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Original poster

Suggestions for which anti d might work...

26 replies

Grenola · 09/02/2021 17:58

I know everyone has differing experiences.
I'm not getting on with sertraline, tried it for a year now and have slowly been reducing the amount. I get far too many headaches on them and I already suffer with migraines which have been terrible the last 6 months. I've just come out of a 15 day migraine. It's been just awful.
I have a review with my gp in the morning and I want to request an new anti d that will also help with my migraines?
My mood is OK and managed well in that I don't have any major lows anymore. But the sertraline makes me fee numb and horrible.

Can anyone suggest anything Ian ask for? I find it so much better to make requests than wait for suggestions from them.

Thanks

OP posts:
wifterwafter · 09/02/2021 17:59

Citalopram has changed my life for the better. There are so many out there though it will depend on your GP I would imagine.

User2847473 · 09/02/2021 20:00

A side effect of Citalopram, for me, is migraines. If you suffer or are probe to migraines it might be unavoidable with ADs. The other popular choice is Mirtazapine which is amazing for sleep but increased appetite is common.

I found the lowest possible dose to have a positive effect without too frequent side effects to be my sweet spot, for me its 10mg of Citalopram. Also keeping blood sugar steady and trying not to get too stressed (hard with Covid!)

Original poster
Grenola · 09/02/2021 20:37

Thanks x

OP posts:
PubsClosed · 09/02/2021 20:40

Fluoxetine (Prozac)? It’s the only anti depressant I’ve taken that worked for me and didn’t have any side effects.

Everyone is different, though, but worth a try.

WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 09/02/2021 20:40

I take propranolol for anxiety and migraines. And mirtazapine for depression/sleep.

I'm not sure if the propranolol also has an effect on my depression, but it could be worth asking about for the migraines.

WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 09/02/2021 20:43

Should add that in that past I've tried fĺuoxetine which made me suicidal. Amitriptyline which made me feel like I was on drugs, citalopram which worked wonders and sertraline which worked for a few months and then did nothing.

StiltonVanDeKamp · 09/02/2021 20:44

Fluoxetine is the only one that has worked for me. Not sure if it will do anything for migraines though.

Original poster
Grenola · 09/02/2021 21:21

I was on fluoxetine for 4 years. Stopped a year ago to try sert as it had stopped working and was just flat all the time.

OP posts:
Original poster
Grenola · 09/02/2021 21:23

@WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo
Someone suggested amytriplaline as it is prescribed to prevent migraines and also treats depression.
How did it make u feel?

OP posts:
WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 09/02/2021 21:27

I had amitripyline as a sleeping tablet years ago. I feel ill all the time. It made me sleep, but nothing would wake me (which as a single parent of small children was frankly dangerous). When I did wake up the next day I felt foggy and hungover all the time. It was awful.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 09/02/2021 21:33

Duloxetine and Amitryptiline are the ones for pain.

nearlynermal · 09/02/2021 21:35

I'm on citalopram. Many years ago I had a course of fluoxetine but my v good GP says this is a 'cleaner' drug. I'm feeling massively better. Brain working getter, sense of doom and dread gone. Some funky side effects like very vivid dreams, but I wish I'd gone in them three years ago.

BrimFullOfAsher · 09/02/2021 21:38

Can I ask, if you are OK mood wise - why do you need another anti d?

Could you see how you manage without?

Ieatmarmite · 09/02/2021 21:48

Venlafaxine has worked better for me than Citalopram. I haven't had any side effects and my mood is definitely more up beat than it has been for a long time.

Original poster
Grenola · 09/02/2021 22:01

@BrimFullOfAsher
I am temped to see how I go without. I just think I need something to keep me afloat. My depression is reoccurring so if I can find the right one I would. Prob be best on a low dose one long term.

OP posts:
Branleuse · 09/02/2021 22:24

Prozac/fluoxetine has been best one for me. No real bad side effects, and im usually quite sensitive to them.

Sometimes it can just be trial and error

Original poster
Grenola · 10/02/2021 20:56

Had my appointment with my gp this morning.
He has prescribed amytriplaline 10mg at night to prevent migraines. It's got so bad lately with them.
I'm staying on sertraline to manage my depressive episodes, but in a lower dose. I won't be redusing it for another month though as to not trigger headaches again.
Also got some migraine tablets to take as and when they come.

Fingers crossed this combo will. Work.
I did ask about a combo med for both and he said he wouldn't prescribe amitriptyline for depression anymore. Just at a dose for migraine prevention and pain.

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2021 20:58

Amitryptiline is the gold standard for anti depressants. The one to which are others are compared.

I’ve been in about 15 different ones. Amitryptiline was streets ahead of the rest for mood. Not so good for anxiety.

BrimFullOfAsher · 10/02/2021 22:10

I'm not sure that's true @ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Amitryptaline is a completely different type of drug to the others mentioned and is extremely rarely a first line drug due to side effects and toxicity risks associated with tricyclics

You cannot compare SSRIs and SNRIs to a tricyclic anti depressant

WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 10/02/2021 22:13

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow it may have been the gold standard for you. It didn't work for me. That's why there are so many different ones. Because everyone has a different experience.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/02/2021 22:28

Brimfullofasher.

I know it’s different. It’s a TCA. Like Chlomipramine and Imipramine. Not everyone can tolerate SSRI’s or SNRI’s like Fluxoetine etc in the start up phase.

I have had significant less side effects on TCA’s than on SSRI’s.

3 psychiatrists have told me about the gold standard.

Information on its effectiveness and gold standard here

www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/amitriptyline-v-the-rest-still-the-leading-antidepressant-after-40-years-of-randomised-controlled-trials/149B8AB17D99C548445A9E40986FADF3

It may not work for everyone, but it is still the gold standard.

BrimFullOfAsher · 11/02/2021 07:43

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

That study shows Amitryptaline is less well tolerated than tricyclics/heterocyclics and SSRIs, but slightly more patients treated on it recover than on alternative antidepressants

That certainly doesn't make it the gold standard against which all others are compared

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 11/02/2021 11:38

It's been gold standard for me, for sure. I tried everything and anything until they gave it as a last resort before trying ECT. They helped a lot with hardly any side effects but apparently are considered the sledgehammer approach as they are higher risk. They won't prescribe them easily but my psychiatrist told me that on the rare occasion they are prescribed they almost always work.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 11/02/2021 12:01

Ok Brimful, I’ll listen to you instead of the 3 physiatrists I’ve seen.

PubsClosed · 11/02/2021 12:20

I don’t really believe in this notion of ‘gold standard’.

Having tried a raft of antidepressants over the years, I think it’s much more about finding the right one for you.