Your experiences with antidepressants

I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression some years ago, 2012 or something. Was 17 at that time. Received a prescription for Lexapro. After contemplating on it I opted not to fill it and smoked weed instead. At 22 now and what most people would call successful except in the women department. Well paying job and will be graduating soon. That said the delression is still around, albeit not as severe as it was back then. Still struggle to find meaning in life. I still smoke weed once a day before bed. So it's possible to do without.

Some anons will tell you that it takes out your soul and replaced it with drugged complacency. Some will tell you it turned their life around. I personally have a friend who was suicidally depressed, went on an SSRI and reported overall improvement in quality of life. The medical consensus is generally that it's a net positive when the depression is severe. At six years, why don't you give it a shot and see if it works for you? You can always stop if you dislike it.

I've been on Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Ability and Adderall for the past 3 years and and it's helped tremendously with my depression, social anxiety, motivation to do things and overall well-being. I don't have as nearly as many social thoughts and I find that it's much easier for me to enjoy things. This combo of drugs has proven to be effective for me but it took a few months to get it right.

That being said if I go two days without Zoloft I get incredibly sick, headache, vomiting, I feel awful. Without Abilify I can feel myself getting more and more irritable. I basically rely on these drugs but know if I ever wanted to get off them it would be a process. The reason I'm on this combo is because I have borderline personality disorder, if you were wondering.

Considering that I love meds, but combined with regular therapy sessions. I highly, HIGHLY recommend Dialectal Behavior Therapy. It's a whole lot better than CBT in my opinion. It's a therapy where you learn the skills to cope with emotions, deal with intense pain and form effective relationships. I've benefited more from a year of DBT than I did from multiple years of CBT (the typical therapy everyone gets).

Good luck and hope all goes well.

>>18675056
Yeah, I think so to.

It's just hard to me concede and say to myself that I can't do it on my own and need some outside help. Also my mother being so anti-medicine must have rubbed-off on me.

>>18675079
Thanks for the suggestion, I have never heard about that therapy, and it seems really fittng to my case. From what I have heard though, it's advised against taking drugs during therapy. Was it mentioned by your Psychiatrist as a problem?

Also with this many different kinds of durgs, what are some things that you are not allowed to intake, other than I guess alcohol?

>>18675043
I'm under fluoxetine (Prozac), it's been 22 days today. Honestly it removed my panic attacks for now, and I think I'm seeing a slight improvement for my depression, but it's still early to say and could be placebo.

>>18675095
I agree with the other anons, but would like to add, different drugs for different people. Tried cipralex, was ok, few years later still on it realise there is more to life (have breakdown), mertazapine, horrible zombie drug (for me), am on certraline, haven't felt this good in years. Takes me ages to cum tho.

>>18675095
Both my therapist and physiatrist we're fine with me being in meds while in therapy. Most of the people in my class were also on similar meds (you take a class/group in DBT). I've never heard of it interfering.

I know you're not suppose to drink alcohol with some of these drugs but I still do, you just can't determine how drunk you're going to get. My psychiatrist and therapist know I drink, but I only drink on the weekends. They're fine with it. It doesn't mess with me too much. You just have to be careful and mindful.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Bumping for more.

Sorry for the off-topic, OP. I want to create my own thread about choosing a therapist later.
How can you describe your therapist, OP? Is that a man or a woman? How old are they? Do you care if they are a man/woman and are MUCH older than you (like a 30-40 year difference)?

The reason I'm asking is because I myself was diagnosed with depression and severe social anxiety and now I want to try therapy; however, I don't know if those things that I asked matter when choosing a psychologist. To be frank, I would like them to be 30-45 years of age and I'm not sure why. Perhaps, It's easier for me to relate and spill my soul.

>>18675293
I took part in group therapy, which were limited in my area, so I couldn't really choose. It was lead by 2 therapist, man and woman, both I would say around 35.

I think the most imporant choice to be made is selecting right type of therapy. Read a little about them, then search for therapist specialized in the one you choose. They might also mention they might specialize in certain cases more than others like depression, eating disorders etc. but I don't know how much it matters.

Age might matter, as it might be easier to feel understood by person of similiar age as you.
Some say it might be better to choose someone older, with more experience, but Psychology and Psychotherapy are very rapidly changing fields of Science(?), so I imagine they might be too set in their old ways.

When it comes to gender, I don't think it matters, unless you care. I personally would prefer woman, probably because she was the person I usually talked about my problems with, and my father is probably incapable of any kind of empathy.

But those are just me feelings, and you probably need to answer those questions yourself.

>>18675392
Thank you...

>>18675043
>Wellbutrin + Adderall for years. Have tried a few.
If there is a genuine problem with your brain, some of these things are almost necessary to function normally compared to everyone else.
If there isn't, and it's just a thing you have to get through, they still help. It allows you to normalize and start making the changes yourself.
Find someone you can talk to, make your life easier.

>>18675095
I take several different meds including an SSRI, I still am able to drink, both my therapist and psychiatrist know. The want me to be careful because it is potentially dangerous. Also because alcoholism runs in my family and is common in people with my condition.
Also I try to eat something between my last drink and when I take my meds.

Antidepressants don't "cure" you, they just help you be stable. Assuming they're working, you won't have the intense episodes that make you miss work or stay in bed all day. But the biggest mistake people make is thinking that pills are the entire solution. You also have to do therapy if you want to get better.

>>18675043
I was on Prozac for almost 2 years and it worked moderately well. But I ended up having a meltdown and suicidal thoughts. Plus on the Prozac, I felt numb and it impacted my creative outlets.

After my breakdown, my GP asked me if I had ever been tested for Vitamin D deficiency. Factors that played against me;

>dark skin
>don't go outside too much
>work in a windowless environment

Got tested. Turned out that I was severely deficient. She put me on a weekly Vit. D regimen afterwards. It worked flawlessly. Been on it for about six months, and in spite of all of the crap going on in my personal life, I've been able to roll with the punches.

My point is, try to get tested for any nutritional deficiencies before gunning for the antidepressants. I tried to wean off the Prozac before my diagnosis and it felt like Hell. I was dependent on it. And Prozac is on the 'lighter' end of the the available medications.

>>18675774
Good point. I have a psychiatrist that does blood tests to check for deficiencies. She put me on magnesium, vitamin d and rosavin plus I'm addition to my meds. Try to find a psychiatrist that works in integrative medicine.

>>18675043
I can relate. I saw a private psychologist for several months but it didn't help for shit. Then I saw a psychiatrist who put me on meds and she also gave me some really good advice that has changed my life. My meds help me fall asleep and put me in a better mood. Now that I'm in a better mood I'm able to make necessary changes in my life. Meds themselves can't cure depression, but it's a combination of everything that's going to help you.