Anti depressants

[Catz]

Anyone tried them is my first question I suppose.

I went to my GP because of lots of weird stuff my body was doing, my mind felt ok(ish), and I walk away with a prescription to make me better which is for anti-depressants. (Never realised till I googled them, guess I wasn't maybe listening to my GP or something)

Anyway they've sat on the kitchen worktop for 2 days because I don't really want to take them.

I can't actually decide whether I feel depressed or not, my doc obviously thinks I am. I had some tick test to do and a few questions to answer from him ...

I know it's maybe an old fashioned view but is there still a stigma attached to these sort of drugs?
I'm actually a little scared to take any because I don't want to turn into some sort of zombie who needs "happy pills" to cope. I feel pretty sane, maybe not totally calm but I just don't know if this is a road to go down. Maybe I should take them ... just feel a bit pathetic that I might need something to make my brain work better/more normally.

I thought about hiding my username etc but hope others can be of help here so didn't.

I'd really appreciate any words of wisdom.
Thanks.

[sultanbrown]

Anti depressents all do the same thing.
You have a problem? Get addicted to this drug then you'll have something else to think about.
In my experience, they do not help.

[mark69sheer]

No stigma these days but think very carefully about taking them. Despite being 'mind' drugs they generally affect you physically aswell.
You may end up unable to drive. It is very easy to become addicted to them and very difficult to stop taking them.

[sleep envy]

bin them, they do more harm than good IME

[Airbag]

sleep envy said:

bin them, they do more harm than good IME

Totally depends what it is and what it's been prescribed for. Do you trust your MD? If not, then why is he your MD?

[Amused2death]

I look on anti depressants as the equivalent of crutches...You break your leg, crutches help to support you until the bone heals. You break your mind, then antidepressants help give your body a chemical lift, and so hopefully help give you the edge on dealing with your problems. Anti depressants aren't a cure, but could be a useful tool.

Some drugs prescribed as anti depressants are also used to treat other ailments, for example, they are sometimes used to help treat some bowel conditions because of their effects.

As for the social stigma attached to depression generally, those that have suffered will empathise with you. Those that have never suffered will never understand....lucky them.....

[Biker's Nemesis]

I had a spell on them 10 years ago for around 5 months.

Seroxat, not nice, best leave them alone.

[sleep envy]

Airbag said:

sleep envy said:

bin them, they do more harm than good IME

Totally depends what it is and what it's been prescribed for. Do you trust your MD? If not, then why is he your MD?

they weren't for me but a good mate who was having a hard time

he used them as a crtuch to get him through but it turned into a psycological dependency

with them he was happy, without he was teetering on the edge and it took him 2 years to work it out

[Catz]

Nice box of Citalopram sitting in front of me ... no idea wtf they do (might sell them for a profit! )

I am of the opinion they'll do more harm than good though, hence my reluctance to go there. However my GP, who normally says to take an aspirin for everything (pretty old school GP) seems to think I need them to help me stay calmer.

I can't even decide if I'm feeling calm (I think I am) or if he's right and I'm just a bit wooooooooooooohaaaaaaaaaa!!!

[B17NNS]

What's bothering you? Is it physical? mental?

Why don't you feel yourself? How do you feel?

[sleep envy]

if you're having to deal with a bit too much st in your life my advice would be to go and talk to someone - it makes a massive difference just letting it out

the biggest benefit is you learn stuff about yourself without the fug of the pills and it teaches you how to deal with st

nothing wrong in getting help

[Biker's Nemesis]

B17NNS said:

What's bothering you? Is it physical? mental?

Why don't you feel yourself? How do you feel?

That's actually a good question catz.

Answer these honestly if you can.

[Catz]

sleep envy said:

if you're having to deal with a bit too much st in your life my advice would be to go and talk to someone - it makes a massive difference just letting it out

Where do I go?

B17NNS said:

What's bothering you? Is it physical? mental?

Why don't you feel yourself? How do you feel?

I constantly feel nauseous, shaky, little appetite, can't sleep. If I do sleep I wake at 3/4am crying or just unable to breathe.
I'm forgetting folks names, forgetting all sorts of little things, my mind just won't shut down and STOP!

[Airbag]

Catz said:

sleep envy said:

if you're having to deal with a bit too much st in your life my advice would be to go and talk to someone - it makes a massive difference just letting it out

Where do I go?

B17NNS said:

What's bothering you? Is it physical? mental?

Why don't you feel yourself? How do you feel?

