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Original poster

Did anti-depressants work for you?

36 replies

Feelinglow27 · 30/01/2023 20:56

Hi,
For many different reasons life has not turned out how I wanted it to and I suspect I have been depressed for several years. When I am busy I can cope fine, but if I occasionally have some time alone I can feel myself on a downwards spiral, worrying, feeling anxious and sad.

I want to get some kind of help as its either I am too busy and feel like it is a relief just getting to the end of the day, or I am feeling depressed, and I would like to enjoy life again.

I don't really have time to undertake any counselling etc. TBH I just want to try anti-depressants, but I worry that they won't work or that they will have other side effects.

If you have been through similar and were prescribed ADs, did they work for you?

OP posts:
Whateveryouwant1 · 30/01/2023 21:03

Do it. If they don't do anything you stop taking them. I took them for around 6 months and that was enough to reset me. Go for it.

Anxious153 · 30/01/2023 21:07

Yes in the short term they were very helpful and probably saved my life. But long term the only thing that really helped get me back on track was therapy and lots of it.

EmpressaurusOfWitchesBackFromTheDead · 30/01/2023 21:09

They did, but mainly because they got me to the stage where I could benefit from therapy and the combination of the two helped me to sort myself out. The ADs were crucial but wouldn’t have been enough alone.

Thatiswild · 30/01/2023 21:11

Yes they did for me, I ended up taking them for a few years but then came off them and have been fine since, definitely worth a try!

Dogsarebetterthanhumans · 30/01/2023 21:13

Remember, if you don’t make time for your wellness, you will have to make time for your illness. If you need therapy, you can make time for it.
All prescription medications have side effects, which is why the doctor prescribing has to weigh up risk vs benefit for each prescription. Modern anti-depressants are very safe, and effective, although you may have to try more than one or two to get the right one for you (or you may not). You have very little to lose by trying them. All the best with it. X

Pollypower · 30/01/2023 21:14

Yes. Life changing. Seriously.

lollipoprainbow · 30/01/2023 21:16

I've just started after a difficult few months/years. To be honest I'm surprised it's taken me this long be on them. Only one week in so too early to tell if they work but we'll see.

Pilgit · 30/01/2023 21:19

I will be on them for life as i have bipolar disorder. It is not an exaggeration to say i couldn't continue without them. However proper treatment of any mental health issue for maximum chance of success needs the three Ts - time, talking and tablets. Tablets often come first but talking is necessary to make sense of everything

Sillybanana · 30/01/2023 21:24

Yes, changed my life, took citalopram

Dita73 · 30/01/2023 21:57

I’d be dead without mine. No question

JarByTheDoor · 30/01/2023 21:59

Yeah but it took half a dozen goes to find the right one.

007DoubleOSeven · 30/01/2023 22:00

Yes, massively. I've used them when I've been seriously depressed and panic-attack stricken and when I was struggling in the way you describe.

Definitely give them a go - and lots of different types so if you don't get on with some (because they don't help enough or you get side effects) you can try something else.

Stickortwister · 30/01/2023 22:00

First time they just made me feel flat and unwell.

Second time ( different medication) they genuinely saved my life. Im no longer taking them and have had some therapy and got rid of some stressors. But they were really needed at the time and lifechanging.

Frosty1000 · 30/01/2023 22:12

I'd never take an SSRI ever again, it was a terrible time of my life and wish I hadn't started on them as coming off them was hell - I felt like an addict and at the end I was on just crumbs but the side effects of not being on those crumbs were horrific.

Got desperate and finally saw a medical person that wasn't just dishing out pills and she moved me onto an atypical one and that day was the day my life began again.

Caramelsmadfuzzytail · 30/01/2023 22:16

I have been on my current anti depressants for about 5 years now, the previous ones weren't working. When I dont take them my life becomes one big black cloud, I'm even more anti social and shopping is horrendous.
Current tablets have decreased the black cloud, shopping is easier and I'm less anti social. I did have to up the dose at the beginning of the pandemic. Also if I forget to take a dose my head feels like its gonna fall off.
I've been on them for over 20 years and I'm not coming off them because I hate the black cloud of doom.

Tandora · 30/01/2023 22:21

They really helped me so much

Pollypower · 31/01/2023 06:15

Out of interest what anti depressants work for you? I’m on Fluoxetine. First try & they helped so stuck with them. Although I did up my dose to 30mg and sometimes feel i need to increase more but then I do improve after a week.

Thriwit · 31/01/2023 06:22

I’ve tried many over the years, and none have ever helped me. But I would still encourage people to try. They seem to help a lot of people.

Moobalooo · 31/01/2023 06:25

Yes. Was on 10 mg of citalopram for about 8 yrs. Really helped me cope with life at the time. My self esteem and belief in my own abilities was so low. The pills numbed the negativity and I slowly learned to cope and enjoy life again. It takes time to work and I know I was lucky that I got in well with the first AD I tried. Weaned myself off them (never go cold turkey) about a year ago. Still have the occasional wobble but I recognise the signs and have learnt different coping strategies.

SirenSays · 31/01/2023 06:41

Tried lots and tried many different dosages for years but never found anything that works for me.

cushioncovers · 31/01/2023 06:46

Yes. Before AD I couldn't even think about counselling or using mindfulness techniques. After a while on sertraline I felt a lot better and then went on to have counselling and cbt which helped enormously.

LouLou198 · 31/01/2023 06:51

Yes, I have been on citalopram for several months. They help me cope with life better. Before taking them I felt tearful most days and always overwhelmed.

C1N1C · 31/01/2023 06:56

My wife took them and described her life as being in a fog. You experience life but its all sort of muted. So she doesn't take them and is now depressed and I'm always on tenterhooks and suicide-watch.

Depression is not fun for the one involved, and I'd argue even less fun for their loved ones. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I think the key is getting the right one... maybe there are others that work better...

EmpressaurusOfWitchesBackFromTheDead · 31/01/2023 07:43

I was on the max dose of citalopram and it got me through a divorce, a new job and two house moves. When I came off it, very very very slowly, it felt as if I’d had a duvet wrapped round my brain and I was slowly taking it off. But I’d go back on it in a heartbeat if I thought I needed to.

NameChangeJaneDoe · 31/01/2023 07:56

they saved my life. I am on them for life now because I have had four major depressive episodes so have something like a 90% chance of having another. If you have felt the utter despair of depression and the terror of anxiety, taking anti depressants is a walk in the park, side effects and all.