Gershun Asked December 2019
Has anyone on here had positive experiences with antidepressants?
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I took Effexor for 4.5 years but discontinued it due to negative side effects. I've been doing research online and hear nothing but bad reviews for every single SSRI that exists it seems.
I have a Dr.'s appt. scheduled for next week and would like to have some possible positive feedback on something before I go so I at least could be armed with information before he just throws any pill at me.
Has anyone out there had a good experience with one. One that causes minimal weight gain, no suicidal thoughts, doesn't cause insomnia, etc. etc.?
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I have to keep reminding myself they’re not magic pills. Truthfully, they work better if you also go for counseling in addition to taking the medication. They don’t make the stress or other causes of depression disappear. They do, if they work, help you handle things but don’t make them go away. And the “enhancers” like Abilify aren’t generic and are prohibitively expensive as well.
I hope this helps. Anxiety and depression can beat you down.
dint let that scare you . Please take care of yourself !
Just recently under physician’s recommendation, I’ve been taking St. John’s Wort and Deplin (actually a non prescriptive generic of Deplin readily available on Amazon). This combination has been very helpful for me.
I have developed sort of a technique for isolating my depressive thinking- (My depression is NOT me) and although this approach may seem simplistic, it actually helps me show my depressive thoughts who’s boss (ME!😊).
Hope you are able to find the approach that gives you maximum support. Caregiving is certainly hard enough to deal with without depressed perspective as part of your personal la escape!
The side effects that are hard for me are weight gain (I used to be very thin, now I am just fat) and feeling tired all of the time (I have to take naps during the day in order to function)
But I have been on the meds since I was 24, I have had to do the try different meds things since I was 21. Effexor was the best for me, despite the PITA side effects. It's not a 100% cure all medication. All anti-depressants are like that.
My suggestion is to try different meds and see how you feel, if anything improves. Not everyone can take the same anti-depressants, everyone is different. Just because one person has success with one anti-depressant doesn't mean an another person will have the same success. I would ask about the herbal supplements (like St John's wort) with a doctor before taking them. Better safe than sorry.
If you need to ask questions about this matter, you can always private message me.
PS: There are some anti-depressant manufacturers that are coming out with no weight gain meds. I did hear of one, but can't remember the name. There may be more coming out, but I would give it time with that.
My husband has had good experiences with Prozac and Wellbutrin; one of my dear friends had a major depressive episode two years ago and what worked was ECT and Seroquel.
Good luck; and I agree about the combination of meds with talk therapy, especially with someone who does Cognitive Behavior Therapy or Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
The Wellbutrin made me feel calm, organized and capable again. Didn't gain any weight , a little insomnia. Stayed on it from 2013 until 2017 then I felt it's benefits kind of plateued out for me. I went off it and have done ok until recently when I too am considering an antidepressant again. Still on the fence. Some days I do ok and others are utter darkness. Therapy, meditation, yoga, friends, my dogs all help. Good luck to you- I hope you find something that helps.
I don't know what I'm going to do. Do I just stay how I am or risk taking something and risk possible weight gain etc.? I know some would say who cares if you gain a bit of weight if you feel better. In my case as a former anorexic the thought of gaining weight just makes me even more depressed. I don't want to be fat and happy. I want to be slim and happy. Is there such a thing with antidepressants? Doesn't sound like it.
As I said I tried Effexor. It didn't cause too much weight gain but caused post nasal drip which just became intolerable. I think I did try Wellbutrin and it caused insomnia so I discontinued that shortly after I started it. So..........don't know. We'll see I guess.
But thx again for the answers.
On the down side, it has destroyed my libido, but I've been unpartnered since my divorce so it hasn't really mattered much. I probably do gain weight more easily, but that could be due to aging, menopause, a lot of things. I'm still able to lose weight if I limit my calories. I can't speak to insomnia since my sleep issues predated my SSRI use. It probably hasn't made them any worse.
Good luck! I would not suffer with depression or anxiety without at least trying to get relief through modern medicine.
Ah, I was wondering why my OCD was pretty much a "whatever" attitude now instead of being high strung on trying to put the world on a level balance. The Paxil helped me not worry about pictures hung on a wall that were a tiny bit crooked, or re-shelving items at the grocery store :)
My daughter takes Prozac and has had no side effects from that medication either.
