How much do antidepressants help?

Ok. So I am terrified to take them. I took them before, but it wasn't for depression. I had horrible side effects. I think I had insomnia when I was on it.
They made me feel weird too.

They help me quite a bit. When I find a good antidepressant, I'm never depressed on them. However I always have side effects so finding one that gives me the least amount of side effects is hard. Still working on that now unfortunately.

what anti depressant did you take before?
i think that ADs help alot of people, you just have to find the one thats right for you

i was terrified to take anything, but it got to the point where i would have done anything to feel better so i gave psychiatry a chance

i feel a little better, not completely but better than i was
the only advice i can think of is to try another medicine out and monitor symptoms and side effects

I've tried them twice and they didn't work, but I think they can for some people.

Zoloft...

with medicine you gotta "play ball" till you get the right meds, trial and error... there are different anti depressants the doc can prescribe, the first one they gave me was celexa

Same here first one I had was Celexa and it worked wonders for 8 years then too many side effects caused me to switch.

Prozac has been a miracle drug for me with my depression and OCD, but I believe alot of the heavy lifting has been done by the Zyprexa I take. Prozac and Zyprexa, atleast for me, have been an extremely effective combination.

Hey Fox. I assume that means you told someone and got some help. That is flipping awesome. Good for you. Good job. I wish I could tell you the med thing is easy but for many of us it is not. You gotta take it and see. You may get some uncomfortable side effects for awhile and most likely they will go away. Hopefully it will be very effective for you. Give it a shot.

I haven't told a professional yet, I can't tell one yet.

To answer the zoloft question in the other thread. I am not self medicating. I am scared to start a AD because I had bad experience with it.

What made you think I was self medicating?

Oh sorry. I thought from your first post in this thread you were starting Zoloft. I misinterpereted it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Prozac 20-40mg works like a miracle drug for my generalized anxiety and panic. I'm on 80mg now. It almost works just as good as benzos for me.

That's ok.

I'd like to start meds for my depression. But I'm also scared what people will think,& how the meds effect me.

I don't even know what AD I should start with, or what group is best

No one will know you are on meds unless you tell them. And leave the decision about what med you need to the doctor for the most part. Generally they have an idea of where they want to start.

I think you are smart to ask questions. There are studies that question their effectiveness and probably a majority of people here who swear by them. They helped me once and then not again. Before you get an rx I suggest asking the doc how long he thinks you will be on it and get a thorough understanding of side effects. Although you are paying a doc to be an expert that does not mean you can't do your own and be a participant in your care.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

ssri are the best group, if 1 don't work you go straight on to another overnight change over

Hi Fox, you are in a process that we all go through. We don't just willy nilly one day and wake up and decide will go get on an AD. You go through a lot of pain and suffering before you can even tell someone. The fact that you told someone and that you are thinking about professional help means you are moving in the right direction in that process. You took a huge first step. We have to go through a lot of pain and suffering before we get to that point as you know. And then deal with the stigma and fear that other people will judge us and all that. Remember that you only have to tell your parents to get professional help and no one else. No one else has to know if you are going to therapy or on meds unless you tell them.

I hate to see someone so young go on an AD. However give everything you have posted in the depression section it is my opinion that you would benefit from one and the benefits would outweigh the risks. If you get professional help you do not have to take a med, it is your choice. Maybe therapy and other things would work. Given your symptoms I would think a med would help you work on things. It would be better to start in the summer when you are not in school. They would probably give you an SSRI or SSNRI. You would hopefully get a thorough evaluation for about 2 hours or more before they let you see a pdoc.

Completely agree. Don't know if your response was in response to me saying that the docs generally have a plan in mind. I was responding to the seeming anxiety the OP expressed that she somehow has to figure out what med she should take. She certainly can educate herself, and hopefully will, but she can also hopefully rest a bit of that anxiety and enter into a dialogue with her doctor. The decision-making doesn't have to be/isn't all hers. She'll have help with that.

I think it depends what you are expecting from it. If you hope to feel somewhat better or at least not so miserable and your main problem is persistently low mood, then yeah, they can help.

If you have issues more rooted in personality, disasfaction with your current life, your perception of yourself... then you may be disappointed. They won't make you a "better" person. Your comment "what would people think" kinda stood out to me. That is one of the most damaging, limiting and generally horrible questions you can ask yourself.

You are not determining your treatment based on what people think. You need to be honest with yourself, what your main problem is and go from there. Others don't matter at this point.

They can make you a better person, if your not a miserable git through depression 24 -7 you feel a better person all together. Your outward mood is better so you convey to people your approachable for a start . your mind is clearer if depression is lifted so you can tackle what problems you have because you not a stressed out zombie , things are clearer when AD,S work or there would be not point in taking them.

