Can antidepressants make life better?

[Snowspeckledeyelashes]

I am 45 and have suffered with anxiety and depression all of my life.
Due to my over thinking nature and overwhelming fear of side effects, although offered many, many times I have never taken antidepressants, I have just limped on through my life (with sporadic episodes of not very helpful counselling and CBT) during ups and downs with my mental health.
I feel my life has been completely controlled by my mental health and that I’ve probably ‘cut off my nose to spite my face’ when it has come to my refusal of medication.
However, since hitting my 40’s and in particular the last year (not sure if it’s a perimenopause thing or not?) my anxiety/depression and over thinking has sky rocketed out of control.
I am waiting to start CBT again at the end of the month but am seriously considering taking antidepressants although obviously I don’t want to but after all of these years, I know it’s not going to go away on it’s own, maybe I just have a chemical imbalance in my brain which needs readjusting?!
Anyhow, sorry for rambling. The question is, can these meds help and have they helped you get you life back on track??

It does sound like perhaps you could give yourself a year or a certain time frame to try them, as you have spent so long wondering. I do admit the reason I’m not trying another kind is fear- side effects and also of wasting more time. But if you say to yourself you’ll give it a go, and this time next year be off them if they don’t work? I’ve only been on antidepressants since January so it somehow seems easier to take the plunge off them again as I remember ‘myself’ before. Must be extremely hard coming off them after a decade or so.

My teen Dd took them for a year. She probably could have come off them earlier but I was scared. She had been suicidal. I was terrified to open her bedroom door in the morning Incase she had killed herself during the night. Anti depressants allowed her to be herself again. They took the edge off the acute feelings she had. They saved my DD's life.

No but they make you not mind so much. Bit like morphine, they don't actually stop the pain they just make you not care about it.

In all seriousness though they have been a lifesaver for me. Literally.

Try them. And give them a proper chance. If the first doesn't work, try others; they are all so different. I went through 6 before I decided that SSRIs weren't for me. Too many side effects and didn't really help. I badgered my GP into letting me try a different class of antidepressant and found that I tolerated tricyclics much better. Amitriptyline being my drug of choice. She still isn't entirely happy about it and I'm still very depressed, I actually think that's why she isn't happy; they are far more dangerous in overdose than the useless Sertraline she was trying to push on me but they halved my anxiety in a fortnight so I'm putting up a fight for them. I actually have good days now where I don't want to die.

I haven't cried down the phone to my therapist from the carpark roof for 3 weeks. I thought he was going to wet himself with glee when I told him I liked my new job.

You don't have to stay on them. Most can be weaned off in just a few weeks if you decide to stop taking them, they're not for life. You might even end up on the same one as I've found it amazing for overthinking things. I'm a really worst case scenario person.

CBT might help, I think it depends on the therapist. Some are useless and some are awesome. Mine has referred me up to someone more experienced as he is still training and not got much experience and suicidal CSA survivors are so far out of his depth I don't think he can even see the bottom but he's still keeping in contact during the wait for another therapist and is really trying to prop me up as best he can.

You only need to find one good therapist and one effective drug to make all the difference. Unfortunately they haven't done much for my tendency to ramble so thank you and goodnight!

For me, life's too short to go on feeling shite when I don't have to. Will I really look back at my life regretting taking meds for a medical condition/illness, or will I regret not doing something about it when I could have done?

Sertraline and Fluoxetine are absolutely brilliant. I am a changed person when I take either of them. I am calm, feel genuinely happy most of the time and really enjoy living. Without them I am a miserable mess.

Take the drugs woman!

Also, it doesn't matter one bit of I am on them until I die. Just means a much better quality of life.

There are minimal side effects- for me, slightly dry eyes and the occasional night sweats. Also, be prepared to feel worse for around 2 weeks before things gradually improve. Push through this and you'll be glad you did!

didyouseetheflaresinthesky - I too am not on an SSRI, but a tricyclic similar to yours.It just seemed to suit me better and it has the added bonus of being helpful with pain, and I need that.

