What do antidepressants actually do for *you*?

[PeninsulaPanic]

Sorry if this seems like a silly question, but I've been on Sertraline (50mg>75mg) for 10 weeks now and I'm really struggling to feel a difference. There have been occasional days where I've felt a bit more relaxed, even a little more self-confident, but overall I'd say the effects are weak or even non-existent most days. And that's making me ask myself, "What am I actually expecting from them?" They seem to make me sleep more than usual, but not at regular times. I've also developed piles My appetite has changed somewhat and I'm eating more carbs, so my face looks a bit pasty and puffy (which depresses me)! For a week or two I got quite giddy, laughing more, but that has worn off considerably. I've started noticing feeling quite pissed off, if anything, in the last couple of weeks. I haven't missed any doses, been on this higher (75mg) dose for a couple of weeks and I guess I have to push on to at least 100mg around about now, but I'm dreading feeling more tired and unmotivated at a higher dose. My anxiety levels haven't changed considerably either - still getting intrusive thoughts and the physical discomfort that goes with them, as well as feeling saddened by some of the places they take me in my head. Then today, in a pain management assessment, I realised I was talking about stuff that would normally make me tearful and instead of feeling comfortable with not getting upset, I felt a bit of a fraud and had this weird unsettling feeling of not being the 'real' me

So would anyone be able to post about what ADs do for them, how they make you feel when they're working effectively?

Sertraline made me feel awful. I lasted 4 weeks before trying Fluxoetine. (Not sure of spelling, sorry)

On that I feel like I wake up in the morning and want to get out of bed, no longer weepy, no racing heartbeat, no nausea, no muscle pain in face/neck/back, no 'ready to explode' feeling and a feeling of coping.

Thanks @stargirl1701

Some of the benefits you're feeling from fluoxetine really interest me, particularly the lack of muscle pain, the motivation to get up, the higher tolerance feeling, and the sense of coping better. I did try it years ago and remember feeling rough and stopping quickly, but perhaps I ought to consider trying again. I'm going to have to stick with Sertraline for a few more weeks I guess, but if it really doesn't help me improve from where I am now, fluoxetine is a definite option.

I have been given quite a few different types and dosages of anti depressants and quite honestly it is a tough ride to find the correct medication and dosage.

I would go back to the GP and tell them you don't feel they are working and would like to try a different dosage or different medication.

I have been on citalopram for just under a year now and so far this has been the one which has worked best for me. I feel a lot more stable and able to cope with everyday tasks. I do still have days that I find hard and situations where I panic but is no where near as intense or difficult to deal with. I'm not as frustrated or snappy. I don't stress about small things. I don't have daily panic attacks. I find it much easier to get out of the house. I find it easier to regularly clean the house and keep up with personal hygiene. I actually want to go out more often and make plans. I find it easier to cope and control my anxiety when I'm in crowded places or stressful situations. I can make phone calls and fill in paperwork without stressing too much. I feel better speaking to strangers and being social with servers/cashiers/drivers/delivery people etc. I'm more patient with my son, and DH.

It has made a world of difference to my life. I'm a better mum, wife and person.

Antidepressants kept me alive. If it wasn't for those and my antipsychotic meds I'd have killed myself a long time ago.
I've tried lots of different combinations but I've found venlafaxine to be the best. The only problem with that is the withdrawals when you stop taking it is pure hell.

I've been on increasing doses of sertraline for the past year.

50mg - bit of a lift, able to get off the couch and do some household chores
100mg - massive lift. Able to do more around the house, more positive interactions with the kids. Feeling a lot more "get up and go." But ended up having a relapse during a hard period so
150mg - similiar to starting the 50mg
200mg - similiar to starting the 100mg. I am currently doing pretty well, and was reading about coming off it. I don't think I'm ready, but I do get brain shocks at this dosage which isn't nice so I wonder if I can go back to 150.

Sorry to derail slightly. @Pixiedust74 I'm on venlafaxine (been on it before for years, this time at least a year)and I take mine at night, with mood stabiliser. If I forget, by the morning I feel horrific. It's a horrible one to skip a dose on. When I was first on it, was on 225mg & decided to stop, cold turkey. Horrific, but I had decided I couldn't put it in my body.

Citalopram 20mg, upped from 10mg a couple of years ago. I don't have intrusive thoughts now or cry constantly and I'm not suicidal

@QueenOfOversharing
I remember not getting my prescription and was off them for 5 days. Never been so ill in all my life.
On the plus they did help with my bipolar but I'm on the maximum dose now 375mg a day and it's no longer working. They want to taper me off it and put me on something else. Bloody dreading it.

Mirtazapine have been a game changer for me, I've been on it for 18 months now, started on 15mg & am now on 30mg.

I'm on streamline 50mg as my son started to refuse school. Overall I feel no different really and I can stop and start with zero side effects. But I was not depressed. I was in flight or fight from stress. It definitely reset that ( or was it a placebo effect who knows) if I stop taking it I can go back to fight or flight mode. Everything feels too much. So for me it does really little but rather than think "I'm going to prison if ds doesn't go into school" i feel "meh his life" which quite frankly gives me more headspace to get in through the door.

