Anyone here on Anti-depressants?

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My doctor just prescribed me some today (which I've taken) but I've heard including my my psych lecturers that it is not significantly better than a placebo effect.

I've had curious reactions to antidepressants: feeling like Courtney Love is not on the list of adverse effects, so maybe it was just me. Although I do have a friend (possibly autistic, she's still studying the matter) who had a psychotic break on them. We seem to have weird reactions to medication at times, so monitor yourself is all I can say!

I'm on anti-depressants and have been on and off since '06. I seem to have side-effects to all of them and am unsure as to how much they help me because they suppress the emotions I need to learn to cope with; or else fail to suppress them and I have huge panic attacks. If you get side-effects and they are bad, get your doc to change you to a different one.

I'm on an anti-depressant and have been for about 5 years (on this one anyway), I wouldn't be too nervous about taking them, just keep an eye on your reaction to them physically and/or mentally, and get those around you to too. I had a bad reaction to one when I was 11-12, so I suggest being wary and perhaps doing a little bit of research on the selected anti-depressant, however don't get anxious over it ifyou can help it. Most the time, people (the prescribers) know what they're doing.

I read a little about that just this morning ...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... _DNL_art_2

The focus of that particular article is on hypertension and cardiovascular issues, but the facts about depression meds being prophylactic placebos still remain the same. Personally, I have taken St. John's Wort and then even a couple of prescribed SSRIs, but none of that ever had any direct or truly-noticeable effect either on stress or depression.

Medications work differently with everyone, and it can take some time to find the right medication. When I was about 13 or 14, we finally found the right one: Celexa.
It helps me to feel less depressed, and I do not seem to have quite as bad anxiety with it. However, over times medications can stop seem to working, and so you have to up it or find something else. Unfortunately for me, the Celexa has seemed to stop working, and due to so much going on with my life, I'm unable to try other medications because they can take time, and you never know how many different ones it can take until you find the right one for you. Also, it is possible to react badly to different ones.
As others have suggested: Keep an eye on yourself. If you start to notice symptoms, or feel even more depressed, be sure to let your Dr., parents,or people know you are taking this new medication right away. I wish you luck at finding the right medication, because it does seem to help you cope with the stresses and depressions of life!

Yes, I've been on them for a while.

If it's the right one for you, it will work. Those who say they are placebos are wrong.

But it might take a few different tries to get something that works with your particular chemical makeup. Otherwise it's like taking aspirin for a headache when you don't have one.

Whatever you do, if you have been taking any for a while, do not stop taking them cold turkey (i.e. suddenly). You should be weaned off or switch to a similar type. It takes a while for the effect to build up in your system, and after that you achieve a certain level of stability. Quitting suddenly can have severe effects.

I'm currently on Escitalopram (5mg daily). This was after I was suffering from chronic anxiety pain, depression, middle insomnia and an anxiety attack that resulted in me being sent home from work. I have felt better since being on them, close to happy at times but that won't be a reality until other things change in my life.

Haven't had any adverse side effects as of yet, but watching closely.

I'm on a low dose of Prozac, but it's for the OCD aspects of high functioning autism. It might help slightly with that, but I can't comment on the effects on depression since I've (fortunately) never been clinically depressed. I guess it's fairly common to prescribe Prozac and Adderall for high functioning autism, since OCD and severe ADD go hand-in-hand with it.

Charles

The article I had linked does not say they are placebos, but that their effect is typically the same ...

I take Lexapro, an anti-depressant, for my OCD symptoms. It really isn't a placebo effect, because I can feel the medicine working after only a couple of minutes after swallowing it.

No.

Nobody here is on anti-depressants. Nobody.

I am on citolpram and they have honestly worked wonders for me , definatly not a placebo effect becaus ei was convinced they wouldn't work , but with in a couple of weeks my insomnia had gone , my anxiety had lessened , and depression was better ... i have been on them 3 years now and they still work i have had bouts of depression during this time especially in the winter ... but this year i upped my dose and have being doing light box therapy , CBT and daily exercise and so far so good ... these things get bad press but for me they worked with very little side effects ..

This isn't quite true, but there's a bit of truth to it.

Most of the effect of an antidepressant is indeed a placebo effect. But don't think that means "ineffective"; a placebo effect is quite powerful, especially for depression. Taking an antidepressant gives you a feeling of control and hope, and those are two of the best ways of fighting depression.

But it isn't all placebo effect. For severe depression, antidepressants are a good deal more effective than placebos. The milder the depression, the smaller the difference between antidepressants and placebos. Once you get to moderate and mild depression, the effect is slight--but it is not zero.

What this means is that an antidepressant is not a magic cure. It won't make you feel happy and energetic right away, or even within the couple of weeks it takes to work. What it will do is give you a bit of an edge in fighting the depression yourself--it will make it just a little easier to recover, just a little easier to get yourself out of bed and into the sun, just a little easier to force yourself to eat and wash and do something other than stare at the wall. You have to put in whatever effort you can gather together (which at the beginning mightn't be much, granted). Antidepressants can help you do that.

I've been on several antidepressants. Some were helpful; others were ineffective. I've never had any really problematic side effects, though I wasn't at all fond of the way Lexapro made me dizzy if I didn't keep the medication level near-constant in my system. I'm taking Prozac now and will probably take it for the forseeable future because I have recurrent depression and I want to prevent further episodes.

Even if you ease yourself off them slowly as advised by the doctor then the withdrawal can still be painful. Citalopram withdrawal for me caused:

Scary maniacal laughter episodes
Uncontrollable sobbing and the most desperate lows
Aggressive mood swings
Dizziness
"Brain jolts" (or zaps or whatever you want to call them)

And nearly nine months down the line continuing sexual dysfunction, which I've read may continue indefinitely

I do not like anti-depressants.