OP - I hope you are hanging on in there and find that right treatment for you - there are lots of options.

sharp I keep telling myself to take them for say, 6 months and if they don’t work for me then it’s not forever.
calidream glad they worked for your dd, I do believe they are a genuine life line for a lot of people.
did If I do go on them then it is a particular tricyclic that I want to try as I also have IBS and have read these are helpful for this, I know GP’s aren’t so keen so will probably have a battle on my hands. I have had lots of counselling and several goes at CBT but haven’t yet found ‘the one’, most are lovely but have little experience, I have suffered from anxiety for most of my life and at 45, I feel I need a wise old owl to help me unravel my knotted up brain! Stay well and I hope you too find the ‘the one’!!
peachypips This is currently my train of thought. Have I wasted so many years living half a life when it could have been so much richer? Of course, you are right, I should just take the plunge!
mishappening Thanks, I’m going to discuss it all with my GP.
Thanks all, poor mental health is a horrible thing to carry with you day in, day out and year in, year out. So many of us look fine from the outside but resemble Munch’s The Scream on the inside, it’s the reason that mental health is so poorly understood by so many (can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told to ‘pull myself together’!!) Wishing you all good mental health, stay well

You too lovey. You are right, it sucks. Don't give up on them too quickly if you feel rotten- it passes.

Be aware too that tricyclics have the potential to cause more side effects than SSRIs.

Friend of mine ‘overthinks’ has taken ADs for years tried various types, then found he had undiagnosed ADD...hence the overthinking...couldn’t switch his mind off. Is much improved on Strattera. Just in case it’s relevant...

Thanks peachy I’ll bear that in mind and discuss it with my GP.
bionic never thought of that, thanks I’ll take I look.

Going on them for life may be problematic and worth considering. They alter the chemicals in your brain and your brain adjusts to normalise this change and then to get the same effect you require more until you're on the max dose and your brain adjusts to that. My Nan has taken antidepressants for years and now periodically suffers through ECT treatment.

There haven't been studies investigating if the brain can ever normalise after taking psychiatric medication. We don't know if the increase in the number of serotonin receptors ever decreases or whether someone who has taken antidepressants will always have a greater number of these receptors.

Worked wonders for me. Possibly had side effects of being sleepy in the very beginning, but absolutely no other side effects. Was on a 20mg dose of Lexapro (escitalopram). Went from that to 10mg. Weaned off no problem. Didn't feel numb or any of those things.

I was very reluctant to take them at all and struggled for years and years prior to that.

Downside was taking them let me continue on as normal without addressing issues that needed to be addressed and were leading to some of the anxiety and depression anyway.

I suppose you should try them OP if you never have. I wish they worked for me but I hated being in citalopram (various doses) due to horrible side effects. I can understand why Drs are keen on them - in a lot of cases it's a quick and relatively cheap solution. I found that citalopram made me numb and zombie like. Yes it got rid of the horrible panic attacks I was having but it made me feel nothing at all. The root cause of my poor mental health was PTSD and in my experience antidepressants don't do much for that. I struggle at times but don't want to go back on the tablets.

All the PPs have good points and I certainly found that different ADs had different effects on me.

I tried Sertraline a few years ago and it didn't do much at all for my anxiety - perhaps it took the edge off a bit, but nothing significant.

I had a bit of a crisis late last year and am now on 10 mg of Escitalopram, which has worked wonders. I just feel calmer overall and don't experience the horrible panicky feelings - plus I sleep better.
Unlike a PP, I haven't felt numb, I can still have a good cry but I'm less uptight and don't obsess about things anymore

I'm also mid-40s and avoided medication for years so like you, I wonder what life would've been like if I hadn't. Perhaps you could ask your GP if you could give some a try for a few months and see what happens. I think you'll know pretty quickly if a particular type does anything for you. Good luck.

Antidepressants saved my marriage, my career, and possibly my life. I wish I had taken them sooner. Xx

Thanks all, I’ve got an appointment with gp and will ask about trying a low dose to start with.