Anti depressants

[Youre a wizard Harry]

Has anyone got any experience?
I’ve plucked up the courage to book an appointment this week.
I am worried about putting on weight (I have lost a lot), and side effects like changing my personality/moods - I have a toddler and don’t want it to affect how I look after her. I’m feeling so low right now that I feel I need more help.

Well done on booking an appointment, it is so difficult to take the first step!
I have been taking Sertraline for 9 months (started on 50mg, increased to 100mg recently). Apart from a bad couple of months at the end of last year/beginning of this year, they have made a huge difference and on the whole I feel better than I have in years. I’ve only had 2 side effects- one was restless legs (this stopped a couple of weeks after I started taking it), the other is very vivid dreams.
I took citalopram a few years ago for about 6 months- it calmed my anxiety and whilst I didn’t feel depressed, it just muted a lot of my feelings generally (although the only side effect I had was hives- which didn’t start until about 5 months after I started taking it. )
I was prescribed another antidepressant during my recent bad period but the side effects were so horrendous I stopped pretty quickly.
What I’m trying to say is that everyone responds to each antidepressant differently. The first one you try might be the one for you and you might not have any side effects, or it might take a while to find one. Best of luck to you and I hope things start to improve for you soon x

 

[Star_seeker]

I definitely had side effects when increasing dosages, but less than when I first started taking them.
If you still feel awful then there are other medications you can try as well I'm on my 3rd different medication since December, the latest one seems to be the most effective for me

 

[Louisej3]

I've tried all different anti depressants cant remember the names personally don't thing they have much effect on me, some of them made me groggy and zonk out at 8pm, but I've seen them work for others

 

[AbsaluteDunt]

I’ve just come off mine again for the second time. Felt so much more anxious and paranoid being on them. Experienced the lethargicness too. No motivation to do anything. Hope they help you though.

 

[Lozabelle]

I've been on them for 7 years. Helped me tremendously, but I have gained alot of weight. I'm very reliable on them .. I'm on the highest dose and very doubtful I'll ever come off them. Another side effect is my memory, it's absolutely terrible and it used to be good. Can't remember yesterday sometimes. And I'm only 26.
They are great though and calmed my panic and depression right down

 

[blossombloss]

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

Thank you for sharing this. I've been on three anti-depressants since I was 21 and I don't think any of them really helped. For some reason I came across something about mood stabilisers and it sounded like much more of what I needed than what I've been taken before, but for some reason I'm too scared to suggest this to my doctor. I've recently moved and only really just joined a GP (for other reasons) I'm really fed up of having to explain things all the time and just feel I won't be believe.

Do you think it's just a case of asking the doctor, or should you present symptoms first?

 

[Jc456]

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?

Organinsed motherhood has mentioned about contraception and depression, there were some stats in a book she had read.

I took sertraline and felt quite nauseous, room spinning etc for a few hours. I found it better to take them before bed so I slept through the side effects. X

 

[thegirlscout]

I was on Sertraline for 3 years and had no problem, no even with weight gain. I’m usually very sensitive to side effects so I’m always surprised I didn’t get any. I then start Mirtazapine and holy hell, I ballooned. It helped me sleep (and I haven’t slept properly since I came off it, but I have M.E so that may contribute) but weight gain was terrible. I stopped using it last March and managed to lose the weight. I was switched over to Venlafaxine a year and half ago because Sertraline wasn’t helping me anymore.
I think I’ll always been on an anti depressant of some sort, but I’m ok with that. I am horrendous when I’m off them.
Congratulations on booking therapy. I’m a huge advocate of it, I’ve found it really helpful (with the right therapist).

 

[Trixabellee9393]

I’m on sertraline and have been for about a year. Initially I felt really poorly for about a week when I started them then it went and I’ve not had any lows as bad as I was having before. Not sure on the pregnancy thing as I’ve never had kids to answer a poster above about amitriptyline I was prescribed these when I had bad insomnia and they did work most nights however I had a really heavy head the next day like it kept falling backwards! Weird! So I only took them if I really needed too!

 

[BLD86]

I've recently started taking citalopram and am having very bad nightmares. Hoping that stops soon. Has anyone else noticed a rapid decline in their libido since starting anti depressants?

 

[thegirlscout]

Thanks for responding. I haven’t booked therapy, just a GP appointment. I had some counselling when I had PND a couple of years ago. It didn’t help in the slightest.

Argh sorry, totally misread your post! My apologises.
But a doctors appointment is still a massive step I hope you’re able to find something to help you

 

[Blackbird]

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.

Please don't do anything before discussing this with your health practitioner. You've been on them for a while now so perhaps they're just not the right ones for you? Again, discuss with your health practitioner as there may be something better suited for you.

