Me and my doc have recently discuss antidepressants to treat my apathy. My doc is hesant to start med. because of the side effects+ my age (20). What's been you experience,side effects, concerns, etc? What are the best one?
Doc says that he is only comfortable w/ zoloft, prozac or paxil ( I can't remember) I plan to get a second opinion
Woman, only child, age 20
2007-01-02 14:20:23 · 5 answers · asked by kay 1 in Health ➔ Mental Health
I am 20, also. I've been on Paxil, and have had success with it, but I felt "fake," I was exhausted all the time (AND had insomnia; go figure), and had a loss of libido. After stopping for a few months to try other anti-depressants (Lexapro, Paxil's cousin -- had horrible results with that, but you may have better luck) (Cymbalta -- did nothing), I went back on Paxil and experienced none of the happy feelings I once had. I'm now on Wellbutrin and find it to be doing its job quite nicely. Plus, no fatigue or sexual side effects. :)
2007-01-02 14:26:29 · answer #1 · answered by autumnstarsong 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok here it is. I will give you my personal opinion based on my experience and my professional opinion.
I have been on several anti depressants since i was 14. It took awhile for me to find one that worked well without many side effects and we had to find the right dose. Paxil worked best for me. It worked fine for about 10 years then stopped so i switched to effexor. I take medication for depression, OCD and panic.
The trick to these medications is that you have to be persistant in finding the right one for you. It is out there. They just take awhile to kick in (4-6 weeks). Often the side effects go away after a week or two. So it is good to try to deal with them and see if they pass, if they are tolerable. You should be seeing a psychiatrist for your medication needs, as family doctors receive little training on these medications. Like I said, it is complicated so find someone who specializes in these drugs. Lots of psychiatrists are total idiots too so if you don't already have one, find one that works for you.
Talk therapy and medication is the best combination for successful depression treatment. Exercise is also very successful in helping aleviate depression. I'm trying to work out a lot this winter to prevent any seasonal depression that I usually get.
Lastly... medication is not for everyone. If what is causing your problem is due to something going on in your life, medication is just a bandaid. You have to deal with the problem. If this sort of thing runs in your family and you can't identify anything that might be causing it that is not biological, then you are a good candidate for anti depressant medication. This is hard to sort out and a therapist can definitely help you figure it out. Good luck!
PS: I'm an only child too!
2007-01-02 14:34:00 · answer #2 · answered by prettyinpunkk 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
After about 12 years of depression/anxiety, I went on Zoloft when I was 23. I started at 50mg and went up to about 200mg and I never felt any real improvement. I took the 200mg/day for about a year. My mood lifted very slightly but I was still seriously depressed. I still had many terrible 'episodes' of craziness, crying, fighting, etc.. It never did a thing for my anxiety and I completely lost my sex drive. I eventually went off of it and stayed off meds for about 4 years and just lived with the depression (not a good idea).
This year (I'm 28), I hit a low point and had constant intrusive thoughts of suicide, delusional thinking and psychotic behavior for months and it kept getting worse. I finally gave up and saw a doctor again. I started on 10mg of Lexapro. The first few days I was sick to my stomach but that passed. At about the 4th week, I got terribly depressed and suicidal again. My doc bumped it up to 20mg and I got sick to my stomach again for a few days. At about the 7th week, I started to feel really good. I haven't had any other side effects and, so far, I've been feeling better than I have in years. I was also given Ativan for my anxiety but that is a short term drug since it's very addictive. It helps with the panic attacks which trigger insane OCD behavior and hysterical bouts of crying. I also started going to group therapy which has made a world of difference this time.
The only true statement when it comes to finding the best medication is that each one is different for everyone. So many people have had a bad experience with Lexapro but my experience has been great so far. Zoloft was like taking sugar pills for me but it's worked wonders for other people. I don't see a problem with starting with Zoloft since it's helped a lot of people. If it doesn't work for you, you can always try another one. Get a second opinion but you'll probably hear different things from every doctor you see. Everyone has a different 'favorite' when it comes to meds so sometimes it ends up getting more confusing when you talk to lots of other people. Don't worry too much, you'll find one that works for you.
2007-01-02 16:21:58 · answer #3 · answered by Pico 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PROZAC!!!!!!!!!!! I'm only 14 but let me tell you prozac changed my life! My only side affects are drozyness and headaches. I'm an ony child too. I know others who were also on prozac as well as paxil and they said (one of them had been on paxil but switched to prozac) the side affects of both wern't bad but paxil is worse than prozac. Either way good luck and let me say for what prozac has done for me is worth a headach evey now and then!
2007-01-02 14:58:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
None
2007-01-02 14:23:31 · answer #5 · answered by Gironimo Sefani 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