Anti depressants

[chocolate choux]

Just going to throw my story out there because I wish I’d heard something like this years ago... I’ve struggled with my mental health for most of my life (stemming from a traumatic childhood). It finally got to the stage where I was an adult and was struggling, so I went to the doctor, who prescribed antidepressants. I tried them for a few weeks, felt no different, went back to the doctor and got a prescription for a different antidepressant. This went on for SIX YEARS. I tried a huge list of them, tried them for the recommended few weeks/months, took them consistently, listened to my doctor, did everything I was supposed to do. But I never felt any better. I felt like I was completely broken, because antidepressants are supposed to help with depression but they weren’t helping me. I felt incurable and lost hope

After six years of this I stopped functioning and had a mental breakdown. It was only at this point that I saw a psychiatrist and was put on an atypical antipsychotic which is normally used to treat schizophrenia. No, I’m not schizophrenic, but it worked! It wasn’t a miracle cure by any means, but it helped level my mood out which had a wonderful knock on effect. I still have struggles (medication can’t cure situational shit unfortunately, nor can it erase trauma) but being on this medication has been the best thing I’ve ever done for my mental health

Just wanted to post this in case anyone else was finding that antidepressants weren’t helping despite trying different ones/dosages and feels as incurable as I did. There are other options, talk to your doctor and don’t give up hope

 

[Fudgecakes]

Hi! I am not a doctor, but in my experience I had significant weight gain. I felt better while taking it though! And I was advised by my doctor to stop taking any SSRI medication before trying for a baby. I hope you start to feel better soon, sending love and hugs.

 

[jammy]

Meds can help short-term, but think it could benefit to tackle the issues with CBT, eating healthy and exercise.
There's online CBT, for example; https://llttf.com/

But of course that's depending on the root cause of the issues.

 

[bumshell]

I'm currently on Day 3 of taking S. I'm currently experiencing some of the side effects, which I am hoping will wear of as per my doctors advice. I feel dizzy, drowsy, no motivation, headaches, loss of appetite, clenched jaw, keep zoning out and I cannot sleep for the life of me - did anyone else experience the same?

I think I'm going to go back to the doctors to get signed off from work for the week until these start to settle down as i'm sat at my desk on the verge of falling as sleep and I don't want to talk to anyone at all

 

[EllaAziza]

I’m a GP and also needed antidepressants myself as a medical student. Sertraline is notoriously bad for weight gain you develop terrible hunger at higher doses and I gained 22kg in 8 weeks. I switched and weight came off and didn’t have the hunger side effect. Some of the medication is linked to weight gain but only usually a few pounds but that’s normally because when you feel happier in yourself your appetite is regular. With any medication take it regularly don’t skip or increase a dose. I don’t want things to sound scary but we have to make people aware and your GP will tell you, thst during the first few weeks you may feel shaky, sleep more and possibly feel anxious or suicidal. This is the body adjusting to the medication so talk to friends/family/GP if this happens. If you can but I know it’s not always easy take a couple of weeks off work to adjust, sleep when needed etc when a person is depressed it uses the equivalent in energy of running a marathon! Also I’ve had lot of people worry medication numbs you or changes you and it doesn’t. Week by week the heaviness and thoughts will lift and you’ll feel more like the you you were before you became depressed. You may be referred to something called IAPT which is a talking therapy and the two combined are often more effective. BUT I often think it’s better to wait until meds kick in before adding pres tv sure.
In regards to your toddler it really shouldn’t cause you problems only if you feel down as your body adjusts.

 

[Brocoligal]

I was on fluoxetine on and off for years! I didn’t have any side effects, it does make you feel abit ‘fake’ high. I didn’t gain weight because I was more active as I felt better in myself and wanted to get out more. Anti-depressants aren’t the fix but along side therapy they do help stabilise your mood.

Funnily enough I haven’t taken anti-depressants or felt depressed since I stopped taking the contraceptive pill 5 years ago....coincidence?

 

[Msk305]

I started taking sertraline 50mg a few months ago and have slowly increased to 100mg in the past couple of weeks. Not experienced any weight gain (bit worried though cos my gp said it was weight neutral?! Which according to everyone else doesn’t seem to be the case?) I did have crazy hot flushes in the beginning but that seems to have passed now. I have vivid dreams too but they aren’t nightmares.

I didn’t feel like anything had changed mentally though for a while, until I got to 75/100mg and it was like the fog was clearing, I feel less burdened by my thoughts/anxieties all of a sudden which is so refreshing!

 

[CaffeineQueen]

I took citalopram when I was pregnant with my daughter but stopped at 6 months because I felt so much better (think pregnancy balanced me out). My GPs advice then was that if the risk to your mental health is high, then you should continue taking them. It’s best to ask your GP as they can tell you what the possible issues may be for each type and then prescribe you the one with the lowest risks for the baby.

