Anti-drepressants

crazygal · Post by **crazygal** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:50 pm

Anyone on these and if so, which ones? Do you get any side effects?

Oh crap, I can't edit the title. How depressing!

Carl44 · Post by **Carl44** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:56 pm

aha the baby blues strikes again :-4

a team of docs have been trying to get me to take happy pills for the last 3 years i point blank refuse ,why ??? coz i'm an idiot thats why i need the pills

its the side effects ,my sister went via that rout and she seems worse than ever

i know its hard to beat depresion ,but i feel pills are not the only answer i think if you admit your depressed then try hard to pull yourself out of it thats half the battle ,i think you have to want to get better

any way what do i know i'm an idiot

SuzyB · Post by **SuzyB** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:34 am

Anti-drepressants :wah: can really make such a difference to people, I took them for 5 months about 18 months qgo, it enabled me to get out of bed, as I just kept taking myself there. I couldn't even sleep, just used to lay there with my mind driving me mad! I think mine were called citroplam?? (can't remember how to spell it), it is one of the newer drugs which has less side effects.

I have seen the difference that these tablets can make to people, one friend it saved her marriage.

Even with the tablets, positive changes need to be made, they just help you, to help yourself. :-6

CrazyCruizChick · Post by **CrazyCruizChick** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:06 am

I have had them a few years ago now and I hated them they made me feel OK for a while but I didn't want to take pills everyday to make me feel OK I just didn't like the idea that I had to take pills to depend on to feel normal so I started to eat more healthy stopped drinking and eating things that were not very good.

Walking is the best way to beat it for me.

buttercup · Post by **buttercup** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:08 am

Yes i did for a while, cant remember the name of them as it was a while ago but with power of recall the name will come to me at some point & i will let you know.

If the same symptoms reappeared i would not hesitate to go back on them.

SuzyB · Post by **SuzyB** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:11 am

CrazyCruizChick;629920 wrote: I have had them a few years ago now and I hated them they made me feel OK for a while but I didn't want to take pills everyday to make me feel OK I just didn't like the idea that I had to take pills to depend on to feel normal so I started to eat more healthy stopped drinking and eating things that were not very good.

Walking is the best way to beat it for me.

Exercise is very good as you realise your natural endorphins, which gives you the feel good factor.

Drink is a known depressant, so it's always better to stay off it if you can, problem is although you may feel great while drinking, the next few days after things can be pretty bleak.

Looks as though you did all the right things to pick yourself up CChick, but if some people they just need an extra helping hand :-6

buttercup · Post by **buttercup** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:19 am

http://www.trustedmeds.com/trm/zoloft-s ... raline.jsp

Here it is (setraline) Great stuff, its all well & good saying to get excersize ect but if you cant face getting out of bed, face the day, you need something to get you up & going, this worked for me

It all depends how depressed you are? are you just down in the dumps or is it more severe? At present im down in the dumps due to my accident, if any symptoms worse than that appear i would not hesitate to take another course of setraline. There's no shame in it you know. 1 in 4 suffer from depression at some point, hugs

SuzyB · Post by **SuzyB** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:22 am

buttercup;629926 wrote: http://www.trustedmeds.com/trm/zoloft-s ... raline.jsp

Here it is (setraline) Great stuff, its all well & good saying to get excersize ect but if you cant face getting out of bed, face the day, you need something to get you up & going, this worked for me

It all depends how depressed you are? are you just down in the dumps or is it more severe? At present im down in the dumps due to my accident, if any symptoms worse than that appear i would not hesitate to take another course of setraline. There's no shame in it you know. 1 in 4 suffer from depression at some point, hugs

Thats how I was, going on my tablets helped me not only get out of bed but stopped me from keep on taking myself there.

CrazyCruizChick · Post by **CrazyCruizChick** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:25 am

SuzyB;629923 wrote: Exercise is very good as you realise your natural endorphins, which gives you the feel good factor.

Drink is a known depressant, so it's always better to stay off it if you can, problem is although you may feel great while drinking, the next few days after things can be pretty bleak.

