anti-d's

[broken-and-lost]

Whats peoples thoughts on anti-depressents ? i've never really been one for medications of this sort to deal with the pain, i've read some horror stories on the effects of them.

 

My doctor was always trying to get me to take them said it would help ease the emotions and help you balance effects of feeling depressed, i was never convinced these would work on broken hearts, really only see the use for these for clinical depression or mid to high levels of depression.

 

Any one using them or tried what did they do? help? make things worse? be interesting to get peoples experiences and opinions on these things for people who may be offered them by GP's

 

discuss

[esteem-jam]

What "horror stories", can you be specific? Im on Lexapro, no horrors here. The sexual libido is shaken at the start, but goes back to normal. The mood increase was amazing, noticed was crying way less, thus better sleep and other benefits. I actually found my rebound girl in the 2nd month of taking them.

The withdrawal symptoms were tickling in the face and waves of dizziness, like strong wind blown in your face.

They dont solve anything, but give a little push, so you can work on your problems yourself.

[oldguy]

I recommend consulting a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist has a medical degree & can better evaluate your needs.

 

I personally believe ant-depressants are an excellent band-aide but need to be mixed with therapy. Too many people, IMO, feel better on them & declare themselves cured.

 

IMO your not cured, your medicated, and that is absolutely great to get you to the next step which is resolving your issues & sometimes those are psychological & sometimes it may be a nutritional deficiency or even an nutritional allergy.

 

My advice is to take the meds to feel better while you take the time & make the effort to get better.

 

it's a bit like diabetes, the medication isn't ideal but it is preferable. depression isn't something you can just solder on through anymore than diabetes & the meds will improve the quality of life & give you the spark or motivation to look for the triggers that may be causing your depression.

 

Once again; I would advise starting with a psychiatrist, not a family/GP MD.

[oldguy]

P.S. if they are going to work you WILL know it usually in no more than 8 to 10 weeks. Most people report a definite & sudden mood shift in that time. Sometimes a very short term, matter of hours, mild euphoria. It only happens once, for unknown reasons & it only happens to a few who actually benefit from the medication.

 

The mild euphoria is reported in most cases to be more of a; 'the grass is greener, the sky is bluer & the world is just a wonderful place to be'. as apposed to a feeling of impairment or intoxication. And as I mentioned, it unfortunately only happens once

[lymtal1]

for me it was xanax in the initial stages to help with anxiety more than depression. i found that there were times when i was i was literally shaking thinking about the situation and felt awful. i utilized only when i felt really hopeless and not more than once a day for about a month.

 

it really helped me get to where i am coping much better now. however you must do the work to get to the point where the situation does not consume your life, and i get that it is hard. still is almost every second of the day.

 

must do things like going n/c completely, going to gym, eating better when can, diving into work project, going outside and playing golf, force yourself to do things at night with friends, reconnecting with old friends, going to movies by self, helping others, the list goes on and on which means effort is required. the drugs just helped me for a short period but they worked.

[Mar1neOne]

Whats peoples thoughts on anti-depressents ? i've never really been one for medications of this sort to deal with the pain, i've read some horror stories on the effects of them.

 

My doctor was always trying to get me to take them said it would help ease the emotions and help you balance effects of feeling depressed, i was never convinced these would work on broken hearts, really only see the use for these for clinical depression or mid to high levels of depression.

 

Any one using them or tried what did they do? help? make things worse? be interesting to get peoples experiences and opinions on these things for people who may be offered them by GP's

 

discuss

 

Been there and done that and won't ever do it again. Go to the gym... Ride a bike... Any kind of exercise will do the same thing naturally.

 

Doctor gave me effexor xr back in 2005 to deal with some mild depression. Next thing you know I had been on them for 5 years and getting off was one of hardest things I ever did. If you are curious about this go read withdrawal info about any drugs you are prescribed. Effexor xr withdrawal symptoms have been compared to those of heroin. Doctors are great, but they are human and humans are prone to mistakes. They also get money from drug companies to push their pills... Always know what you are putting in your body!!! (don't just trust your doctor)

[broken-and-lost]

Been there and done that and won't ever do it again. Go to the gym... Ride a bike... Any kind of exercise will do the same thing naturally.

