What antidepressant worked best for you?

[Chedderbites2]

Hi just started taking mitrazapine however im a bit worried about the side effects, namely drowseyness/increased tiredness and weight gain. I have a toddler and have tried another one before (cant remember the name of it) but i just remember feeling tired all the time so had to stop it i found myself day sleeping alot. I want help with depression but i also want to be able to function. Which have you found works well for you and are there any side effects? I understand every person and every experience is different just looking to see if theres common ground anywhere

Hi, I currently take citalopram 10mg for anxiety and depression. Usual dose is 20mg but for me 10mg is enough.
I have tried sertraline before but was literally awake all night with severe heart palpitations. Fluoexetine (prozac) also didn't agree with me. Think it's definitely different ones work for different people. Just don't be scared to ask for alternative if it doesn't suit you. I know I felt quite hopeless when I thought no anti depressants were going to work for me!

Seroxat was a miracle for me when I had severe PND. I tried one before that which didn't work. Whatever you try you usually need to ride out the side effects which can take weeks.

What are your main symptoms? This often helps with drug choice.

I take fluoxetine however initiation always gives me worse anxiety, however I know it works so at as time I'm abit hopeless I'm willing to bear it as I know it works well for me

It's hard to rate them after the fact but I'm currently on citalopram (along with my first ever ADHD meds) and I feel better than ever. I've started taking them in the evening, which seems to work best for me.

I take Citalopram 10mg for anxiety for almost 2 months. Tried Sertraline for a few days but side effects were stronger for me. Citalopram did make me sleepy and spaced out for 2-3 weeks, but it's getting better with time. For some people taking it morning/evening makes a difference. I take in the evening, helps me sleep. I still wake up at night sometimes, but not so often.

Well im tempted to ask for citalopram to try that. Had my first dose of mitrazapine last night and within 20 minutes i felt like i had been run over by a bus or drugged up. I could barely keep my eyes open qnd this didnt feel safe with my 2 year old running about. This morning i near ate myself out of house and home and still feel overally tired so i definitely dont think these will work for me. I cant even ride them out for a few weeks il have no food left and no energy to deal with a toddler

Citalopram was best for me, I had side effects with sertraline. However, I think they all take a couple of weeks to settle down into your system. It also depends on whether you’re sad depressed / anxious depressed etc, as they do all have slightly different properties depending on the cause of your depression. Did your GP talk through why they chose the one they did and how it might help?

Citalopram. It was a tough 3 weeks to get on them but I got there, now no side effects and they are helping a lot.

I tried mitrazapine for a while, but had to stop taking it as it just knocked me out. Felt like I had taken a sleeping pill. I tried it for a while week/months, but it didn’t get better.

I’m currently on escitalopam 10mg. I’m not sure how much it’s helping with my low mood, but it reduces the severity of my hot flushes.

I think the dr told me that escitlopram is just a newer tweaked version of citaloprm.

Fluoxetine

In terms of just generally making me feel better and more functional - for me mirtazapine. Insomnia is a major issue for me, though, and I never ended up hugely sleepy on it.

Having said that, the carb cravings and hunger are very annoying, and I think on the longterm it ended up making my restlessness worse somehow - or at least it's improved significantly as I've reduced the dose. Too bad the sleep's gone downhill, too.

Apart from that, I've only been on SSRIs, and of those fluoxetine initially helped my mood very well. It was stimulating for me, though, so not great for insomnia.

Paroxetine. And it’s made me feel like I’ve been let out of jail after a life sentence. (30 years odd of depression and latterly additional anxiety, constant intrusive thoughts of an unpleasant nature)

Couldn’t tolerate it at first. I zonk to zombie mode just on cold remedies. The anti D practically put me in a coma. Which wasn’t helpful cos nobody wants an English teacher stuck in “snoring and dribbling” mode.

So Fabbo new GP perscribed it in drops form. I started with 1 drop and worked up to 5. Stayed on 5 for a few weeks, then from 6-10 drops slowly over a good few weeks. It allowed me to function as my body got over the sedative effect during early use. Once up to ten drops I quite quickly worked up to 30, then switched to tablets. Now on two 20mg per day (or 40 drops in former form).

I was lucky in that this GP actually listens and was more than happy to find me a way to work through the early side effects so I could get the benefit he was hoping I’d get from them.

Paroxetine was a miracle drug for me and still is. All others I tried gave me bad side effects.

40mg a day of citalopram, along with standard release beta blockers (was having panic attacks too).

20 mg fluoxetine.

Paroxetine.I take 20mg daily at the moment.Nothing else worked for me.I have been on it several times over many years,never had a problem stopping.But I know it can be a problem for some.

Agomelatine—it’s a rarely prescribed AD, but the only one that worked. However, I also have bipolar disorder so that complicates things.

I'm just coming off Mirtazapine because it's not working for me, although I've had lots of sleep which had been a problem.

I'm going back to Sertraline which I was previously on for the best part of a decade. It affects my libido but I know it works for me.

Trazodone 200mg was the only one that did anything for me and I've been on at least a dozen.
The other one that worked well was agomelatine but it's not widely prescribed in the UK and was deemed too expensive to have on NHS.

Fluoxetine, I went from that to mirtazipine but the hunger and rate I gained weight was ridiculous, and I felt doped up and foggy. I had a horrific time coming off mirtazipine I’ll never take them again.
Back on fluoxetine and feeling much better.

None of them worked for me. Unfortunately.

Escitalopram 20mg is my saviour have depression with anxiety -took about 6 weeks to kick in properly & Doc gave me Xanax also for two weeks initially (as far as I recall) have been on it since 2010 & no plans to come off as it keeps my OCD at bay too

@Unforgettablefire did you notice any particular side effects with the fluoxetine? I dont think i can go saying which id like to try but i just know mitrazipine isn't for me

Hi I have just started fluoxetine about 12 days ago as previously was on mirtazapine for anxiety.

Side effects for me include feeling nauseous,lack of appetite,dry mouth ,interrupted sleep and heightened anxiety 😥

But looking at peoples experiences it's bad before it gets good so am hanging in there.

@Chedderbites2 I can’t say I’ve any side effects from fluoxetine only benefits. My mood is a lot lighter if that makes any sense, I bit my nails horribly all my life and that stopped as soon as I started fluoxetine. I don’t feel at all drugged or tired at all just better in myself.
I hated mirtazipine, I thought it was great at first because it knocked me out at night but the side effects weren’t worth it, I hated everyone and felt doped.