Antidepressants

[LostGirl11]

How long does take for antidepressants to start working? I've heard that they take around 4 weeks to get into the system but I have been taking mine for only 4 days and I feel a little better already. Not as anxious or emotional, ect.

[Diamonds&Rust]

This would be a perfect question for a psychiatrist or whomever wrote your prescription.

 

We don't even know which antidepressant you're talking about; even if we did, we're just a bunch of strangers on the internet. You shouldn't trust us for information about medication.

[Nightsky]

I'm just a stranger on the internet but I wouldn't take that stuff if I were you.

 

Why are you sad and what makes you think you need to be on antidepressants.

[Diamonds&Rust]

Clinical depression is not the same as being sad. This is kind of what I was talking about, in terms of LS not being the best doctor's office.

[Nightsky]

Clinical depression is not the same as being sad. This is kind of what I was talking about, in terms of LS not being the best doctor's office.

 

She didn't say she was clinicaly depressed. Doctors arn't god. They often no less than most.

[LostGirl11]

I just thought there must be loads of people on here on antidepressants, so thought I'd ask. Don't need to go into detail

[Nightsky]

I just thought there must be loads of people on here on antidepressants, so thought I'd ask. Don't need to go into detail

 

Well the devil is in the details. Every bodies different. Most people can't polish off a bottle of Jack Daniels and still be alive. Some people can and still be asking for more. We have no idea how sad you are or whats your problem or what you're taking.

 

If you think its working than it is. Just enjoy the here and now!

 

My 2 cent you don't need the drugs.

[Diamonds&Rust]

My 2 cent you don't need the drugs.

Your two cents are clinically worthless and potentially harmful. Pointing out that doctors are "not God" doesn't give you the right to interfere with their treatment directives.

 

The fact that you still equivocate sad and depressed underscores the exponential difference between what her doctor knows about her medical condition and what you do.

 

To the OP, it depends on your body chemistry and the pharmacokinetics of the drug or drugs. Please talk to your doctor about medical issues. Even if someone were to sign on here and claim to be a doctor, it wouldn't be ethical for them to consult with you on a forum like this.

[AStrongerMe]

I would ask your doctor. It does depend on which one and what it's being used for (depression isn't all exactly the same).

 

I took them for about a year when high stress was making it difficult for me. The stress was necessary to get to the "other side" but they helped for a little while a great deal.

 

Hope your doctor can help you. I know mine helped quickly but not all do.

[FitChick]

Seems to me the pharmaceutical companies own research showed that there is no difference between a placebo and an antidepressant, other than the side effects and cost. A lifestyle change can do wonders. See a good naturopath. A co-worker's brother was just hospitalized for depression and he's taken all sorts of antidepressants over the years and they've done nothing except make him worse. Very sad how corporations profit off the misery of others.

[carhill]

If you've been dx'd with anxiety and rx'd an anti-depressant as treatment, your response sounds typical of an SNRI like duloxetine or venlafaxine. My exW was rx'd venlafaxine while I was caregiving as my mom's psychosis made exW extremely anxious and she noted positive results nearly immediately as you apparently have. Anxiety lessened, her mood stabilized and she reported feeling more 'confident' and that people 'responded better to her'.

 

Your rx'ing doctor is your primary source of advice; as an anecdote, after about six-eight months of use, my exW went off venlafaxine in a slow reverse titration over two months and some mood issues reappeared and she complained of short-term memory loss for about a year after, which is a known potential issue. Each case is different.

 

I'll suggest journaling how you feel and any side-effects you experience.

 

Are you receiving any talk therapy?

Edited March 13, 2012 by carhill
SNRI not SRNI

[denise_xo]

I've taken them twice. In both cases, I was told by my doctor that they might take up to two weeks too kick in, but I felt a big improvement just after a couple of days. I really don't care if that's placebo or not - I think placebo is hugely underrated

[Diamonds&Rust]

Very sad how corporations profit off the misery of others.

Agreed. Of course, a good naturopath will do the same thing.

 

I share the concern for the quality of drug research and unhealthy marriage of politics and big business, but I don't see the nobility in selling non-scientific medicine instead.