 

Doctor gave me effexor xr back in 2005 to deal with some mild depression. Next thing you know I had been on them for 5 years and getting off was one of hardest things I ever did. If you are curious about this go read withdrawal info about any drugs you are prescribed. Effexor xr withdrawal symptoms have been compared to those of heroin. Doctors are great, but they are human and humans are prone to mistakes. They also get money from drug companies to push their pills... Always know what you are putting in your body!!! (don't just trust your doctor)

 

this is what i read at time the withdraw is terrible and the first two to three weeks increase your problems until you build some up in system but it's probably different for everyone

[TheDovic]

I personally think they're a God send!

 

When I was 18 I was a mess! I had no friends, no gf, no job, wasn't in school and was miserable 24/7 with no hope for the future.

 

I finally went to the doctor and within a few months I had my first gf, had a lot of friends, joined a football team and got into university.

 

Roughly one year ago I came off them (after 9 years on them) and was fine (withdrawal was tough but manageable) but my depression was triggered once again in July when my fiancee left me. I seriously was as low as can be and didn't want to be here anymore... BUT I gave the AD's another try and in 5 weeks my depression has moved from the severe category to mild (and is still dropping). I'm also taking CBT to lessen the chance of relapse in the future!

 

Side effects are bad in the first few weeks but manageable. After that I've had no problems!!! (ps I take Cipralex {Lexapro in the Us})

[immitable]

I personally think they're a God send!

 

When I was 18 I was a mess! I had no friends, no gf, no job, wasn't in school and was miserable 24/7 with no hope for the future.

 

I finally went to the doctor and within a few months I had my first gf, had a lot of friends, joined a football team and got into university.

 

Roughly one year ago I came off them (after 9 years on them) and was fine (withdrawal was tough but manageable) but my depression was triggered once again in July when my fiancee left me. I seriously was as low as can be and didn't want to be here anymore... BUT I gave the AD's another try and in 5 weeks my depression has moved from the severe category to mild (and is still dropping). I'm also taking CBT to lessen the chance of relapse in the future!

 

Side effects are bad in the first few weeks but manageable. After that I've had no problems!!! (ps I take Cipralex {Lexapro in the Us})

 

I knew it! Dovic you are our expert on the a-d's

[lalalandman]

From the movie Sideways:

 

-And what's that crap you've been taking, Xanax?

-Yes, and Lexapro too.

-Well I say **** that too. You need to get your joint worked on Miles

[HollyHoliday]

This is what I think about Anti-Depressants and Breakups:

 

I think that many may run to the idea of taking an anti-depressant because they think it is a quick fix. And as goes most things in life, it takes time for any anti-depressant to start working. However, I finally started back on anti-depressants after my break up. Actually, much later than I should of...I went through 7 weeks of unbearable pain and emotional breakdown before I put my foot down and decided to stop procrastinating and get on them.

 

I am lucky because I was able to show my GP that I was going to therapy and that a psychiatrist (both free at the time) at my school had told me to take Celexa. I don't have mental health insurance, but I was able to see the GP for $35 and then get the generic at Target for free! They also have many $4 generics too.

 

Since I started it has done SO much for me. I can tell how my mind is becoming clearer, and my anxiety has gone down so much. It is just the little things so far that I have noticed, but I know that this is the right thing for me to do and in time I may even see more improvements. The pain is still there and I have my moments, but I am no longer crying for endless hours, and I am able to put things in perspective.

 

Also to add, I am planning on staying on this medication for a long time, even past "getting over the breakup".

Edited October 5, 2011 by HollyHoliday
Just to add...

[PelicanPete]

A physical treatment for a mental problem?

 

You feel like crap because its a way of communicating to your consciousness that something isn't right.

 

Its like you're driving your car and the engine light comes on, but instead of poppin' the hood and trying to figure out what's wrong, you crack open the fuse box and rip out the fuse that powers your lights.

 

No more engine problems right?

[betterdeal]

They helped me. My GP suggested they would be useful to kick-start my mood and thus help me muster the energy to find other ways to improve my life; and they were right. I took Citalopram for 6 months.

