Antidepressants

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Ahhh, antidepressants. Such a strange thing to ponder because until you find the right one, it's a bit of a battle. too many people think that with the level of science we employee on a daily basis it's a bullet proof system.
Here is the reader's digest version of my antidepressant story:
been clinically depressed twice. Suicidal once, on the edge of being suicidal another time. All traits had been noted, but not understood.
Anyway, the first time, they hit the nail on the head with Prozac. It was 93 and it was the go to remedy. It worked very well for me. I had no side effects and it did what it was designed to do. Took 3 weeks to work though. Would have been a two week stay but my ex-wife was calling them and telling them that I was 'hooked on NyQuil". The irony of that is that she was:
a) using that to keep me away from the house while she cleaned me out, bank, house and all and left me thousands of dollars in debt by the time she was finished.
b) I hate Nyquil, but she always made me drink it so that I wouldn't cough and disturb her rest.

Anyway, the second time was rough though. They did not have Prozac in their dispensary and got started off with Paxil. Paxil makes some people sleepy. Me? It made me so jumpy and edgy I couldn't sit still and once they say just how bad it got, I was put on Wellbutrin. Not as bad as Paxil, but still not good. Required at least three other meds to control the side effects and allow me to sleep. Eventually, I was transferred to another facility and their dispensary had Prozac. Once on that, off came the other meds and the dosage went down. (Started me on a high dosage because of the previous 'cocktail') and eventually of it all together.

All was done under a doctor's complete supervision and I am very strict about following the directions.

The upshot? Anti-depressants can be very good. May take a while to find the right one and right dosage. Everybody's chemistry is so unique, what works for one does not work for all. It ain't cut and dried like nitro pills for heart patients. But, as mentioned above, it has to be done in concert with a proper lifestyle. Also, if you are entertaining antidepressants, then make sure you are not using other drugs or drinking as that can cause very strange side effects.

Had I have the information I have now and actually treated the causes of the depression (stress, lack of sleep, inability to cope in large crowds, inability to cope in social systems, change from small town environment to really big city, etc.) I would probably not have been depressed the first time.

I've been taking Wellbutrin, I don't think I am any less depressed but it does help with energy and concentration so you don't wallow as much and get things done. I mind Wellbutrin because it doesn't really have to many side effects compared to other antidepressants, does the opposite weight wise and doesn't screw with your libido. Does not help with anxiety, can make it worse, I take klonopin with it so it is managable. Wellbutrin is a non-SSRI and I guess a stimulant alternative, I am somewhat interested in trying a stimulant and the nurse actually brought that up as an idea the last time I saw her but I am afraid of giving up the anxiety medicine since they won't give you both at the same time(uppers/downers/whatever)

That's weird, I've dropped like 20lbs since taking it doing nothing(well more like not eating since I rarely feel hungry now) but I'm not a stress eater tho, the opposite of that, I think I was already trending down in weight because of that before I ever took the pill. I do think it is more common to lose weight than gain it.

I've been on them for a fair few years now. Would've been longer but I refused to go on them at first, as I didn't want to become like my parents (popping antidepressants everyday). I cant say that I honestly benefit from them. I notice when I'm not on them, but that's mostly withdrawal. It's a bit of a wake up call, like a slap-in-the-face hello from the real me. So I take them, they help me sleep (otherwise up all night insomnia), and they can take the edge of some of my panic/anxiety. But mostly, I'm still severely depressed 95% of the time, with panic and mild insomnia. I constantly contemplate the idea of not taking any, and just embracing the real me like some barbarian.

My apologies, I didn't know the term "withdrawal" was exclusively tied to addiction, I thought it was broadly used for withdrawing from any drug, whether addicted or not. From now on, I'll simply say "discontinuation symptoms" instead.

Well, I was told it was for anxiety. I stopped it at 19. OBGYN put me on effexor again because I was moody and pregnant. I didn't really know much back then. And I was completely dependent at the time on my parents. Situation was much more complicated than that but it's not something I can talk about online.

I am a totally different person now. I do advocate for myself. I had to learn to do my own research and listen to myself when I became ill.

I just think people generally aren't aware of all the possible complications of these drugs and should do as much research as possible before taking anything.