Looks as though you did all the right things to pick yourself up CChick, but if some people they just need an extra helping hand :-6

I still suffer really badly and some times I'll just cry at the most silliest things and allow myself to be even more depressed sometimes its like I'm fighting myself its a long going battle and probably will be like this for the rest off my life and as you say we are all different and some people do needs extra help.:-6

crazygal · Post by **crazygal** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:58 pm

Ive been on 5 different ones but the last for the longest as they work the best, Venlaflaxine XL. The XL came out more recently and work better as they are slow release. I was on 150mg a day, now on 75mg, I halved it when I was pregnant and really hope to come off eventually although lately I have been feeling the need for more again.

kayleneaussie · Post by **kayleneaussie** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:03 am

My grandson is autistic and went through a time of having suicidial thoughts and he was on anti depressants and they worked so good for him. He was slowly weaned off them and now he is older seems very happy with life.

crazygal · Post by **crazygal** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:08 am

kayleneaussie;631357 wrote: My grandson is autistic and went through a time of having suicidial thoughts and he was on anti depressants and they worked so good for him. He was slowly weaned off them and now he is older seems very happy with life.

Oh that's great.

They don't work for everyone but some of us they do.

If I miss one though or take it late, I get really really short-tempered and very dizzy, it's scarey.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:16 am

crazygal;629887 wrote: Anyone on these and if so, which ones? Do you get any side effects?

Since my early 20s I've used antidepressants on and off, mostly on because off sucks after a while.

I have seriously used every SSRI drug they've made and my doctor says there's currently nothing left to try so I'm sticking with my current stuff. Lexapro for depression and Abilify for mania. I have bipolar disorder.

Most of the drugs made me sleepy and that was my biggest complaint.

Wellbutrin was a terrible drug for me. I was already depressed but it made me so despondent I would have killed myself if I could have found the gumption.

It was that bad.

Seroquel gave me the worst headache I've ever had in my life and it stayed for almost a week. I thought my head would split open and I almost wished it had. Crappy drug!!

Topomax had some nastyass side effects, one being a change in how things tasted. Another being pins and needles in my feet and legs. The doctor who gave me that crap was a wackjob anyway and I got off that stuff and found a new doctor.

The new doctor was great. She gave me Zyprexa which brought me right out into the light. But...it also gave me Type 2 diabetes and they knew it would. I'm currently in a lawsuit over that.

The only things I haven't tried are lithium and depakote. Those drugs scare me. They keep wanting me to take them and I refuse every time.

Prozac was the first drug they put me on. It worked like a charm. I tried it again years later and it did nothing.

I tried Effexor too for a while but it kind of messed up my sex life so I had to get off that.

If you've ever seen some of my threads here, you know I'm like the poster child for this stuff. I'll tell anyone anything about what it's like to live with this crap and I refuse to accept the stigma from it.

I have this to say. Exercise and positive outlook and all that is lovely in theory. But depression is not just having the blues. Everybody gets that sometimes and you can bring yourself out of it. Depression is like living inside a bubble where you can see out and call out but no one sees or hears you. You are unreachable. So if you need the medication, get a good doctor and get some. That's my take.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:18 am

crazygal;631365 wrote: Oh that's great.

They don't work for everyone but some of us they do.

If I miss one though or take it late, I get really really short-tempered and very dizzy, it's scarey.

That doesn't seem right, CG. They're not supposed to work that fast that you should feel like that. You might should get that checked out. But yeah, it is important that you take the stuff at the same time every day. Just like with birth control pills.

crazygal · Post by **crazygal** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:20 am

RedGlitter;631372 wrote: That doesn't seem right, CG. They're not supposed to work that fast that you should feel like that. You might should get that checked out. But yeah, it is important that you take the stuff at the same time every day. Just like with birth control pills.

Yeah I know, especially as they are slow release ones. I am OK a couple of hours either side but if I go out in the morning and forget to take one, by the afternoon I am really dizzy.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:00 pm

RedGlitter;631370 wrote:

The new doctor was great. She gave me Zyprexa which brought me right out into the light. But...it also gave me Type 2 diabetes and they knew it would. I'm currently in a lawsuit over that.

Did YOU know it could cause diabetes before you took it? Did they warn you? Were you borderline before that? That sucks that something that helped could have killed you also.

minks · Post by **minks** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:45 pm

I was on Effexor for a spell, hated it I was as dull as a piece of photocopy paper and not to mention Sex was boring to me then.