 

In that time I saw two therapists, made use of hypnotherapy (big breakthroughs), massage, read A LOT of self-help books, went through three bouts of surgery, and got a whole lot of support and affection from friends, family and colleagues.

 

The come down when I stopped taking it lasted about 2 weeks. The benefit of anti-depressants is you can choose when to stop taking them. I was off work for 3 weeks recovering from surgery anyway, so I took that as a good time to come off it.

 

Worked for me as part of a balanced nutritious mental health diet

[Feelin Frisky]

My favorite topic. Anti-ds are not a "crutch" used to cop out and avoid feelings. That is a baggage notion from decades ago when anti depressants were either tranquilizers or stimulants. That is totally over today and a different dynamic is at work. And that is tuning up your brain chemistry so that you are able to sort out thoughts and feelings into proper measures. If you feel you are not plagued by repetitive compulsory thoughts about your break-up that you can't seem to get out of, then fine, don't see a psychiatrist and just try to work it out with good health practices. But if you're deeply affected and in cycles of sadness, medications may be the only thing that can show you how to think and feel differently. I know I couldn't out-think my feelings and needed the new perspective Prozac helped me achieve.

[Feelin Frisky]

A physical treatment for a mental problem?

 

You feel like crap because its a way of communicating to your consciousness that something isn't right.

 

Its like you're driving your car and the engine light comes on, but instead of poppin' the hood and trying to figure out what's wrong, you crack open the fuse box and rip out the fuse that powers your lights.

 

No more engine problems right?

 

Sorry, but this is exactly wrong. All thoughts and feelings are eletro-chemical phenomena. And "mental problems" are all matters of physiology--not just "cause and effect" reasoning. Some people can not even begin to understand the nature of their feelings if those feelings overwhelm them--they must change the chemistry which then levels the playing field for them so that they can do what other people who don't suffer from the same physiological shortfalls can do i.e. reason and understand.

[denise_xo]

I've taken ADs on two occasions. I've hardly experienced any side effects. In both cases, I thought to myself 'why didn't I do this sooner', although I was very skeptical beforehand. I'm sure some people use it as a quick fix but I don't think that's what they're about - it's one tool out of a very multifaceted tool box for addressing whatever issues you're having. For me it was what got my head above water sufficiently to tackle a range of issues constructively and head on and in a long term perspective, rather than drowning in mud and just trying to keep my head about water on a day to day basis.

[ShannonMI]

Whats peoples thoughts on anti-depressents ? i've never really been one for medications of this sort to deal with the pain, i've read some horror stories on the effects of them.

 

My doctor was always trying to get me to take them said it would help ease the emotions and help you balance effects of feeling depressed, i was never convinced these would work on broken hearts, really only see the use for these for clinical depression or mid to high levels of depression.

 

Any one using them or tried what did they do? help? make things worse? be interesting to get peoples experiences and opinions on these things for people who may be offered them by GP's

 

discuss

Are you clinically depressed or circumstantially depressed? Clinical depression is a chemical imbalance. Meds work on both though. If you are circumstantially depressed, then meds would probably only be needed for a short time where clinical depression you would need to be on meds for longer. Perhaps forever. You should ask your doctor.

 

I personally find nothing wrong with taking anti-depressants. I've taken them for 15 years for clinical depression and they've helped me.

Edited October 5, 2011 by ShannonMI

[mike111]

Whats peoples thoughts on anti-depressents ? i've never really been one for medications of this sort to deal with the pain, i've read some horror stories on the effects of them.

 

My doctor was always trying to get me to take them said it would help ease the emotions and help you balance effects of feeling depressed, i was never convinced these would work on broken hearts, really only see the use for these for clinical depression or mid to high levels of depression.

 

Any one using them or tried what did they do? help? make things worse? be interesting to get peoples experiences and opinions on these things for people who may be offered them by GP's

 

discuss

 

For me, no. I took them 10 year ago after a serious relationship breakup. But they made my life hell on earth. The so-called cure was worse than the feelings I was having. I finally had to stop taking them and just bleed out all the toxicity from my relationship breakup naturally. I have never been back to them since.

