Did Antidepressants work for you??? Mature conversation about mental health

logical logic wrote:

DiscoGary wrote:

So severely depressed people have a chemical problem which medication can help, but very depressed people have no chemical problem at all and wouldn't be effected by medication.

Faulty logic is faulty.

A chemical imbalance is not the same thing as SAD is it?

I agree that not all depression is caused by chemical imbalances, but I never made that claim in the first place. Now we're getting faulty logic in the other direction.

Will you agree that some depression IS caused by chemical imbalances, and that it is not just confined to the most severe cases?

A good way to self-diagnose yourself if you are feeling depressed is to ask yourself what has changed between now and when you felt OK. If nothing substantial has changed in your external environment, then you make note of it.... and wait.

You wait until you feel better and then ask the same question. What external changes made me feel better? If there are none, then you are probably suffering from depression. This would be good news, because then you finally understand why you feel so crappy sometimes and now you actually have some control over your situation, as opposed to external causes which you can't control.

Then you educate yourself about depression and find the best way help yourself.

I have never taken any medication and I have never had severe depression.

I know that some people have a chemical imbalance and need medication.

I believe that some people have suffered severe psychological trauma which causes depression.

I also believe that we all reach a point of physical and/or mental fatigue, beyond which life starts to suck for a while.

I also believe some people get themselves into situations beyond their control which causes long term misery.

There are lots of variables which cannot be avoided with medication.

I think it is important for people to get the best advice, but that is often unlikely to happen.

I've been taking 200mg of Zoloft for 6 years now. Can't praise it enough. Started taking it in the winter of my sophomore year in college after suffering through a year and a half of depression and severe insomnia. Started off with 100mg and for awhile I didn't notice any change. I was still holed up in my room all day not talking to anyone, still wracked with anxiety about every little thing, still only sleeping 1-2 hours per night. After a few weeks though I started feeling a little glimmer of hope. The worst of the anxiety started to die down, it got easier to talk to people, I stopped obsessing over running and sleep, and gradually I started to get better. At the recommendation of a psychiatrist I upped the dose to 200mg and the improvements picked up steam. I started sleeping 3-4 hours per night, then 5-6, then 7-8. I was barely training but my running got better and better. During the worst of my depression/insomnia I was barely running the 3k as fast as I ran the 2 mile in high school, but within a few months of taking Zoloft I was back to running my high school times, and after a few more months I was destroying my high school times. In February I only managed 9:23 in the 3k, but by April I had run 15:24 for the 5k, and I just got faster from there, dropping from 15:24 to 15:12, then 14:52, then 14:46, and finally 14:34. I started making new friends and reconnecting with my old high school friends. I got closer with the guys on the team. I started going out and actually having fun for the first time in a year and half. Every aspect of my life got better.

6 years later and I'm still on Zoloft and totally happy with life in a way I couldn't have imagined when I first started taking it.

This story is not unique. I have personally seen this kind of turn around in lives due to medication. I'm a believer. Good for you.

I took Zoloft about 5 years ago for some severe situational depression that was really clouding my ability to focus on life tasks. It almost instantly gave me clarity and the ability to mulitask but also had a crushing side-effect of insomnia. I couldn't sleep at all so I had to go on Ambien (zolpidem). It helped me sleep but not as well I used to. I whittled down to 12.5 mg of Zoloft per day (1/4 of a 50mg tablet) and still had insomnia that required Ambien but I was also getting frequent episodes of suicidal ideations that I had never experienced before and I mean BAD episodes. After a couple months, I got off Zoloft completely but stayed on Ambien because I slept so well on it plus it pretty much shut down the frequency I would be awakened to pee at night due to BPH. This more than anything is why I stayed on it for a good 4 years up until a few months ago. The reason for stopping was the realization that I was having side-effects of tendonitis and capsulitis in my upper and lower extremities that didn't seem to be caused by any physical factor after taking a brief "holiday" from Ambien earlier in the summer and feeling less physical pain. My shoulders were especially bad with one episode occurring in 2013 in the right shoulder and a second episode in 2014 in the left shoulder. I had both MRI'd and had numerous cortisone injections both into the subacromion space, the glenohumeral joint and the bicep tendon sheath (ultrasound-guided) as well as very painful physical therapy. The joint and tendon pains were 10/10 sharp with quick movements and my range of motion got increasingly limited with muscle weakening due to disuse. Now that I have removed Ambien from my body, I have no more sharp joint pain and can make quick movement with no pain. I am working on increasing my shoulder ROM with stretches and can now do exercises and weights/bands to recover my strength. I was the one to diagnose the effect of Ambien and tried stopping it on my own volition to see if it was the problem and it was. Side-effects are so variable between people but I thought I'd share mine just in case there is anyone else having these symptoms.

