Has anyone now or in the past being on antidepressants?...
And if so... did they help?..
. Any major side effects...?

I asked because I was at the doctors..the other day.. for a check...she asked how was I feeling emotionally mentally ... I mentioned.. that I seem to be in a bit of a slump.. focusing on things I don't have control over.. mixed in with some bouts of anxiety... I've never really had a problem with these symptoms before... I normally could just shake things off.. but lately it's become difficult....so..she gave me a prescription for antidepressants..to.. help me get out of my slump...

So!!!.. just curious if anybody has any info..
In regards to antidepressants

I take them they work

As a nurse, I can only warn of them. Together with antibiotics, they have the most nasty side effects and contraindicatons.

These conditions have a cause, which needs to be tackled. Not the symptoms. And I speak not only as a nurse, but as someone, who is carrying around some anxiety disorder.

I take them in the evening as a minute dose for an arthritis problem. For that they work, I stop now and then to judge the side effect.

The significant side effect is waking up and having absolutely no energy until 10-11 am and feeling drained of life.

If you can avoid them like the plague.

When I had hypoglycemia (the opposite of diabetes) they
prescribed anti-depressants as a therapy.
I slept all the time, finally stopped taking them.

I think symptoms may disappear when taking them but
perhaps only because you are too tired to care.

Whatever the cause.

Pro .... there is a 10% possibility you will save money on boxes of Kleenex

Will have a more serious chat with you behind the scenes .. go with happiness

For me they didn't have any real effect on my mood. They did open a small window of drowsiness about 20 minutes after taking them, that lasted about 20 minutes. I told the doctor this, he smiled, and said good, and said keep taking them. This was after about 6 to 8 weeks. They of course give you the initial speel about how you should wait that long. Also , I don't know if this is true of all of them, but, I found out in jail, that they actually have a small quantity of sleeping tablet in them. I found this out when I asked why somebody wanted to buy them in exchange for tobacco. Stuff like prozac apparently makes you suicidal should you try to come of it, or at least more suicidal if you already are. And I think they're supposed to work on the numbing of emotions. Which I think is dumb. That means okay, they may numb the extent of your misery, but they will also numb the extent of your happiness, or any other emotion you have. This to me is like when your a kid, and you tell your parents that you've hurt your finger, or your toe. And their response is, well fetch me the saw. Why you say..so I can chop it off...why are you going to chop it off?? Because then it won't hurt anymore, will it! Actually dad it's not that bad after all.
Also I think they can have a negative effect on your libido, and your ability if your man to maintain , you know what's. They're bad for your kidneys, your liver etc.
And don't fall for the ********. About it only being for a short period of time, let's just see, how it goes. That's total baloney, once they've got you on them, they'll definitely want you to stay on them, forever effectively.
Try eating something with chilli in it, chilli's make your metabolism speed up and release endorphins, which help make you feel a bit brighter. Any psychiatric medication will have the exact opposite effect. It will slow down your metabolism, make you out on at least a stone. And you will just feel more lethargic. Which kind of just creates a viscious cycle.
All of this crap about chemical imbalance is total hogwash. There is no actual evidence for it, despite them spending years to try to find it.
They work by blocking the uptake if vitamins and water through your stomach lining. This in turn starves the brain of what it needs, thus it then produces less serotonin , dopamine etc.
But your doctor won't tell you that. And if you ask them. They'll deny it.
Just think what they used to do with woman with hysteria. And how doctors used to advertise cigarettes. And just what the Spanish Inquisition would do to you, if you said the earth was round. It's no different really.
This current neo kraepelinian paradigm is utter ********, is in fact very harmful. But even the good ones will just say stuff like, I would if I could, but my hands are tied. Which is sort if ironic as it is your hands that will be tied after you've been effectively blindfolded and brainwashed.

Cry, let it out. Walk the dog, stroke the cat. Eat chilli, play badminton. I dunno, find what works for you. But do yourself a favour and stay away from the quacks

R2d2r2d2 said:

"And I think they're supposed to work on the numbing of emotions. Which I think is dumb. That means okay, they may numb the extent of your misery, but they will also numb the extent of your happiness, or any other emotion you have.

That's called a "flat affect"...and is a blessing to some people..

Sure, you may not get the real happy...but you don't get the grinding deep sad either....
I could live with that.

Mine is situtational (not biological)...and can't be "addressed" in any real, tangible way since the situation is what it is....
I'm not interested in judgey people with opinions based on their *own* expereinces (which are not the same for everyonbe), or what worked for their neighbor's sister's co-worker...

