Anti Depressants

[jamiedodger]

Hi,
I am a long time lurker, but have finally decided to join, because i have a problem and don't know what to do. As you guys always seem to give such good advice, i thought i would ask!

I have been feeling unwell for some months now - nothing very specific, but very tired, drained, headaches - just no get up and go at all. Sounds like every mother of three young children i know!!

But this feels different somehow. My family have started to notice. They say i am very snappy and irritable, and i am not my self at all. My DP said the other day he wished he could have the old me back.

I finally went to the Doctors a few Weeks ago, and as much as i thought i would be fobbed off, they were great. I was sent to the hospital for all kinds of teats etc, which thankfully all came back clear.

I had to go back to my Doctor today, and she said she thinks i am depressed. She wants me to try some anti depressents (cipralex 5mg)

The problem i have is i don't actually feel depressed. But i do feel anxious and stressed. The Doctor said depression can manifest itself in other ways that the symptoms i associate with depression.

So what do i do? Should i take the AD's for a little while and see how i go? Or just continue with the way i am feeling now? I am frightened of the side-effects and will i be addicted and not be able to get off them.

The Doc said she has only given me a very low dose, so i should be fine.
Anyone with any advice, it would be much appreciated.

Hi jamiedodger, don't have experience of antidepressants, I'm sure mumsnetters will be able to give you some good advice..take care lavxx

HI Jamiedodger, welcome to mumsnet. The question is do you want to just put up with feeling as you are right now? If it were me I would give the AD's a try but you'd have to be prepared to take them for at least a few months. I think most AD's are supposed to be non-addictive (other may disagree) but on the whole i'm sure they are non addictive. I've never taken cipralex myself so am not sure of the side effects but i'm sure there are others on here who have that can give you some advice. Hope you start to feel better soon x

HI Jamiedodger, welcome to mumsnet. The question is do you want to just put up with feeling as you are right now? If it were me I would give the AD's a try but you'd have to be prepared to take them for at least a few months. I think most AD's are supposed to be non-addictive (other may disagree) but on the whole i'm sure they are non addictive. I've never taken cipralex myself so am not sure of the side effects but i'm sure there are others on here who have that can give you some advice. Hope you start to feel better soon x

to eager to post, sorry!

It could be depression. I had bad depression some time ago and certainly having no 'get up and go' is a big symptom. Do you feel it is getting worse at all and are you getting tearful easily?

Side-effects vary from one individual to another and from one drug and dosage to another so that is hard to say. There is another person (Essbee) on here who recently started on cipralex and I know she did get side-effects but I believe she was on higher dose. There is only one way you will find out and that is to try. Try to have lots of people who love you around you too as I really found that helped.

Hi Jamie - there have been a number of recent posts on anti-depressants, in particular one that may be of interest to you called "Anyone treated depression themselves? " lower down in the Health Topics (last post was on Wednesday).

A recent poster has just started on cipralex and has noticed a significant improvement after 10 days - but has had some problems with initial side effects - tiredness/dopiness/headachiness - if you start cipralex, could your husband/family help you with the kids/house whilst you get used to them. Initial bad side effects should go completely within 1 week or two. You may not have any signficiant side effects at all - I have taken Lustral, Seroxat and Prozac and have never had particularly bad side effects from them at any point, or difficulty withdrawing from them. E.g with Seroxat I felt a bit tired/zombified for a few days, with Prozac I had a slightly upset tummy for a fortnight on and off. ADs are not addictive, tho if you stop them too suddenly this can cause certain symptoms like flu and anxiety, so you should never stop cold turkey, but should taper off gradually, ideally under medical supervision.

Cipralex is a very modern drug - is meant to be a more refined version of Cipramil, with the inactive bits taken out. Cipramil is an SSRI - Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitor - the idea is that people feel anxious/depressed because they have not got enough seretonin, and the anti-depressants assist with that - sorry that is not a very scientific explanation of how they work. Regarding whether or not you have depression; there can be a bit of a cross over between anxiety and depression (particularly with PND) and the drugs do help anxiety disorders as well as depression, so do not worry about the particular label put on your problem at the moment. Sometimes depression manifests itself as purely physical illness, sometimes not. I think it would be well worth seeing if the ADs help - but if you do not wish to take them, there are other things you could try:- some of the suggestions on the thread I quoted above, and asking your GP to refer you for counselling or even a psychotherapist. 5 mg is a low dose (i think the lowest dose available), and if it doesn't work initially can be increased.

