Itchy pain in ribs and back

[99]

Hi,

I'm new here. The doctor says I have anxiety after testing me for everything else and nothing coming back positive. I have been on antidepressants for about 3 weeks, how long should these take to work? I feel a lot better mentally, but I have this weird sore and itchy back and ribs, especially in my right side (I'm right handed). I'm guessing this is anxiety related, I'm kind of new to this so I'm not sure. I have a friend who does massage and it feels a bit better after that but then comes back next day. I imagine it must be muscle tension or nerve thing, I wish I knew how to get rid of it as it's driving me nuts.

[mocha delight]

Hi 99 antidepressants take 6 weeks to start working and no I at the time did not experience anything you mentioned but give it a bit longer as it may go away on its own but if not maybe book in to see your gp & to chat about what your experiencing/feeling. I wish I could help out more but I’ll just mention I’m not officially diagnosed with anything yet but my psychologist mentioned to me that I have social & general anxiety as well as depression so I’m no expert in mental health nor as experienced with it as most people are in a way not really so I guess you could say I’m still kind of new to this as well in a way plus only had my 4th appointment with my psychologist today.

[zaclachlan]

Hey 99,

I am sure a large proportion of the users on this platform are not trained, medical professionals and therefore cannot say what your itching/pain might be related to. However, we can speak from experience that anti-depressants often carry with them some unwanted side effects. Not to mention they can be some weird side effect if I say so myself!

If your pain/itching started around a similar time as when starting the anti-depressants, then maybe that there is a likely chance that it is a side effect. The unfortunate thing with anxiety is that it can often exacerbate weird sensations/pain as the anxiety leads you to focus on that particular issue, thus the reason it might be driving you crazy. People with anxiety listen to their bodies very well haha.

The side effects are usually only temporary and three weeks is still really early. You should keep good communication with your GP and discuss options if your problems still persist.

Hope this helps,

Stay well