Those of you who suffer from depression, please could I have some advice?

[electra]

I haven't been around here for a while but I wanted to get some advice as MN is very good for this kind of thing.

I've just been diagnosed with severe depression. I have been depressed before but never this badly and the doctor thinks I urgently require SSRIs. I'm a little worried I will need them for a very long time, the side effects etc. My dad has been on ADs since he was 19 and I don't want to sign myself up to a life time of them but at the same time I'm not really even able to look after my children right now.

Any input gratefully received...

Sorry for being thick but what are SSRI's?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Still none the wiser but there are foods you can eat which give you the serotonin you need. I am completely lacking in it too. Bananas are good.

ADs can be a big help and if you need to take them for a while it is better than struggling on.

oh electra so sad for you.

really not in a position to advice as I have struggled to get my own depression under control for 3 years now but hoping someone will be along soon with advice xx

SSRIs are Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - a type of anti-depressant.

I took one, sertraline, for just over two years (March 05 to April 07) and the minor side effects I had at the beginning were being sick, but when I started taking them just before going to bed, this stopped.

I was in a very bad way before I started taking them - they gave me the space to be able to work things out for myself. Although I wouldn't call myself "cured" now, I am so much better than I was.

I did not have any problems with coming off them and don't think I was addicted in any way.

Take them. The side effects for most people are completely bearable (dry mouth etc) compared to being depressed.

Some people have to take medication for life - diabetics for example. Occasionally people with mental illness do too. It's no big deal, honestly. I have been on Sertraline since Dec 2005. I tried to come off them about 6 months ago but wasnt ready. However, it is quite normal to need to take them for about 2 years before your body has naturally taken over from the SSRI's.

Seems like my 2 years was about the right length of time for me to be taking them then.

Hi Electra

I know how hard it is. I have been off and on for years. I am not sure but I think you have a dc with sn? I do too and that can play a huge part in making you depressed I think. I have been on this particular lot for nearly 2 years and have no desire to stop. I know that I would rather take one tablet than have that feeling of thinking I am dying before bedtime (severe panic attacks when falling asleep).
I have to say the gym has helped me loads. It does clear my head and release endorphins which do make me feel much better inside. HTH

Guys I feel like I will die everytime I try to go to sleep do you think this is just baby blues as I just had a new baby 20days ago and already have an 18month or am I depressed????

haneen ~ how exactly do you feel? With me my chest is so tight and it is so so scary. Could be a lack of sleep? Did tou have pnd after your first child?

Hi electra, I have taken Prozac (fluoxetine) and Citalopram before for depression - I also have OCD so for that too. I found they really helped. I have been off since the start of the year because I want to try to get through a pregnancy without ADs, but I wouldn't hesitate to take them again if I need to. You won't necessarily need to take them for a long time but I think the usual minimum length of time is 6 months. It's well worth it, I think.
x

Hi Electra

I have taken Fluoxetine (didn't agree with me, no libido, headaches although the moods calmed) and am on Citalopram ATM which I find really useful.

My depression is hormonal and linked to my cycle although I also suffer with anxiety too.

ADs are fantastic if used correctly IMO.

Hi electra, i've been taking these for 2 months now and starting to feel 'normal' again.
Its not a miracle cure, but lifts the fog iykwim and helps that way.
I've been put on a higher dose now (not the highest (yet))! and its definetly doing me the world of good.
Only side effects were tierdness when I was getting used to them, but this seems to have sorted itself out. HTH!

I couldn't have got through my PND (not too severe thankfully) without medication. They helped me cope, put things in perspective and made me more rational. I took them for about a year and completely recovered.

Good luck with your recovery - depression is very treatable.

Have just started taking rhodiola root extract which you can get from holland and barret and have found them to be fantastic after two months of broken sleep and general gloominess. I feel like a new woman. They have been around since ancient times and have no interactions so I was happy to give them a go. They are very subtle in their affects so you don't feel wierd like you may do with prescribed medicine, worth a go me thinks.

electra, you MUST give yourself a break here. I have recently started on citalopram, an SSRI. NAB3 - prozac is prob the most well known. I am on it for severe anxiety and depression. I was going under i really was, now i am coping. I'm not better, but im getting to a stage where i am back in control. My advice, based on my experience is take them. They work. Then, push your doctor until he gets you signed up for some counselling, im still waiting for mine although i have had an initial assesment. It is important, i think that you dont just rely on the pills, otherwise when you stop taking them, the problems will still be there. But then if it is PND, maybe once your hormones have sorted themselves out you can get back to normal. A friend of mine did exactly that, took prozac for 3 months, been absolutely fine since, had to do this following the birth of both of her children.

I am sorry to hear about your dad, you dont say, ive only read the op, what for. It is possible of course that his ADs have in the past been poorly managed too, resulting in an addiction, but i dont know the situation. Just to say that SSRIs are not addictive, not physically so, of course there are some people who will rely on them, i think if you tried to take mine away youd need a very big stick just now, but i dont intend to be taking them long term, i am hoping i will know when i no longer need them.

