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Original poster

I think it's finally time I got me so me Happy Pills - what flavour do you recommend?

37 replies

sunnywong · 23/01/2007 07:29

Hello

As some of you may be aware my living conditions at present are causing me a great deal of strain and I am at the end of my fecking tether. Although there is light at the end of the tunnel I really can't keep bursting in to tears, being vicious to the kids then crying again and asking them to be kind to Mum as she's feeling sad. So I think I need something to take the edge off, don't you?

I had previously thought AD's to be the slippery slope to Zombie-dom and a lifelong dependency but my friends tell me they often have a short course when things are stressful and all other avenues of relief have been explored and can come off them with no ill effects. Is this true?

So what are you experiences and are there any side effects to weigh up? If they make me fatter and loose my sex drive then I 'm not having them.

TIA

OP posts:
jabberwocky · 23/01/2007 07:31

Zoloft was a godsend.

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 07:32

really?
That's what I've been hearing too. Care to share the good effects of it in your case?

OP posts:
MrsJohnCusack · 23/01/2007 07:38

hi sunny
my mother took a fairly short course of Prozac a few years back when she was undergoing a very stressful period, and it worked a treat. not saying Prozac is the one for you, but a short course of ADs can really do the trick for riding out a stressful, depressing time.
I took Lustral (sertraline) for around 12 months for PND, they were a life saver. There were some minor side effects which passed after a few weeks, and you do have to be v.careful about coming off them slowly - NEVER just stop taking ADs.
Some people - like my DH - can't function without long term AD medication. but for most people, they don't become a lifelong neccisity, they're just another little helper!

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 07:41

and more legal than Bombay Sapphire at 9.30 am I would wager.
Right that settles it, off to see the doc tomorrow, who happens to be a neighbour of mine so she knows me and my "situation".
Thanks

still a bit nervous about the side effects - moustaches? Horns? Fish Odour?

OP posts:
MrsJohnCusack · 23/01/2007 07:42

basically, can describe the effects as - clears your head a bit and allows you to confront things without immediately drowning in a wave of hopelessness! Things may still be stressful and awful but if the ADs are working, you can accept that without spiralling into your usual reactions, and without despairing. As your head clears you can come up with some more rational reactions and tools for dealing with your situation. And it gives you a chance for a bit of mental rest from all the stress, allowing your head to sort itself out a bit.

Hmm, not sure that's very clear, but they certainly seem to clear the fog and confusion from your brain, which is usually a massive relief...

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 07:44

sounds ideal, I was able to respond in a mature and rational fashion a few months back to my situation but my habit now is to be angry and despairing first and foremost. And also I'm boring myself rigid with constantly thinking about the situation. I have grown in to a very dull woman indeed.

OP posts:
MrsJohnCusack · 23/01/2007 07:45

side effects are usually things like dry mouth, headaches, feeling a bit dizzy (sometimes a low sex drive!) - usually minor (if annoying) and usually clear up within a few weeks too. also you generally have to give them a few weeks to kick in - don't give in if you're not Miss Happy after a few days. the doctor should make all this clear and keep a close eye on you

MrsJohnCusack · 23/01/2007 07:46

as you can tell, I am quite a fan - not saying it'll work for everyone but god I was a changed woman after a few weeks on the happy pills, I was eternally grateful (as was everyone around me, I'm pretty sure )
good luck

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 07:48

thanks love, well that's the other thing "everyone around me was as well" I know dh's and the kids' sympathy for me is declining comensurately to my level of stress.
Are you still on them, if you don't mind me asking, and do you anticipate coming off them?

OP posts:
MrsJohnCusack · 23/01/2007 07:53

don't mind at all!
Came off them because I was pregnant again and didn't want to take them in that situation , but had been about to start weaning myself off anyway as I felt their work was fully done. Coming off them wasn't a problem at all. Will be going back to the doctor and demanding them again with menaces if neccesary should I feel the same after this baby.

re what variety, the doctor will prob recommend something specifically based on your particular situation. for example I started with Lustral because it's supposed to be one of the best if you're breastfeeding, also because it's good for obsessive thoughts (which were bloody plaguing me). So it might not be the same as what someone else gets prescribed, there are all sorts of variables.

lulumama · 23/01/2007 07:57

i found effexor really really excellent and worked quickly !