 

But one good pill I did have was Xanax. It worked great when i was hanging right on the edge, so to speak. And it got me through some awful nights of emotional torment. For me though, what really fixed my situation at that time was simply just father time.

[PelicanPete]

Sorry, but this is exactly wrong. All thoughts and feelings are eletro-chemical phenomena. And "mental problems" are all matters of physiology--not just "cause and effect" reasoning. Some people can not even begin to understand the nature of their feelings if those feelings overwhelm them--they must change the chemistry which then levels the playing field for them so that they can do what other people who don't suffer from the same physiological shortfalls can do i.e. reason and understand.

 

That just seems like an excuse to me. You're right, all of our thoughts are triggered by our neurons firing and chemical reactions in our brain. Unless someones brain chemistry is permanently off balance from birth with something like bi-polar disorder, you have the potential to change the chemistry without medication.

 

There are too many downsides to anti depressants. The crutch philosophy is still very well in affect, because people still just get hooked on them for their "happiness" rather then getting to the root of their issues. Psychiatrists are fine with this, because feeding them pharaceuticals just pays the bills. Psychiatrists rarely ever "cure" anyone.

 

Pills don't directly deal with an emotional problem, they only cover it up. That was what I was getting at. If you're like border-line suicidal and locked up in a psych ward, I guess they are necessary. But for every day people that have no underlying mental disorders and are sad because their dog died or something? Come on. You can push through without them.

[radiodarcy]

i was on anti-ds (prozac, effexor, and luvox) off and on from 1995 through 2002. in the first few weeks they helped me a great deal. but after awhile i started to feel sluggish and in general - - emotionally numb. i also found myself getting extremely irritable. not to mention i gained quite a bit of weight and slept several hours a day.

 

so i asked to be taken off of them. i did go on lexapro for about a month a year or two ago when dealing with the ex. and while they did help. i just didn't like the idea of staying on them for an extended period of time. primarily because i was concerned with the weight gain (i had lost all the weight i gained and didn't want to gain it back).

 

with the lexapro i had no major side effects although i did feel light-headed from time to time.

 

for me - - i think what helped the most was cognitive behavior therapy in conjunction with the medication. the medication can certainly help to open the receptors that are wired shut and keep us from being able to accept reason.

 

so in the short term it might be effective in helping you make the headway you need to in therapy.

[TheDovic]

I knew it! Dovic you are our expert on the a-d's

 

Unfortunately

[broken-and-lost]

Are you clinically depressed or circumstantially depressed? Clinical depression is a chemical imbalance. Meds work on both though. If you are circumstantially depressed, then meds would probably only be needed for a short time where clinical depression you would need to be on meds for longer. Perhaps forever. You should ask your doctor.

 

I personally find nothing wrong with taking anti-depressants. I've taken them for 15 years for clinical depression and they've helped me.

 

my depression has come and gone but never sort help for it until my breakup and it did surface about year 3 of my relationship which was a major factor in my girlfriend leaving, haven't been told i have clinical depression so i can only put it down to circumstantial tho i suspect i've always had it underlying in the background but this break up has really set me off and still unable to pick myself up properly.

 

I was always able to get through any periods where i would feel unhappy or down but this time seems different despite my efforts i'm not shaking off this very unhappy feeling. but i've never turned to meds hence why i started thread wanting to see what peoples experiences have been as i'm staring to wonder if this should be a last resort

Edited October 6, 2011 by broken-and-lost

[norajane]

I tend to think that heartbreak and the feelings that go along with it are natural if you cared about the person. Yes, those can be some extremely difficult feelings to deal with, but most people ought to be able to handle it without resorting to pills.

 

That's not to say that I don't think pills can help, but I'm not convinced that turning to prescribed pills is really any better than self-medicating through alcohol or other drugs to get you through a heartbreak. Just because a doctor writes a prescription doesn't mean it's good for you.

 

If you're having suicidal thoughts, then, yes, absolutely, see how pills can help. But be informed about the side effects, the chances of addiction, and the withdrawal. Staying on pills for years after a heartbreak seems extremely wrong unless you also have clinical depression (and had it before the break-up).

