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Which antidepressant has worked best for u?

A

Anon54

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Messages
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Suffer from a little depression/anxiety. thinking of giving ADs a go.
Only really taken Tramadol for a few months for it's SNRI properties. All the others I started, I stopped as soon as a felt any kind of side effects. So I really havn't given them a proper try.

I think benzos a great & all but unfortunetely ya get a tolerance after a while so they arn't really a good long-term solution. fuck havin a massive tollerance to benzos.

I notice most ppl say ADs dont really work well for anxiety & have horrible side-effects, so is there any meds out there for a practical long-term solution for depression/anxiety?

Any comments on any ADs uve tried would be appreciated.
Which would be a good starter AD? (I'm thinking Lexapro or Zoloft)
What's worked best for u?
 
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Hi

I too have anxiety/depression issues and I know how much they fucking suck so I feel for you, really :).

I was told by a counsellor that drs (I'm not sure how acurate this is I'm afraid and I'm in the Uk so it may be different elsewhere) often go through 'fashions' on what antidepressent to start you on. Celexa (citalopram) is apprently pretty common here at the moment and I was started on it first of all but I didn't find it very effective.

One that did work well for depression/anxiety was Remeron (mirtazapine) tho it did give me huge sugar cravings... and from what I read it is apprently one of the more effective ones and according to wiki better than all the SSRIs (its a tetracyclic).

I've only ever really tried the two so those are the ones I can really advise on, however I hope you speak to your doctor and find some relief :).

good luck:)
 
I think they all suck really. For me the SSRI's were the worst. The TCA's and Trazadone were better but didn't help, just put me in cog fog all day long.
Try the niacin and B6 route if you haven't. My problems are too situational for drugs to work IMO. Ask yourself 'how much of this problem is your life situation and how much is a mental illness?'
 
^^also wooger makes a great point. My ex-psychs were trendy fuckers. Bipolar is highly trendy right now in the US so that's what I got diagnosed with without an evaluation. I've never been manic in my life. Lexapro is the trendy AD right now in the US too.
 
NOT EFFEXOR.

Effexor nearly made me commit suicide.

you dont realize till it is too late. far too late.... i will elaborate more on it if ppl would like.

i think prozac is the safest of them all and for me it was the one that worked with my system the best. it is the only one which is suitable for children under 18.

but as we all know different drugs effect different people in different ways
 
This has the potential to be a very useful thread if people continue to chip in.

The most effective for me was Cymbalta. I had to make a commitment to myself to stick with it for three months, and I was glad I did because it took 10 weeks to work. It continued to work for about 5 months, then its effectiveness began to degrade. I should have stuck with it though, as who knows - it could have begun working again.

I was on just about everything before cymbalta too; Effexor, Lexapro, Zispin (MIrtazipan), various others including tricylics, an MAOI inhibitor, SNRI's, SNDI's etc...none to any avail.

It'll take about a fortnight, but I'm going back to the psychs again. I'm interested in trying Lyrica or Prozac. Lyrica is the one my last psych wrote down on my record as wanting to try me on next if the coctail of Mirtazipan and Cymbalta didnt work. Its only a 55euro initial fee to my doctor for a referral and then its free consultations and medication so why not give it a go again - I cant continue like this. If I'll end up a drug addict either way - but I'd prefer to be addicted to legal drugs that work long term rather the illicits I flirt with these days just to get me out of the house. Its not fucking right. Anyway, this isnt my thread.

Best of luck OP, and try everything - you really never know which will work for you. Give them 8-10 weeks, and commit yourself with the belief that these can work for you.
 
Every med works different for everyone. The only anti-depressant thats worked well for me is wellbutrin. But it can cause anxiety so id skip that maybe if i where you.
 
Trimipramine (Surmontil). My doc changed it to escitalopram, I asked him why, he said "because you were addicted to Surmontil"...

Anyway I have a few boxes left of Surmontil, so if I want I can switch back to it. I had good nights on it, dut to its powerful sedative qualities.
 
When I was a teenager I was forcibly prescribed Welbutrin. It did absolutely nothing for me.

As I got older and acknowledged my depression on my own terms (I do not suffer from anxiety), I was first put on Pritiq, which did nothing. Then I tried Lexapro, which caused me to feel and act extremely suicidal. I wanted nothing more than to die. I would drive on the wrong side of the road and close my eyes on a daily basis on my commute to college.

So I got the fuck off once I realized that this deeper depression was the result of my anti-depressants.

I also tried Stattera for the treatment of ADHD, and it made me suicidal and aggressive. I actually nearly strangled my mom to death. I am an extremely laid back and non-violent person, so this was way out of character for me. Given, she deserved it for the shit she pulls (she is the most fucked up, psychopathic, manipulative person I know), but it is still not me to lash out at somebody physically. Especially a woman. I obviously got the fuck off of it, and vowed never to take an SSRI or SNRI again.
 
Omega-3 and B vitamins, specifically Niacin.

If your nutrition, diet, and physical activity is off then pharmaceuticals will not help much.
 
^Ha, I was just about to advocate fish oil....definitely helps. Also, a magneisum supplement and (as already said) a B complex. I also like to take hydration salts, for things like potassium, sodium etc.

As far as SSRI's go; I've tried a lot of them without much success. The one that DID help me though, was Zoloft. It took about 3 months before anything changed, and during that time my doses were increased to 200mg p/day...But I defintely felt a reduction in anxiety (PTSD was what I was prescribed them for) and a decrease in depression. That said, a degree of apathy crept in; I stayed on zoloft for about 9-12months, and reduced over a month and then stopped. I have felt no subjective difference in mindstate now as opposed to being on zoloft.

