Anyone have POSITIVE (or NEGATIVE) anti-depressant experiences?

Question

including but not limited to your....
side effects (good and bad) like weight gain and loss
perspective changes (you are happy again!)
helpful effects (you overcame anxiety)

also please add what medicine you are taking or took and for how long. also list what dose if you don't mind. thanks!

Answer 1

Well, I've been on Prozac since August and for the most part my experience has been fairly positive. I went to my general practitioner last month and told him I felt like my depression and anxiety were creeping back so he upped my dose. Since then, I have felt all out of whack, so much so my doctor has set up an appointment with a psychiatrist because he thinks it's more than just general anxiety and depression.

Bottom line, I would recommend going directly to a psychiatrist to get a diagnosis for your isses rather than just going to a gp. The GP is a good stepping stone but they just aren't as equipped to help with mental health issues.

Some of the side effects I notice are hard time falling asleep, weight loss (good!), lower sex drive (which isn't bad, mine was too high as it was).

Just know that everyone's reaction to any med is going to differ due to different physiology and stuff like that.

Answer 2

Good and bad, but mostly good.

The first antidepressant I took was Desipramine, it's an old drug that probalby isn't used much anymore. I had a lot of side effects, very dry mouth, and my heart beating too fast, but I felt better so I got used to it.

I got depressed again about ten years later, and asked a doctor to put me on Desipramine again. It didn't work so well this time, I got constipated so bad it gave me hemorrhoids, and my mood just got worse.

My doctor switched mto Paxil, and that worked very well for the most part. The main side effect was that it would take me an unusually long time to ejaculate. But that passed after a while. I gained some weight on Paxil, but not too bad.

No I'm on Seroquel, and it makes me really sleepy, gives me dry mouth, for a while I felt like I was drunk. It's also making me fat, much more than Paxil did. I'm only taking it as part of a research study and I need the money. If I find another way to make more money I'd stop taking Seroquel and get back on Paxil. I has also thought about taking Cymbalta, because it's supposed to be good for depression and physical aches and pains (which I have). I might ask my doctor about trying Cymbalta after this Seroquel study is over, or I might just go back on Paxil

Answer 3

I would say absolutely, I have personal experience with this one and it took quite a few different ones to get it right. I went from Wellbutrin to Zoloft to Effexor (actually made it worse) and then to Celexa, which has worked. During medication each dose was titrated in experimentation. It is not uncommon for people to go through many more antidepressants than just these, depending on severity. Psychopharmocology is kind of like an estimated guessing game, as psychiatrists can't really know for certain which antidepressants will work on which people. I'm glad you decided to a psychologist as well, usually you do need a combination of psychotherapy with medication to achieve the best results. I would make sure you are seeing a psychiatrist for medication management, though.

Answer 4

I have tons of those.
Trazadone - very habit forming
Effexor - helped me a ton, but very strong and hard to come off. And it made me gain a ton of weight. That's depressing, so the drug kind of undoes its own effects.
Wellbutrin - made me crazy. Not a bad drug, but not the right drug at the time. Lost some weight, but not enough. You have to work hard for it. Hit the gym.
Zoloft - worked just fine for a while, in helping me get off Effexor.
Lamictal - Not an anti-depressant (anti-convulsive) that I am taking for seizures but helps my depression very much.
Lexapro - works great and no side effects (that I notice, but after so long what could possibly happen that hasn't before?) I haven't gained any weight

Answer 5

Actually, I have had BOTH positive & NEGATIVE experiences with anti-depressants!!!

Mainly, NEGATIVE!!! The anti-depressants I have taken in the past have made me suicidal & very very drugged up!!!

I am currently on an anti-depressant, however. It helps my depression HOWEVER, it makes me hungry all of the time!!! I think that IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THEM, THEN DON'T!! Try other ways to work out your problems!! A licensed therapist can help more than anything!!!

Also, what the "so-called experts" don't tell you is that anti-depressants ARE ADDICTIVE!!! Anytime you have withdrawel, that means the medicine IS ADDICTIVE!! And let me tell you, every anti-depressant I've taken; I've had withdrawel symptoms when I was taken off them!!

Answer 6

I took an anti depressant for 1 year after a terrible divorce, and I was very happy when I took it (happy, laid back, and sleepy. I did not have any weight changes but I was tired all of the time. Kinda like when you are so snuggly in your bed on a winter Saturday morning and you are happy because you don't have to get up for work.

Answer 7

My daughter took Paxil for depression (started out with 10mg. for a week, then to 20mg.). It helped her crying episodes immediately and for awhile gave her extreme highs - - - very good moods. Then after awhile, after a few months, she started cutting herself and had suicidal thoughts. She had also started gaining some weight - - but nothing drastic.

I weaned her off of it. I always heard Paxil was bad and not a good choice, so I don't know why they chose this drug instead of others. Now I'm afraid of putting her on anything, so I'm giving her vitamin supplements instead. The next doctor I took her to said she shouldn't have anti-depressants at all, but should have a mood stablizer instead. I don't think any of them know . . . . I think it is just a guessing game with doctors.

There's a website where you can see more opinions on anti-depressants:
www.askapatient.com

Answer 8

well since everyones chemical makeup is different you are going to get different answers I personally have had both good and bad on Wellbutrin it helped the depression I was able to quit smoking but then I started to seizure so that went in the waste basket now I am on Lexapro and I actually felt "better" within a couple of days and I know it is the meds cuz if I run out and miss a couple of doses I am back to weeping like a sissy

Answer 9

I just started taking Cymbalta in December, which has really helped with my depression.

Some of the side effects from it the first few weeks for me: drowsiness, loss of appetite, I was really out of it for a while.

But it has really helped me feel better. I'm more back to normal now, my appetite is normal again. And I'm a lot more happier and wanting to do things again.


And I have taken Zoloft while I was in high school. It helped for a couple of years, but then it got to the point where it feel like I couldn't focus anymore, like I couldn't think well cause my mind was cloudy.

Answer 10

Mine is positive. I am manic depressive or bi polar, if you prefer. I take prozac. Before I started taking it 15 years ago, I would get very angry and be uncontrollable and hysterical. I also stayed depressed a lot. I had trouble keeping a job because of my mood swings and temper. Since I've been taking the prozac I've been so much better that sometimes I'm not even like the same person.