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My doctor wants to put me on an anti-depressant. I am very much against going on meds for depression, but all of the doctors and counselors that I see think that I should be on some type of anti-depressant for at least 6 months. However I do not want to be on any med that could possibly cause weight gain or loss of sex drive. Pretty much every anti-depressant I read about has those symptoms. One of my counselors recommended wellbutrin and said it shouldn't have those side affects, but then when I looked it up online I did see loss of interest in sex listed as a side effect. As a newlywed, I don't want to deal with that. I also want to be able to have a few drinks with friends still, and I know that so many anti-depressants shouldn't be used if you drink alcohol.
So are any of you on any anti-depressants that don't have those symptoms? Would you be able to share the name?
From my personal experience (that is, your mileage may vary), I would recommend against them. I was put on one in the past, and physical side effects notwithstanding, it just doesn't let you feel like yourself. I switched types, and it didn't help, so I quit them. Sure, the doctors will insist you "need" them, but you don't. Really. I have lengthy views on mental health in general that I will keep to myself, but for your question, I will just say that I definitely think that if you are worried about the side effects, that should be reason enough not to put more chemicals in your body.
I am on Lexapro, 20 mg. I have been on it since I was 15 or 16 at 10 mg, then upped it to 20 a couple years ago. I don't have any side effects unless I don't take it, then I get dizzy and headaches. It says you shouldn't drink and all that, but I still do, and it hasn't affected me at all. It also warns of the side effects of decreased sex drive and all that, but the percentage that experiances that is super low. I have been really happy on it. I did switch to another kind (can't remember the name right now!) and had horrible decreased sex drive, so I went back to lexapro. My mom and sisters have all taken it for years too. I would recommend it :) Good luck!
I've been on Wellbutrin before and now I'm on Lexapro. I've gained some weight, but I don't think it's due to the meds - I've also been eating horribly and I haven't exercised in forever.
I didn't have any sexual side effects with Wellbutrin, but it didn't help with the depression as much. The Lexapro has helped with the depression but we've noticed a definite decrease in my sex drive. But the boy and I both decided that we'd rather have me feeling better and not having sex as much, instead of having more sex with me being miserable and depressed all the time.
I've always drank a bit on both of them and it's been fine. Even my doctor said it was fine, in moderation. They are the two anti-depressants that have the least amount of side effects.
Zoloft is the other one I tried! I hated it :) Also, i was able to continue my Lexapro while I was pregnant, just a lower dose.
I tried Wellbutrin for a week and it was the worst week of my life. When I tried it I was severely depressed and desperate for something to make me feel better. I saw my doctor and she recommended it and I filled the prescription and started taking it the same day. She had said it would take a while for me to feel better and that it would take a while for my body to adjust, but I felt so, so much worse. By the sixth day I couldn't get off the couch and couldn't eat anything at all. I was so much more miserable than before I had started taking it. It was the absolute worst I have ever felt in my life. I was weak and sick and even more depressed than ever. I called up my doctor and she told me to stop taking it immediately and that we should try something else. We decided to try some old school style antidepressants and so I went on amitriptylene (elavil). So glad I did! I used it on the lowest dosage possible before bed and it was basically like a sleeping pill. I started feeling better very quickly and I had very little side effects. I was on it for sixth months and just went off last week and I feel great!
As a side note, good for you for doing research before you started any prescription. I would NEVER have tried Wellbutrin if I had read about it beforehand, but like I said above, I was desperate and she had touted it as this great pill, helps people lose weight, etc. without telling me any of the negatives. Later I found out what a crazy ass drug it is. Essentially a lot of people who go on it have to spend a YEAR or more tapering off because it is like a serious withdrawal. I am glad that my body rejected it. I have read that a lot of the newer antidepressants are serious drugs with some messed up long term side effects and I am not sure I would ever take any of them.
One thing you have to remember about anti-depressants is that they affect different people differently. Sometimes, you have to try a few before you find one that works for you and it may not ALWAYS work for you.
