Hi,

I’m looking for a little guidance from people who have had experience with medication to help their depression.

I have been struggling with Depression mostly with some anxiety and stress for quite well over a year now and it’s been never ending. I haven’t really had a long period of time where I have been feeling good.

I have been to my doctor for bloods which are normal and also seeing a psychiatrist who has been trying to give me some CBT tips but they don’t seem to help. It feels like I’m on a bit of a rollercoaster. My therapist is a little hesitant about me going on medication and my doctor thinks I have nothing to loose but it just seems like such a big decision and if I start there’s no going back.

I have no one close to me that has been on antidepressants and I would just love to hear some peoples thoughts about them.

Hi Dube96,

I'm sorry to hear things have been such a struggle for you lately. I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but the best person to seek guidance from re medication is your doctor/psychiatrist. If you are concerned or hesitant about starting, I would really encourage you to talk through this with your doctor as they are most qualified to provide you with the support and advice that you need - whether your concerns are about side effects, the time elapsed before they take effect, medication interactions, safety, whether you will have to be on them long-term, whatever it may be. What one person experiences with their medication can differ significantly from the next person, so hearing about other people's thoughts/experiences may give you the wrong idea and/or set your expectations up in a way that is unhelpful for you - so keep that in mind when reading about other people's experiences/thoughts. It is okay to feel nervous about commencing medication, it can feel like a big change. It is completely understandable to be worried about it, but communicating this with your clinician is really important too.

Please don't hesitate to talk more if or when you feel up to it. Take care.

Hey Dube96, how ya goin today?

I've twenty years experience with antidepressants as a patient. Anti-d's are subtle, they typically won't affect one for weeks and even when I had taken them for some time, I rarely felt truly happy, instead more like perpetually content, indifferent even. My swings in mood were restrained in intensity, the high's lower and the low's higher. That's how it was for years on various medications.

These last few years my psychiatrist prescribed a new medication for my clinical depression. Seems to work better than older meds. I can cry, love, hate, laugh, be content or discontent. The full spectrum of emotions are available to me.

The black dog still rears its head, but it doesn't abide and tends towards anger more than hopelessness.

Hello Dude, welcome to the site.

A lot of people hop onto the net and read up all about the antidepressants (AD), especially the side-effects, but these need to be mentioned, both good and perhaps bad reactions, because if they don't then they could be taken to court, so they do this to protect themselves, however, you might not react the way it says and you will only know once you begin taking them.

You would usually be put on a low dose to begin with just to see how they go and then possibly slowly increased over time.

Are you seeing a psychiatrist as well as a therapist and if so, then the latter maybe against medication, but if CBT isn't working to its full extent then perhaps starting on AD might be the answer, and I'm not a qualified doctor to say this, only know from experience.

I can't tell you what to do, but maybe suggest you give them a try, and remember if they don't agree with you or make you feel any better with 6 weeks, then there are many other types of AD's, but you can stop under the guidance from your doctor.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes.

Geoff.