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Mental health

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Original poster

Doc has suggested ADs, I dont think im brave enough. Any experiences? SSRIs

26 replies

lucyellensmum · 01/08/2007 14:53

I am not going to go into everything here as i have a whole whinging and whining thread going just now.

IT is simply that my doctor has suggested i am suffering from depression and anxiety and suggested citilopram (is that right?) I am worried that they may make me feel worse or even suicidal. I desperately wanted to snap her hand off and say thankyou very much but i want to do some research first and also see what you guys have to say about them.

OP posts:

doggiesayswoof · 01/08/2007 14:58

dh is on citalopram - started on 10mg dose and went up to 20mg after a couple of months. He did feel a bit strange at first (sort of light headed and 'rushy') but has had no serious side effects and they have worked well for him.

He does not drink at all at the moment - he had a few drinks one night not long after starting on them and felt really weird.

I think the 'feeling suicidal' is a pretty rare side effect tbh.

Good luck with it.

Original poster

lucyellensmum · 01/08/2007 16:05

anyone else?

OP posts:

Dior · 01/08/2007 16:08

Message withdrawn

EscapeFrom · 01/08/2007 16:11

When I had SSRI anti depressents, I found myself weak, tired, rushy, cold and THIRSTY.

Then after a month, all the side effects had gone, the anxiety was starting to subside (my own anxiety, not a side effect) and I started getting my life back. Try them. You won't become addicted, I promise.

KezzaG · 01/08/2007 16:14

I have been on 20mg Citilopram before and they worked really well for me. When you read the warnings you could send yourself mad worrying about all the possible side effects, and they certainly worried me, but I honestly felt so much better on them with no effects at all. I know it is different for everyone but their benefit will outweigh any minor side effecs.

Good luck with them, I hope they help.

Dior · 01/08/2007 16:14

Message withdrawn

clumsymum · 01/08/2007 16:18

Goodness, I think you must be very brave, if you are considering struggling on without medication, rather than trying the help you have been offered.

Original poster

lucyellensmum · 01/08/2007 16:35

clumsymum, brave or foolhardy? just been on phone to doc, to make sure i am going to get counselling but said i still hadn't made my mind up regarding the drugs. I have a friend who has taken SSRIs for severe crippling PND and she reports that they were great for her. When i told DP about her he was gobsmacked that she had even an iota of depression as she is one of the most positive people (she is truly lovely) we know. So i am not being bloodyminded really, well maybe a little (i know very little about prozac but had to do an essay in my first year of uni which basically listed its bad points and i remember thinking, i'll not be touching that with a bargepole ever then), i just want to be sure im not going to cause myself more problems. I hopefully have improved my research skills since then as i probably just googled a couple of negative articles and minced my essay up with a waffle of personal opinion and not much fact. I just need to be sure they will work for me, my doctor totally understood that and said i can go and ask for them at any time.

So, not brave, more quite scared actually

OP posts:

EscapeFrom · 01/08/2007 16:37

LEM

I had Prozac, and it did me a lot of good.

Original poster

lucyellensmum · 01/08/2007 16:40

yes, i do realise it can be good for a lot of people, maybe i need some prozac to make me feel less anxious about taking prozac

OP posts:

Elk · 01/08/2007 17:11

Hi,
I have been on citalopram for a year now, after the birth of my second child. For me the difference is that now I can get on and enjoy my life and do things. I am enjoying my children, starting new hobbies and living instead of merely existing.

I started to feel very strange about 3 hours after I took the first one. I was a bit dizzy and spaced out for about 2 weeks and then I was fine. They actually seemed to switch off the negative thoughts fairly quickly.

purplepoppet · 01/08/2007 19:10

I am on 40mg citalopram at the moment (doctor upped the dose a couple of weeks ago). When I first started on 20mg the first couple of weeks I felt very tired and general awful..HOWEVER, I stuck with it and after about 2 weeks and upping the dose I now feel fantastic. Haven't felt like this in years and it's like I completely lost sight and couldn't remember how I used to feel.

They are fantastic...please go ahead and take them and stick with them...after a couple of weeks you should feel great!

ellasmum1 · 01/08/2007 23:48

I have been taking citalopram 20 mg for 6 days now and am having some minor side effects(thirsty, bit headachy, tired etc) but the negative and angry thoughts I was putting up with every day have already disappeared. I was terrified to start with when I read the list of side effects.
I feel bloody brilliant compared to how I was. If you need them I promise you will be amazed at how much better you feel. My sister had them for depression/anxiety and she found them wonderful too, and only on 10mg per day.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 01/08/2007 23:52

I take Sertraline. Started on 50mcg which helped, but was upped to 100mcg because I was still struggling with sleep, and the odd dip.

Since then, been absolutely brillaint. Has changed my life around.

orangehead · 01/08/2007 23:54

I have been on ad b4 found they really helped and had no sideeffects. I think sometimes we need just abit of extra help 2 get through things. If you do decide to go on them perhaps ask someone you rely on 2 keep an eye on your behaviour and mood and to tell you incase you get worse, but this is a very rare side effect

mamama · 01/08/2007 23:56

Initial side effects of most ADs are just feeling a bit grotty (hungover) for a couple of weeks but everyone reacts differently to them.

