SO HOW DOES AD'S ACTUALLY WORK?

[mumsie123]

Hi everyone,

I'm on Citalopram 25mg have been since last Nov mostly for aniexty and panic attacks.

I basically wanted to know how they work? and can you ever get off them and be "ok" without them?

Or are they like dandruff shampoo once you stop it all eventually comes back.

I want to hear all you stories the good the bad and the ugly.

xxx

I would like to know this too. Have been prescibed 20mg of Fluoxetine today but haven't taken any yet. I'm a bit scared and don't know what to expect. Also, how do they choose which AD they prescribe? Are some better than others?

There are different 'groups' of ADs which work in different ways

Citalopram is a newer type - called a SSRI (Selective Serotonin |Reuptake Inhibitor)

Am not an expert AT ALL, but basically with SSRIs they do something to the level of serotonin in the brain (they believe serotonin is partly responsiblr for how 'happy' we feel) Hence, a depressed person may have lesser amounts than a non-depressed person

You can come off them, but it's best to do this gradually under supervision from a GP

They are believed to 'treat' the depression, not just mask its symptoms

Most people are advised to take them for at least 6m, even if symptoms have improved

They are generally helpful in treating people with the 'biological' symptoms of depression - poor sleep, low appetite, low energy/motivation, reduced libido

HTH

SSRIs (Fluoxetine also an SSRI) can also be useful in treating depression with associated anxiety

Don't be afraid to ask your prescriber anything about the meds you are taking

notnowbernard is right.
I can't speak for other but my brain chemistry is skewy.
I'm on Fluoxetine also. My brain can't seem to regulate how much serotonin to release so it floods and dries up if you get what I mean.

I have a 'high' where Serotonin is flooding in, causing my levels to spike but my brain forgets to collect up what is unused and so my levels stay high then tail off till there is almost none and my brain suddenly thinks 'Shit..none left!' and folds again again causing the highs and lows for me.

Yes I'm waffling!

My exsperience is 20mg was working really well for me, but sometimes around my period i would slightly struggle but once my period was over i was fine.

I have been messed about on mine at the moment been told to go down to 10mg then back up to 20mg and recently 25mg so i need to find that happy medium again.

I just hope that one day i will be on the mend and feel fab off the tablets as at the moment any little thing i cant seam to cope with all that well, even when i dont think it bothers me it obviously does!!

I've just finished a huuge paper on SSRI's vs non-pharma psychosurgery techniques..which was interesting as I am on Lustral!

SSRIs don't actually work in the way they have been thought to work for the last 20 years. They do regulate seretonin reuptake, but thats not the main function. They seem to actually work on the neurogenesis of cells and reverse hippocampal atrophy, or more simply they create new neurons and areas of the brain that actually shrink in depressed patients regrow.

At least, thats one theory! There are others, another current one being the role of the stress hormone cortisol and norepinephrine and serotonin in the limbic system.

They work very well in around 70% of patients with a depressive disorder.

runnybottom - that paper wasnt part of an OU course was it? I was looking at some last year and there was a very interesting looking post grad one about the brain. If it was - what was it like?

Not OU sorry, similar but mine is Oscail (Irish for Open). I'm three quarters of the way through a psychology degree currently studying psychypharmacology and neuropsych.

I wanted to do OU but its just too expensive as an overseas student.

ah - thanks, and good luck with it!

has anyone found there AD'S gave them more palpatations?