I want to start an AD, but then again I don't because of the risk. What's the difference bewteen SSRI & SSNRI? What's the evaluation like?

Most importantly how & who do I tell (someone)?

Well there is still that teacher and a school counselor. I can't remember how old you are but I am assuming young enough that you would have to tell your parents to get professional help.

My advice would be to tell your parents and let them help you get professional help. You have not said much about your parents but I am assuming they want what is best for you and would be willing to learn and be understanding.

How- just tell them you think that you are suffering from depression and this is why. Symptoms whatever they are, sleep patterns, appetite, how interested are you in things you would normally be interested in, energy level, motivation, irritability, anger, isolating, wanting to sleep all the time. Suicidal thoughts is a little trickier. If you really think you are in danger then you have to tell someone. If they are just thoughts and you don't have a plan you may hold back on those. If you tell someone those it will get their attention and they will take you seriously I would hope. Maybe with your friend you tell her and you make a pact that you will never do something dumb without calling her first. I make such a pact with my daughter. I made sure we both rubbed our blood together so it is a blood oath that we will tell each other everything.

Do yourself a favor and write a letter to yourself, no one has to see it, describe to your self how depression is effecting you. All your symptoms, affecting grades and school, your relationships with friends, everything you can think of as to how it makes you think and feel and how it affects your life.

This is what you end up telling someone. Your parents. Forget about all that crap that you don't want them to worry or burden them. They want what is best for you if they are loving parents.

Some here are going to disagree with me. But my opinion is the risks of AD's are very low. You might get some side effects you might not, they will probably go away. SSRI's are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. SSNRI's are selective serotonin and nor epinephrine reuptake inhibitors. You can look up all the info on Zoloft or Celexa and read all the potential side effects. Personally I recommend you don't do this cause it will scare you and you may even get some psychosomatically. But if you look at side effects also look at the clinical trials that came up with them and look at the percentage of people that got them. It is usually like 1% of the people tested got this or that side effect. Everyone is very different in how they react to meds. Asking us how you will do on Celexa, for example, and what side effects you will have is a meaningless question. No one knows we are all so different. You have to try it and see. Once I decide to take one I don't look at side effects because I do not think they are dangerous and I don't want to read a bunch of stuff that will scare me. If one could possibly have dangerous effects a good doc should tell you about those. If you take one you just have to really be aware of how it is effecting you and if it is something serious you call your doc and quit taking it. Millions of people take them everyday with no problem.

To be fair and responsible I should say to educate yourself. The long term adverse effects of AD's I don't think they really know. They haven't been out long enough or studied enough. The biggest problem as I see it is that some people, not all, have really bad withdrawal effects when they quit taking an AD and don't start taking another one.

In my view that is the most serious thing to worry about and not much else. I wouldn't worry about side effects. They are not known to cause any serious issues. If you have them and can't handle them you stop and try something else.

I have taken many different ones over the last twenty years and I don't feel they have harmed me at all except for one long term side effect I have had to live with.

You have to weigh the fact that you have been miserable for two years into the equation. If you find one that works for you then it is worth it in my view. Who wants to be miserable and have suicidal thoughts at your age. You need help.

Your decision should be an educated one and a balance of risks vs. benefits. Everything we do in life has risks. Going to school, driving a car, etc. Suicidal thoughts are a big risk.

I am 17 years old.
Thank you.

I don't want to complete freak out my parents/teacher with my suicidal thoughts. I don't even know how to bring it up with them. I think I could tell my teacher about my depression though. I a, not sure, if I should say I think I have depression. Should I tell the teacher/parents everything I experience?

I just hope they will help with my depression. I hope it'll take me out of a depression.

When I go to appointment, what do they ask?

How bad are the withdrawal effects for AD?

I don't know about the suicidal thoughts if you are not ready to talk about that. Do what I said and write it all down to yourself.

Then you just say I think I am suffering from depression and I think I need help and here is why. Talk about your symptoms and how it is affecting you.

That is what they are gonna ask you when you do an intake. They will want to know how all your relationships are, parents, family, friends, how you are doing in school, sleep, appetite, concentration, interests or lack of, thoughts about yourself, how you feel ect ect. Probably take a couple of tests that ask a lot of questions. They should do blood works and check for thyroid. Maybe talk to a nurse about any physical problems. They want to be sure you have depression before giving you an AD. That is how it should be done.

I wouldn't worry about withdrawal. Some people get it some don't. If you end up stopping one and don't start another the way to avoid it is to go off of it very slowly. Lower it some, two weeks later lower it some more and so on.

Google symptoms of depression.

When talking to professionals be totally honest suicidal thoughts and all. Hard for them to help if you are not honest.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk