Iamhappy Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 I just started taking antidepressants. I know that it will take about 4 to 6 weeks before the medicine actually kicks in. I'm feeling kind of numb right now. I feel neither pleasure nor pain, nor do I feel sadness or happiness. Does anyone know how the antidepressants will affect my ability to feel pain/pleasure? Will they create a false sense of well-being? Link to post Share on other sites
Tony T Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 The right antidepressant in the right dosage should make you feel nothing but better. Work with your doctor to achieve the correct blood level over time. Of course, you have to work along with it and start thinking good thoughts as well. No, you won't get a false sense of well being. You'll just be able to handle reality better. Give the medication some time to reach proper blood levels. If you don't feel better with it or if there are side effects you can't tolerate, your doctor will find an antidepressant that will work for you. Hang in there and stop worrying!!! Link to post Share on other sites
IRULE Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 my doctor put me on zoloft ,it did not work so she doubled my prescription it did nothing i don't go to doctors and don't want to keep trying different drugs so now i'm frustrated and depressed, make sure you have a good doctor that knows what he/she is doing that makes all the difference. good luck Link to post Share on other sites
Tony T Posted September 10, 2003 Share Posted September 10, 2003 I'm very sorry you decided not to work with your doctor on finding the right medication for you. In this age, there is no reason for anyone to suffer the effects of clinical depression. Usually when the Zoloft doesn't work, a doc will put you on Paxil...which, incidentally, has changed the lives of many people in a majorly good way. There are many others too that work for different people. But it's your choice to feel bad and I respect that. Link to post Share on other sites
Clancy Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Anti-depressants won't give you a false sense of well-being, at least not the ones I'm familiar with. They can even out your moods so that you don't feel crushing depression or erractic highs. They do make you somewhat of a quieter , less boisterous person. They have an important role to play for some people in just giving them time to learn to deal with their emotions so they can be better equipped to handle life on their own. and that's the key to living without pills, learn from therapy and your own reading. For some people though that never happens and they have to stay on them. From my experience antidepressants don't give you any sensations that you feel the way you might feel a Valium for example but they do have a big impact on your personality and in areas like motivation. Generally, I've found that when you've been on anti-depressants for awhile you'll tend to have less drive, do more vegging, exercise less, laugh less, etc. But this isn't the result of "feeling" it's more a change in lifestyle. As a result of this lifestyle people tend to gain weight on antidepressants.. The best thing I can tell you is follow you doctor's advice , go on them, and stay on them until your doctor advices you off them. Nonetheless, after a year or so you, if you feel you've learned to handle life on your own you can ask the doc to start weaning you off them. Never stop taking them suddenly. You won't like it and it's dangerous. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
LadyJ Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 A few years ago I was prescribed Paxil. Before that I was given Celexa, and welbutren (sorry I can't spell it)... For me it was like trading one misery for another. I had all kinds of side effects.... blury vision, fatigue, sleeplesness, sexual dysfunction... I hated it. Also I had the same problem of worrying about haveing a false sense of well being. I did not want to feel like everything was OK when it wasn't. BUT.... I stopped taking the Paxil before I really gave it a chance. I only took it for two months and when the side effects did not go away after one month like my doc said they would I got frustrated and stopped taking it. Also I was in a relationship at the time and quit taking it because of the sexual side effects also. If I had it to do over again I would have stuck with it be cause here I am three years later and I am still depressed and seriously considering getting back on some sort of medication because I know I am getting worse. If I had stuck with it then I might not have this problem now. The relationship I was in at the time went nowhere and the guy was not even worth my time. Something I may have been more aware of if I was thinking more clearly but I was very depressed. Now I am with someone that really loves me and I am not excited about having all the side effects when I am in a relationship that is good. I would say stick with it and give it a chance. Work with your doctor. I wish that is what I would have done. If I had I might be better off now. Link to post Share on other sites
ArdeaCandidissima Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 Just one data point...20 mg of Paxil daily took away the helpless, miserable, out of control feelings and left me feeling pleasantly like my "true" self. I was able to feel pleasure and even healthy pain - you know, the kind that you feel and deal with and can handle. It even reduced (by 90%) a specific phobia I had had my whole life, which was triggered when I was alone in a body of water. Paxil also helped me get down to my proper weight effortlessly. The one weird thing was that on Paxil, I could not truly get sad or cry - even when watching tearjerker movies or rereading the chapter in Little Women where Beth dies, which had always been a reliable cathartic. "As Beth had hoped, the `tide went out easily', and in the dark hour before dawn, on the bosom where she had drawn her first breath, she quietly drew her last, with no farewell but one loving look, one little sigh. "With tears and prayers and tender hands, mother and sisters made her ready for the long sleep that pain would never mar again, seeing with grateful eyes the beautiful serenity that soon replaced the pathetic patience that had wrung their hearts so long, and feeling with reverent joy that to their darling, death was a benignant angel, not a phantom full of dread." I did not notice myself becoming quieter or less boisterous - maybe just more even tempered and easier to live with. Link to post Share on other sites
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