Does medication really help?

[JessC]

Hi there,

I was clinically diagnosed with moderate to severe depression this morning by my local GP. She has recommended that I start medication to help assist me back to normality. My parents have always been skeptical about this and makes me wonder if medication is the answer. Can anyone enlighten me with some personal experiences whereby medication has actually helped them and allowed them to get back on track? 

Thank you, Jess

[Mares73]

Dear Jess thank you for entrusting us & Beyond Blue with your experience. Personally as a first general comment I would say that medication is an integral, important part of assisting recovery. It can stop the really low lows from hitting is too hard.  It does upset me that there is still a lot of unnecessary negative stigma associated with antidepressants.  Taking them is not a weakness.  As I've said to others depression is a legitimate serious illness that requires treatment as do other illnesses. Taking medication for depression is just as necessary as those who take medication for illnesses such as diabetics. I'd also add that just as diabetics have to make other life changes as part of their treatment along with medication-if you suffer from depression you also need to perhaps make life changes along with taking your medication. Such changes may include counselling, trying to eat regularly & healthily, excercising, trying to find people in your life who you can share how your feeling, monitoring your moods so you don't get isolated or too lonely & sad and so on. This forum is also a great support & there's lots of information & helpful advice & tips in reading material on this site. There is also a list of Gps, Psychologists & related professionals who are experts on depression. You may wish to see a specialist Gp etc so you can find one near you on that list. Sometimes it takes a few trials to find the right mess & they may take several weeks to work. There are so many new types with less side effects these days & it's a matter of finding the right one for you. Your parents have the stigma so maybe they could read some info on this site which is written for family members. I hope this gives you a bit to think about & would love to hear back from you. Take care & remember it's you who needs support-your parents can't really determine this desicipn-they aren't experiencing the reality of the pain & struggles, the lack of hope & feeling your losing your sense of self. We will all support you the best we can. Lve Mares x

[Jo3]

Hi Jess

Welcome to BB forum.  This is a good question you have raised.

 I was diagnosed with depression 4 yrs ago and have been on meds since then.  At times I have tried to stop taking them but believe me it's the worst thing I have ever done.  For me taking the meds helps me regulate my emotions to a level where I can function.  Taking meds as well as having weekly sessions with a pyschologist has helped me a lot.

I would go with what your GP has mentioned.  Or even get a referral to a psychiatrist who can prescribe the correct medication and dosage for your depression. 

Good luck and I hope you can stay on here and chat with others. 

Take care

Jo

[geoff]

dear Jess, welcome to the site and thanks for posting.

What you have asked is the million dollar question, so the answer is yes and no.

Times have changed from when your parents first knew of treating depression with medication, but I'm not sure how old you are, never the less, antidepressants have helped a great number of people, while others are still trying to find one that works for them.

If your doctor prescribes you with a SNRI and there is no luck, they may switch you over to SSRI so it's worth that you google them and have a read of both.

Any side-effects they mention might not happen for you, so please don't be frightened off by reading them, because everyone is different, and the side-effects for the one I take none of those happened for me.

What I have found with mine is that it keeps me on a stable footing, because if I miss taking them for a day I then crash, but as soon as I take it I'm fine within half an hour.

What I need to ask is whether you are under the age of 18 and need your parents to take you to the doctors, so I will wait for your reply which help me with further discussions. Geoff

[TIsha]

Hi Jess, my first post too...

I was put on medication a few years ago now and wish I had gone to a doctor earlier instead of struggling with trying to cope with natural remedies or herbal tablets. While I still have various feelings the antidepressants have taken the huge edge off and I can work through things and cope with combining other strategies like exercise and self talk etc. 

I too was very reluctant to go on medication or to go to a GP and talk through everything I was feeling knowing medication was probably the solution ... and i'll always remember feeling terrible going into our local and only chemist to get the tablets...  but I know it was just what I had to do for me and it helped knowing levels of medication can change or be short term too ...  best wishes T