@Pixiedust74 my GP keeps saying max is 225, but I've read BNF online! Lol. 5 days without that dose must have been horrific! Mine are not doing great for me at the moment, but tbh I've been on every SSRI, 2 SNRIs, 2 antipsychotics, a few mood stabilisers & the GPS seem to have given up. What are they suggesting you try? Sending you hugs & hope things get better

Honestly you need to have some counselling alongside the drugs. If you do a little research you'll see that it's much more effective long term and short term. If sertraline don't suit you then go back to the GP and ask for something else. They don't all work well for everyone

@QueenOfOversharing
They are putting me on lithium with carbmazapine
but haven't decided on what antidepressant to try. If this doesn't work my only alternative is ECT. That will be a last resort for me.
I've been reading about ketamine therapy and that sounds promising but it's only offered to private patients and isn't on the NHS where I am.

@Pixiedust74 good luck with it! I tried lithium, but didn't get on with it. Hope you find a good combo.

@QueenOfOversharing you too

I am on citalopram,but 10 mg didn't have any effect,when I moved onto 20mg I wasn't as tearful,felt more upbeat and overall happier and just more stable. But I have been on 40mg before and that was awful- I felt dead inside- no emotion at all

Sertaline at varying increased dosages had no effect on my anxiety & depression.
Mirtazepine made me feel like a zombie.
Only paroxetine has made me feel "normal". I've never tried citalopram, venlofaxine or fluoxetine. I think I'll be on Paroxetine for life.

i have been on all doses of fluxutine mirtazipine & citralopram and honestly the fluexitine is the one thats done it for me! I originally started on this but dur to other health problems tried the other 2 as alternatives and went back to my GP yesterday to ask to be put back on the fluxetine, the main reason I favour it is I feel like it gives me a clear head i can make decisions and be organised and know what i am doing without feeling so disoriented and down, it is more of an antidepressant but the higher the dose you receive helps with how bad your anxiety is, i would definitely recommend it x

I'm on citalopram and it stops my obsessive thoughts that are at the core of my mental health. They allow me to focus. When I wasn't on them my mind would race with negative thoughts and my mood was erratic.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and experiences. Seems like some of you have had fairly level success with your antidepressants and others, like me, find them patchy or even ineffective and then have to try others. It has really helped me to read about what you've all been through, so I've decided from today to try the 100mg Sertraline dose for a few weeks and see where that takes me.

I've tried a fair few over the years but rarely felt able to stick with them, or that they really helped. Except Sertraline, briefly, a few years ago, which is why I'm trying it again at the moment. If I'm honest, my depression and anxiety is long-standing and deep-seated and I probably need to give these tablets a proper chance. As someone said upthread, it can be a pain having to go backwards and forwards trying different ones to find the 'right' one and I'm hoping to avoid that at this point in time. But we'll see - if it needs to happen, it needs to happen.

Thanks to the poster who recommended therapy. Sadly I've had years of it and can no longer afford to pay for any. I found it mostly very useful, and the effects of some of it have stayed with me. (Think I'd be worse off now without having had it in the past.) But it was never going to 'cure' my depression outright, unfortunately, and so in the last few months I've had to accept that I need chemical help for a while to keep me functioning and coping.

Hi, sorry not got time to RTFT but just wanted to post my experiences. I took 50mg Sertraline and didn't get on with it very well at all, until I started reducing stress, eating well and exercising then I was bouncing along and felt great. You need to work a lot on gut health in recovery from depression, so cutting back on sugar, carbs are fine but go for wholesome ones, and eat a really good amount of greens/veg with every meal e.g. half a plate. If that's hard, start a meal with a plate of salad. Snack on crunchy veg - all good for gut flora. Also take vit d through winter and magnesium (SSRIs leach magnesium from the body). That's just my humble experience anyway. You sounds like you have a sensible approach and I hope you find the right balance

If I were you I would give it until the 12 week mark, then if no change ask to go up to 100mg. I’ve been taking sertraline for just under three months and as much as I don’t feel 100% I’m much better than I was when I started on it back in August. BUT it’s taken a good old amount of time for me to notice that. Didn’t really feel any different at all for the first two months if I’m honest. I also second the comment above about gut health and exercise. I am a different person if I lower my carb and sugar intake. I’ve been conscious to eat a lot of greens too which again I think and know is making a difference. As much as I’m grateful to my GP for helping me, and checking on me every fortnight, I think it’s a bit of a sham how most of them don’t tell you just how important our diets are when it comes to mental health. Seratonin is created in the gut! No where else. Obviously it’s hard when you feel down to eat a boring salad but ultimately you do feel better for it. Also, not sure if you have tried this before but meditating and being in the present is another big game changer if practiced daily. Sorry I sound like a know it all now, just going from my experience! I’ve been listening to guided meditation as soon as I wake up and it really helps me bring myself back to the present moment (am a fellow sufferer of dark intrusive thoughts that have robbed me of a lot of should have been special times) totally rambling now but I hope the medication kicks in soon. X