ADs can take up to 4 - 6 weeks to kick in - you are not likely to notice any improvement at all for up to 2 weeks after starting them, so dont worry if you don't immediately feel better. The way I have found them is that they gradually shifted life from the unbearable to the bearable - so all of a sudden one day you realise you feel loads better than before starting them. Before I started them I was worried that they would change my personality/leave me somehow blunted or less perceptive than before, tho I have not found much of a change. Unfortunately, as with all drugs, side effects and effectiveness vary from person to person. There are a lot of different drugs similar to Cipralex, so even if Cipralex doesn't work there are plenty of other drugs you can try.

Hope that helps a little, and if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask

JD - I am on Cipralex. 5mg IS a low dose...I started on 10mg. They are excellent for panic attacks and general anxiety. I was getting really nervous about going anywhere with ds, and I stopped feeling like that within a week of going on them. I noticed an improvement in my mood within two weeks (Cipralex is meant to work faster than other ADs). HTH

Thanks, especially mummytosteven, that was a very good description of ad's and side effects etc.

It didn't worry me so much about taking the ad's, it is more the side effects etc. I don't want anyone in my family to know i am taking them, so if i suddenly go zombiefied, or have other bad side effects, they are going to wonder what is going on.

There are good reasons i don't want my family to know, that i would rather not go into right now. Also, you are not suppost to drink on them, are you? If i suddenly stop drinking, my DP is going to think it is really strange!! We are going to a wedding this Weekend, and for once i have gor a sitter for all three kids, all night! I have been going on about how i can finaly get sloshed without fear of being ill getting up to the kids the next day.

And driving, does it affect that? I have to drive to work (it is a long drive) and i can't afford not to be fit to drive.

I am sorry i have so many questions, but i need to decide - take them or leave it. And as i can't talk it through with my family, you lot are all i have.

At 10mg, I felt slightly dizzy for a week, so I cannot imagine you would feel too bad. I drink on my pills, with no problems (not that I have got totally plastered on them).

Finally, why are you not going to tell your dp? I would not advise doing something so life-altering without his support.

JD, have you tried St John's Wort? It's herbal - you can get it from health shops etc/supermarkets - cheaper ar Holland & Barrett etc. It has helped me in the past but I think it may reduce the effectiveness of the pill, hope this isn't crap advice - maybe ask someone else?

Hi Jamie Dodger

Would you not even tell DP that you are going to be taking ADs?

As for your other questions - you should be fine to drive with them unless you feel particularly out of if during the first week or two of trying to adjust to them. The modern ADs are not meant to be sedating, so driving shouldn't be a problem on a day to day level. With Prozac I would say that I have never felt as if I would be unsafe to drive - the first time I took them I felt a bit jittery for a few days, the second time I took them I had a mildly upset tummy/digestive system, with Lustral/Seroxat there was probably a day or two with each where I would have been unable to drive. If you are feeling unwell and feel you cannot explain why to your family, couldn't you just say you had flu/tummy bug/reaction to antibiotics?

Re:drinking. It's best to see how alcohol affects you. I have never found that alcohol and anti-depressants mixed badly - but you should be very careful at first to check how it affects you - if you are unlucky it could make you drinker far quicker than normal. TBH if you are depressed it is not a bad idea to steer clear of alcohol anyway as alcohol is a depressant.

I do think it is worth taking them, since if they work for you, you will feel a lot better relatively quickly. If, for whatever reason you feel that you are not in a position to take ADs, then there are "talking cures" - counselling/cognitive behavioural therapy - but realistically if you are uncomfortable with telling your family about taking tablets, are you going to be able to conceal going for counselling or to see a psychotherapist.