I constantly feel nauseous, shaky, little appetite, can't sleep. If I do sleep I wake at 3/4am crying or just unable to breathe.
I'm forgetting folks names, forgetting all sorts of little things, my mind just won't shut down and STOP!

Some sort of anxiety disorder?

Get a reference to shrink, mental health is nothing to laugh about. Ignore the people who tell you to man up and get over it, you know that's not how it works.

[Z4monster]

Catz, My partner is on antidepressants after having a very acute breakdown 18 months ago. It has taken a while to find the combination which really helped him to get onto a level whereby he could feel normal again. He had a spell of in patient care initially and then has been seeing his specialist regularly since then.

You mention all sorts of wierd stuff your body was doing. The mind is very powerful and his mind convinced him he had some type of cancer so he got various symptoms which tied in with the illnesses he thought it might be. The internet is a very dangerous place to self diagnose any ilness and he was sure he was dying of something. The docs assured him that nothing was wrong physically with his body but that didn't help.

If you gave the doc answers which lead him to suspect depression then you probably weren't listening to what was said that well. I suggest you go back to speak with him again. Maybe you could take a friend or relation to help you understand things clearer. It worked better for us to do this.

The best meds now are not Happy Pills. You can still get them and I admit that they solve nothing but make sure you don't give a toss about whatever is wrong. The newer drugs help you cope with life without clouding your mind. They get you back to a place where you can deal with life again properly. They aren't a cure in themselves AFAIK but a way of clearing the problems in your head.

I had a spell off work last year with severe stress. I saw my doctor and was prescribed Beta Blockers to lower my blood pressure for a month. I was off work (The cause of the stress) and combined with the treatment I was ok to go back after I finished the treatment. Without it I am sure I would have jacked in the job within a few more weeks.


Don't dismiss the tablets without understanding why they were prescribed for you. Chat to the doc about them and what they will do for you. Your lack of clarity to me sounds like you are not in that good shape at present so something must be wrong somewhere. There is not the same stigma with depression these days. Lots of people have bouts of it when you start talking about it. Many people you would never think would have it.

I hope it helps you to hear a positive message about things. Good luck

[catmartin]

Yeah those certainly sound like anxiety symptoms. But get to the route of why you're having the problems or the tablets are just a potentially longterm solution to what could be just a short term problem!

[Catz]

Thankyou Z4Monster ... I'm in one of those places that just would like to get back to normal but I seem all over the place.
Hard to describe because I just want to feel my usual but oddly can't. I'm always seen as a laid back kind of person by family and friends which makes everything even stranger.

[V8A*ndy]

catmartin said:

Yeah those certainly sound like anxiety symptoms. But get to the route of why you're having the problems or the tablets are just a potentially longterm solution to what could be just a short term problem!

Absofeckinglutely spot on!!!!!!

Google Claire Weeks and read her books. It will help you more than any drugs. Trust me I had these problems in my early 20's. Anxiety like this is very common but sadly is more serious than you may think.

Once these symptoms are properly explained you will feel confident in dealing with them. However without the Beta Blockers for the first few months I think I would have went into meltdown.

[sleep envy]

Catz said:

Where do I go?

http://www.bacp.co.uk/public/

a good a place to start as any

[mrobertshaw]

Catz said:

Nice box of Citalopram sitting in front of me ... no idea wtf they do (might sell them for a profit! )

I am of the opinion they'll do more harm than good though, hence my reluctance to go there. However my GP, who normally says to take an aspirin for everything (pretty old school GP) seems to think I need them to help me stay calmer.

I can't even decide if I'm feeling calm (I think I am) or if he's right and I'm just a bit wooooooooooooohaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Citalopram (celexa) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, it's faster acting than Fluoxetine (prozac). Essentially they stop your brain from re absoring serotonin, so you have more floating around in your head to keep you happy.

They are very good at what they are meant to do. The reliance people talk of is serotonin withdrawal symptoms which effect around 60% of people coming off the drugs and last 3 or 4 weeks they include things such as dizziness, vertigo, head lag etc.

If your doctor has given you the drugs he probably thinks you are actually depressed, in which case the drugs are likely to work. I strongly disagree with the individuals urging you to leave them alone unless they are all doctors.

If you are really unhappy about taking the tablets, go back to the doctor and enquire about the possibility of some CBT or simmilar therapy. These can be just as effective, if not more effective than drugs. It would however take alot more time, and may not be a service provided by your local health service.

Hope that helps you a bit. (I'm in my final year of a Psychology degree and we learn alot about depression).