I went on Zoloft in 2001 after a rediculously bad break up and was on it for about 18 months. I had no unpleasant side-effects, I lost a lot of weight, and I felt much better, Then I tapered off and was fine.
In 2006, my depression returned in full force, probably (at least part) due to Hurricane Katrina. I went back on Zoloft thinking it would be the same and it wasn't. I gained 20 pounds, my sex drive was basically non-existant and (even worse) when I did want to have sex, I could not orgasm (yes, that can be a side-effect).
My doc switched me to Wellbutrin and it's been great. I feel good, it actually increased my sex drive and I've lost weight on it, but as you can see above, other people don't have such good experiences with it. My mom took it for a while and it made her feel "dizzy and crazy."
I will tell you that most people I know who are "happy" with their anti-depressants are on either Wellbutrin or Lexapro (though I know people who are happy on others). I will also encourage caution with Celexa and Effexor as they have extremely bad side-effects and very short half-lives. My mom was on Effexor for a while and if she didn't take it, she was in withdrawls within 12 hours, seriously ill.
I work in the medical field and every doctor I talk to emphasizes that sometimes medication is necessary. You use inhalers to treat asthma and insulin to treat diabetes. You can't expect these things to get better on their own. The same goes with depression. It might take a little bit of trial and error to find the prescription and dosage that is right for you, but you shouldn't be ashamed to take anti-depressants. I agree with phedre though, I've never heard good things about Celexa. And Wellbutrin is often used for smoking cessation and sometimes used as a weight loss tool as well because it cuts down on cravings, so I wouldn't worry about gaining weight with that one.
I should probably note, I'm not a doctor, nurse or any other sort of medical professional. I just work in a field where I interact with doctors routinely.
As someone who is a Psychology major and studies Abnormal Psych in depth, I agree with @Twista. If you have poor eyesight, you don't just hope it gets better. There are alternatives to anti-depressants, and not every anti-depressant will work for every person. But depression has to do with your brain chemistry, and that's not as simple as most people like to believe. It might make you feel better to do some in-depth research on depression and why anti-depressants were developed.
The thing is, there is a lot of research about what causes depression, how to help people with depression, etc. We're figuring more out all the time, and one thing that we do know is that your brain doesn't produce enough of the "happy" chemicals (serotonin and dopamine) or their are too many receptors for the amount of serotonin being produced, or it's being stopped from making it to the receptors.
Anti-depressants are not something to be ashamed of, and just because they didn't work satisfactorily for one person does not mean that they wouldn't help you immensely. Psychology is not something that is all about talking - psychotherapy is a part of psychology, yes, but so is neuroscience, and they are both equally important.
I used to be, and tried many before I found Welbutrin, which I loved. It made me more energized, and I didn't gain weight or have any effect on my sex drive. Paxil, Celexa, Prozac all made me lethargic and more depressed. I've read that Welbutrin is part of a different family of drugs and that's why many people respond without these side effects.
Does anyone in your immediate family have any history with anti-depressents? My sister, Dad, and I have all found we have similar reactions to meds, so when my dad took anti-depressents, he immediately went for Welbutrin because of my positive experience with it.
I was on a low dosage combination of wellbutrin and zoloft for on and off (sometimes a year break inbetween) from ages 17-23. I didn't always feel depressed-- it was more of an anxiety type deal. However, I think it's more of a causation vs. correlation regarding one's sex drive while on antidepressants. I know when I was feeling really low...I certainly didn't want to be having sex. Is that because I was depressed or because I was on medication? Looking back, I'm guessing it would be the former.
Anyway, don't feel like you are being handed out a life sentence when your doc recommends medication...they really can be used for short-term issues in a lot of people. I've been medication free for two years now and being doing well. Being on medication during times when I was really struggling with mood helped me a lot and I have since learned coping strategies that do not require antidepressants!