Re:St John's Wort - you do have to check that it does not react with other medication you are taking. Also there is the issue of whether you get the cheap tablets, or the standardised strength tablets - with the cheaper tablets you can't be sure that they are all the same strength. Personally I am wary of SJW - I had a more embarrassing side effect with SJW than with any prescription drugs - a tic where I had to keep rubbing my chin - I also feel that if you feel sufficiently bad to self=medicate you should really be seeing a doctor. However some people find SJW better than SSRIs in terms of side effects, and feel more comfortable taking a more "natural remedy". If you feel that taking SJW would be more acceptable to your family than taking a prescription drug, then maybe you could get your doctors' views on SJW.

Hi Jamiedodger.I started on 10mg of Cipralex about 6 weeks ago.I think it's a combination of time and the ADs but I am a different person. I did have some very hallucinatory dreams a few days after starting,felt a little agitated (mad actually) and sick but literally lasted a day or two.
I was a real sceptic before and resisted the Ad route for months but finally got to the point where I conceded I couldn't do it on my own anymore.
I also agree that St Johns Wort is fab. But if you do choose to go for the Cipralex-please don't worry about it. I'm sure it can only help you and it is a very low dose. And by the way-I drink like a fish.My GP said they were fine with alcohol. I get drunk quicker so I guess I'm a cheap date!
Good luck honey and I hope you find something that helps you.

jamie dodger - just an after thought - are you on any form of hormonal contraception - as sometimes hormones, particular progestogen can cause/exacerbate depression?

Message withdrawn

i also felt exactly the same way i was so worried i had the tablets in my house for 2 months before i finally took them and it is the best thing i could have done i felt more anxious than depressed a week before i took them i had my childs first sports day and felt like i just couldnt go she had another spots day recently and i was of course there and got annoyed at my self fo taking so long to take them i dont know about comming off them as i am still on them 9 months later and feel fine the only side affect i got was the first week of taking them i felt even more anxious but went quick and well worth going threw as i felt like i wanted to do things again and i also felt my daughter was missing out on the normal me

i didnt mention that it is prozac 20 mg i am taking

I am on venlafaxine 75mg i was 150mg till recently i found out i am pregnant i have being trying to get off them but because they are so strong if i miss one i get dizzy have terrible migraines and get the shakes so now i think i am better off on them the are additictive

Hi Jamiedodger,(long, sorry)

Hope you are having an OK day today. I had undiagnosed post-natal depression for over a year after my second was born. I didn't get help sooner because I didn't associated the symptoms I had as depression until I got to the crying / don't want to get out of bed stage. In the weeks and months leading up to my diagnosis I felt incredibly tired and run down. I didn't seem to have any energy whatsoever and latterly everything seemed to be too much of an effort to even bother. I couldn't be bothered to turn on the dishwasher or stick on a load of washing. I felt as though I just wanted to go to bed all the time, although in the end it became harder and harder to get any sleep. I had very bad mood swings which I kept putting down to PMT and I used to get incredibly anxious at times - to the point where my heart would be pounding for no apparent reason. Are any of these things similar? If so, your diagnosis would seem correct to me. I was reluctant to start on ADs, well, I was reluctant to seek help full stop because I didn't want to admit that I was someone with depression. I look back and laugh at that now. I've been taking zoloft (believe it is called lustral in the UK) and it is from the same family as the ADs you have been prescribed. For the first couple of weeks I felt a bit fuzzy and tired and felt like I had a kind of pressure headache - very common apparently. This went away. I was amazed by how much better I began to feel. The mood swings gradually lessened, I felt more able to do things and finally I began to be able to sleep at night. ADs are great in my book. I feel like a reasonable human being now. The trade-off is worth any side effect to me. I do have the odd glass of wine and don't notice a problem. If I have more than one or two I do get very tired but my tolerance level for booze is notoriously rubbish!! After I got over the haziness of the first couple of weeks I found driving to be absolutely fine too. Hope some of this ramble is reassuring!! Take care and let us know how you go.

Did you know that St John's Wort is the drug of first choice in Germany and it can only be got on prescription over there? If St John's Wort is going to work it will in 14-21 days, no change by then you are wasteing your money. I remeber the dose quoted at me by my GP was 500mg twice a day. I found it did not work for me and so I take paroxetine 20mg. Happy as the proverbial Pig in .... now!

