To ask if antidepressants made a difference to your life?

[marmite92]

I have been struggling with horrible anxiety and mild depression for a few years now. Antidepressants have been suggested to me in the past by a gp but as part of my issue is health anxiety I'm quite scared to take them, and one of my friends is in the psychology field and is against ADs so that's always been niggling in the back of my head as she thinks they just mask it and numb you then you can't get off them.

I've done cbt, I do all the self help stuff that they say but it just doesn't feel enough and I am exhausted, I want to feel happy and relaxed again but fear I never will. I have had a lot of big life changes in the past year but I was like this before all that too. Any positive stories? Or even tips on how to beat all this?

There’s an embarrassing amount of typos in that. Sorry

Definitely, been on them for about 20 years, GP reckons I can reduce them slightly but I'm assuming I will be on them for life. I live a perfectly normal life, I work, I get happy, I get sad but I am alive and not severely depressed anymore.

For those that have been on them for a long time, are they safe long term? I'd panic about the side effects or consequences because I worry about health a lot

Its definitely safer for me to be on them as without them I'd probably be in hospital, and GP has never said anything about health being affected and my GPs are good and I trust them. I get MOT (blood tests etc) every year and always fine.

Another one in favour of antidepressants here, I was hospitalised in a mental health unit at 14 and I have been on them since I have tried stopping various times as I thought I didn't need them (cos I was well, you know) , the darkness soon took hold and released it's grip when stabilised on them again. I'm 45 next month and I will be on them for the rest of my life. That's ok.

If I was diabetic, I would have to take meds daily to maintain health, this is the same to me. I currently take 2 different anti depressants, Snri in the morning and NASSA at night, along with other stuff. I've had ECT and many other treatment to get and keep me well and antidepressants are no different.

If it hadn’t been for antidepressants I suspect I wouldn’t have survived PND. Particularly second time round when I think I had the psychotic form.

Yes,mi've been taking them 27 years and they keep me on an even keel.
However I believe I am on them for life at this stage.
I take 25mg fluoxetine.

Yes, life saving. Have been on different ones for 25 years. Along with talk therapy for ever. And CBT, mindfulness etc.

@marmite92

For those that have been on them for a long time, are they safe long term? I'd panic about the side effects or consequences because I worry about health a lot

The one I’m on can be taken indefinitely.

Yes, I have taken sertraline for a period of time previously and started them again at the start of the year due to PND and anxiety. They don't make me deliriously happy but they do put me on an even keel and make a massive difference to my life, in hindsight I should have started them sooner after DS was born but i pretended to be fine for a long time.

Yes, yes, yes. Made a massive difference to my life. Don't care if I'm on them forever.

They were a total gift for me when I had a breakdown for the first time in my life 6 weeks ago. I would have been scared if them but I was so bad I was begging everyone for help and would have taken anything. I felt better in days and functioning in weeks and now already at only 6 weeks feel normal and content most of the time. I'd like to think it was me who overcame the crippling anxiety but I think it's more that my seratonin was completely depleted and the sertraline sorted that enough to bring me back to normal. I'm left a bit scared from the episode but Jesus I'm bloody impressed with what the drugs did. OP, you can try them. It's not recommended to come on and off them but people do it ALL the time for various reasons. You won't lose your choices or become a zombie. But you might just feel a ton better and happier.

I've just been prescribed sertraline but have been too scared to take it after freaking myself out reading about all the side effects. My main worry is that the side effects will be so bad i won't be able to function at work. But this thread has convinced me I need to give it a go.

I take citalopram and I can take them indefinitely. I did have some side effects to start with. I’m not going to lie, the first 2 weeks weren’t particularly pleasant for me but the third week was a lot better and after 5 or 6 weeks I was 100x better. A short period of being uncomfortable was more than worth the long term benefits of taking them.

If you’re worried about side effects, why don’t you take a weeks annual leave when you want to start taking them and see how you go? Or you could ask the doctor to sign you off for a couple of weeks whilst you let the medication settle in. You’ll have time to look into and practice Other talking therapies and mindfulness too which might help in the long run.