Sometimes you just need something to keep you functioning... I was on prozac for around 9 months when stress and anxiety got to me. See I hadn't slept well for around 3 months and when it got to the point that anxiety attacks were making me unable to function and I lost 30lbs from not eating, I went to see my mom's shrink. He put he on xanax for the anxiety and celexa for the depression. The celexa was aweful. It made me physically nauseous and the depression worse. So I stopped taking that and started prozac. The doc also started me out on a low dose (I was taking the baby aka liquid prozac for a couple months until I was at a therapeutic dose for the pills). You end up going to the doctor every other week or so until the dose is stable. They will check to make sure you aren't having any bad side effects (digestive issues, weight gain, etc) and if you are feeling lethargic and stop caring about things all together, they will step you down a bit. If you are on the right meds and the right dose, you should feel normal until whatever is causing your depression goes away. I stopped taking the meds because I was beginning to be antsy on them. And I was fine without prozac after that. I'm still on the xanax now but I started that up again around christmas time due to all this wedding related planning stress.
If you are feeling depressed and you think it's getting worse, then you may want to try the meds. But if you aren't depressed then don't start something you don't need. And don't feel bad about having to turn to them or others for help. Sometimes you can't pull yourself out of the blues and you need help. I gave in and wished I had sooner as those 3 months were utter hell!
I used to be so set against taking meds, thinking that i could just snap out of my funk by myself. But i couldn't. I used Lexapro and loved it. I have been able to get off of it but i know that if i need to then i could go back to it. I had tried other meds but this was the best one i have ever been on.... oh and i also like my counselor to talk to about things!!!
wellbutrin is the only anti-depressant that doesn't cause sexual side effects. also it has appetite supressing components. i think it actually lists anorexia as a side effect - and its the same thing prescribed as Zyban to stop smoking, so it would help you with that if that's an issue. i've been on it for a number of years. feel free to PM if you want more info.
I agree with what @twista and @lilyfaith said. When my therapist first recommended that I try an antidepressant, I was really reluctant. I was talking to a friend who'd been on them for years, and she said "If you had diabetes and your doctor suggested insulin, would you be reluctant then?" She was right.
Sorry but I don't like the excuse that it is just like using insulin for diabetes. It's not really, in my opinion. Yet my doctors keep using those exact reasons for why I should go on the anti-depressants. Depression is a scale. You can be slightly, moderately, or severely depressed. There are different treatments for each. When you have diabetes you need insulin to survive. When you have depression you don't necessarily need medicine. Anyways, I do scientific research for a living, and I don't like how the doctors tell me stupid things like this and think I'll just agree with them and take the pills right away. Depression in my mind is not as simple to treat as arthritis or diabetes (I've had two doctors use those diseases as examples so far). My best friend is a neuroscientist and there is so much we don't know about how the chemistry in the brain works yet and what these medications are doing. Yet doctors still prescribe them. And when I ask them to tell me why this one pill will help me over another they can't even give me a real explanation.
Anyways, I'm happy to see so many of you mention Wellbutrin. That's the one my therapist recommended today. I also was told in the past that I should try amytriptyline to help me sleep. I don't think the dose I would have been on would have been enough for it to work as an anti-depressant though.
@Edina - I wish I could find a doctor that would help me learn some coping strategies. That's why I went to the counselor today, but all they want to do is diagnose me and then push meds on me. I can't find any doctor who will help me find someone to just talk to. Also, you mentioned you had to see your doctor multiple times when starting the meds so that they could make sure the doses were correct. I highly doubt my doctors here would do that. Maybe it is time I switch doctors!
While we're on the subject of depression, can someone explain it to me?
I know that's probably a really dense question, but sometimes I think, "it's totally depression" and others I think, "really? maybe you're just lazy and have a crap personality"....
My mom has had her turn taking anti-depressants, but she doesn't really talk about herself much, so I don't know if it did much for her or not. I just know she told me that once she contemplated suicide and killing me and my brother so that she didn't have to deal with it anymore.