I have been on sertraline for a few years with increase to 100mg in last few months. Im now experiencing increased asthma. Some studies have suggested ssris can cause bronchiospasm :/

Anthony Hopkins wrote:

I'm just wondering how many people here have tried, or are currently on antidepressants. I was prescribed Wellbutrin a few weeks ago, helped with the SAD but destroys my running. It increases systemic vascular resistance and BP, so I can't run far before my heart is beating out of my chest.

Maybe it's the dosage. I had taken Wellbutrin for a few years and it seemed to raise my heart rate by 5ish beats, but no significant change. Also, I had found that the time release on the generic versions was poor, so you'd get a blast of the stuff in the first few hours and then it would seem to wear off. Maybe you should give yourself a little more time for your body to adjust. It often takes a bit of trial and error to find the right dose and the right medication to help get through rough spots.

Though I stopped taking any medications over a year ago, I found that they were very helpful and necessary at the time. Those who say otherwise are more interested in promoting their view than in helping you. Good luck.

Just to add to the discussion. It is so easy to say that you've never taken medication. And then one day you need medication and it all makes sense. This not only applies to mental health, but also physical health.

I have always eaten extremely healthy, never smoked or did drugs, took care of my health and always worked out. I was one of those "I would never take pharmaceuticals" guys. One day I had a major medical issue (for the sake of anonymity) and I am now on medicine for life. Side effects are minimal, but they are there.

Changes your whole perspective.

Best thing to do is not to judge. I fiercely judged my friend for putting his kid on ADHD medicine, and then on a trip with him he gave me the whole story over beers and it made sense. Life was miserable for his entire family, no one was sleeping, grades were falling and behavior was getting worse. After meds, things got better. They hope to stop them soon.

People abuse things, but some people need them.

I used to take Wellbutrin (I usually ordered it from here - http://4rxpharmacy.us/ ). It worked incredibly great for me. I felt happy again and in control of my emotions. The only side effect that I experienced was a mild headache.

I had two different short term experiences with antidepressants when I was having marital problems, first a separation and then a divorce a few years later.

I was having huge problems with depression at that time and was not functioning very well without medication. The medication helped to return me to more normal functioning and have some perspective. The first antidepressants I used was celexa. I had a lot of stomach upset and problems eating. I lost weight, which I was overweight at the time, but it was not a healthy way to lose it. The second time I think I used Cymbalta. I had some stomach issues on that as well but not as severe.

Both times I took medication for less than 6 months. It relieved my symptoms but it also led to some emotional blunting, where I just didn't feel that much at all. When everything causes severe pain, not feeling anything is a relief. It is not a healthy long term state, at least not for me.

I take 100mg of zoloft (sertraline) per day and it has worked wonders. Similar to the person above taking 200mg- less anxiety, mood was evened out a bit but I do NOT feel numb or always happy.

That is not what they are meant for- you need to continue going out and doing things that make you happy. This is just a way towards that goal.

Bipolar diagnosis with depression and other stuff .. I was on everything known to man including antidepressants. the ONLY thing that works for me is running... Probably saved my life, I feel great and dont take any medication.

Overall, antidepressants should help. However, I would think of them as a steroid, they are enough to lift the fog so you realize that it hasn't always and won't always feel this way. The important thing is don't rely solely on antidepressants. It's imperative to seek counseling because that will hopefully give you the tools to go off of the medicine. Specifically with SAD, there are numerous alternative treatments that may also give you a leg up including sunlamps and vitamin D. These can create a nice interplay between giving your body what it needs and giving your mind the ability to cope. That being said, antidepressants are a nice kick start. But that's what they are, a kickstart.