 

I certainly hope that Big Pharma doesn't kill psychological treatments like talk therapy. Regardless of your views on pharmaceuticals, though, it's not appropriate to interfere with the treatment directives of someone's healthcare provider, nor is it accurate to dismiss the entire mental health establishment because drug companies play by modern corporate rules.

[Red Arremer]

Yeah, for God's sake, whatever you do don't stop taking your medications just because someone on the internet told you to.

[JesseJames]

I know absolutely nothing about antidepressants.

 

My antidepressant is a go through the woods here... always does me.

 

Keeping a journal is an extremely good idea. Perhaps a chart for a doctor's quick reference. You are your best doctor many times, and obviously now is the time to really really keep checking yourself.

 

Being lostgirl is defeatist-sounding to me. If that name has a positive way with your psyche, then great.

 

I hope alls go well. Alls around the marlboro bush, the cowboy chases his diesel.

 

Alls of it. Look at them alls. They are alls nice.

[water4150]

So I was studying for my psych midterm and was typing up my notes from my textbook so I figured I woul copy and paste what I have here to answer some of your questions. This is just a general over view

• Antidepressant drugs
  
  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
    
    • First line drugs
      
    • Block the reuptake of serotonin
      
    • Increased amount of serotonin in the synaptic cleft
      
    • Indication
      
      • Anxiety disorders such as OCD and panic disorder
        
      • Depression
        

    • Adverse Reaction
      
      • Induced agitation
        
      • Anxiety
        
      • Sleep disturbance
        
      • Tremors
        
      • Headache
        

    • Do not mix with MAOIs
      
      • Have 2 to 5 weeks off the SSRI and then start the MAOI
        

  • Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs)
    
    • Inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin
      
    • Adverse Reaction
      
      • Anticholinergic
        
        • Dry mouth
          
        • Blurred vision
          
        • Tachycardia
          
        • Constipation, urinary retention
          
        • Esophageal reflux
          
        • Weight gain
          
        • Orthostatic hypotension -> dizziness -> risk for falls
          

    • Administration
      
      • Take at night
        
        • Side effects will occur less at night
          
        • It will aide in sleeping
          

    • Toxic Effects
      
      • Dysrhythmias
        
      • Tachycardia
        
      • MI
        
      • Heart block
        

    • Contraindications
      
      • Do not administer with an MAOI
        
      • Recent MI
        
      • Pregnant
        

    • Full effects take 4-8 weeks
      

  • Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
    
    • Increases norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine and tyramine
      
    • Do not ingest foods with tyramine -> hypertensive crisis
      
    • Indication
      
      • Atypical depression - mood reactivity, oversleeping and over eating
        
      • Panic disorder, social phobia, OCD, PTSD
        

    • Adverse Reaction
      
      • Orthostatic hypotension
        
      • Weight gain
        
      • Edema
        
      • Constipation, urinary hesitancy
        
      • Muscle twitching
        

    • Toxic Effects
      
      • Increase in blood pressure -> intracranial hemorrhage
        
      • Hyperpyrexia
        
      • Convulsions
        
      • Death
        

    • Contraindications
      
      • Cerebrovascular disease
        
      • Hypertension and CHF
        
      • Liver disease
        

[quankanne]

when I was initially proscribed AD's, my doctor had already had me go through Vit. B "therapy" and try other natural methods to counteract the funk caused by the excessive stress in my life at that time. The AD's were a last effort at trying to get my blood chemistry back to healthy levels. Like you, OP, I was one of the lucky ones who saw immediate positive response with the first medication he prescribed.

 

it's appalling how many people here believe that the only answer to mental health issues is to just do something, but ignore the cry that their body is putting out get its' systems back to normal. When you are depressed, it's almost as if you're living underwater and no matter what you do, you just cannot connect. You can take walks, exercise, change up your diet, but something crucial is still missing in your blood chemistry that only proper medication can correct. Sometimes you hear the horror stories of prescriptions that don't work, and of people who go through a whole slew of medications before finding the right combination. Still, the fact that their situation is being taken seriously is an indication that their well-being is their physician's primary concern. So don't knock what you haven't personally experienced, folks. Just because you are against the idea of ADs doesn't mean that for someone else, it's a sanity-saving medication.