I've never had a suicidal thought in my life, but for the last year or so I pretty much have been emotionless. I don't laugh, I don't cry...I just stress. Over everything. Maybe I just need a vacation? Sigh.
Yeah, some medicines will affect people differently. Try it and if you don't like it, ask your doc to switch to something else.
I was on lexapro during college for about 1 year. And in the end, I knew I didn't want to be on this medicine forever, so I used the medicine to help me change all the negativity that I had. It really helped. I had to train myself to think differently and see the positivity in a lot of things. It's been 5 years since I was on it and I'm fairly a positive person.
@ pieceofcake,
if you have thoughts of sadness that lasts more than a month, then you might be depressed.
You don't have to have suicidal ideas to have depression. I'm not a doctor but I think being negative all the time is depression.
Also, schedule an appt just to talk to psychiatrist, they will be the right person to ask.
I thought I was starting to develop a certain condition and the doc told me that he doesnt think that was it and he thought it was something else.
There's nothing wrong with just checking it out with a counselor.
@catonka - Yes, mental disorders are often more complex than other medical issues, but I think the reason many doctors compare them to other diseases and ailments is to show people that it is a real, biological problem and not "made up". Although some people find they can cope with issues without medication, if you've been suffering for over 6 months, doctors likely want to see if medication will help you (as it does many people with mental health disorders).
Most psychologists today agree that a combination of psycho-therapy AND medication is what really works for mental disorders. I agree that a lot of the side effects of medications are unpleasant, but they do not effect everyone in the same way. I'd suggest avoiding reading horror stories on the internet because they'll just make you more anxious about taking meds. I take an anti-convulsant for bipolar disorder and it has honestly been nothing but helpful. Everything I read online said "I got hugely fat" and "I lost my hair" and other horrific things, but the only side effect I had was some drowsiness. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you. It's a hard step to make but you might be happy with the choice to try it.
ETA - Are you going to a psychiatrist or a psychologist? Psychologists have much more training in psychotherapy and dealing with people directly (though they often cannot prescribe drugs. . .I'm not sure what the rules are in the US vs here?).
I've suffered from moderate to severe depression for years and have never, ever been suicidal.
At the worst, my symptoms have ranged from lethargy to the inability to take pleasure in anything to hysterical crying jags. I've never entertained the thought of killing myself, though.
The meds didn't make any of that magically go away, but it helped with the lethargy. And once I was more energetic and motivated, I was able to help myself with the rest of it.
ETA: @Brianalaura - I agree that most people in the medical profession compare depressinon to other illnesses to make them seem not made up. So many people think that depression isn't real, and that it'll go away with vitamins, or exercise, or prayer. Those things can certainly help, but major depressive disorder is, in fact, a real physiological issue.
Now, situational depression (becoming depressed after the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, etc.) isn't quite the same as major depressive disorder in the physiological sense, but it's just as real.
@ catonka: I was only on a 10 mg dose of amitriptylene and that was all I needed. The only reason I asked if I could try it was because I had been given a prescription for the same dosage in the past for unexplained pain and I remember feeling generally happier while I was taking it.
If the doctors you keep going to just keep pushing pills at you, keep trying different docs till you find the right one. It's hard but in the end it is worth it.
@Catonka I really recommend seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist either with or without medication...I had so much success with that type of treatment. The title "cognitive behavioral therapist" sounds really "shrinky" but really, she was such an awesome woman not even that much older than me. I learned so much about myself and most importantly, how to handle situations that trigger anxiety. At only $10 copay too!
I feel like any good doctor would recommend talk therapy coupled with antidepressants--and they should also keep seeing you until you have the right dosage. I started at a very low dosage and checked in every two-three weeks (about the time the meds are supposed to kick in) and we would reevaluate the situation from there.
