Who has taken anti-depressants?

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Can you share your experience? What did it feel like? What did you take? Side effects? Did it work?

I've just been feeling permanently f****d lately. And I'm considering asking my doctor for anti-depressants. I've never taken any drugs like that before.

I currently take antidepressants for anxiety and major depression. My experience has shown me that one has to experiment with a few types of meds until the right "concoction" is found. I would avoid Prozac at all costs if you can, as for all I have spoken too gained 30 pounds by the time they were off Prozac (I myself gained 27 pounds, but worked off most of it). Everyone's body chemistry is different; what works for one is not likely going to work for another. I can say this for good news; before finding the right combination of meds, I was suicidal all of the time, and now I have been stable for the last 5 years. I even have good days. So, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, after all; I wish the best of luck for you. But don't forget to ask many questions at the doc's office...weight gain, side effects...etc.

Weight gain wouldn't be such a bad thing. I've always been thin, and due to stress and poverty, I've lost about ten pounds this summer, putting me just over the edge into medically underweight.

i am on lexapro right now. the first day was trippy and i was nauseous for about two weeks. it lowers my social inhibitions a little, so i can even interact with my friends more frequently. lexapro is great for me, because it also lowers my appetite. thus, this may not be best for you, especially if you want to gain. then again, like DHP said, it all depends on your chemistry.

the best thing with it is to be very patient, for while it may be slightly unpleasant, you must wait for your brain chem to stop rearranging. then things will settle down.

You have to be patient when you take anti-depressants. It takes them a while to work, sometimes as long as six weeks to see an effect. I see effects much sooner than that, mostly drowsiness which goes away after a week. I think I tried prozac or paxil. It was a long time ago and I don't remember exactly, but whichever it was, it took away my sex drive so far I couldn't even remember what desire was like. I couldn't punish my husband like that, so I switched to effexor and that has worked well. Later I added wellbutrin.
For some people, there is a parodoxical reaction the first few weeks of suicidal ideation increasing.
I did not take antidepressants until my mid-forties when I fell into a permanent depression, and I wish I had taken it sooner. I am calm now instead of angry or sad and able to be happy. I don't have to work around so many evil thoughts now. Depression thinking is tedious.

I've taken the following ADs in the past, before I was diagnosed bipolar:

+ Lexapro
+ Aurorix
+ Zoloft

I currently take Pristiq, which is basically the new version of Effexor. My main side effect was nausea which went away after about a week, and it has really lifted my depression.

[An aside to this - I also take a mood stabiliser, sodium valproate.]

Like lelia mentioned, ADs don't work straight away. Until your body gets used to the side effects and the new chemicals in the body, you might not notice much difference or you might even feel worse before it gets any better.

It's also not a magic pill - just because you are on an AD doesn't necessarily mean you will be instantly happy. Some people seem to think that the AD will be a silver bullet for their depression but that's not the case. What an AD does is lift your baseline mood higher, so you'll feel better but you won't necessarily be out of depression.

Hope that helps, good luck. I recommend also seeing a therapist if you aren't already.

I did, for a year, but they never helped. I got off because it was pointless.

I haven't taken anti-depressants, but I have taken St. John's Wort 300 mg. as the bottle says and so far it has helped. Only side effect I had from it was sunlight did bother me. I started taking multivitamin and so far it hasn't effected me the same way. I don't feel depressed at all, but I do feel little sad at times. Anti-depressants can't fix sadness though. Some of it will always be there.

Fuoxetene (prozac) and Seroxat did nothing for me. Citalopram turned me into a zombie for years but I didn't notice til I stopped.

Venlafaxine (effexor) certainly stops you being depressed but it also wires you to the moon and is very harsh on the gut. It's too closely related to other popular alkaloids for my liking, short term only.

I agree with jackdumpster.

Yes, I've been on anti depressants in the past (among other medication) and was "clean" so to speak for about 3 years. I went back on medication in year 11 and am still on it. Effexor XR is my happy pill. Well not really, but it tones down my moods so that they are bearable.

it will all depend on u i hav tken a few includine mild sendative i had a bad reation to prozac it makde me soo much worse i lived in a constant state of fear currently im off med they want admit me to get me stabbalized on them again soon


i also suggest coucillig or therpy there so much more to deppresion that just taking med and there is a big difference to feel bad , sad and being depresed and usally u have to be feeling this way for longer than a week

I decided to go on effexor in june, and never felt so bad in my life, some of the side effects were worse
then being depressed. I lost all motivation to do anything, like bathing regularly, not sleeping or eating,
terrible migraines and those were the not the worst things, I lost my sex drive or interest in sex, I was
still having thoughts of suicide and started getting bad dreams and night terrors, after the last one I knew
something was not right, and decided to go off the pills cold turkey 2 weeks ago, I went though some of
the worst withdrawal symptoms , getting brain shocks every few mins dizziness, headaches and nausea,
I looked like I was coming off of heroin. Now 2 weeks later, I am still depressed and still want to cut, but
I am motivated to get better, I am never going on antidepressants again, there is no such thing as a happy
pill its better to have some negative emotions then none at all.
If you want to go on any antidepressants do some research read all the side effects and asks yourself
if they are better then having depression, which you may be able work though in other ways, such as
cognitive therapy, something that I should have relied on instead of taking the so called easy route by
taking drugs that are no better then rat poison.

Wow, I am leaning more towards not wanting to take ADs. I actually had a pretty good day. My mood seems highly responsive to caffeine. If I drink coffee or soda in the morning, I feel pretty normal and chatty. When I don't get caffeine, I can barely speak but it's not because I'm tired. I've actually been off caffeine for a while, because I get addicted to it and get headaches when I don't have it, and it looses its effectiveness after a while too. So I try to avoid it most of the time, but it makes me feel so normal! I want that all the time!

Maybe what I need is a safe stimulant so I can open up my mouth and speak. I just don't like the headaches, increased metabolism, and acquired tolerance with caffeine.

I seem to have better luck mild stimulant, such as green tea or the
occasional Redbull, I feel way better being off the effexor, more in
control of my faculties, I think in some cases of depression these drugs
are fine, but not so in my case. I am finding that keeping my self active
seems to help with bad thoughts, and if I am stuck inside, I am climbing
the walls, so I have started a bunch of painting projects, which is helping
to alleviate some of the depressive thoughts.

I was on Prozac between 1992 and 1995, and it caused drowsiness and weight gain. I was on Mellaril from 1991-1992, and it had the same effect.

I am currently taking Paxil.

I used to take celapram (forgot the dosage) and it really help, but apparently i became "too happy" (in a hyper way) i didn't have a prob with it i had alot less hyper anger, now im off it im sorta neutral and not hyper but still can get hyper angry