Now I'm on ADs, shouldn't I be feeling better?

[fiddlydee]

I have been on various ADs for a couple of years. They all worked quite well for the depression but I suffered from the side effects. I am now on sertraline which seemed to be a good compromise between helping the depression and the side effects not being too bad. I started on 50mg and am now on 100mg. At first it seemed to be the answer but I seem to be having dips more and more often now. Nothing has really changed in my life, although thinking about it, it has got more hectic, but the ADs just don't seem to be having the same effect. Or my depression seems to be getting worse. I spend more time thinking about it now.

What sort of levels of sertraline are other people on? Is 100mg a strong dose or not? I am loathed to increase the dose as I don't want more side effects. If I am honest, I also don't want to admit the depression is getting worse. Do you ever 'get better' from depression? Everything I read says that ADs are generally taken for about 6 months and then they are no longer needed. Surely they can't actually cure the depression though? I can't see anything ever changing my depression as there is nothing really wrong in my life. I have a great husband, children, home and work life. I have been suffering from depression since my second daughter was born. She is now 5 so it is rather long to call it PND. Surely if it was a hormonal problem it would be getting better by now?

Any thoughts or support you can give would be much appreciated. xx

You've been on ADs for a long time - what else has been done in that time to help you?

Be aware that the 'I have such a good life so why can't I be happy' syndrome is in itself pretty depressing. Sometimes people look only for 'big things' such as abuse and bad childhoods as reasons for their depression. Sometimes much more subtle and insidious thinking keeps you trapped.

Maybe ask to be referred for CBT or other counselling.

I think the thing is with depression and whether anyone ever gets cured the answer is "it depends" I am no medic but have had 2 major episodes of depression - first one 15 years ago following the death of my dearest friend (3 months in psych ward) and made a complete recovery. I stayed on the meds (imipramine - an old fashioned tryclic) for 15 years and then decided to come off them very gradually (with the help of a psychologist) - it took 10 months to get off them altogether. 4 months later I suffered my second major depression (again 3 months on psych ward) last Easter, but this time I have not fully recovered and have frequent blips/dips/setbacks, call them what you will but they are completely unpredictable and vary in intensity, lasting between 2 and 15 days. My conslt psych visits every 3 months and says these blips are to be expected and some people get over them and other's don't.

I am wondering why you have taken a variety of drugs over 2 years. All drugs cause side effects as I'm sure you know and of course these vary from person to person, and just to add to the confusion what AD works on one person doesn't work for another.

I too have read that 4 out of 5 people get better from depression within 4 - 6 months and that's what happened to me after the first episode, but not the second one. SO who knows?

Is your GP any good with mental health - many of them don't know a great deal about mental health especially the older ones as SSRIs weren't even invented when they trained.

You could try CBT which deals with the "here and now" and it's aim is to enable you to think in a more balanced way, rather than sinking into a negative spiral, which of course makes you feel worse. I find it all very rational when I am ok but when in a blip it is harder to put into practice.

Thank you both. Is 2 years a long time to be on ADs? I know anyone who has not had depression would think so but most people who really understand tend to say if they help then keep taking them. I know they all have side effects but I have now found one where the positives outweigh the negatives. Is there a long-term health risk from continued use of ADs?

fiddlydee - I've been on citalopram now for over 2 years and I sometimes wonder if it's helping my depression. i seem to float along at a level and then too often i really dip... i'm fed up with wondering if i'll ever feel normal and balanced again...