Here is a little more info on the type of therapy I'm talking about. Feel free to PM anytime! :)
http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/cognitive.htm#cognitivefactors
@danadelphia - my fiance suffered from depression in the past, and when he went to his doctor (crying his eyes out) explaining he was having issues, his doctor told him to take Vitamin B. He went back twice and the doctor told him that there was no point in him referring my fiance to a psychiatrist because "it would take too long", that he probably wasn't exercising enough, and gave him a bogus card to a mental health crisis centre that said they are just a phone-in emergency centre. It was awful. I think it's sad that even some doctors don't get what a serious issue it is!!
I have been on Lexapro for some time now. I think if you need to take medicine to make you feel normal and not depressed you should def look into it. I do agree that not everyone should be put on meds, but I don't know where I'd be if I was still so depressed without med.
Oh! And have you had your vitamin D levels checked? Sometimes if you have low vitamin D levels you can have symptoms of depression.
If you're set against medicine because of possible side effects and your depression is mild to moderate, you might try a "happy light" instead.
@Brianalaura Sorry to hear! I think men have it worse than women...there is more of a stigma for a man to be depressed than for a woman, sadly. So it's awful to hear about the ones strong enough to seek help get dismissed like that! I hope he is doing better now.
I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm so happy I found this thread today. I've been suffering from anxiety for years (since HS), and I've tried everything except medication to resolve the problem because I also didn't want to resort to medication right away. BUT, it's been getting worse and severely impacting my life (as in crying fits and panic attacks at least once a week). I finally saw my doctor this week and said I'd like to try medication. She said she thought it was a good idea because I've seriously tried a lot of alternative therapies that haven't worked. She prescribed be Lexapro, and after researching it, I was happy with her choice because I heard good things about it.
So, next part of my story: I went to go fill the prescription, and my stupid insurance charges me an arm and a leg for it ($60 for a 30-day supply). I just can't afford that because I'm a couple of other daily meds that are also expensive that I absolutely need for medical reasons. And, Lexapro doesn't have a generic form (it has a generic name, but it not manufactured generically). So I have a call into my doctor to see about a possible substitution that does have a generic, but it really ticks me off that the one drug that seems to help the most people with the fewest side effects is the one I cannot. So now I'm nervous about the possibility of a drug that WILL cause a lot of side effects. I guess I'll just have to keep testing until I find one that works.
So anyhoo, didn't mean to hijack the thread! But I found it incredibly helpful.
I'm a therapist. While it's true that psychiatry isn't an exact science, we do know what the drugs do. Antidepressants target different chemicals in your brain. Some (SSRI's) increase the seratonin levels in your brain. Sometimes your brain isn't using seratonin (one of the feel-good chemicals) properly. Some decrease other chemicals. The problem is that nobody can see exactly what's going on in your brain to know exactly how to treat it with meds, so it's a little trial and error.
While it's not exactly like diabetes, it is the same in that it's taking meds to treat a medical condition. I think some people are resistant to antidepressants because they think of depression more as a weakness or character flaw or something that will go away just by "cheering up" rather than a chemical imbalance. While most people who aren't suicidal (and depression doesn't mean being suicidal) can function *ok* without meds, they can help you get over the depression hump and increase your quality of life.
I practice what I preach. I took wellbutrin years ago for depression and it helped immensely. No side effects. I took lexapro for the last year or so I was in grad school, because it helps with depression and anxiety. I was dealing with both. I didn't gain weight on the lexapro. I did have a bit of a low sex drive but to be perfectly honest, it could have been all the stress I was under from work, internship, school, and a thesis. I drank while on lexapro (not excessively); no issues.
As far as side effects go, when they do a clinical study, they have to list EVERY side effect that anyone experienced. Keep in mind they may or may not have been related to the drug, particularly since depression itself can cause appetite changes and a low sex drive. If you have to take antibiotics, they'll have a laundry list of side effects but you're not likely to experience all or even any of them.
