Antidepressants

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GotYR06
GotYR06 Posts: 30 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been very blue again and always get like this the same time every year. I have much to feel thankful for and just don’t understand where all I want to do is sleep and cry. I have tried Prozac but made me so sleepy I stopped the first week cause o couldn’t even function. I have taken Celexa but it made me not care about a thing and feel numb. And Wellbutrin made me so mean and angry. I never have any of them a chance because I hate taking pills and all the side effects like headaches and teeth grinding are horrible. But I want to feel better and don’t want an antidepressant that will make me gain weight because I’d be even more depressed. Please no nasty comments of just “walk it off” because I do and if that were possible to alleviate these feelings there would be no shrinks and antidepressants. Just would love to hear experiences! Thanks 🙏🏻
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Replies

  • michael1976_ca
    michael1976_ca Posts: 3,488 Member
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    i'm on meds there not to bad but they help and you have to give them a chance. if there one thing i would do different would be. find something to keep yourself busy be it a hobby, volunteer some where, or get active sports. learn something new. but stay active. this time of the year is hard for most people who lose a family member or what ever brings you down
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    I’m on prescription amitriptyline for my anxiety, depression and ptsd. I also take OTC ashwanganda. The combination of the two works miracles.

    Good luck! 🍀
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Is it partly vitamin d? Have you had it tested?
    And lights.
    If you tend to stay in bed rather than get up, make yourself get out of bed and don’t lie on the sofa. Make yourself sit up or stand or walk when you wake up. (If you can, it may help).
  • IAmTheGlue
    IAmTheGlue Posts: 701 Member
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    Wellbutrin

    I am not currently on antidepressants but when I was Wellbutrin is the one I could take without a crapton of side effects
  • katermari
    katermari Posts: 137 Member
    edited November 2019
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    GotYR06 wrote: »
    I have been very blue again and always get like this the same time every year. I have much to feel thankful for and just don’t understand where all I want to do is sleep and cry. I have tried Prozac but made me so sleepy I stopped the first week cause o couldn’t even function. I have taken Celexa but it made me not care about a thing and feel numb. And Wellbutrin made me so mean and angry. I never have any of them a chance because I hate taking pills and all the side effects like headaches and teeth grinding are horrible. But I want to feel better and don’t want an antidepressant that will make me gain weight because I’d be even more depressed. Please no nasty comments of just “walk it off” because I do and if that were possible to alleviate these feelings there would be no shrinks and antidepressants. Just would love to hear experiences! Thanks 🙏🏻

    I have been on anti anxiety and anti depressants for 21 years, what I can say from my experience is, they do not make the sad go away but they do help you cope, or as my doctor says " keep my wheels in the right lane"
    find things that spark joy in your life, weather it be a song or taking a bath, or doing art.
    what ever sparks joy in your life for those few moments that help make the next few bearable. also around this time of year is is important to take vitamins and get into the sunshine.

    [Edited by MFP Staff]
  • rdkdm7
    rdkdm7 Posts: 34 Member
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    I'm sorry. I don't do well on antideppressents. I take anxiety meds. I hear you. Just taking something that will make you fat is going to make you more depressed too. Understandable. Makes sense to me.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 1,992 Member
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    I've been on celexa (citalopram) 20 mg for several years. How much did you take a day? It never made me feel numb or not caring. When my parents died, I upped it to 40 mg for the funerals...at that dose I could really feel the effects of the drug. 20 is about right for me to function with no side effects.
  • Cali1105
    Cali1105 Posts: 29 Member
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    Wellbutrin did me dirty too! Made me super angry and anyone that knows me knows that's not how i am! I have been taking Zoloft for years and it seems to be the only one that works for me.. Sorry you are feeling blue! it is definitely not fun! Have you had something happen recently that may be causing it? Good luck to you and hang in there! (I will try to take my own advice ;) )
  • katermari
    katermari Posts: 137 Member
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    Cali1105 wrote: »
    Wellbutrin did me dirty too! Made me super angry and anyone that knows me knows that's not how i am! I have been taking Zoloft for years and it seems to be the only one that works for me.. Sorry you are feeling blue! it is definitely not fun! Have you had something happen recently that may be causing it? Good luck to you and hang in there! (I will try to take my own advice ;) )

    I have been on Zoloft for 21 years, it is AMAZING
  • JRtheNutbar
    JRtheNutbar Posts: 9 Member
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    I've been on both Pristiq and Cipralex (with a break in between). I had to stop Pristiq at first because the dreams were so vivid/weird/exhausting that I was actually afraid to go to bed (my favorite time of the day which suuuuucked). As much as they helped me get to where I am today, they did give me some side effects that I still get on a regular basis (migraines & nausea).