I think a lot of people dislike the initial axiety-inducing effect of SSRI's; the theory is that, at first, serotonin accumulates at various receptors, including the 5HT2C recepetor, which is "responsible" for sensations of anxiety. Once this receptor-site downregulates (ie. there are 'less' of them) one path of subjective anxiety in the brain is virtually eliminated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-HT2C_receptor
 
How long have you been suffering these problems? If you have caring people around you, I would suggest that you could try to beat your problems without medication. I almost lost my mind when I stopped taking all my meds (tramadol, lyrica, benzos,weed), but afterwards it was worth it. I got my life back while thinking things sober.

Nowadays I use small doses of Clonazepam, Codeine, Lyrica and Tizanidine when needed. Good luck and I hope that you find the right solution for you. Exercise in all forms was my solution.
 
People with all this suicide talk don't seem to realize thats expected in your first few weeks of most ssris. It was the same with me for paxil, zoloft and lexapro.

However, I was able to realize it was the meds doing it, was told to bare it by my dr unless I thought id actually commit suicide, and all I know is after that initial few depressing weaks on lex once it kicked in my entire life changed. Paxil has too many sides and is the most difficult ssri to get off of along with effexor. Zoloft is a mild stimulant and known too "dirty" for a lot of people.

But lexapro was a totally different experience for me once I got around the 6 week mark. It works so cleanly and subtely and is also very potent at the same time. I also had virtually no sides while on it and getting off it was a fucking breeze. I tapered for 4 weeks, got some minor head zaps, but no rebound depression/anxiety after that point.

What I liked about the lex the most though was not how well it worked, it was the fact that once I stopped it I literally felt "cured" of my depression/anxiety. Granted I still get it from time to time, but not chronically like before lex. I still have no idea what that drug did to my mind but I knew when I got off it I wouldn't ever need another ssri again. Now however that has changed of course cause I started doing opiates like an idiot. But in my own honest opinion, and from what I saw in the psychward, a lot of people have good results with lex. Even if you see some people in this thread trash it, I can tell you just from both prison and the ward, I've seen a lot of people take it, and I've never heard as many good things about an ssri as I heard about lex. It just seems more reliable. Paxil, zoloft, effexor seemed more 50/50, lex seemed more like 70/30 to me. Thats just my opinion though, but lexapro was one of the best things to ever happen in my life. And at the time I got on it I was so fed up with ssris and had no faith whatsoever. It just worked and it was as simple as that.
 
Anon54 said:
Suffer from a little depression/anxiety. thinking of giving ADs a go.
Only really taken Tramadol for a few months for it's SNRI properties. All the others I started, I stopped as soon as a felt any kind of side effects. So I really havn't given them a proper try.

I think benzos a great & all but unfortunetely ya get a tolerance after a while so they arn't really a good long-term solution. fuck havin a massive tollerance to benzos.

I notice most ppl say ADs dont really work well for anxiety & have horrible side-effects, so is there any meds out there for a practical long-term solution for depression/anxiety?

Any comments on any ADs uve tried would be appreciated.
Which would be a good starter AD? (I'm thinking Lexapro or Zoloft)
What's worked best for u?
Click to expand...


Im sorry but this is not a question anyone here can help you with.

Every person is different and as such there is NO such thing as an anti depressant that is the be all and end all of anti depressants.

You need to discuss things with your health professional and be 100% honest while answering there questions.

It may even take a trial of different meds over a 12 month period to find the right one for you.

Asking people on an internet forum is a really bad idea. Nobody here knows your mind or your body...

You need to discuss with your doctor.
 
MaxDan: I do sort of agree with u but I'm sure there must be atleast some kind of corelation between what works well for others & what will work well for me.
I'm sure side-effects are the most shared experiences rather than than how it has helped ya out. So I'm still curious as I have got a choice of what to try first.

I'm curious if Effexor's SNRI effects are similar to Tramadols because they are very cloesely related chemicals. But I wouldnt try Effexor first because I've heard that most ppl find its w/ds worse than the SSRIs
 
Well, in MY experience...

I'm on 40mg of paroxetine (also known as Aropax or Paxil) each day, and it's working really well. Best anti-depressant I've tried so far! I've been prescribed a range of anti-depressants ever since I was 12 years old... fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram, buproprion (Wellbutrin), and venlafaxine (Effexor). Wellbutrin was quite good, but it lowers your seizure threshold, and since I'm a heavy methamphetamine user I decided to discontinue taking the Wellbutrin after a few months. Effexor was by far the worst for me - it caused huge anxiety and panic attacks, and I had to stop taking that after only 2 weeks.
 
I suffer from quite bad anxiety and stress, not really depressed but I do have very down days that I just want to curl up and hope the days passes quickly.

Anyway back on topic, my GP has had me on (here we go): Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Effexor XL, Paxil, Cymbalta, and now for a while Mirtazapine; to be honest I'm feeling nothing from the Mirtaz after being on it for quite a few months. I have a psyc appointment on Tues so hopefully something can be done as I got recently put on Seroquel 25mg for insomnia and that didn't do anything to help.

I've had quite bad side-effects mostly from the Cymbalta (first AD put on) which then lead to Prozac and the like and I do feel the benefits from some but after a while they just stop working (or as I like to put it my body stops responding to them).
 
^I would have thought that seroquel and mirtazepine were contraindicated, due to anti-histamine/choling properties...?
 
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