 

to give you a better understanding of how medication rights a screwed up blood chemistry, please read this ... I guess the best way to liken treatment for depression is to compare a person to a car: You do your best to maintain that vehicle to give you optimum usage. You fill it with gas, you change the oil at suggested mileage, you keep the transmission fluid level where it needs to be ... you take care of that car because you want to enjoy it for a long, long time. Your body is similar to that car, in that it also needs to be kept at optimal best so that you can enjoy it for a long, long time. AD's simply ensure that your "fluid levels" (i.e., blood chemistry) are where they need to be.

[somedude81]

I took them for a few months a while ago and ever felt any difference.

 

Guess it really matters if you just have a chemical imbalance or are depressed for an actual reason.

[zengirl]

I've taken ADs before. I'm not physically prone to depression (I am physically prone to anxiety, which I counteract mostly through natural means), but I have been clinically depressed. It was situation, yet the drugs did work. It took awhile for them to kick in really---over a month. They did help immensely, but it wasn't something I needed to be on for life, thank goodness.

 

I think it depends on your own body chemistry how quickly they work, and it's certainly within the realm of possibility for you to feel the difference that quickly. As others have said, it's a good question for a doctor. Whatever it is, I'm glad you're feeling better!

 

Odd that so many people chimed in to tell a poster not to take pills that seem to be helping her. I think medication can be part of a whole-life treatment that can greatly change lives, but we shouldn't simply "take a pill" alone, without other alternatives and coexisting therapeutic options. For my own body, I'm a "pills last" kind of person and prefer doctors who consider the whole range of possibilities---which most do nowadays. The "just take a pill" phase is ending and we're seeing a more nuanced approach to mental health now, I think, overall. Hopefully OP's doctor will work to ensure continued improvement and care.

[Nightsky]

Odd that so many people chimed in to tell a poster not to take pills that seem to be helping her. I think medication can be part of a whole-life treatment that can greatly change lives, but we shouldn't simply "take a pill" alone, without other alternatives and coexisting therapeutic options. For my own body, I'm a "pills last" kind of person and prefer doctors who consider the whole range of possibilities---which most do nowadays. The "just take a pill" phase is ending and we're seeing a more nuanced approach to mental health now, I think, overall. Hopefully OP's doctor will work to ensure continued improvement and care.

 

Is it odd? I should try to be more normal right? I was the only poster who directly said anything about not taking pills. I said I wouldn't take them if I were her. I also said if you think they are working than they are.

 

One other poster said she doesn't like the pharmaceutical industry. Every other post was about being on pills or taking them. I find it odd you feel one post out of all the posts here is so many saying not to take it.

[zengirl]

Is it odd? I should try to be more normal right? I was the only poster who directly said anything about not taking pills. I said I wouldn't take them if I were her. I also said if you think they are working than they are.

 

One other poster said she doesn't like the pharmaceutical industry. Every other post was about being on pills or taking them. I find it odd you feel one post out of all the posts here is so many saying not to take it.

 

Well, to be fair, I thought 2 of your posts were by 2 different people. Avatars are showing up weird in my feed today. And the post about the placebo/pharma I took to mean that that poster did not believe in ADs either.

[freetolove]

It differs people from people, my suggestion is to get also add excerise if possible.

[Feelin Frisky]

How long does take for antidepressants to start working? I've heard that they take around 4 weeks to get into the system but I have been taking mine for only 4 days and I feel a little better already. Not as anxious or emotional, ect.

 

Hi LostGirl. Please do not listen to anyone on this thread who has made generalizations about anti-depressants being bad or that they wouldn't take them. Such people are full of misinformation and bias that could hurt other people who can benefit greatly from the medications on the market today for depression and anxiety. Yes, it's possible to feel better in a few days and that is usually indicative that your doctor has chosen the right medication for you and your brain and body are accepting it. Some people think that all medicine is the same and obviously it is not. None of our brains are the same and all of us have some imperfections in how chemicals and electricity make us who we are and how we react to things. If we find the right medicine we can sharpen our perceptions and choose our emotions rather than simply feeling what our over-reactions deal out and trying to reason the feelings away later.