scared to go on antidepressants

SoreTodayStrongTomorrow222

Looks like Prozac is the drug of choice huh? lol

Velum_cado

If you don't want to take them, don't. Look into other types of therapy. It might also be helpful to find someone to help you make a list of strategies to manage your anxiety while you're clear-headed and not in panic attack mode, so you can refer to it when you *are* in that bad place.

I wouldn't go back on psych meds for anything. Ugh.

Greytfish

Address your concerns with your medical professionals. They are in the best position to ssess risks and benefits and to help you monitor symptoms.

seltzermint555

OP:
Please continue seeing a medical professional who has knowledge of your medical history, specific symptoms and previous treatment. Please do not rely on internet health/wellness consultations or depending on food to be your only treatment option. Medication is one form of therapy and some people will need medication on a temporary basis, while others will need them on a permanent basis. Treatment should be tailored to the individual and their needs. Your health includes mental and physical. Be open with your providers and do not be afraid to ask them questions.

Agree with the above 100%

I also think it is important to stress the helpfulness of talk therapy/counseling. I've avoided prescription drugs for my generalized anxiety disorder and in part due to great therapy. I don't think meds are evil but I prefer to try it without them and have thus far been successful.

A lot of doctors - including many psychologists and psychiatrists! - do not believe talk therapy is helpful and are quick to prescribe meds with no additional course of treatment. Also, many patients aren't willing to participate actively in counseling and alternative routes of therapy and will only try meds. I find that very sad!

There are not a whole lot of people who can be magically "CURED" of their emotional/mental disorders by taking a pill. There is a lot more to it. Also, if you go off your meds and have not fully dealt with issues...what then?

Good luck to you, OP!

Lleldiranne

I started taking Paxil in November, for both depression and anxiety/panic attacks. It has not impacted my weight at all (in fact, I'm doing less emotional eating). I can honestly say that I've gone from anxiety most of the time and weekly + attacks to much calmer, attacks less than monthly and milder when they do come. I tried for years to deal with it without pills, went to psychiatrists, therapists, etc, but for me the medication was necessary.

The bottom line is risk vs benefits of the medication. If you are at a point with panic disorder that you do something dangerous, then it is more important to get your mental health in check first. If you track your calories and control your eating, you shouldn't gain weight. Even the medications that mess with your metabolism don't destine you to gaining a lot of weight; you'd just have to adjust your eating to meet calories out.

Sometimes medication with undesirable side effects is necessary. Deal with the issues that require the medication, get yourself healthy. If you do add a few pounds, you know how to deal with that, too.

Hang it there

thesevolatiletimes

Wellbutrin is an antidepressant and as far as I know it does not cause weight gain.

If you have a panic disorder be VERY careful with Wellbutrin. It works on your norepinephrine receptors, which would just make your panic/anxiety much much worse. Wellbutrin is an atypical antidepressant.

Like somebody else mentioned above, it's your hunger that tends to change when you start taking anti-depressants (since they work on the neuro-chemicals that are also responsible for appetite and/or saiety). So if you eat the same way that you've been eating, hypothetically, you wouldn't gain a substantial amount of weight. That being said, everybody's body reacts differently to medication, and everybody's situation renders different results. For example, people who binge eat out of their depression often find themselves losing weight on anti-depressants, while some find that they increase their appetite, and make them eat more, since they under-ate while depressed. It depends on a myriad of factors: NOT just the medication.

If you and your doctor are looking at SSRI's (which tend to have horrific sexual side effects, along with a few appetite side effects), take a look at Viibyrd. It's weight neutral. If you're really concerned about the medication affecting your weight, be open and honest with your doctor about there! There are weight neutral medications (as in, medications that don't affect your weight either way) that exist in pretty much every class of medication. I say this, because it's better to be open and honest with your pdoc fromt he start, than to half way through a medication trial, realize you're gaining weight, and stop taking the medication. If you find a medication that affects your appetite, there are medications you could combine to have synergestic effects for your depression, and don't affect your weight.

I've been through a ton of medications with this very problem, so feel free to PM me if you need support or to vent. Best of luck finding something that works for you! When it comes down to it, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. So if it only sets you back a few pounds, it's totally worth feeling stability, happiness, and pleasure.