Hi, Having been terrified of getting PND as my mother had suffered very badly with it, it crept up on me so slowly that I didn't even regonise my worst fear when it arrived. It took a friend to say she thought I had it and as soon as she did I knew she was right. I went to my GP the next day who convinced me to take a short course of AD by saynig either take them and feel better or dont take them and I will carry on feeling as I did.Simple really but my fear was addiction and I was determined to only use them for a short time as I also wanted to try for another baby ( knocking on 41 no time to waste)
Sounds strange to want another baby maybe but I was very happy with the baby, and everything else for that matter which is why I didn't realise I was depressed. I just felt as if I wanted the world ( well mostly my partner) to leave me alone. I didn't want to talk or interact AT ALL. I just wanted to be very quiet. I was consequently Very irritable and short tempered, not eating ( lost loads of weight....fab),panic attacks when out, I could go on!
Anyway started the AD, much to my partners scepticism, and felt better within a week (no side effects at all) and came off them after 2 months....very scarry but had no problems.
I also went back to my accupuncturist which I can't recommend strongley enough. Will give you her no. if you want.
Sounds like you have a great GP so I am sure they will monitor you well so I would accept their advice.
Take care anyway and remember you are definitely not unusual.

Thank you everyone.

Sorry it has took so long to reply to you all, i have been away at a wedding all Weekend, and have just checked in before i go to work.

Firstly the reason i can't tell my family. Well, i don't have much - family that is. There is only really my Dad left, who is in very bad health, so i wouldn't burden him with anything. My DP is a lot older than me, and he is very much of the old school "pull yourself together woman!!" would be he's attitude, i know.

As i have said earlier, i don't think i am depressed. I don't feel the need to lie in bed all day, i enjoy life and don't wake up each morning thinking that i can't be bothered with anything. These are the things that i associate with depression.

But i do feel other things. Little things that would not normally bother me at all - really the things that we all have to do but don't particularly like - get me in quite a state. I do manage to do them, but get very nervous. I feel like i am going to be doing a bungy jump or something, shaking and a bad tummy etc, but it is something that normally wouldn't bother me at all. And then i hear DP's voice in my head "oh, don't be soft, pull yourself together," so i just do it.

My memory is very bad too, I have been getting quite scared about this. Sometimes i wake up, and think back to the day or night before, and can't remember things i have said to people, or things that have happened. The best way to explain it is it is like when you have had a lot to drink the night before, but i haven't had any drink. It is a horrible feeling. Is this a symptom of depression?

I haven't taken any pills yet. I am off work next Week, so if i do, i will take them then. At least i wont have to cope with the daily grind of that and driving as much.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply to me. x

jd, you don't sound depressed. You sound anxious and stressed and completely exhausted. You have three young children and no supportive partner. I think your feelings are normal. I get like this occasionally and I know it is 'just' stress.

But you do need to start to unwind. Could you try acupuncture as someone else has suggested? Do you do any exercise? If you can do a little bit of exercise three times a week I bet you'd feel better within a month.

It makes me cross when people say they don't feel depressed then people say 'ah well, it can manifest itself in other ways'. If you don't feel depressed, you probably arent depressed.

If you can see your feelings as natural and try and address them head on, I think that will do you the world of good. What happens when you stop taking the AD's? Will you just go back to feeling how you do now?

Sorry if this isnt what you wanted to hear. But you say you enjoy life. That is fantastic and you should cling on to that! YOU JUST NEED A REST!!!!!!!!!!!! X E

enid - sorry but I am going to disagree with you here - PND in particular is associated with anxiety symptoms as well as depression symptoms. Also some people experience depression purely as physical aches and pains. Anyway the particular label you put on JDs symptoms is not strictly relevant, since the ADs can help with anxiety disorders in addition to depression. I agree that whether JD has depression or not, it would be helpful if her family/DH gave her more support and time out from her kids, rather than moaning about her being irritable!

I do 100% agree that just ADs are not the answer -that exercise, and improving your quality of life in general is also important if you feel stressed/depressed/whatever

Sounds like you have mild depression/anxiety and your doctor has prescribed a low dose AD. That's fine! Trust your doctor - he/she knows best.