Antidepressants

I was on antidepressants, on and off, for years. I tried St John’s Wort by replacing a dose at a time with it. I found that there were no side effects and weaned myself off everything else. As for sleep disturbance, I have PPS which causes sleep disturbance , leading to anxiety. Radio 4 X is a great help and distraction. Worth a try. Good luck .

All antidepressants take about 6-8 weeks to work, although side effects such as nausea only last a couple of weeks as your body gets used to them. Why don’t you have a chat with your GP about your concerns. It may be worth following your GPs advice and take them for a few weeks. If you’re still not feeling better then pop back to see the GP again. I hope you feel better soon.

There are numerous different antidepressants fancythat. Some suit some people better than others. I have never had side effects with venlafaxine, function perfectly normally during the day and sleep well at night. I have never been dopey, if that’s what you mean.

I dont know much about all of this. And nothing about the drug.

What are you like during the day?

Sorry to hear you are suffering. You are not alone.
I take Citalopram and have not had any side effects. Can't advise on the new drug you are taking, but I do hope you find something that helps you with this debilitating condition.

I took Sertraline while feeling anxious when my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was fantastic, although it worried me when we had a family upset (serious illness) and I felt nothing at all. Anyway the doctor said that many people hate coming off it as it is such a good drug and they miss it. can see that. I came off by simply stopping when I felt better and then later discovered this was sheer lunacy according to the people who know about this stuff. I was absolutely fine and it worked well for me that way. I think there are times when you really need tbis support and such drugs can be so helpful. I did not have any side effects so perhaps I was lucky.

Please read Lost Connections by Johann Hari.
I’m only half way through but very interesting about antidepressants and anxiety.

Hoping you can get sorted.

I was given Sertraline by my GP when I recognised I was severely depressed - largely work-related, but it spilled over into every aspect of life. I had initial side-effects like dizziness and nausea, these did clear up, but I’m having terrible trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. I was up all night last night, went to bed when husband got up and slept for about 5 hours, but still feel exhausted.

The depression has broken up quite a lot, so, despite sleep problems, I’d be reluctant to give up sertraline unless another anti-depressant was substituted..

Ive been on and off sertraline for 20 years. It helps me cope with my suicidal DDs ups and downs with her mental health. However I dont know if I would feel better without it until I stop and each time I think I will reduce my dose we have another crisis! Ive been up and down with 50mg and 100mg. No obvious side effects. She tried venlaflaxine and had a massive meltdown while on it. Apparently it can affect some people like that, she was fine (for her)when it was changed.

I have been taking Propranolol originally for headaches of unknown origin. But they stopped when I retired from work. But I am back on them now for anxiety and coping with my husbands death. I'm gradually cutting them down to one a day. But sometimes I need 2. No side effects.

All the anti-depressants seem to cause loss of libido. Have none of you experienced that? My husband takes Citralopram (having gone through Sertraline which gave him terrible headaches and another one that made him over-eat..) and is finding the loss of libido more depressing than the depression!

I've been on various antidepressants, on and off, since my early 20s. The last has been Sertraline. Unfortunately it hasn't helped with anxiety nor my erratic sleep patterns that I have but I'm trying to live with it.

Me too Jillypops. Extremely effective. Have taken it for nearly forty years.

Citalopram works for me with no side effects

I take Venlafaxine and it is a life changer

You can also take the tablets on alternate days to begin with and also if you are trying to come off them slowly as I have done in the past

Atqui I have been taking Sertraline for 2 weeks and have struggled with the side-effects - not sleep disturbance but nausea. I've also experienced an increase in anxiety which appears to be quite common in the first few weeks. Today is the first day I've felt I was making progress. I took 25 mg for a week then 50mg. If your 50 mg are the same as mine it would be easy to break them in half if you wanted to start on a lower dose and see how you get on.
Good luck

Arqui I sat and watched packet for quite a while. Do check out dosage and comments about older folk

Geyllt- your suggestion sounds interesting ( and no way suggests you are a “nutter”. Anything alternative that works would be preferable to medication. I have the meds but am too scared to start them in case they cause worse insomnia.

Polomint
Just a thought if as you suggest tapping and humming might help with mild depression if that is case it might lower the amount of medication needed and may well help if someone is trying to wean themselves of the tablets when the situation improves

For sleep and relaxation I can recommend Magnesium Bisglycinate tablets, to be taken after your evening meal.

I've tried them all over the years and always seem to come to a point where I don't feel they are working, currently I am on Escitalopram and it seems good, I have been told it is very good so 🫰🏼

Humming and tapping sounds interesting and may well help in mild depression but sometimes the body is overwhelmed by stress and anxiety and needs a wee help via tablets

Ive had depression on and off since my twenties. Been on and off all kinds of anti depressants, anti anxiety tablets. I wont take any tablets now. I just find something to occupy my mind if I feel depressed. I also actively avoid the kinds of situations which bring on panic attacks - crowded noisy places like pubs and supermarkets, needy entitled people, unexpected callers.

Tapping works too, so much better if you can avoid tablets although I understand not everyone can