I think this was discussed on another thread you started about feeling lonely. If you go back to that and read the answers, I think you will find many good suggestions. You need to keep busy so you don't dwell on the past. No matter how much we wish or pray or hope, we cannot re-create the past. In order to move ahead, please re-read the suggestions previously given.

When I was trying to get a handle on my depression doctors were quick to prescribe certain drugs that "most everyone" is on.
Just because Prozac worked for most patients it didn't work for me and I only had real success after I tried a few different ones and gave honest feedback.

The one that did end up working had no significant side effects till I found I no longer needed that drug. Then the dr weened me off and things have been fine since.

While I was taking that drug, I felt like myself, not tired or groggy, not energetic or edgy. The difference was I was able to slow down my emotions long enough from my brain to make sense of things.

You might be concerned if your dr prescribed those meds to you without doing any preliminary investigation into your state of mind. Could be one of those one drug fits all that will give you more problems down the line.

What I did was set an appointment with a psychiatrist who then sent me to a psychologist then returned to my psychiatrist for the meds and returned to my psychologist for counseling. I continued this treatment till both agreed it was time for me to end treatment. I still check in with a counselor about one every year or two.

The way I define it:
Psychiatrists deal with the physical body and the medicines.
Psychologists deal with the mind, moods and the circumstances of life.
To accurately treat such a condition requires both.

Your GP (General Practitioner) should have referred you to a psychologist for evaluation who would refer you back to a psychiatrist for a physical evaluation. At which time they should have contacted your GPDr with their recommendations.

Your dr prescribing a mind drug without testing should set off alarm bells.

I met somebody in the nuthouse who was gonna have the brain zap, you know the full electrodes on the head, strap you down, bit in the teeth thing. Something I've always lived in fear off. I was scared for them. They said don't be sad, I want it, I'm so depressed, I've had it before. I cried. They were already kind of zombied with that delayed reaction to everything, and seemed very flat.
I often wonder if there's more going on, on an existential level, I mean truly, there clearly is. But we're not allowed to talk about that or course, not with the Spanish Inquisition around

Tom they get freebies, essentially backhanders for prescribing , whatever it is the companies want to push

I spent about 20 years on antidepressants on and off. Every 2/3 years they'd change the drug because my tollerence would build up to the point where not sleep again. If they aid restful sleep they are fine otherwise I'd always advise against them. I now replace the meds with exercise, fresh air, open spaces. Hobbies

I spent about 20 years on antidepressants on and off. Every 2/3 years they'd change the drug because my tollerence would build up to the point where I'd be unable to sleep again. If they aid restful sleep they are fine otherwise I'd always advise against them. I now replace the meds with exercise, fresh air, open spaces and good food.

Excellent point.
Its always better to not depend on a drug for something you should be doing yourself.
Still, some people DO have a chemical imbalance that requires meds.
I did but the meds helped jumpstart the production of those valuable chemicals in me, some people don't experience that and require a supplement for the rest of their lives.
Everybody is different and reacts to drugs differently, those one pill fix all doctors are doing more harm than good.

I'm not saying you do or don't need some medicine to help you get to a point of inner harmony. All I'm saying is I would be suspect of a dr that just prescribes it without doing the proper tests.
Too many drs think they know everything.

I don't need to know what meds your dr gave you.
I would highly suggest you look it up on a drug identification website and read everything you can about it.
If it doesn't do what you need it to do, give your dr immediate feedback and ask if maybe you should be referred to a mental health specialist.

If it is bothering you enough to make mention of it, its worth getting the right fix from professionals that are there for that kind of stuff.
You may not need a drug at all?

I found that golf helped tremendously. A long walk in beautiful scenery really helped my low moods. With the added bonus that if you play badly, you're so tired when you get home. All you want to do is eat and sleep

Not trying to judge anyone or giving general rules.

But my personal opinion is, taking these pills only numbs the symptoms. There is more to be done.

And work experience is important. I seen many cases, taking those pills did not work, as side effects caused more and even new concerns.

I like Soufie was given it for hypoglycemia it just made me sleep. My sister was given them for a bit after a traumatic event. She slept all the time and just couldn't function.

Tom, 2 points. 1, this so called chemical imbalance theory is hogwash
2 they don't jump start anything, let alone produce more of these chemicals. Quite the reverse, they say that you have too many, so they stop your brain making so many. But they never explain exactly how they do that, do they. They just want you to believe that somehow these drugs go to the exact part of your brain, that produces these things, and stops them making so much. Rather akin to a laser guided missile. It's all very high tech. Why then, do people, put on weight, and feel tremendously lethargic? Which is the horse, and which is the cart? Which is the first domino to fall?