Good luck........I hope you find relief with a medication that works!!! But don't forget, ALL medications contain a list of warnings as long as a roll of toilet paper. Don't let that stop you.........keep trying until you find something that works for YOU!
But I am still appreciating all your guys input. Thanks!😊
a friend of mine takes Cymbalta and she said it really helped with her dark thoughts. My dad is on it now and I can tell a difference from when he was on Celexa and before that he was on Zoloft.
Then, just this year, I started having bouts of major sadness. Doc added a small dose of generic Welbutrin. The combination works wonderfully.
DL
Lexapro also brought calmness. As others have noted - too much calm. Lackadaisical spells at work. Paying bills late for no reason. Housekeeping took a nosedive. Etc.
Lexapro immediately killed my libido. Zero desire. Zero orgasms.
My Lexapro weight gain was steady and unacceptable. With no change in lifestyle or eating habits, I gained 35-40 lbs. (I’m short. On my frame, this was dramatic.) No amount of diet modification or exercise made a dent.
So yeah, Lexapro mitigated my depression. A long time coming. 20+ years of “toughing out” my bleak, low-function spells. Then came a cluster of all-at-once life changes that made “toughing it out” ineffective and impossible. So I finally sought help.
Over time, my treatment became my problem.
Two years into the Lexapro, my asexual fat slob persona was a price I was no longer willing to pay.
After an in-depth consultation with my doctor, I switched from Lexapro to Wellbutrin. The change was amazing.
Altho - discontinuing Lexapro triggered the “brain zaps.” Yes, they are real. If I hadn’t educated myself about Lexapro withdrawal, the “zaps” would have scared the sh*t out of me. Instead, it was just a weirdness that I learned to live with for a month or so.
Initially, Wellbutrin made me a bit amped-up and agitated. It also increased my focus at work - which was welcome and immediately rewarding.
After a couple of weeks, I realized that Wellbutrin had increased my sensitivity to caffeine. My lifelong normal of 4 or 5 cups of coffee per day was now too much for my system. I tapered to 1 cup per day (1st thing in the a.m.) and the agitation subsided.
My extra weight did not magically come off. BUT with Wellbutrin, my body was able to respond appropriately to weight-loss efforts. Over time, I worked down to my original weight.
Wellbutrin made me so..... normal! Normal mood. Normal motivation. Normal metabolism. Normal libido. 😃
I had typical (manageable) ups and downs. Low points, for sure. That’s life. Wellbutrin kept me from sliding into the pit of despair too deeply. Or for too long.
I went off Wellbutrin for a few years. Because I felt so good, bla bla bla. I was able to self-manage my emotions — until caregiving kicked my azz.
Back on the Wellbutrin for 5+ years now. I have no intention of discontinuing.
Well, that’s my story!
I refused to go onto anything prescribed without at least trying something natural and was advised to use Ashwagandha and I have been using it for over a year and almost never feel any depression and very little stress. Gaia was the brand recommended to me, but there are a lot of brands of Ashwagandha available. I was being awakened hourly by my DH to assist him in voiding, and the Ashwagandha allowed me to return to sleep and to awaken feeling rested.
Prescription drugs might be cheaper, but I worry about the side-effects and I suffer none with the Ashwagandha and the only side-effect with Cashews is I have trouble stopping at only 6. 😀😂
My mom was on a low-dose, older generation antidepressant in the last years of her life. She had struggled with depression for much of her adult life, but I think she was too ashamed to let her doctor know. Once she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I had a discussion with her medical doctor and we determined it would benefit her to be on a low-dose, daily medication. I don’t recall the name of the medication since that was more than 8 years ago.
After my mom passed away, my dad was feeling overwhelmed and depressed. He had lost everything—his wife, his home, and his independence. He had been diagnosed with Prostate cancer that had spread to his kidney and bones. Because he could no longer drive, his doctor encouraged him to move into Assisted Living and then shortly thereafter, he ended up in full-fledged nursing care. The antidepressant was used probably less than a year, but it did help him when he was at his lowest time. Dad remained sweet and kind to all of his nurses and the staff of the nursing home, and when he passed, they genuinely missed him.
Antidepressants aren’t for everyone, and may be over prescribed; however, they are for some folks and sometimes for short duration and other times for a longer duration. You and your doctor may have to work on finding the right medication at the right dosage. Once you start feeling better, I always encourage people to reach out to others and help them with their needs. Getting out of ourselves is important and gives us something better to live for.