I switched to Setraline last year (Citalopram was no longer working for me - I went back on them after my daughter was born) and I’ve just stopped taking Sertraline for the same reasons as above, I put on weight and developed chronic insomnia coupled with a desire to do absolutely nothing. I have never felt so tired and disconnected. I’ve also never suffered from anxiety before, but did whilst taking S. They just didn’t work for me.

However, I know others who they work brilliantly for so I think it’s just down to how they affect you personally. I hope they help you & if you are worried about taking them when pregnant you can always discuss this with your GP first. My daughter seems unaffected (she’s 10 now) apart from some serious attitude & acting like she’s 21 obvs ?

 

[Freckles]

I started off on 50mg and I’m now on 150mg I don’t remember feeling any symptoms? Although if I don’t take them for a couple of days I do feel a lot worse

 

[blossombloss]

Thank you both! I wish I had asked for a referral when I had my work healthcare, will definitely consider that in my next role if the GP doesn't put me on to specialised support!

 

[Badabing101]

I’d like to share a positive story too. I’m on 150mg of sertraline to help manage OCD.

I’ve been on them for 6 years after the birth of my daughter and they have been truly life changing - but it took a while to get to the right level / therapeutic dose for me. They’ve really helped me whilst I’ve been having therapy for OCD and I am very good at managing my OCD now and I am symptom free (have been for a couple of years).

I haven’t gained weight as a result of them, but I would like to taper off. I’m a bit apprehensive to do it, but I would like to try. It’s going to take ages as I want to take it very slowly.

They were truly life changing for me when I needed them the most. Good luck!!

Also wanted to add that at the beginning and when I increased the dose I did have side effects ... high anxiety, sleep issues, tummy probs, dizziness and headaches but they passed within a couple of weeks.

 

[Allthehashtags]

Hi all, I’ve been on 50mg of sertraline since the end of November 2019, the first 2 weeks were horrendous. My GP warned me that they would make me feel worse before they make me feel better - She wasn’t wrong!
I haven’t experienced weight gain, I lost weight in the first few weeks. I do get really restless legs & jaw clenching. My family have noticed that I’m not as emotional as I was before (I was constantly crying). I actually can’t remember when I last shed a tear. I almost feel abit disconnected from everything - if that makes sense?
The last week or so the negative thoughts have been creeping back in again so wondering if I should increase my dose or just see how it goes.

 

[NitrousOxide]

I came off Sertraline a couple of months ago after being on it for just over a year. It was absolutely horrendous coming off it. The worst thing I've ever experienced mental-health-wise, I think. I hated everyone, even the people closest to me, and was so angry and felt crazy.

The reason I came off it was that I still felt suicidal while taking it so I decided I didn't want to be consuming strong medication if I was still going to feel suicidal. I was also having really horrible night sweats.

Since being off it, I've noticed that my obsessions and compulsions are worse, which may mean that the meds were helping me a bit with that issue, but I don't think it helped my depression.

I think you have to make your own experiences really and I wouldn't tell you to not try Sertraline, but be careful and if you decide to come off it, do it 5 times more slowly/gradually than you think you should.

No idea about getting preggers!

 

[Serenbach]

Sertraline is one of the safest SSRIs to take during pregnancy and breastfeeding however I’d recommend speaking to your GP about starting trying for a family and they may be able to refer you onto a perinatal mental health team for additional support with managing your emotional well being during and post pregnancy.

In terms of side effects I’d have hoped the prescriber would have gone through some of these with you, sometimes reading too much online can make it worse and it’s important to remember everybody experience will be different.

If you haven’t already it may be worth enquiring with your health care professional about any talking therapies available to you as others have said medication will not ‘cure’ the root cause of low mood and feeling of depression.

Hope you start to feel more yourself soon

 

[Mustard]

I’ve taken Paroxetine, Sertraline and Citalopram, between the ages of 16 and 18. Paroxetine is, I don’t think, prescribed to adolescents anymore, or maybe not at all, but there was a panorama investigation into it being prescribed to teenagers and that generally being a really bad thing. I took it for three ish months, and it was awful. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t focus, I was seeing things, increased self harm and so on. I had thought I was struggling with my mental health when I agreed to try them, but I genuinely thought I had lost all control of my mind and emotions. The only way I can describe it is to say I felt I had truly gone mad, but I realise that’s really negative language to use so I do apologise for being unable to think of a better way of wording it. I went back to the doctor week after week begging to come off them. they insisted on the 3 month period when it would usually settle down. When it didn’t, they stopped me ‘cold turkey’, which was another two weeks of feeling even worse. Sertraline and Citalopram were much better for me in comparison, but not without side effects. One of them I went up to the max dose but the only thing both of them did for me was make me feel numb. I remember being tormented by the fact that someone would say something really funny to me, and I’d laugh, but I’d feel nothing. Can’t even describe the feeling, but it eventually wore me down and I stopped taking whichever the final one was that I took. I experienced an inability to orgasm with all three, and I gained weight (but have never been slim and my weight has always fluctuated, this may or may not have been a side effect.

