do antidepressants actually work?? i want answers only from people who use them thanks?

Question

how do you whether it is the drug or it you who is making yourself feel good or whether it is a life event that is actually making you feel good, how do you know that the side effects arent actually that the drug does?? and erm you feeling crap without them isnt just in fact withdrawl symptoms and not your depression coming back... thanks

Answer 1

I was on and of of meds for depression for almost 8 years. They are in my opinion VERY VERY bad for you. The things that they do to your brain is not an exact science, more a trial and error. Then every few years you hear of another percription drug that has huge detrimental side effects.

There are many ways to treat depression with out drugs. It's not easy, but it's possible entirely. Depending on the severity of the depression and it's origination. I'm living proof that the no-drugs approach works. It did however take over a full year for the effects of all the scrips to leave my body.

Good Luck to you.

Answer 2

Like any medication, they do work if you are properly diagnosed and you are Rx'ed a med that works for you.
I have been on SSRIs and they have helped me a lot because I have actual depression and anxiety, not because there was a day when I was feeling bad, decided I had depression, and started on Prozac.
As for the life event/change part, there are times when I haven't needed them and have done well without them. But after periods of intense stress, I usually end up needed them again.
It's comparable to someone who has allergies. They can do well without medicine or treatment until they come into a situation where they encounter what they are allergic to. What people need to realize is that clinical depression isn't all about emotions--it's related to a serious medical problem beyond the person's control, just like any other disease. Many people are predisposed to it genetically.
The side effects, like any other medication, are listed when you first get the Rx. So if you suddenly experience fatigue or weight gain or any symptom on the list which you hadn't before, you'll know it's the medicine.
My point is, when you go on an antidepressant, it will say not to stop taking it even if you start feeling better because it would be damaging what the medicine has repaired. Doing so would be as foolish as throwing away your inhaler after an asthma attack.

Answer 3

I don't think antidepressant work . The side effects out way the benefits, Then the doctors just prescribes anther one of top of the present so you don't know which medication is doing what or causing what then again they try to give you a med that will relieve the adverse reactions to all the meds which gets very messy and confused for both patient and doctor .Most have sexual side effects IE: sex drive , hallucinations,sleepiness ,euphoria,heart populations,even make to more depressed ,get *ThePill Book* not to mention all these 'meds' have to go through you liver and other vital organs or cause more depression when mixed with benzodiazapines its a vicious cycle , try alternative means eg: SamE,Saint Johns wart,Ginkgo Biloba,Gingseng theres also a lot of vatimins that will help you more then any conventional meds ,You have to do your homework after all the doctors aren't taking them or experiencing your condiction and doesn't know what it feels like to be depressed only learn how to treat in med school , Be you own advocate

Answer 4

yes they do. i have been on effexor, webutrin, zypexa, lexapro/celexa and 1 or two others i dont recall right now, in the past eight years. the reasons for the changes are that until two years ago I had never found a doctor i completely trusted and that i stayed with and followed through with. Each doctor had their own pet theories about which drugs would work and the drugs do work differently on everyone and require some experimentation. and yes new drugs are continuously being introduced.

for me the combination I am on now really works. the side effects are acceptable because, when i take them faithfully, i feel like "me". and my family (sibs and parents) says i act like me too. I have had some tragic things happen to me since i have been on this mix and it didnt cause a breakdown, meltdown etc. On the other hand I had great things happen when i wasnt stabilized that i just couldnt enjoy.

to answer your question about withdrawal. i used to stop taking meds when i felt better and then usually weeks or months later start feeling much worse. i dont expect to be feeling any withdrawal symptoms in the future because i now realize i will be taking meds for this the rest of my life and thats ok. it is a chemical imbalance in my brain, i'm not crazy. it's like other people have high blood pressure and if they want to have a healthy, long life they better treat it.

my advice to you is to find a doctor you trust, honestly tell them how the meds are affecting you and follow through with the meds until you do not need them any more, if yours is a situational type of depression, or if yours is a chemical imbalance type like mine, then just accept that is the way you are and go on with your life.