I had a terrible experience with Zoloft but did better with Effexor & Remeron. SOmetimes you have to try a couple of different ADs before you find one that suits you.

Becoming suicidal is rare in adults, but not unheard of. Just make sure that you (and someone close to you) are aware of the signs. Most people use ADs with no problem though.

Best of luck.

ProjectSeverus · 01/08/2007 23:58

Setraline here. Feel like a different person. 50mg here 4 days in and I felt better, Two weeks in and apart from a bit of tooth grindyness no other side effects.

Original poster

lucyellensmum · 03/08/2007 19:47

ive got the prescription but im too scared to do anything with it, Doc says once i start, cant stop straight away and im terrified that it might make me do weird stuff, hurting DD included. I dont know why i have this fear, i guess it is worse case scenario flapping around in my head as usual.

OP posts:

Dior · 03/08/2007 19:50

Message withdrawn

ellasmum1 · 03/08/2007 21:06

You have that fear as part of the anxiety and depression I would imagine!
My dd had started asking me to get her mummy because I had changed so much(miserable angry mum)I don't think she believed I could be the same person. She now has her patient and loving, happy mummy back.
You will probably initially feel more anxious, but the miserable thoughts and depression lift quickly.

hotchocscot · 03/08/2007 21:51

citalopram has worked really well for my PND. Been on it for about 7 months. Didn't feel any difference for a week, then felt like crap for 2 weeks, then things just got better and better. I'm calmer, more rational, much less anxious about trivial stuff, a lot less weepy, and am enjoying being a mummy so much more. Mild side effect includes increase in appetite (tho i was hardly eating when at my worst anyway) and occasional headaches but NO freakouts/suicidal thoughts/etc. I would say, go get them, give them a shot for a month then go back to your doctor and let her know how you are doing. Any doc worth their salt should want to see you in the first 6 weeks anyway to check you're ok.

Original poster

lucyellensmum · 04/08/2007 10:15

thanks, the doctor wants to see me in two weeks when she comes back on holiday. I explained to her that i am worried about side effects and she said for DP to keep a close eye on me over the next few weeks to make sure i havent got worse. How can he do that, he has to work

Feeling really low today, DP gone off out, i thought i was supposed to be going with him but he said he didnt have time to wait for me. He has gone off to do a computerised exam thing for a cert he needs for work. He was going to be 1 hour and while he did that i was going to take DD to the park. Now im stuck at home trying to keep myself busy, worrying about everything (now have a lovely genuine health concern that im trying to keep at the back of my head so wont discuss it here) and keeping a hot and bored DD happy. I had promised a trip to the park, but i dont drive. Sorry, a bit self pitying but it helps to write it down. Just goes to show how trivial things are really getting to me. Quite angry with DP as he said he would support me and was at the doctors yesterday when she told him that i really cant help the way i am as i am not well and can't just snap out of it, as he keeps saying. #I know it must be hard for him, the person he loved just isnt here at the moment, instead he has a clingy, moody, weepy, borderline psychotic (his words) to deal with. And, i dont even want to have sex, actually that was when i knew somethign was wrong that i couldnt control anymore, because it never mattered how shit things were i always wanted sex, i used to pester DP for it even. Now he is lucky if i lie there and think of england.

Sorry, long rant.

It was funny last night, i went for a walk and saw lots of families on the beach and just get so overwhelmed with the unfairness of it, it is like they belong to a happy world that i am not allowed to enter. So now i have these tablets tempting me, with the promise of letting me into that world, but at what price?

OP posts:

CharleeWeasley · 04/08/2007 10:36

I have just started Citalopram after a long long battle to except the fact that i suffer from depression.

There have been side effects, i am tired and have had some slight feeling of nausea although never actually been sick, but they have also made me feel alot better, i was on Fluroxotine which didn't so anything for me so it is a relief that these are working for me.

I hope you find something to help you, but i owuls say not to be afraid of taking anti d's depression is an illness like anyuother and needs to be treated.

frazz · 04/08/2007 23:15

Do take the stuff. You might feel a bit nauseous or light headed for a bit, but it will wear off. It does take a couple of weeks to work, but it can then give you the crutch to pull yourself up and work out what you need to change in your life or attitudes to yourself or others etc that will enable you to manage without it.
I took it for a bit and my 3rd child (now 4 months old) was conceived while on it. I wouldn't read the leaflet as I don't think anyone would take anything if they pay too much attention to those wretched things. If you have problems, your GP will be able to help.
Good luck

Original poster

lucyellensmum · 07/08/2007 11:22

Well i took my first dose this morning, about 8.30. I do feel very hyped up just now but i think that is because i am on here typing about it. I felt like this yesterday too, before taking them. I decided really on saturday to take them when i could see that DP can't take anymore of my shit. I am focusing on the fact that i am doing this for my family and praying that it works. Having this forum to share my experiences is a god send.

OP posts:

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