It’s funny how people’s experiences can all be so different. I don’t think I’d ever try an SSRI again, I’m too scared to go through the side effects. I realise that ‘being unable to feel a deep down belly laugh’ sounds a pathetic thing to cling onto, but it’s just where I am. Which is a shame, as my anxiety has probably never been worse than it is currently and I am really keen to bring down the constant feeling of dread and panic a bit, in order to then feel strong enough to deal with why I’m anxious.

my husband, on the other hand, has taken an SSRI for all the time we’ve known each other and then some, and whilst he does have some side effects (night sweats, he is a bit flat emotionally, but I’m not sure how much of it is his loveable grumpy old man personality!) it’s worked really well for him and helped him overcome his very crippling anxiety. He has been slowly reducing the dosage to see how he gets in, but if he had to take them for the rest of his life I don’t think it would bother him.

Have you considered trying CBD oil for your anxiety? I am going to try it, and have been doing a lot of research. There is a company called Simply CBD and they are based in Wales and very reasonably priced. By law, they cannot give advice, but there is a FB page called Simply CBD Users Support Group and you can post questions and get a superb amount of help from users and moderators. You could go in their for some advice, and then if you want to order some you go back to the company. They have quite a few different types to try. They also donate their profits to animal rescue work.

 

[Prom night dumpster baby]

Hi Sven I’m currently taking sertaline 50mg and have been for the last 2 years. Honestly they have changed my life for the better. My mum has recently started taking them too after an attempted suicide. I haven’t experienced any weight gain from them and they defiantly don’t change your personality or mood. They just ‘take the edge off’ and helps you think more clearly. I would 100% recommend them but that is just my opinion. My sister doesn’t agree with them so sometimes this can be a difficult discussion in our family however since my mum tried to overdose she is happy for her to try anything. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL IN THE FIST 4 WEEKS of taking them. I made this mistake and had negative thoughts on a night out. Told my boyfriend and we went straight home. It’s only why they kick in though

 

[Itsnotmeitsyou]

I’ve been on sertraline for several years for anxiety - in that respect it’s the best AD I’ve taken (tried a few others). But as others have said I had a massive weight gain in a short space of time which I’ve not been able to shift. I discussed it with my doctor but the stark choice seemed to be suffer with anxiety which prevents you living your life normally but be a normal weight. Or, have that edge taken off with the pill but be a fat beast

 

[blossombloss]

I find it so interesting that the drugs worked differently for everyone. I know you go to the docs and they tell you this but so nice on this forum hearing the different experiences.

Sertraline was by far the worse one I've ever been on, I remember my first week I thought I was genuienly going mad. I remember lying on my bedroom floor waiting to die or for the side effects to wear off, still no idea what it was til this day but everything moved slowly and I thought I was going crazier than before! Then being on them I didn't realise it for a while but I felt so numb and I couldn't even cry at sad things. I'm really glad they are working for you though Trixabellee9393 and I hope me sharing doesn't sound like discouragement, I've just never really had the change to talk about the different effects of the ones I've had.

 

[Rinitiaa]

I was on 150mg, started off 50 then you have to work up to your prescription by 50s every 2 weeks, i felt abit shaky and tense for a few days at a time but it supassed. The withdrawl is much worse (i once went 5 days without, long story) and i felt really sick and my legs twitched alot. Anyway when i fell pregnant i was told to go down to 50mg but was advised by doctors and midwives that i can continue to take the 50mg as the ends justified the means** (baby healthy all the way through came out fine is thriving) however i am coping with 50 so i wont increase. Good luck, i hope these are the ones for you or you find what works.

** and what i mean by this is that i would have been more at risk (MH wise) not taking them than taking them - your doctor will advise you on this.

 

[Deleted member]

Hi, was looking for a bit of advice! I have just started taking Sertraline and was wondering if anyone else has and what the side effects are? We are going to start trying for a baby in September wondered if this would effect it?

I’ve been on it for 7 weeks as a milder alternative to fluoxetine which made me feel emotionally numb and like a zombie as well as making my appetite insatiable so I piled on weight.

When I came off the fluoxetine,I was in bad shape. Couldn’t tolerate being around anyone after having to put a face on it at work all day and was riddled with anxiety and irritability. I literally couldn’t think straight and was overwhelmed by the smallest tasks. The sertraline has helped and I’m now coping with day to day life,not waking up feeling “the fear” BUT... I now feel I struggle to wake up at all. It’s lovely to be able to sleep but I am so groggy in the morning it’s unbelievable and at the weekend I just want to sleep on - not good cos as well as working,I’m doing a degree and finding being productive so hard.

I have other issues - I got diagnosed with early menopause by my GP and put on HRT and was doing great on it then seen the gynaecologist who had me come of it for 6 months to give me a proper diagnosis as the GP had jumped the gun. My depression and anxiety symptoms were triggered by my hormones and I’m now back on HRT but struggling to get back to myself.

I don’t know about taking it in pregnancy but wishing you luck with whatever you do.