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 09:55

just a bump for any Antipodeans who may know similar meds under different brand names

OP posts:
Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 11:17

Ahem....is it true that one is not allowed to have even a glass of wine while on ADs???? Can that be right ?

OP posts:
NotAnOtter · 23/01/2007 11:18

zoloft

frances5 · 23/01/2007 11:19

I took sertaline for about 18 months.

I think a lot depends on your situation. In my experience anti depressants work well if you are medically depressed rather than unhappy about something.

After childbirth the levels of various brain chemicals/ hormone were badly messed up and I became very ill. There wasnt really anything in my life for me to be depressed out. The depression was nothing more than a really horrenous chemical imbalance. I had stopped eating and I was feeling suicidal. Anti depressants sorted out that chemcial imbalance and I have been healthy since.

For some people anti depressants can live them out of feeling down so that they have the energy to improve their lives.

I think that clinical depression is often over diagnosed. Anti depressants don't help if life is unavoidally a bite of sh*te. Some people are in a situation where they can't change what is making them depressed and you can't fundermentally change your life by just taking a pill.

Whether anti depressants make you fatter depends a lot what your eating habits are like at the moment. For me I went from being 43kg (ie. an axoretic stick) to 58kg (the right weight for my body). Some people over eat when they are clinically depressed and anti depressants can help control their wieght.

As far as sex drive goes, I had zero sex drive before I took the tablets so I have no idea if the tablets reduced it. My sex drive is fine now

I would discuss taking anti depressant with your GP.

oliveoil · 23/01/2007 11:20

no idea but {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} from me

unless you are hug averse and in that case I will give you a manly pat

xx

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 11:22

manly pat, thanks.

thanks for the advice
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BOOZE??????

OP posts:
MrsJohnCusack · 23/01/2007 11:27

sunny, alcohol has a greater effect on you when you're on ADs. So many (possibly all - am no expert) recommend you not to drink at all. Also alcohol is considered a depressant so doesn't really sit well with being on ADs.
however, I used to have a glass of wine to no ill effects (Mind you was built like a tank at the time so it would have taken a lot to fell me!). Again, everyone is different. I felt that a life without a glass of white in the evening was just taking being depressed too far .

and frances is right, your doc might not agree that you need the pills (am feeling slighly like a drug pusher with my frequent response on this thread). but you can try them without setting yourself on any sort of slippery slope to desperado-ville.

Enid · 23/01/2007 11:28

my mate took prozac

went bonkers if she drank more than aglass of wine

also booze is a depressant so you may feel better just byu giving it up suzy

Enid · 23/01/2007 11:29

how much are you drinking and when?

If you are drinking two big glasses of wine a night I promise you will feel better if you stop drinking

hunkermunker · 23/01/2007 11:31

[manly pat]

I bloody love you, Suze - you get yourself happier now, you hear? I didn't take ADs when I felt at my worst last year, but I wonder whether I'd have been better off doing so sometimes.

Original poster
sunnywong · 23/01/2007 11:32

Hm....I may feel better may I not

Q: would it send you a bit mental if your MIL chipped in an instruction to your dh in another language across your convo with your dh from her task of watering her weeds OUTSIDE the window? just when the kdis had gone to bed and you thought you had a moment of privacy with you dh
It's that kind of thing that makes me want to pour out a very very large glass of wine of an evening

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 23/01/2007 11:32

I take venaflaxine for PND.

Haven't had an alcohol since starting it.

My only side effect is insomnia, but I can't tell if this is from the drug or the PND. I've also had a natural inclination towards insomnia most of my adulthood.

Have also been on Prozac and Lustral.

Prozac seemed to make my PND worse.

Lustral was effective, for a while, then the anxiety and panic attacks started to creep back, so I was changed.

Go see your doctor and if he/she thinks it a good idea give it a go and see how you get on.

DON'T stop taking any of these ADs cold turkey!

oliveoil · 23/01/2007 11:33

Can you not in any way at all move out of your MIL's house??

hunkermunker · 23/01/2007 11:34

In answer to your question - hell yes!