Anti-depressants prescribed today -- thoughts?

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Today I was prescribed anti-depressants for the second time. The first time I took the fluoexetine prescription to the pharmacist but changed my mind at the last second and left without getting them. Today I am looking at a box of Citalopram prescribed by a different doc in a different country and again starting to have doubts about taking them.

I am worried about becoming dependent on these things, about it affecting my moods or emotional responsiveness (e.g. apathy), and the physical problems (e.g. sexual dysfunction which can become permanent).

Any thoughts from anyone who has had success or not with these? I am severely depressed and don't know what else to try at this point. Thanks.

You have your answer right there. Take the pills.
They're not addictive, you won't get dependent on them.
If you have side effects you don't like, you can stop the pills (though you may need to do so gradually).

I spent 6 months on Lexapro. It was not addicting at all.
And don't worry about it changing who you are. No such thing happened to me.
It just made me feel better. More like myself if anything.
Of course, if your medication doesn't seem to be working for you, ask to try another kind.
And remember that therapy is important too - don't just rely on your medication.
Believe that you can overcome your depression. You deserve to be happy.

I don't know about Citalopram, but i know that some antidepressants can be addictive.. Not "i've gotta have my fix" type of addiction, but the feeling horrible and getting headaches when you stop taking them kind of addiction. I'm on Paroxetine, have been for the past 12 years, and if forget to take them i feel like a zombie. I'm definitely not trying to discourage you from taking them though. Paroxetine helped me immensely with depression and anxiety, and i'm glad i was given antidepressants.

Ok thanks. I took the first one today.

All medication will have withdrawal effects; even if it's just your symptoms coming back.

You weigh up the possible positives with the possible negatives when taking such.

If you're clinically depressed, then anti-depressants tend to be a good choice. The possible advantages would tend to outweigh the possible disadvantages here. Now, if you're just feeling sad due to life events, then no, you wouldn't want to take them.

My experience with Celexa sucked. I just felt "weird" on them, and they didn't make me any more or less "depressed." Things were still just as bad and I was just as unhappy, just I felt weird. I think the reason for that is a combo of my NVLD and alexithymia, I know I tried Ritalin recently and it shut off a lot of the verbal thought process, so I was less functional on them, maybe I felt slightly better, but I couldn't think as well and was way more impulsive. But all I remember about Celexa was feeling "weird" on it, that's all. It didn't make me happier.

I can't speak to sexual dysfunction, because I'm asexual and I've not noticed any change in my non-existent sex drive.

I have noticed that my emotions tend to be less extreme when I take antidepressants. "Elated" becomes merely "Joyful"; but, to balance it out, "Devastated" is reduced to "dejected". This is not an intense effect, and it vanishes about two weeks after the last dose. It is definitely a good trade for not getting depression.

You said it yourself: You're severely depressed. You can use any help you can get, and as far as these things go, antidepressants are a relatively safe thing to try. It's very hard to pull yourself out of a depression--most of the time, all you can manage to do is survive until it wanes enough that you can grab a hold of sanity, if only by your fingernails. This is worth a try. You shouldn't feel too different--you won't feel happy or "high"; if you do, you're having a bad reaction and should call the doctor (this has never happened to me or anyone I've talked to, but apparently it can happen). Most likely, you'll feel like you have just a little more motivation, a little more will to fight. For the next few weeks, you will probably feel just as discouraged and sad as you have been during your depression, but you'll have a little bit more energy to fight it with, a little more ability to think and question the logic of the idea that everything is hopeless.

One thing I really recommend to you is to find a sensible therapist you can talk to, especially about solving the practical problems in your life. Whether this is a professional psychologist, a counselor, a religious leader, or a mentor--it all depends on what sort of medical care you can access--the important thing is that this person needs to be somebody who is willing to listen to you and help you solve problems, and will treat you with respect while you are doing it.

I would be careful. Do you have parents or.someone around who can notice difference. Took.those once. I got.depressed by taking them, it became so bad I was starting to have thoughts everyday about suicide. Dangerous stuff alright.

Yeah, that's a possible bad reaction to them. My psychiatrist basically said before he gave me my medication though to stop taking it and even to go to the hospital immediately if it made me feel suicidal. But I don't think anyone should avoid depression medication when they are severely depressed just out of fear they could have a bad side effect.

2 glasses of Red wine + 10km walks = no depression

I've taken paroxetine (Paxil) almost continuously since 1995, and I think it's helped as well as could be realistically hoped for, in conjunction with therapy and other personal efforts. I fought the idea of taking them for a long time, possibly because my mother had gotten crappy meds and ineffectual treatment when I was a kid -- had a very bad impression of them. I know other people who've had to try many different meds at different times, and others who had been mis-prescribed meds.

I took prozac for awhile. Didn't really help me and lets just say there was some sexual dysfunction.

Started with Fluoxetine which made me just feel kind of dopey and light headed but no real improvement. Took this for 4 months I think.

Then Paroxetine for 6 months and it made me feel twitchy and more nervous if anything. It did however lighten my mood slightly, at least for the 4 months. They increased the dosage but no improvement in mood.

Then Fluvoxamine for a month but I stopped taking them before I noticed any real effect. Gave me flu like symptoms for the first week, at least I assume it was the medication and not an infection.

Then Citalopram for 3 months. Again flu like symptoms for a week, nausea, spinning sensations, much like drinking too much alcohol. The upside was I did feel much happier about things, possibly too much as I felt almost manic and could only sleep for 1 or 2 hours per night.

Then Mirtazapine for 6 months. The opposite of the Citalopram. Constantly tired and feeling spaced out, but certainly less down and depressed. Feels like being stoned to some degree but I found it too hard to focus on work and I was becoming unreliable so I quit taking it.

Then Diazepam and Lorezepam for 2 months. Very effective but highly addictive so doctors said not really a long term option.

Then Sertraline for 6 months. Barely noticed any effect, positive or negative and was already on quite a high dose for the medication so they decided to try something else.

Then Venlafaxine for 8 months. No problems starting taking it, except if I forgot to take it at the right time then I'd feel like I was shaking and having sudden headaches. For the first few months I felt an improvement in my mood, a lot shallower lows and more motivation. The effects didnt last so they increased dosage a couple of times but eventually I felt like I did before taking it only if I forgot to take it I got sick. Gradually cut my dosage down and quit it completely but the withdrawl effects were quite bad with head shocks and balance problems for months after.

This is all over a 10 year period with some quite long periods with no medication, although I did try self medicating with alcohol for some of those periods. Now they want me back on Mirtazapine, but I'm less than enthusiastic about the idea.

The problem is the effects, both positive and negative of all these drugs is so unpredictable from person to person that it really is a lottery. Reading the possible side effects list on the medication will tell you that. The only advice I can give is to be careful with them, like any drug, and not to be scared to say no to your doctor if you think the medication is going to do you more harm than good. Hope you find something that works for you.

i recently lost a friend to suicide that was on anti-depressants. there were other things that factored into her suicide, but that is a frequent side effect of many... including the one i take. my advice would be to communicate with someone close to you. not someone on these forums that can't physically be there to help you. communicating how you're feeling to a friend or family member can help you talk yourself through what's going on and whether or not your feelings are being helped or made worse by the drugs.

wishing you the best.

Thanks for all the comments. Second day on them now. I see my GP in 2 weeks and will hopefully be able to arrange some therapy.

Hurtful, confusing world.