    So in the end, I'm happy that I had them when I needed them, since they helped initiate life changes that were better for me (got a job in a non-toxic environment, moved in with partner instead of sibling, got a kitty). Eventually with the Cipralex, I got to a place where I didn't feel like I needed to take them anymore (especially with the changes that were made) and my doctor wasn't even mad that I weaned off on my own.

    I kinda wish I never took Pristiq, and that I maybe did more research before going to my doctor asking for something.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    Counseling with CBT and meditation have made significant improvements for me. I haven't been on meds for years, but they can be a valuable part of a treatment plan. I did need to push through the first week of feeling really gross with them though.
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
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    It can be a long process of trial and error. Some meds are better tolerated then others, depending on the individual and dosing.
  • petitchatnoir41
    petitchatnoir41 Posts: 56 Member
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    I have been on lexapro and abilify for years. They make it harder to loose weight but I did not gain weight because of them. Having bad feelings can make the motivation to work out, eat healthy or do much of anything WAY HARDER. It may take time to find the right medication and dosage you need so I agree that you should get the advice of a psychiatrist.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    It took me 10 years and about 7 medications to find the right one for me. Finding the right one has made all the difference in the world (I have been taking Viibryd for the last 4 years). You really can't make a decision if one is working for you until you have been taking it for about 6-8 weeks, which makes the process a PITA.

    I have both gained and lost weight on antidepressants and found out that non of them MADE me gain. Some did make me a bit more hungry so I needed to pay better attention to my food. The right one put me in the frame of mind where I was able to lose weight. Having my emotions on a more even keel gave me the incentive to do more shopping and cooking, as well as getting out of the house more which raised my activity level.

    I hope you are seeing a Psychiatrist instead of an MD for these prescriptions. They have so much more experience and can switch them around depending on your side effects and how effective they are.

    Also, as others suggested, it wouldn't hurt to have your vitamin D levels checked. In addition to the AD I take 5,000 IU of D because of SAD.
  • ladyzherra
    ladyzherra Posts: 438 Member
    edited November 2019
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    Hey there. Sharing stories like this takes courage. Thank you, and you are not alone in this.

    I do not take medication, and I do not judge anyone who does. My reason for not medicating is that I have a curiosity to really feel my sensations and to understand them. I like to see what working through darkness feels like. For many years, it just felt dark, especially when my daughter died.

    I have found that I really need at least one person of light -- meaning positive energy who believes in something loving in this world -- in my corner. This helps me a lot to have a touchstone. I actually hire someone, a light worker.

    I have also found that ritual -- I am not religious but just like having a symbolic ceremonial to emody my fears, envision my best self , feel supported, ask for guidance, step outside, looks inside, etc. -- has been invaluable

    I do not feel that I can conquer my spurts of depression or anxiety in this life completely. Perhaps this is a part of our experience as humans in this existence. But I am learning tools to support me and to reshape my world because everyone I have met is struggling...no exceptions. I try to ask the darkness how it can aid me to be more fearless and kind and open. I try to not judge myself so harshly for not being perfect or needing light or just needing rest, or to cry or scream, for needing space, or not even knowing what I need.

    There is an opportunity in everything, even dark things. I have always felt since I was a child that light is worth fighting for, and to do that I have felt that I need to experience the dark, too
  • jon2412
    jon2412 Posts: 61 Member
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    I’m on Venlafaxine....it works and it helps me. I was feeling very down, quite complex issues related to surgery, chronic pain, stress and so on. I was particularly worried because I always feel low in the winter months but I started getting bad over summer...

    They do help, but I find that whilst I don’t feel quite so down it’s also not so easy to feel very excited about stuff, it’s like the top-and-tail of the highs and lows have been cut off.

    For me that has meant exercise - which was my go to stress busting feel good thing - didn’t have the same effect and I stopped going to the gym. The tablets also can encourage weight gain, add into that comfort eating/mindless eating and such like and I’ve put on weight...which is also a horrid cycle of getting bigger, feeling bad and then comfort eating again (sabotage my own diet basically)

    I have now got back to gym. I’m logging what I eat again. I’m forcing myself to be a bit more active and I’ve got follow ups with my Dr. So, it’s not all doom and gloom. Without the pills I’d be much worse off!

    It’s not great when the ‘black dog’ comes to visit and sit by your side each day. But you can treat it like an ‘old friend’, and in that you can learn, with support, how best to manage it and have it behave, sometimes it goes away and maybe never returns, for some in wanders back and forth. Maybe a bit weird, kinda works for me

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