I don't think any of the antidepressants I've been prescribed are helping me

funnymouth · ‎24-09-2016

I'm a young man who was diagnosed with depression about a year ago. I've been fighting it ever since and I am trying so hard to get back to where I was when I was younger.

The problem I'm facing is that I don't think any of the antidepressants I've been prescribed are helping me. Changes in medication are due to me not really feeling better after 3 weeks of trying them.

My concern is that I'm not taking the right medication to deal with my depression and that continuing to change medication like this won't help me effectively. I hate feeling this way everyday and I hate not enjoying anything and I really want to change that but right now I just don't know how. If any of you can help I would really appreciate it.

Just Sara · ‎24-09-2016

Welcome Funnymouth to our forum on BB;

We're caring people who understand the complexities of living with mental health issues in everyday life, please feel free to ask further questions or explain in more detail your predicament. We're only too happy to help.

In regards to your med's, sometimes it does take time to identify the best options. Unfortunately this is a trial and error process, so patience and self care are important. You haven't said if you're seeing a psychologist or if your med's were prescribed by your GP or a psychiatrist. These are factors you may want to explore if you haven't already done so. Your health care providers could liaise with each other to speed things up.

As I'm a person more prone to anxiety/panic, my experience with depression is limited. But I'm sure others can be of service.

Your condition is not who you are, it's a symptom and brain chemical response. Learning how depression works by researching it might bring some relief.

Keep support phone numbers close by to call if you feel out of sorts or in urgent need of advice or support. Lifeline and BeyondBlue offer chat lines and online chats if preferred. Depending on what state you're in, there may be Men's Crisis Chat's also.

Good luck with things FM..Kind thoughts..Dizzy

Ozwarriorchic · ‎24-09-2016

Hi Funnymouth

Its good that you have reached out. Medication for depression is as Dizzy says trial and error. Its certainly worth persevering. Make sure that you try to keep a track of how you are feeling, and take that with you when you see your GP. I see both a psychiatrist and a psychologist, and have found talk therapy to be very helpful in identifying my triggers, and working out coping strategies. One of the other things that helps me is to go for a walk. I make myself go outside at least once a day, and at first I only made it to the end of the street before I had to come home, but now I can walk for miles. It makes me feel a little better, maybe that could help you too.

Recovery can be very slow. My first major depressive episode lasted 18 months so I have been where you are now. It helps to talk with someone, and I would be very happy if you wanted to post a reply and let me know how you are,

Stay strong

Ozzy x

romantic_thi3f · ‎27-09-2016

Hi funnymouth,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for posting.

Ozzy (Ozwarriorchic) and Dizzy (Dizzy@home) are right on the money here - often medication can be a little bit of trial and error. Most people find that the first or second medication is useful, and others find that they can be medication resistant - but there are always ways and things to try if you find the medication is not working. If you're having concerns I advise you to follow up with your GP or Psychiatrist (if you are seeing one) but I know they say try and wait at least 6 weeks.

I get that you're wanting to change but don't know how; but medication is a great start. Even doing that one thing alone shows me that you've gone and talked to someone about what's going on for you - which is much harder than it seems. Are you seeing a psychologist at the moment? They can be super helpful in giving you techniques or tools to help you figure out what the next step might be.

Also it's a little bit cliche but lifestyle is a huge part of managing depression; things like eating, drinking, smoking/drugs and exercise play a big role in how you're feeling. Knowing how to change can also depend on your situation; like your social life, whether you are working or studying, what your hobbies/interests are and stuff like that. Sometimes it can be about setting little goals - maybe it might look like just getting out of the house once a day, or making time to chat with friends/family or even just self-care like having a shower. Everyone's a bit different in how they experience depression.

Hope this helps a little - feel free to post again 🙂

funnymouth · ‎03-05-2017

Thanks for all the help guys. I was prescribed medication by my GP but my psychologist was also aware of this and recommended it. It's been a few months and I still feel kind of dulled to everything and end up not enjoying much of what I do. Life just seems like a constant struggle and I've kind of given up on telling my GP that the antidepressants don't seem to be working as well as they could be. They help somewhat but I don't ever feel happy. The best I ever feel is neutral. Any ideas on what I should do?

Sophie_M · ‎04-05-2017

Hi funnymouth,

Please have a look at the reply from Dr Kim in the thread below, it has some useful information about what you can reasonably expect from medications:

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/suicidal-thoughts-and-self-harm/advice-change-meds-#qmS5YXHzvGGEbv8AAOnT_A

cakeboss · ‎16-06-2017

Hi there im new to this section,i was wondering if anyone else out there felt crap going up in medication.Ive been to my dr who told me to stick it out until this tuesday.She said it was normal to have flu like symptoms feeling nausea sick and feel yuck.Im having counciiing this afternoon.Just wondered what other members do to stop feeling crap nausea etc any tips.

romantic_thi3f · ‎20-06-2017

Hi cakeboss,

Thanks for your post.

Sadly almost all medications will have some side effects, but the good news is a lot of them will pass over time as your body gets used to the medication.

Given that we can't talk about specific medications here you may want to try talking with your pharmacist, or you could ring 1300 MEDICINE (1300 633 424) which is a free advice line. This is the website link if you'd like to know more - https://www.nps.org.au/medicines-line

The other thing that I'd suggest is to try some ginger for the nausea and sickness feeling. It's a natural product so unlikely to react to any medications, and you can buy it over the counter. Some people use ginger tea, or if you're not a fan of the taste you can buy actual ginger tablets - most chemists stock a travel sickness tablet which is quite cheap which just has a bit of ginger that you can swallow. Again, you may want to chat with your pharmacist about this but I've found it to be very helpful.

Hope these feelings ease for you soon.

Scott76 · ‎20-06-2017

Hi everyone I've been taking antidepressants for over twenty years, for most of that time as prescribed by my GP; only in the last three months have I started seeing a psychiatrist. He said something interesting to me, he said, "If you're not having side effects then the medication isn't working."

Medication really is trial and error. Its really hard to hear that but its true. I was on one medication for the best part of twenty years and it worked an absolute treat - but then it stopped and since then its been a process of trying and changing to find what works. I'm starting to get there with my new ones....

I've never had nausea so I can't really help with that although my psychiatrist was very excited to hear that I had a bit of diarhea (side effects mean the meds are having an effect) - much more excited than I am to have it. LOL