Afraid of taking meds

On my first appt with the doctor, to do something about my depression or whatever it is, I was prescribed celexa. I guess it doesn't matter what I was prescribed, I am just terrified of all psychiatric drugs that need to be taken for a long time before they start to work. I am afraid of my personality changing or gaining weight or losing control over myself. I mean, I am already miserable and everyone tells me I have no reason to be, so I don't want to be given a reason, you know? But since I have no insurance I feel like I'm lucky that any doctor is paying attention to me at all and I don't want come off as uncooperative, but I also don't want to be too passive and be manipulated or taken advantage of.

Are there any psych meds that don't have awful potential side effects??

I was really afraid of taking meds before I started taking them too. But they've helped me so much. I can't believe how much my life has changed from the deep depressions I used to suffer from thanks to meds and therapy. I take Celexa among other things and am not aware of any side effects to it, other than it's made my skin a bit more oily.

Generally side effects go away pretty quickly once you get used to the drugs, dry mouth seems to be one that lingers though. If you want to research the drug, I really like the mayoclinic.com site. They have a really good drugs database.

When I first went on Effexor, my first anti-D. I started to feel a little bit better after only about 2 weeks on it. I can't really remember how long before the celexa kicked in, once we added it to the Effexor.

I'd encourage you to give it a try, and I hope that it helps you.

--splitimage

i think every med has the potential for side effects. After all, something might work awsome for someone, and horrible for another.

Take them, see what happens, if you hate them, get negative side effects or find that they make you "less" than who you are, then stop.. simple as that.

I have had some nasty side effects so I stopped taking them, change to another one.

As long as you make decisions and take control you'll be fine!

Play nice.

prairie, I was very reluctant to take psychotropic meds also, especially anti-depressants. I did take an anti-anxiety med for a little while, but it had to be the one I picked and told my doctor I wanted (buspar). I was very resistant and scared of the whole idea of meds. My doc even wrote me a prescription for Lexapro once, and I waited for ages to get it filled. Finally I took it to the pharmacy and they told me that even with insurance it would cost $75/month. I can't afford that, and when I left the pharmacy, I felt a huge sense of relief, because I hadn't really wanted to take that med. Phew!

Now I am in a different space and more open to meds. I have recently started taking Wellbutrin for ADHD. It is also an anti-depressant, and I think it is helping me! It's not dramatic, but subtle. I go to a PNP who is very easy to talk to and work with. If I try taking a med that she has prescribed and it doesn't work well, I will just not take it anymore. There's no obligation to take drugs that are not helpful. This seems simple to me now, but when I was resistant to taking drugs, I never thought of that. So just thought I'd pass that along--you can always stop taking a med if it doesn't help you or causes you to be too passive, zombyish, hyper, manic, gain weight, etc. I think it will be reassuring if you can find a doctor (or PNP) that you get along well with and trust and can communicate with to work with you on your meds. Good luck!

I, too, was terrified of taking meds - felt I'd be ruined for life even for trying one. Now that I'm on my 7th week of Lexapro, I told my doc I don't want off at 3 months (as was planned), told her why, and she agreed with me. She also said she has so many samples, I can just have them (since I was worried about cost). Lexapro helps with both anxiety and depression and helped me stop doing self injury because it lessened the triggers.
Kiya

(((((((((prairiedawn)))))))))))

I know where you're coming from. I went to a doctor because I wanted advice about a herbal supplement (that works a lot like an antidepressant - St. John's Wort)... he prescribed me my first AD, *if* I wanted to try it.

I admit it, I just started my third one - 3? days ago and it can be rough. Some of them have really bad side effects, and some of them don't. But it depends on your system ... as far as I know, Celexa is one of the better ones for less side effects.

If you're concerned about weight gain (I was too!) and this one makes you gain weight (it might) ... ask your doctor for a weight-neutral antidepressant. Actually, I asked that question a while ago, my post should be on the second page. I asked for people's experiences with ADs (with weight gain). So that might be useful as well.

It is hard to get adjusted, you might not really feel like its really "you" but for the most part - antidepressants actually limit the depression which is what actually changes who you "are" for personality or mood. I'm sure your doctor is willing to sit down with you and answer your questions if you need any help or advice (or we have lots of good people here too... and there's a "Drugs" link above ^^ (up there) that lists different medications.

It's okay to be concerned. Don't give up. I know it takes forever for it to work effectively (about 4-6 weeks) but it's so worth it if this one works for you. If not, try another one as much as you want.

Good luck.

yeah, sometimes i feel like i do things that i am not accustomed to - but let's face it - i've been depressed for 24 years. would i know how to act if i weren't depressed?

me too...especially the celexa and ativan.

I have no complaints.

You can stop, Dear Dawn, after giving it a chance to work, about 4 weeks, if you do not like the side effects. I do not have any.

peace and encouragement,
nightbird