Answer 5

Ten years ago I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar and was given Paxil, which is a big no-no. I mention this as a precaution when choosing to use an anti-depressant. During the time I was using the drug I did feel a marked improvement in my moods. The results were very dramatic and because of this my perception and interaction with the world around me caused my life to be a lot better (i.e. life events improving because of new way of perceiving). As for feeling like crap after non-usage, with the help of my therapist, I was able to see that it was a combination of both withdrawal and returning depression. Very bumpy ride. A therpist is a no-brainer. Never take any prescription aimed toward mental health without one. Journaling is very, very important. You'll have to compare how you react to similar situations with and without the drug. Once again, with a therapist and journaling. Also, a psych doctor along with a therapist will safely "ween" you off of the drug. Be strong and keeping doing your research.

Answer 6

I take several different ones. Antidepressants don't make you happy or feel good, what they do is keep you from falling into depressive episodes. There are physical symptoms of depression like lack of energy, trouble sleeping, appetite, libido that improve and you will usually see these kinds of results when you first start taking medicine.

The person who answered first about antidepressants causing people to kill themselves isn't really accurate. See, what happens is when you have a suicidal and depressed person who is prescribed medicine the first relief they will get is from those physical symptoms, they have more energy, more initiative, but they aren't out of the woods yet and are still suicidal, but now they have enough energy to actually go out and buy a gun or jump off a roof or something whereas before they were literally too depressed to even kill themself. People starting antidepressants should see a psychologist regularly to make sure they're ok while starting the treatment.

Answer 7

Based on the slant of your questions, I'm inferring that you don't believe in anti-depressants, that you think it's all psychological and a person can "think themselves" out of it. There is an element of truth there, since depression does involve the brain, one can learn strategies for dealing with anxiety, etc. However, when I started taking anti-depressants, it took about four weeks before I really started seeing results. If it were "me making myself feel good," and just the thought that I was taking medicine that would help me made me "fix it" myself, wouldn't I have started feeling better pretty much immediately? In addition, my husband went through YEARS of still suffering with depression because they'd missed an element of his illness and hadn't prescribed the correct medicines. If having the medicine at all was enough to make a person make themselves feel better, wouldn't he have just "felt better" with the first anti-depressant he was given? And if when you go off antidepressants, the feelings coming back is just withdrawal, how long would it last then? Because it just STAYS if I stop taking my meds. Here's the thing, though. After taking my medical history the doctors thought that due to my family history of mental illness, that my depression was clinical/genetic. Some depression can be situational--a traumatic event causes sadness and the brain somehow gets "stuck" producing the chemicals it does during grief, basically.

Answer 8

I have gone though 3 different kinds to find the right one for me...It has made a big difference in my life. Withdrawal isn't something you have to worry about if you get a non addicting drug. Ask your doctor when you go to find a drug that is right for you. Explain your symptom's and tell him or her that you would like a non addictive drug. If you do decide to go with an addictive drug you are more likly to end up feeling worse in the long run. Those kinds of drugs are for people who have had an extream tragity in there lives that need a quick boost of happyniss. Most drugs that arnt addiction take about 2-4 weeks to get into your system but when you stop taking them the continue to stay into your system for 6-8 weeks so that your body will ween you off of the drug to avoid withdrawl. Goodluck

Answer 9

Having taken antidepressants for a long time, yes they work. I have had problems with some such as Prozac, but great with the stuff I am on now Nurontin and Effexor. But it varies with each person and each doctor on how you are treated. Plus new meds come out all the time that improve the way the side effects may hit you. And once you start taking these drugs it is almost impossible to withdraw without serious problems cropping up.

Answer 10

Antidepressants do work, but you need the right one/ones. Take them on a doc's doc's-dosage schedule and see the difference. I suffer from time to time from depression-severe depression and take an antidepressant twice a day. As long as I take them I'm fine. When I don't take them I get moody and teary eyed. I've been taking them for about 8 years now and am doing fine. Good luck with yourself.