Antidepressants - Experiences.. good or bad?

Like a couple of the other responders, I've been prescribed citolapram. Unlike the others, I'm STILL on it. I've been on for more than a year. It has had some great effects on me mentally. I wasn't given it specifically as an antidepressant, but more as a mood evener.

I mood swung BADLY, 0 to ***** in .02 seconds sort of thing. After starting this, within 5 days, the moods evened out some. I'm not saying I don't mood swing any more (my husband would call me a liar if I tried), but at least now I have more control over them.

They did help my depression...a little. I'm still depressed, but I refuse to take more than what I am for it. The citolopram has helped me, esp. in the aftermath of a miscarriage last year.

In no way do they dull my emotions, nor is it meant to. As the doctor who gave it to me explained, it helps the neuropathways in your brain do what they're supposed to, helping with the connections or something. And I think it does. I was very skeptical much of anything would help (my mom was on antidepressants for decades), or if anything it would just dull me out. It didn't. I'm grateful for what I'm taking.

That said, the nurse when I went for a checkup a few months ago and I discussed my depression issues, said that citolopram alone really is only about 30% effective, and really suggested counseling in ADDITION to the medication, said that the combination tended toward a 60-80% effectiveness rate.

I used to suffer from depression. I was on medication etc. I cannot tell you that you should or shouldnt go on them, but I can shed a little light on whether or not it would help your situation or not.

Firstly, most doctors will prescribe an SSRI, which is effective for those people who suffer from issues with their seratonin levels. In other words a chemical imbalance in their brain. However, for those people who suffer from circumstantial depression (ie. work related worries, or relationship, bereavement etc) it may as well be taken for a placebo effect as there is likely no seratonin imbalance for it to correct. Anti-depressant will not make you filter your thoughts, You wil still think about the same things and they will cause just as much low mood. At most the way you deal with these emotions might be dampened, but at the point you come off them, they will likely just return.

From your post I gather medication isnt the route you wish to take, so why not go for talking therapy which would not only help you deal with the thoughts causing the problems, but also save you having to go on meds against your will. There are no side effects to talking to someone. It can only improve your situation.

I would recommend basic counselling if your depression is short term, but if its a long term problem, I would highly reccommend CBT. Both are available on the NHS (if you are in the UK). If you are in the US, you can get CBT on your insurance if you just do an online search for those covered by your insurance company in your area. Please do come and chat if you need any help, as I cured my depression myself without the use of medication. To date I take no meds for any of my health or anxiety conditions.

I know people who have been on anti-depressants for 30 years, at a certain point you have to treat the cause of the problem, rather than the symptoms

Really? My mum was schizophrenic since she was 17 all the way till her death at 53 ...what would you have told her to treat? He depression was part of that. Comes a time when people who know nothing OF being depressed should just shhhh.:mad:

I do remember when I went on my last prescribed depressant medication it felt like I was asleep all the time & I would fall asleep (no really I would) at any time I was not moving.

I went cold turkey off them...it's almost killed me but no way I was going to suffer with taking them. It felt like I was being electrocuted constantly when I went off them..... but then even that was better than falling asleep at the drop of a hat.

Been on St Johns Wort for about 6 years now & never looked back. Depression runs in the women in my mothers side of the family.... it's almost a know thing that you will have it if you are a woman on that side.

No need to use them , happiness comes from within . adjust the mind and train it to think positive . I was diagnosed with depression 2 years ago and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone , felt like death , all I can say is that THE MIND IS VERY POWERFUL and we can control our thoughts and lead them in the right direction.

I took Prozac for a week 19 years ago. I had to ask for it because no one wanted to help me sort my feelings out (was PPD, but nobody could/would tell me and I had no clue where to look for help other than medical professionals). I stopped for 2 reasons:

1. My sleep became nonexistent. I slept less until one night I spent it sitting in the bedroom listening to my daughter breathe.

2. My family knew I was depressed and would insist I "take my pill" if I ever expressed any kind of emotion, be it happy or sad.

I deal with it now by having a breakdown every 3-4 months - bawling all the time, suicide attempts/cutting, lashing out at my husband, breaking things. I do my best to keep it in the bedroom or bathroom and away from others.

Those meds are a bandaids. Have your cortisol and thyroid tested. If either of those two are not where they should be, all your stated symptoms will be present.

Most doctors would not prescibe such drugs without the blood tests first to check these and other potential issues are not causing the symptoms.

Please see a doctor and discuss your feelings - and your feelings about drugs.

Also, remember drugs have changed since your parents took them and are (or should be!) less "blunt instrument" and more readily tailored to the individual, esecially in terms of dose (from very low to "knock out elephant").

I take vitamin D and vitamin B12 and they both help with my symptoms.....way more than any of the massive amounts of antidepressants I was on ever did.

From someone who's been clinically depressed since age 10, I can honestly say anti-depressants are the best thing that ever happen to me.

Without my antidepressants, I would have surely committed suicide years ago.

They can take away the gray clouds and allow you to see the sunlight that is all around you. It's like removing a layer of dirt from a car's windshield... it just helps remove a chemical 'funk' that is causing unnecessary pain.

My first antidepressant didn't work. My second one only worked for a time. I had a terrible allergic reaction to the third, and then my 4th one.... oh my 4th one . It was the one. It worked and it worked and it worked. It was perfectly. I wasn't a doped up dummy. I had highs and lows, felt pain and sadness -- but depression wasn't overtaking me anymore. I was back to "level", as I called it. No more feeling "low".

Most people don't have allergic reactions like I did. I don't know anyone else who has reacted as badly as I did. My body is incredibly sensitive to certain categories of medication and not as receptive to others.

After feeling "level" for about a year and a half, I told my therapist I was ready to come off my antidepressant. She hesitantly agreed, and stepped me down until I was off the meds. She has been thrilled with my progress. I've been off it since last October.

There is no shame in taking a medication to help level out improperly balanced chemicals in your body. The improper balance may be situational (mine always is), may last for only a short time, or may be something new that will remain with you.

There is no shame in taking a medication that can help you shake off a gray cloud that diminishes your quality of life. If a small pill can help you see past the cloud to the bright sunshine, why deny yourself that happiness?

There is so much stigma attached to mental illness, and it's a damn shame. So many people don't lead the lives they could because they don't understand or don't feel they should take medications that help.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Medication without therapy won't cure everything. The biggest part of dealing with my depression was therapy in conjunction with my medication. Therapy taught me how to see life for what it was (instead of skewing it negatively) and how to handle life as it came at me in the hard times.

Depending upon your level of depression, therapy might be the only thing necessary. I began therapy first, but after repeated thoughts of suicide, went on an antidepressant in addition, and that medication saved my life.