[Feelin Frisky]

That just seems like an excuse to me. You're right, all of our thoughts are triggered by our neurons firing and chemical reactions in our brain. Unless someones brain chemistry is permanently off balance from birth with something like bi-polar disorder, you have the potential to change the chemistry without medication.

 

There are too many downsides to anti depressants. The crutch philosophy is still very well in affect, because people still just get hooked on them for their "happiness" rather then getting to the root of their issues. Psychiatrists are fine with this, because feeding them pharaceuticals just pays the bills. Psychiatrists rarely ever "cure" anyone.

 

Pills don't directly deal with an emotional problem, they only cover it up. That was what I was getting at. If you're like border-line suicidal and locked up in a psych ward, I guess they are necessary. But for every day people that have no underlying mental disorders and are sad because their dog died or something? Come on. You can push through without them.

 

You have some deep misinformation going on there, Pete. What you do is up to you but I feel the need to speak up when I see misinformation in a place where it may negatively influence other people. The word "pills" in the context you used it is completely out of place and shows no acknowledgement of my first post which you quoted in which I explained that medicine has profoundly changed from the old medication of symptoms with tranquilizers or stimulants--which people think of as "pills" and "pill-poppers"--to new treatment of physiological causes of emotional extremes. The two do not equate at all--the former, "pills" forestalled any coming to grips with the issues involved whereas the latter, today's SSRI medications help a person gain the ability to discern the smaller components of what is bothering them and remedy that with new action.

 

People who are inside an episode of chemically-underpinned emotional turmoil often do not possess the ability to simply reason their way out of the state they are in. This requires something that changes the chemistry of the brain in a way that makes it more focal--not less, as would be the case with a tranquilizer. This is not a moral or ethical issue. It is one of physiology. And there is more than 20 years of history now to show the facts and this is not just an opinion of someone on an Internet forum. Try to take a look at modern history freshly without the bias. It may be illuminating.

[PelicanPete]

You have some deep misinformation going on there, Pete. What you do is up to you but I feel the need to speak up when I see misinformation in a place where it may negatively influence other people. The word "pills" in the context you used it is completely out of place and shows no acknowledgement of my first post which you quoted in which I explained that medicine has profoundly changed from the old medication of symptoms with tranquilizers or stimulants--which people think of as "pills" and "pill-poppers"--to new treatment of physiological causes of emotional extremes. The two do not equate at all--the former, "pills" forestalled any coming to grips with the issues involved whereas the latter, today's SSRI medications help a person gain the ability to discern the smaller components of what is bothering them and remedy that with new action.

 

 

They do exactly the same thing to me. How do the majority of people take their anti-depressant medication today? Through pills. Whether its tranquilizers, stimulants, or pills, they both aid in lessening the emotional symptoms of depression, and they all have the same amount of potential to be used in "defeating" depression, or abused. I didn't mean it in a derogatory tone, I just simply called anti depressants what they are - pills.

 

People who are inside an episode of chemically-underpinned emotional turmoil often do not possess the ability to simply reason their way out of the state they are in. This requires something that changes the chemistry of the brain in a way that makes it more focal--not less, as would be the case with a tranquilizer. This is not a moral or ethical issue. It is one of physiology. And there is more than 20 years of history now to show the facts and this is not just an opinion of someone on an Internet forum. Try to take a look at modern history freshly without the bias. It may be illuminating.

 

The thing is depression isn't a disease, it is a behaviour. No behaviour is a disease, yet it is almost treated as such with the medication being administered. If you have a foreign infection in your body, you may need medication because it is from a third party source that has invaded your body. Depression however is determined by your thinking and your reality, therefore it is in a sense self inflicted and created by you. If you came to this state of depression naturally through your own thoughts and behaviours, then you are very well capable of getting out of it on your own as well.

 

I mean how did the human race survive without anti depressants before now? There was much harder times through out history filled with brutality and injustice, yet people were never able to resort to anti-depressants to help lessen the load and deal with their problems, they managed to get through it on their own. Our body is a self sufficient system after all. You give off the impression that anti-depressants have almost become necessary.