I lasted about 6 months and got off. They are classed as the mild ones with the least side affects, sure if you wanna have the personality of a twig. Argh never again.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:23 pm

Peg;632235 wrote: Did YOU know it could cause diabetes before you took it? Did they warn you? Were you borderline before that? That sucks that something that helped could have killed you also.

No, I sure didn't know it, Peg. Maybe I should have because I always read up on the drugs I take and familiarize myself with them. I looked up Zyprexa but I didn't see anything about diabetes. Just the usual warnings about pregnancy, liver disease, etc. I had never been borderline for diabetes before. My doctor just happened to take a routine blood test for a bunch of stuff a little less than a year after I started taking it, and she told me I was diabetic. Man, was I shocked! It was kind of like a slap in the face because this was my last effort before I "checked out." I said I would try once more and if it didn't work, I didn't want to be here anymore. And it did work and it saved my life. But now I have this stupid disease that may kill me or do even worse things to me.

I just got a letter from my lawyer telling me they are about to reach a settlement with Eli Lilly. I'm in a class action suit so I doubt I'll get much if I get anything. We'll see though.

As far as I know, they are still giving people Zyprexa. :-5

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:28 pm

minks;632284 wrote: I was on Effexor for a spell, hated it I was as dull as a piece of photocopy paper and not to mention Sex was boring to me then.

I lasted about 6 months and got off. They are classed as the mild ones with the least side affects, sure if you wanna have the personality of a twig. Argh never again.

Yeah! The dullness! I was having that problem too with my Lexapro and Abilify. The Lexapro keeps me "up" while the Abilfy controls the manic part. It's supposed to balance me out. But I had no real feelings about anything for a long time. One day was just like the next. Nothing made me happy or excited even when it should have. I'm kind of self medicating with these drugs because my doctor has run out of things for me to try but I need to do something. So I quit the Abilify and am taking only Lexapro. It took about two weeks to kick in and things are going pretty good right now.

Minks, that Effexor has that effect on a lot of people. That's its number one complaint, lack of interest in sex or inability to um...complete the deed.

Who needs that?

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 5:30 pm

I was reading, RG, that they now have to put a warning on Zyprexa. Too little, too late. No history of diabetes in your family? I'm just trying to understand how a medicine can cause diabetes without there being some kind of predisposition to it. That is just scary.

telephoto lens · Post by **telephoto lens** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:31 am

Try l-tryosine. l-tyrosine is an amino acid that produces dopamine and norepineprine and has been tested at the Harvard School of medicine and proved to be effective against depression. It is essentially gives you a mood boost but there are 2 reasons why you should not take it:

1) if you have a bad heart

2) related - if you have high blood pressure

Tyrosine raises your blood pressure but if neither of these are a factor, then you try it.

Upon waking take 1 capsule right away at least 30 minutes before eating. If you take a capsule with food it will destroy the effect and you might not take the amino acid at all.

Take the second capsule at mid afternoon, again, on an empty stomach. If you can drink it down with orange juice it would be even more effective because vitamin C helps your body to metabolize it faster and speeds it into your system.

Purchase l-tyrosine from a good health food store because the quality is the best available and it will cost you 11 a month.

After 2-3 months your body (behavior) will tell you to cut back to one a day - in the morning. You will become just a little over-wrought but there are not real dangers at this time.

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdr ... 0256.shtml

Alternatives?

St. John's Wort: Not as effective as tyrosine, in my experience, and there are a couple side effects to consider: It makes your skin photo sensitive so if you sunbathe, you will burn easily. Plus the verdict is out if you should take it if you are pregnant. Some studies say it is ok and some say it isn't.

SSRI's - Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft... I tried Paxil and hated it. Not only did it eliminate my sex drive I felt nothing, as in sterile emotions plus the psychiatrist wanted to place me on the blue pill. I have also read that these drugs reduce dopamine levels in the brain and for this reason alone I would not recommend taking it. Why? Long term depletion of dopamine levels is known as Parkinson's disease. Though 1 case of this has never happened because the long-term consequences have not as of yet materialized, this is a real concern.

Only take SSRI's if you are extremely depressed and are thinking of suicide. Then all bets are off and you have to do what you have to do.