Also, if your counselor wasn't helpful, FIND A NEW ONE. Counselors are SUPPOSED to be someone you can just talk to and not feel judged. Unfortunately, there are people in every field that maybe aren't well suited to that job. Talk therapy can be incredibly helpful for depression. (And yes, I've seen therapists too! :))
@Edina - he is, thankfully, but it's pretty hard to get him to visit his doctor now as he doesn't trust him anymore. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to get into a new office nowadays and he was the only doctor in our area accepting new patients. Luckily we're moving soon so he can go back to his old family doctor!
@MissChapstick - I hope you find one that works for you that is more affordable.
Does anyone else hate that this is such a hard topic to broach in 'real life'? Almost all of my friends and family have no idea I have mental health issues because I don't want them to think of me differently.
Miss Chapstick: Lexapro does have a generic form. Its not lexapro exactly, but my dr thought about changing me to it becuase it is so much cheaper, but you jsut have to take 2x the normal lexapro dose. My mom takes it now too. I cna't think of what its called though! I'll find out and let you know! :)
@Brianalaura - You shouldn't feel like you have to keep it from your friends and family. All my friends and fam know I have issues. I'm not ashamed of it or scared to tell people. I think the reason there is a stigma is because a lot of the misconceptions hanging around from the old days are still kicking around and people are ashamed to talk about it. There's nothing to be ashamed of. If someone views you differently, they are just ignorant and that's on them, not you. It's way more common to have mental health issues than you'd think, and that's NOT because everyone jumps into drugs and claims they have this or that issue, it's because mental health issues have "come out of the closet" so to speak in recent years. It's not that people didn't used to have mental health problems, it's that it wasn't socially acceptable and there weren't legit treatments so people suffered in silence. Back in the day they would diagnose all of us women as "hysterical" and ship us off to the loony bin - FACT. Bottom line: times are different and you shouldn't be ashamed of something you cannot change.
@brianalaura: Thank you! Me too :)
@Rosie Girl: Ooo, thanks for the tip! I'm still waiting to hear back from my doctor, so when she calls, I'll ask about it.
I agree Kittyachi! They had some pretty damn demeaning methods of treating "hysteria" not too long, didn't they? Can you imagine going to the doctor and having him whip out a vibrator?!
@Kittyachi - I agree and disagree! Obviously I know mental health issues are more socially acceptable than in the past, but there is a huge stigma still. My fiance's aunt has bipolar disorder, and most of her family basically treats her like she is an idiot. I think a lot of people pre-judge others with mental health issues (partially due to ignorance, as you pointed out), and assume because they know what one person with a disorder is like, they know what all people with that disorder are like. Plus I think there are still a lot of people that think mental health issues aren't "real". Heck, my fiance's family doesn't believe that ALLERGIES are real (DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT ONE! :-D). If it doesn't affect my relationship with them, I pretty much don't tell people. And some of of the people I've told seem uncomfortable because I think they are nervous and don't know what to say/how to react.
I had pretty bad post partum depression after I had my daughter. It was awful and interfered with my bonding with my daughter. I completely disagree with people who tell you people don't EVER "need" to take medication to fix depression - how they hell do they know? I know I NEEDED medication (lexapro) to get myself back to normal so that I could take care of my daughter properly. What I had was like a demon that couldn't be fixed with diet or exercise or talking it over with a therapist. Not all depression is the same- and I'm sure some people are fine without meds, but some people do need them.
@Brianalaura - Awww I'm sorry to hear that your FI's fam falls on the ignorant end of the spectrum. It's true - many people will judge a condition like bipolar on extreme cases or things that they've heard about people with bipolar. The ironic part about that is that they will judge bipolar people who ARE dealing with their disorder, are medicated, in therapy, etc. on the extreme cases, which are always people who have gone off their meds. Sigh. Maybe one day people like your FI's family will be more open-minded. Sorry you have to deal with that! I guess in your particular case since they don't even believe in ALLERGIES (!!!) you should probably keep it to yourself.
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