Anti-depressants?

I think you need someone (psychologist) who knows how to help a person feel safe to. That was my thing when I was going.... My fear: is this person safe to talk to? ... If I start talking about the deep stuff my anger will swell up... I don't know what it will look like or sound like when it escapes... So I'd need someone who can handle it because I might not be able to.

I have been taking Pristiq for 3 years, LOVE it. I recently added Viibryd to it to help boost it. I have depression, anxiety as well as being manic/bipolar.

I tried just taking bipolar meds and I gained so much weight so fast. I now am on the SNRI and the SSRI and its a perfect combo. I am energetic, I actually want to do things again!

I do not go to therapy.. but I have a lot of supportive, amazing friends and family that help listen and support me.

I'm one that definately does better without those meds. Because they made me worse. The thing that really helped was a sound nutritious food plan. 30 minutes of exercise, lots of water, getting out of the house, and work to keep me busy. Oh and my two POM dogs seem to cheer me up, each and every day. No matter how my day is. They are a great sense of comfort to me. If you do take them, I highly suggest not comsuming ANY alcohol whatsoever. I wish you happiness in the future. Very much.

You may already know all of this, but I wanted to throw it out there just in case you don't. :flowerforyou:

I think trying counseling is a great thing and combining meds with counseling is more effective than just taking anti-depressants. If you need anti-depressants, please research some BEFORE you go to the doctor to get them. The reason I say this is because I've been helping a family member through a lot of issues and we just went with what the experts said to try. That was a mistake. Not that experts are wrong, but if WE had done some research ahead of time, it would have helped us see some red flags for my family member. We know ourselves better than most doctors know us.
Also, remember it takes weeks for most anti-depressants to start working. It kinda sucks to finally get something and then have to be patient for it to work.
Anyway, I just want to say that I think there is a definite time and place for them and they are very helpful as long as you are on the correct one.

Anti-depressants do help but they aren't a cure or a fix and sometimes you have to go through a few medications to find one that works with you. It helps to go to therapy to learn about different methods of controlling your depression in addition to taking medication.

Honestly, results vary so widely from person to person. Talk with your doctor and get lots of information so you can make a good decision that will help you.

I have had a few times over the years where I needed them to get through some bad times. They have always helped me and I haven't had to remain on them for more than 9-12months. Just make sure you are working with a doctor to get the correct type, dosage etc. If they make you feel foggy or weird, they aren't the right ones. If you feel suicidal while on them, stop and go back to the doctor. If they are working correctly, you shouldn't actually "feel" anything -- but you'll notice you no longer break into tears for no reason, spend your days in bed sleeping, avoiding social functions etc...

This is nothing to be ashamed about --- and something you should get checked. If you are here asking this question, you already know in your head that you don't like what's going on. You deserve to get help and get past it and enjoy your life again!

I've done both, anti-anxiety meds and counseling, at different times so not concurrently.

My experience with anti-anxiety/depression meds was terrible. I put on 25 lbs and felt worse about myself than I did when I wasn't taking the medicine. It did relieve my anxiety, but it didn't do a thing for my self-esteem. I was incredibly hard on myself and I was trying to workout, but sleep was alwasy more important than working out. After about 3 months on the medicine, I quit taking it and decided that I wasn't going to depend on a pill to make me "happy". I had to work it out myself. I started seeing a therapist and that really helped. I also made a point to work out and relieve stress/anxiety every day in some form to help me. I began with walking on a treadmill at the gym and every day I would give myself little pep talks to not quit "you don't want to go back on the pills do you?" "at least you're here and working toward something!" and then, when I started losing weight, I didn't have to give myself the pep talks--people started doing it for me. The therapist started noticing that I was losing weight and asked me how I felt about myself and I said I"m still not good enough. She said that we needed to start working on loving myself rather than always pleasing everyone else. I still have problems with accepting compliments, but I feel prettier than ever. Since I started walking, running has become my therapy. I am a person that doesn't want to run, but rather I need to run. Sometimes my boyfriend will say "when was the last time you ran?" and I know that's a cue that I am becoming irratiable. He's not being a **** about it, but he knows that it will help me and it usually does. I havne't seen my therapist in a year and I feel more at peace with myself and my surroundings and situations that I am currently in than ever. I am happy with my boyfriend, my family and my friends.

I wouldn't tell you what to do, but I think it's important to figure out what is best for you. Some people do well on medication... others, like me, do not (unless it's to control my baby maker). I would suggest that you have a real frank conversation with your doctor and see what is best for you. Sometimes though, I think that doctors just write a prescription before hearing you out.

good luck and I'll be praying for you

Taking medication for personal issues is and should be a big decision and it's good that you are asking about it. Some people don't take it serious. Here is my take on taking these kinds of medication and my experience. There are no anti-depression, anti-anxiety, or anti-psychotic medications that do not have side effects. Some are more severe than others, some create dependancy more than others, and you have to weigh out the benefits of them to see if it is worth it.

Medication alone will not fix your situation, unless of course you are one that is in the situation soley because your chemically imbalanced but even then usually it won't fix it completley. The meds are going to make life more tolerable to where it makes it easier for you to cope with what ever you are coping with and gives you a clearer view so you can pick yourself up off the ground so to speak. That is the way it is suppose to work anyhow.

In my experirence with these meds is that it is very frustarating. Unfortunalty there is not a perfect science to this. You will most likely go through a trial and error process to where the doctor will start you on a medication, you take it for awhile to see if it works. If it doesn't seem to work the doc will either up the dosage to see if that works or put you on another or additional medicaton. You most likely will not get it right the first time.

If you plan on having additional children in the near future, be sure to check the classification of the medication to ensure it will not harm the baby.

With the side effects of the medications if you read the warnings they will scare the hell out of you but in most cases they put theh worste case scenerio on the warnings for a disclaimer so in the event that something tragic does happen then they can say they warned the public. Look up what people think online about their experiences with the medications to get a real feel for what it will most likely to do you. Most of them are temporary until your body adjusts to them but not always of course.

The one thing I would like to kick my doctor in the balls for is not warnring me about the dependancy issues of the medications he put me on. I take one medication that doesn't have any kind of affect on me like maybe an illegal drug would have. I don't get happy highs or trip out or anything, but damn if you miss a dose or try and come off it by yourself it is a very painful significant emotional event. It causes electrical shocks through the body, you throw up, get dizzy as hell, and I don't care how tought you are you get all kinds of emotional.

I think counseling is the best thing anyone can do for themselves. I know it did wonders for me while in a bad marriage. Many people are cruel and don't understand when one feels so badly. I use to say thank God for paxil. ; )

Great advice in here. Always seek the advice of your doctor and seek counseling. I wouldn't worry if you have to be on the medicine for life. It would be no different than if you had high blood pressure. If it makes your quality of life better then it's worth it for you and your loved ones.