I think cbt is very helpful as well but the anti depressants just took the edge off my depression enough to even get motivated to do the cbt. I don't think it is an either or but multi pronged

It makes me so angry when psychologists say ADs aren’t necessary. My DH wasted 4 years on therapies which didn’t work. They could see he wasn’t making progress but still didn’t advise him to try ADs. He couldn’t ‘understand’ the CBT because his head was so messed up.

In the end, he tried sertraline and it started working within 10 days. Honestly, he just looked at me and his eyes were different- it was like the lights had been switched back on.

He was only on them 3 months and our life has completely turned around. All that time wasted. We’ve probably spent thousands on therapy and they were quite happy to let us keep doing that.

Anyone reading this, please give them a try.

I’ve been on ADs for over 20 years (with a few breaks). I can honestly say I don’t think I’d be here now without them.

No. If you get ones that work properly for you they neither mask the problem nor numb you. What they do is allow your brain to function well enough to deal with any underlying problems and to let you start being proactive and enjoying life again. If your doctor thinks you need them, take them.

I have had citalopram twice for periods of depression. I can’t say it was a miracle cure but it certainly helped.
I think a chat with GP would help - tell them you feel apprehensive about starting medication and they may be able to allay your worries. I was also quite closely monitored (fortnightly appointments) by the GP and Practice Mental Health Specialist Nurse which was really helpful as I felt concerned about using ADs. I had no side effects whatsoever even from day 1, and no problems stopping them by gradually reducing the dose.
Anxiety (and depression) is awful and so draining, I hope you feel better soon.

No. They managed to make me nauseous and out of control. I tried a few many years ago and have given up.

Long term counselling (2 years) worked. I'm not convinced CBT is any good as it's generally quite short term. I needed someone to chat to every week until I got myself in a better place.

Yes absolutely they help

Citalopram was like a miracle for me. Really did feel like a chemical button was switched on. I didn’t think anything could help (nothing major in circumstances) but it helped change my perspective and let me view things neutrally (or positively!!) without the clouded lens of depression and anxiety. I’ve been on them about 8 years and have tried to reduce dose several times to think about coming off them - but I always end up feeling off and low. They don’t mean life is plain sailing or numb - just means when low mood strikes then i bounce back quicker (although pandemic is testing that to the max at the mo 😕). I did do CBT as well, but it was like a cherry on the cake but for me would’ve felt ineffective without the ADs.

I was in your position last year OP. I hadn't been well for years but I was so reluctant to take antidepressants. I had tried counselling, CBT, exercise, meditation, journaling, you name it. It took the medication to get me out of the horrible fog I was in, only then could I engage in all the other things.

I've stayed on the same low dose all the way though. My anxiety has almost gone completely, I sleep so much better and feel more like myself. The plan was to come off within six months, but I've stayed on longer due to some very difficult life events that occurred over the last few months (death of one parent and serious illness of the other). Had I not been on medication I'm not sure how I would have coped.

I am hoping I can start weaning off them soon, but they were absolutely the right thing for me at the time.

They have really helped me too. I’ve been on both citalopram & Sertraline. I went on the Sertraline for PND & I think it’s brilliant- very few side effects & it helps me to sleep & feel more level headed. I also tried a lot of different self-help methods in order to avoid taking them & just ended up prolonging the depression. I think things like mindfulness, exercise & CBT all have their place but they weren’t enough for me. I would give them a try, I think there is nothing to lose. Sometimes you feel a bit worse for the first few weeks although I didn’t have this too badly with the Sertraline. They can be life changing.

I work with many psychiatrists and they all agree that ADs have a role in recovery!

I've been & am currently on ADs (many different ones but have found paxoetine at 60mg the best) and they have transformed my life. And if I take them until the day I die that'll be a ok with me. I'm not numb. I work in a complex area of law and do very well. Don't listen to your uneducated friend