I hope this was helpful.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:46 pm

SuzyB;629907 wrote: Anti-drepressants :wah: can really make such a difference to people, I took them for 5 months about 18 months qgo, it enabled me to get out of bed, as I just kept taking myself there. I couldn't even sleep, just used to lay there with my mind driving me mad! I think mine were called citroplam?? (can't remember how to spell it), it is one of the newer drugs which has less side effects.

I have seen the difference that these tablets can make to people, one friend it saved her marriage.

Even with the tablets, positive changes need to be made, they just help you, to help yourself. :-6

Maybe you could talk some sense into Jimborooni then. Seems he has a skewed view of the treatment. Happy pills :rolleyes:

Hayley_louise · Post by **Hayley_louise** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:57 am

Iv take my first one of them today - cirtoplam (sp)

did any one take them? and did they work? what about the side effects? and is it a weak tablet?

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 7:05 am

Im reading this with interest, Im not taking antidepressants for depression, but i have been "down" before, and for anyone who feels bad, im sorry it isnt nice at all.

You all seem to have a positive outlook though.

I just want to say that there have been warnings about st johns wart in the uk, im sure someone can find it online.

I have taken an awful lot of painkillers, notably elavil, which is used in higher doses as an intidepressant - all it does in the half tablet dose i take is make my mind fuzzy, although it does calm pain.i would hate to see the effects with the amounts i have read it is taken as an antidepressant.

tedhutchinson · Post by **tedhutchinson** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:15 pm

Randomized comparison of the effects of the vitamin D3 adequate intake versus 100 mcg (4000 IU) per day on biochemical responses and the wellbeing of patients

this trial shows 4000iu/daily of vitamin D3 improves mood.

It's certainly worth a try.

Most people are vitamin d deficient this time of the year and there is nothing to be lost in giving it a go.

You can get Carlsons 4000iu in oil in the USA from the cheap online suppliers.

but you may find it easier/as cheap to go for the 2000iu ones, just take twice as many. The day you get them take 10 x 4000iu to give your system a quick boost

or 20 of the 2000iu ones. This is a perfectly safe amount to take on a one off basis. From than point just take a total of 4000iu daily

It will take about a month before there is a significant rise in your vitamin D status and it will go on rising for about 3 months so although I am sure you will feel the benefit (and only healthy side effects) it will take a little while.

Boosting your omega 3 intake as well would do no harm though try to find a source of high EPA oil or only EPA as that is most associated with improvement in mood disorders you need to be taking roughly 2g daily of EPA.

There is in fact lots of evidence to support the use of St Johns wort for depression it is after all the drug of choice in Germany for the conditions. Millions of scipts are issued and the side effect rate is really trivial compared to the serious side effects from prescribed anti depressants.

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:12 pm

That last post was unnecessary.

It is perfectly possible to change medications that much before finding one which suits.I have myself tried various medications for a different probelm before finding one which suited me.

Unfortunatley although I havent myself been depressed to that degree the nature of depression is that it makes it ipossible to as you say excercise or do anything else, unless the drug is taken to make the depression lift a little.

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:13 pm

huh, did that post get deleted while i was posting?

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:15 pm

Sorry Lemon. :wah:

Post by **spot** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:15 pm

Not unreasonably, yes it did.

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:18 pm

lemon_and_mint;749961 wrote: huh, did that post get deleted while i was posting?

I would make a joke about being paranoid about conspiracies against me in that case, with abbey laughing, but it not be nice in the context of this thread.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:21 pm

Now I'm confused! :wah:

Post by **spot** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:23 pm

lemon_and_mint;749969 wrote: I would make a joke about being paranoid about conspiracies against me in that case, with abbey laughing, but it not be nice in the context of this thread.

I'm sorry lemony, that was saffron / cinamin raiding the Garden again. I think she's from before your time but she's rather aggressive.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:07 am

Thanks for getting rid of the garden pest, whoever did that.

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:19 am

Morning Lemon, Seems like we're the only ones here at this hour. How are ya today?

lemon_and_mint · Post by **lemon_and_mint** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:17 am

Hello Kathy, I'm fine thank you, a little cold, considering putting the fire on, how are you?:-6