I am sorry that things are shit for you just now. You deserve to feel better and your children deserve for you to feel better too. Take the pills, make sure your doctor sets up some help and monitors you. My doctor has been brilliant, she is a mum too and i feel she really understands, im lucky about that i guess.

jpd gave some helpful advice re homeopathic remedies, i think these are fab for general gloominess, even pmt symptoms but for depression people will often need a little more. I just wanted to say this though, you do have to be very very careful mixing homeopathic remedies with prescribed medication as their could be unwanted interactions. St Johns Wort for instance should not be taken with SSRIs (it says so on the data sheet that came with my tablets ).

I have taken bachs rescue remedy in the past when i was feeling anxious, i think it helped, placebo affect? maybe, who cares, it worked it would be of no use to me now though.

I have to say, dont feel weird at all on citalopram. I was warned i would have side effects in the first two weeks and lucky for me, i had very few, a bit nauseous but went after two days. I did have the worst panic attack of my life after a few days of taking but because i was warned this might happened i just sat there iwth my head in my hands telling myself out loud, breathe, breathe breathe, its the pills breathe, my dp was a little bemused to say the least . Apparently most of the side effects go after the initial two weeks. I feel human again.

hi.

i have been on prozac in the past,which helped alot at the time(i was suffering from ante-natal depression).i have recently started taking effexor,an SNRI,for PND and sofar so good.all i am hoping for is enough of a mood lift to get me to a place where i can deal with all the thoughts etc that make my depression worse,and stop me enjoying life.i look at ad's as something to get you out of a hole so you can start going in the right direction towards getting well,rather than a miricle cure.

anyway,i recently found this forum,which is huge but has loads of info and real life experiences.

Haneen, i dont know if you are depressed or not, how do you feel during the day? BUT i think you need to talk to your doctor. It is most likely hormonal, lack of sleep, overwhelming needs of the little ones etc etc. But you dont need to feel like that, i doubt your doc would stick you straight onto meds unless if was deemed neccesary. I have only just got help for myself, i look back now and know i had PND, i didnt think i did, after all i ADORED my baby, she made me ecstatically happy, still does. I didnt think people with PND did that, but now i look back and i realise i suffered for two years for nothing. Im not for one minute suggesting you have PND or are even likely to get it, but my doctor said to me that had i got this sorted when it manifested itself i would have had a much easier time sorting it out. I think talk to a sympathetic doctor, even your HV, although i dont have much faith there, mine was very nice, but very innefective, hence two years down the line, still wallowing in depression. But what you are describing sounds to me like a panic attack, i bet its hormonal, get it sorted quickly and it will be gone

Hi, sorry new to all this and can't seem to find the original thread, just the responses! Just a note to Lucy sometimes I just think that we all of us struggle from time to time (trust me, I could write a book) if I went to my doctor at various points in my life I would have been prescribed something. (I've managed a nervous breakdown and came out the other side). I worry that we turn to medication too quickly. P.s. pls don't think I'm doing anybody down here just opening for some discussion. I've often felt I'm 'loosing it' only to find after taking care of myself for a while things fall back into perspective.

Hi, thanks for all your kind words - I appreciate it, I really do. Blossomhill, yes I do have a dc with SN but I wouldn't say that it is the cause in itself although we had to go to tribunal this year which was v stressful. I am having marital problems. Right now I feel numb - I don't know how I feel about my dh. I can identify with that Sylvia Plath book "The Bell Jar". Anyway, it sounds as if I should try the medication.

lucyellensmum - my dad's situation is a bit complicated because in the 60s he was "treated" for his depression and mental breakdown with high doses of LSD. The side effects of that have been pretty bad for him.

jpd i agree with you regarding taken the meds too freely. Which is why i battled with my depression for two years, and anxiety for much longer. It got to the point for me where i was losing it, big time. My doctor was very frank and said that yes, Ads are over prescribed, not because the doctors are being irresponsible but there simply are not the resources in the NHS to get people the cognitive help they need etc. For instance she says im a prime candidate for CBT but it just isnt available on the NHS in my area and i can't afford it, im too "ill" to work so we are struggling financially, vicious circle

I would like to recommend this website to you guys, my doctor recommended it to me, apparently if you can get over the slightly patronising slant of it (you'll see what i mean) some people have found this extremely usefull. (i do wonder if my doc is speaking from experience, she seems to totally understand and empathise with me - shes great) : I cant find a link, so just google, MOODgym and give it a go. I think jpd you would be impressed as it is very self help orientated

electra for your dad and your family that you had to go through this

Thanks lucyellensmum.

I have had CBT for an anxiety disorder I had - it worked for that but I'm not sure if it would help my depression, perhaps it would?