thing causing me the most stress and I gave it up.

I get very anxious from time to time (terminal illness in the family, other shit) but I don't spiral into depression and I'm fine when the situation resolves.

I didn't have any side effects starting or stopping anything. No weight gain and I had the energy to eat healthily and take exercise so I was slimmer and fitter than before taking the Lexapro.

Venlafaxine got me to a state where I could actually engage with talking therapy - when I was diagnosed with PND and anxiety I couldn’t talk about how I was feeling without sobbing then having a panic attack, I had no energy, couldn’t concentrate or think clearly. Venlafaxine lifted the fog and levelled me out enough to face my feelings and work through them. I had a couple of days of nausea at the start, and withdrawing from it can be horrible - I ran out over Christmas and felt dreadful for a day until I could get some. Other than that I’ve had no side effects. I’m down to the lowest possible dose now and I’ll think about coming off it soon.

I had a bad spell last year, with horrendous anxiety and insomnia - I was prescribed mirtazapine, which reset me a little bit, but I was so glad to come off of them. They didn't do much for the anxiety or sadness, but they did help me sleep. I was on them for about 9 months, but was glad to come off as my weight shot up and I felt so drained.

In short, they worked, but at a cost.

@Fr0thandBubble

They worked brilliantly for me! I have taken escitalopram for three pretty dark periods in my life. I was seriously depressed and had huge anxiety. and stress. Even at low doses (I never took more than 10mg) the difference was unbelievable. Even 5mg made a big difference.

My psychiatrist had to threaten me with being sectioned before I would take them (I really didn't want to and didn't believe anything could help me) but within about 2 weeks I was a different person.

I'm off them now (I tend to only need them during really stressful life events) but I wouldn't hesitate to take them again if I need to.

No significant side effects - I sleep more when I am on them and find it harder to wake up in the mornings, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Did you have any side effects going on or coming off?

I’m on 150mg Sertraline and it’s helped so much.

I tried one antidepressant that did nothing for me. I then tried a different one and it was amazing. I could function again. It was a life saving drug. My DH is currently on antidepressants and his recovery has been miraculous.

Citalopram saved me. I was so ill, so unhappy. I got a bit high at first... Then levelled off and discovered something I had completely lost sight of in my illness... The joy of perspective! I could deal with problems as they actually we're, rather than the hideous chain reaction they kicked off in my head that spiralled into total panic and despair. It was amazing watching my mind NOT do this when confronted with a situation i recognised as catastrophic for unmedicated me.

Had to come off recently to get pregnant and it's a bit of a bugger. I'm a lot more well now so not losing it like I was, but the return of my naturally rather volatile emotionality is a nuisance. My kid is obsessed with Frozen 2 at the moment and EVERY FUCKING TIME she makes me put "Show Yourself" on I properly well up and get wobbly voiced - it's an utterly shit song, I have NO idea why it punches the "Cry" button in my lizard brain but here I am - never would have happened on cit Am pregnant though so could just as easily be hormones!

I hope you find the thing that works for you. Anxiety is so so hideous.

Hi everyone thank you for the responses. Just to update you all - doctor has given me a prescription for sertraline today. Not sure the dosage as haven’t picked up from chemist yet.

I hope it helps, Verity.

I hope it helps. They have different half lives. Fluoxetine suits me best I have been on and off it since the 1990s. Strangely only seem to need a very small dose now and bit sensitive to it though.

Thank you @Apileofballyhoo and @Orangeblossom78

Just thinking of you, OP.

There are lots of people who rely on them for a 'normal' life.
My sister has been on Citalopram for 3 years and is noticeably better off on them to herself and anyone who knows her.
Good luck

@Apileofballyhoo and @SausageCrush

Thank you both. I’m sorry to say I stopped taking it after one day. I will return back to it but I need to talk to doctor first. He gave me 50mg, I took at 6:30 in evening and next day I couldn’t hold my baby as I was shaking, I had to take my daughter to school and I was in a complete mess. I felt the way I did when I was pregnant and had extreme morning sickness (HG). I know effects wear off after 2/3 weeks but problem is I’m all alone at the moment as husbands job is intense and I don’t get any support from him on normal times. I think once my daughter has finished school in 2 weeks I think. I’ll consider taking them again and maybe I’ll ask MIL to help out with kids.

I still feel really odd today.