 

[conrea37]

I was on sertraline last year, heads up that I got horrifically sunburnt on it (allegedly it makes you more prone- be careful.)

 

[chocolate choux]

Thank you for sharing this. I've been on three anti-depressants since I was 21 and I don't think any of them really helped. For some reason I came across something about mood stabilisers and it sounded like much more of what I needed than what I've been taken before, but for some reason I'm too scared to suggest this to my doctor. I've recently moved and only really just joined a GP (for other reasons) I'm really fed up of having to explain things all the time and just feel I won't be believe.

Do you think it's just a case of asking the doctor, or should you present symptoms first?

No problem I think how you go about it depends on the temperament of your GP - some are more willing to follow your lead whereas some take it badly as if you’re telling them how to do their job. The way it happened with me was through a referral to the community mental health team, which enabled me to access more specialised support. It might be worth telling your GP that you’re still really struggling despite the different antidepressants and ask for a referral to your local mental health services. I doubt any GPs would have thought to give me my current medication because as the name suggests, they are general practitioners and not mental health experts, so I really do recommend trying to get a referral.

I think it’s important to put your ideas out there but also follow the experts lead. Many are willing to seriously consider your input but if they disagree, try to keep in mind that they’re experts (not that they’re always right though). Trust in their recommendations but also stick up for yourself. I’ve been offered antidepressants so many times but they've never worked, I’m open to trying new ones but when they recommend ones I’ve tried before I firmly say no.

Sorry for the long post, I hope you are able to make some progress and my inbox is open if you need a chat

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

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.

 

[Annim]

I am on Citalopram and pregnant. When I was pregnant for the first time I was off the meds. The pregnancy hormones messed up everything and I ended up not sleeping properly for 3 weeks. Kept having panic attacks at night and ended up in therapy for a year. Having to learn to sleep again. So this time I was told its my decision but sometimes it is better to stay on meds through pregnancy instead of coming off them.

 

[Youre a wizard Harry]

Thank you.
I have pretty vivid dreams anyway tbf. And I feel numb now anyway. I just don’t want to feel like this any more. There’s not a lot I can do about my personal situation - more than I’m doing anyway and I’m getting so low I’m not sure what else to do

Antidepressants are worth trying, especially if you’ve done everything you can about your personal situation. It does take a few weeks for them to start working but I have found that I felt a little better just by actually going to the doctors (I guess because it gave me some hope that things might start to get better as I had been given a treatment plan). I hope you get the help you need. Xxx

 

[CaffeineQueen]

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.

 

[ElleBow]

Just an update..

Last week I did not feel good at all, felt like I had something lodged in my throat and had a burning pain in my back that woke me up in the night. I was like this for three days and finally when i was up at 1am trying to make myself sick to free up the stuck feeling in my throat and the pain so bad in between my shoulder blades I thought i was going to explode , I called 111 who sent an ambulance out.

I didnt at all think they'd send an ambulance - I've called up before about my little boy and spoke to an on call doctor over the phone but as i was describing chest pain apparently they don't take any chances. Anyway, the paramedic was lovely and said that she had been prescribed sertraline but decided not to take it (she didnt say why).

After speaking to her i looked up my symptoms online and discovered that if you take sertraline at night and without water (as I had) before bed and then lie down, it can cause agonising heartburn!! I literally felt like my esophagus was on fire.

So now I've been taking them with loads of water about an hour before I go to sleep. Original side effects have virtually gone and everyone has noticed a change in me. I even feel so differently about things. I really feel like the old me again. First time taking antidepressants, and I'm so glad I started.

I’ve been on sertraline for a few years now and recently have fallen into a deeper depression so they’ve upped my dose from 100 to 150 it’s upset my stomach a bit but it’s getting a bit better , it can take maybe a month for it to get properly into your system well it did for me , but hopefully it will settle down for you soon . I’m waiting for appointments for Cognitive therapy which I haven’t had before , have you been offered extra help ? I take mine in the morning but it depends as night time it used to keep me up . The side effects can make you feel worse than you did before taking them but never stop them on your own as it makes you worse . It’s so refreshing to see a feed for this as sometimes I feel like I’m the only one going through it . I hope this thread goes on for a bit longer as I would be keen to know how you’re all getting on x

Yes I have a number to call for telephone sessions and can go on the waiting list for CBT.

How are you going? I agree, it's so helpful seeing this thread. Anxiety makes me feel so alone and although I wouldn't wish it on anyone, it's comforting to know you are not alone x

 

[EllaAziza]

Thanks. I’m actually starting a new job in 2 weeks time which is part of this so I’m a bit worried it’ll affect that.

Try not to put too much pressure on yourself. You might find you start a medication and get no side effects at all. Take each day at a time