topic What are your experiences with medication? in Depression

What are your experiences with medication?

Tiger07 — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 07:55:47 GMT

Hi,

Im a first time user and hope this can be of assistance to me.

I have been battling depression for a very long time, however I recently come close to self harm. I have been avoiding medication as I dont want to become reliant on it, however I have just bitten the bullet and asked my physiologist to recommend someting for me. I was just wondering if people have had good or bad experiences with their medication?

I am very nervous about commencing this type of treatment.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

What are your experiences with medication?

Matchy69 — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 08:18:38 GMT

Hi I welcome you to this forum.

Going on medication for the worst time can be a bit worrying especially about side effects.The best thing is to talk to the person who prescribes you the medication and ask what the side effects may be and the medication comes with a pamphlet with the side effects.Medications can effect two people in a different way.What works for me might not work for you and we might experience side effects.I hope this helps.

Take care,

Mark.

What are your experiences with medication?

Deckt — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 08:19:34 GMT

Both good and not so good.

All antidepressants work a little bit differently, and the only way to find one that works for you is to try it. Your doc will explain this. Sometimes the feelings improve, but the side effects aren't great. Other times, the feelings don't improve. And starting and tapering off meds can get a bit hairy. But if you find the right meds, they can help a lot.

I hope this helps.

What are your experiences with medication?

blondguy — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 11:53:01 GMT

Hi Tiger07

Welcome and thankyou for the helpful post too!

I echo what Matchy (Mark) and Deckt have posted above in their supportive posts

Just from my own experience.....I used to have chronic anxiety now followed by depression...for the last 37 years and it was a horrible place to be in Tiger

I refused medication for the first 15 years and my depression/anxiety only became worse with my denial

My female GP read me the riot act when I refused to start a low dosage of a common antidepressant...so I soon started the prescription, doing so rescued my well being.....my personal life....my career and also decreased the bulk of my anxiety attacks as well

I am happy now yet disappointed with myself that I was so stubborn/anti meds for 15 years not to even try the meds...anyhow....I cant change that unfortunately

The meds do provide us with a solid platform on which we can heal more effectively using frequent counselling.

Please dont be nervous about trying medication Tiger.....You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by doing so! I hope some of this has been helpful for you

we are here and listening

my kind thoughts

Paul

What are your experiences with medication?

SM1234 — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 11:19:27 GMT

Hi all,

I too have been grappling with the issue of medication for depression.

I have never been on medication before this month. I started medication after an episode around new year which meant I could no longer go on without something changing- thus the hard choice to begin SSRI meds. I took them for less than a fortnight. I had to stop as even on a very low start dose, the side effects were unbearable and not worth continuing through.

I wondered if anyone has had a similar experience and if another class of drugs may offer a different outcome?

goodluck everyone.

What are your experiences with medication?

Matchy69 — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 12:48:36 GMT

Hi SM unfortunately their are a lot of side effects with anti depressents and seem to effect everyone different.With me it was just trial and error.The only thing you can do is dicuss it with your doctor and ask what other treatments are avaiable.Their dosnt seem to be a simple answer.

Take care,

Mark.

What are your experiences with medication?

MelbourneGuy83 — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 04:46:31 GMT

Hi,

Medication has been a good move for me.

Everyone will say try it, keep trying until you find the right pill etc. and as much as I didn't want to hear it, they were all right.

Started a year ago on medication and felt instantly better and more positive. The side effects of this one outweighed the benefits, low sex drive and biting of lips and tongue (random I know)

Changed to another medication - good, but they stopped working after a while (3 months) i feel.

A third medication - bingo, they have been great. Literally put me back on track within in a week. To give you an example before taking them the likes of going to the shops, the gym or work seemed an effort and required a lot of thought, unnecessary thought. I could spend 3/4 days without leaving the house. I wanted to disappear, literally.

Now I'm that annoying guy who says 'Hey' to people at the gym, smiles at the coffee-shop guy and all of a sudden feel like dressing up and going out on the town. To say it's been a 360 on the person i've been for the last 2 years is an understatement.

all the best 🙂

What are your experiences with medication?

Pandora_Paradoxical — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 08:59:56 GMT

Hi, Tiger

Don't feel bad about having to use some medication to get through - if you were diabetic, you wouldn't hesitate to use insulin, so look at anti-depressants as a tool for a purpose. No one says you have to be on them forever - just see if it makes a difference to your life.

I have been on about 5 different types.

I experienced weight gain and other nasty side effects on the other meds, but one actually helped me get back to a decent weight range. It also doesn't dull my mind too much and because it is long acting, if you miss a dose, you don't end up with withdrawl symptoms.

It also allows me to still...er...orgasm (albeit at half the usual intensity) where the other meds completely killed off everything in that department.

Hope that helps. 😊

What are your experiences with medication?

_starstruck_goose_ — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 05:46:18 GMT

Hi SM 🙂

I'm new to medication for my depression too and I've only just started meds a few days ago. I feel like even such a low dose is quite brutal in terms of side effects and I'm hoping if I push through I'll see some benefits soon.

Lots of love,

Goose ❤️

What are your experiences with medication?

Hope4tomorrow — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 11:29:04 GMT

Hi Tiger07,

It can be a scary time, considering whether to take the plunge and try medication if our mental health calls for it. It is my belief that medication definitely does have its place in society if the need for it is there.

My experience is that I've tried various medications throughout the years, mainly anti depressants (but also some mood stabilizers and antipsychotic), and my experience was that I had adverse psycholigcal reactions to them aside from a antipsychotic. It actually proved very useful when I was experiencing very negative symptoms of my mental health ailment. It proved fundamentally important to me on a few occassions in my life to date.

Because everyone is different, we all react differently to different medications. Even the same ones. Because of this, it really is a journey for you to experience, if your symptoms call for it. You might have a better outcome than I did.

Two things that I wish to share with you, that I had to learn the hard way, is that I need to eat as healthily as I can, exercise a few times a week minimum and try and maintain a consistent bed time. All of these things help when being consistent with them all. If you have been doing (or trying hard to) all of these things for weeks and still not feeling any better, then it is safe to say that you've tried everything that is simple to do to try and remedy things. Even lacking in certain minerals, vitamins can cause us to not run well (speaking for myself here).

If you've looked at these things but to no avail, then yes, medication could be an option. Therapy is also helpful providing one is ready. I've only just been ready for the past couple of years, and I'm 36. I've heard that medication and therapy together can be very beneficial, but due to my sensitivity to medications, I've just had to stick with therapy and the other things I've mentioned.

Whatever course of action you decide upon, I wish you relief. If you try a medication and it doesn't work, don't give up. Yes, it can be a bit of a roller coaster but if you have hope that things can be alright one day, even if it doesn't feel possible anytime soon, this is enough. For all my struggles over the years, I'm finally somewhat under control of myself and am living with a a bit of contentment in my life. I thought for many years that this wasn't possible. To a degre, my thinking did contribute (and still does), to my situation. Yes, it's hard to change, but with work it is possible. Even if it is just to get some temporary relief to regain my strength to fight some more, it is always welcomed!

I hope that you can get something from this reply. Best of luck to you on your journey.

What are your experiences with medication?

BOC64 — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 06:41:26 GMT

Hi everyone

If I had not started on medication I am not sure where I would be. After trying to cope with PTSD, depression and anxiety from a young child until my 40's when I had a very bad reaction to a family situation I finally found something that made me feel more in control of my thoughts and behaviours.

I ask myself on a regular basis do the benefits out way the side effects and for me the answer is yes.