PS: As for everybody posting about their experiences here, take them with a grain of salt! EVERYBODY reacts differently to medications. The side effects listed are only the ones that are the most experienced by consumers of a particular medication, not all the side effects. Ironically, some medications will actually have 'weight loss' and 'weight gain' as side effects. Derp!

David_AUS

What I like is that you are not just blindly accepting a "quick fix" and are open to other alternatives. Perhaps anti-depressant medication is right for you or perhaps you can control your anxiety through diet and exercise. There is not doubt that exercise and diet (eating the foods that help with your well being) are greatly beneficial. I would discuss with your doctor your concerns and willingness to consider meds but also other possibilities make a decision and monitor your progress - you may not be in the right mind set to commence a committed exercise regime and anti-depressants may assist with you moving the the right head space to introduce this to your life. Or your Dr might suggest some alternatives and you can monitor your progress together. These are not easy decisions - I have seen some take anti-depressants with remarkable turn arounds in focus and energy for life. For me personally I have taken a long road, I have my low days but I can see the train coming and push through - for me I know that weight loss and exercise has definitely helped. I do know that if you start the meds route that there will be a transition in and a transition out if you want to stop. I wish you all the best!

rella_1003

Thank you everyone so much for your input. Just to make clear gaining weight wasn't the only thing putting me off the antidepressants, I'd rather be chubby and happy over skinny and miserable/dead any day. I will address my other issues with medical professionals, I just wanted to know how other's with first hand experience dealth with the weight gain. It seems that the antidepressants increase your appetite rather than lower your metabolism as I originally thought.

Thanks so much again for all your help!

gmatthews2510

I took Citrolpram after the birth of my daughter for approx a year.
Didnt see any effects until after about 2 weeks and after that I was like a different person, much happier and relaxed and really felt better. It was as though a switch had been flicked in my head to feel like the 'old' me.
Had a few wobbles when I reduced my dose and came off them, but I believe they really helped me feel better during the time I most needed them.
If you are feeling at a desperate stage and can see no other way I wouldnt rule them out.

Wilhellmina

Ask your doctor for an alternative which doesn't cause any weight gain or try other alternatives like homeopathic medicine. I can imagine you're worried. I had remaron and gained 60 pounds within half a year! It was awful and I felt even more depressed then ever before.

Synamin

I've worked hard to lose weight and I'm really proud of my accomplishments (I lost 7 llbs and 5 inches off my waist). I suffer from panic disorder and yesterday I almost did something drastic which is why the doctors want to put me on antidepressants. I've had other types of therapy without any drugs so I want to do that again nut after yesterday's events the doctors think antidepressants will be a good idea. But I'm really scared of the side effects! And I know my mental health is more important but I don't want all my hard work undone.

Can anyone provide advice or personal experiences/tips? Thanks!

Don't be scared to do exactly what your doctor says you need to do in order to get healthy. Be super honest with him/her about what happened and also your concerns about weight gain. If you were hospitalized due to a mental health problem then gaining weight from treatment is really the least of your worries right now. Panic disorders don't usually cause people to self harm or make impulsive, destructive choices. Coming here for medical advice isn't going to help you, even though everyone here genuinely want to help, they don't really have the knowledge or resources to do so. Take as an example, people suggesting certain specific antidepressants that will likely be a very bad idea for some people because they can trigger mania.

I wish you the very best, go get yourself healthy, please!

Elsie_Brownraisin

I've been on a range of antidepressants and some caused weight loss (prozac and venlafaxine) and some weight gain (mirtazipine); it's best worth speaking to your GP. I know some have more side effects than others and they will know your medical history and what is best.

I did have a chart somewhere that compared medications, but I've googled and found the closest thing below, and as someone also has commented, Mind has a really useful website.

http://www.southstaffsandshropshealthcareft.nhs.uk/Services/Medicines-Management-and-Pharmacy/Default/Useful-Tools/docs/MMP-Handy-Chart-October-2011-V2.aspx

Pages 12-13 cover anxiety, 20-22 depression and 26-27 panic and it catogorises side effects into drowsiness, weight gain, nausea, dry mouth/vision and sexual problems and then scores them on how common they are. I didn't find the weight side effects as problematic as others I've encountered.

Just to stress again, you should discuss this with a health professional and some of these medications are not suitable for all (including me, as it turns out). Have you been referred to a psychiatrist?


Hope things improve for you soon.