prozac/effexor/cipramil depression

thebaz

i have mild depression , although specilaist says i don't have depression, just find day to day life difficult - i have been on and off cipramil for 4 years . For the past 6 months i have been on effexor , and have once again become immune to its effect . So thinking of quitting , although i hear withdrawals are severe . Anyone think these prozac type drugs are good/bad long term ?

John R

Most drugs have bad effects if taken for a long time, it should only be done if the benefits outweigh the effects.

Nobody here can tell you what drugs you should or should not be taking. Consult a doctor and if you don't trust their opinion consult another doctor.

connundrum

Bit mad for AH no?? Is this to do with the lying women.. feckin women

thebaz

i have consulted doctor , my experience is that any doctor i see always seam more concerned with severe cases , and wants to rush you out the door as fast as possible , while receptionist picks up 60 euros . I know there are some good docs out there that do care and some are over worked . As i say my deression isn't severe , apparently , have others experienced such !

Lux23

I am on Lexapro and it has no side effects after the first couple of weeks. I would suggest though if your medication isn't working then you may need to look at other options.

Maybe ask to be refered to a psychriatrist, its expensive but you may find what your problem is.

FranknFurter

Do bear in mind, whatever anti-depressant you go onto, will take at least a month of taking it *exactly* as directed before you may notice any changes.
With the possible exception of Prozac, none of them act fast for 90% of the population.

Ask your GP to arrange an appointment with a consultant or psychiatrist so you can get a proper diagnosis, personally, I would recommend seeing a PSYCHOLOGIST first tho.

I have also been on all the meds you mentioned, and I do know how difficult it can be to stay on them for the time it takes *before* you will notice any effect.
Eventually, they tried me on Prozac, for me, it kicked in very fast and worked really well.

Whatever you decide to do, make weekly appointments with your GP and keep them even if you feel you have nothing to say.
If you *cant* think of anything to say, simply keep saying "I need to see a consultant about my depression"......

If nothing else it will be a start.
Doctors imho, in general, are all too quick to prescribe anti-depressants, and some of them only have a vague knowledge of these drugs, only HOW they are "supposed" to work for the general target group.

See your doctor, tell him / her what YOU want and what YOU feel you need.
Remember, HE / SHE, works for YOU......YOU pay their wage, YOU are their CUSTOMER.

Try to take as much control back as you can in your life, it really helps.

And remember, withdrawls are completely different for each person.
Do NOT come off a medication abruptly and without medical observation or you are in potentially extreme danger.

Best of luck,

B

thebaz

thanks for info - one thing about my doc is he has my history - it would take new doc about 30 mins to go through whats getting me down - life , broken marriage , money - my doc just looks at me with look of get out of my surgery - your wasting valuable time for people who are really sick - so it is a bit of a catch 22 about leavin - as i don't want to repeat my history to another doc who maybe only as good as last doc - i did see a couple of psychiatrists in a renowned hospital , and unforuntly they were brutal and confusing - one saying i had mild depression - the other I only needed to handle lifes ups and down better - stay off alcohol - which i do. In fact there was zero follow up - - .

tony 2 tone

bax wrote:

For the past 6 months i have been on effexor , and have once again become immune to its effect . So thinking of quitting , although i hear withdrawals are severe

Having been on effexor in the past(for about 2 years), i can tell you that, for me any way, the with drawals are kinda ****ty, not what i'd call severe but not nice by any means. I got kinda edgy and quick to snap at people after missing a day or two. A good doc will reduce your dose over a couple of weeks, say go from x amount to taking two of half the amount, then one in the morning, one in the evening, and so on. But I am not a doctor, this is just my own experience.
Dont quit cold turkey any way.

ronbyrne2005

ssri's have a reputation withdrawal symptoms but looking at studies they are rare enough,when you have millions of people taking these drugs then your gonna have a certain amount of people getting these effects.nearly every drug in world has side effects and nearly everyone has caused deaths by allergic reactions etc,generally these drugs are safe while on them and coming off them.
many people are prescribed these drugs who should'nt be,the fact you can identify the problems in your life that are causing you depression indicates you may not need antidepressants and should try psychotherapy-if you are short of cash there are cheap ways of getting psychotherapy ,most therapists operate on sliding scale which means they will only charge what you can afford or try trinity where they offer supervised therapy by masters students who are almost qualified and are very good.
as for gp's prescribing antidepressants-they dont know that much about mental health,many are bombarded by drug firm rep's to use their antidepressants,the doctors in general (even ppsychiatrists) dont know what causes depression and this is why treatment can be hit and miss and most people get tried on several drugs.

bottlerocket

Having been on seroxat and gamanil a few years back I have to say I found neither of them that effective. What worked for me was to see a counsellor/psychotherapist and I strongly advise you to do the same. They tend to focus on feelings rather than defining an illness and also work on coping strategies and solutions etc. I am not in any way trying to belittle your condition but anti-depressants should not be prescribed for mild depression. They will only relieve the symptoms of depression and will not remove the causes and should not be prescribed in the majority of cases in my opinion.

That said I'm not a doctor. Obviously its a bad idea to come off em cold turkey but I would advise you not to accept more tablets from your GP unless your condition worsens severely. In fact sounds like you might be better off with a change of GP! Try to solve the root causes of your problems - though it can be a painful process, you will emerge a much happier and stronger person in the long run. Good luck.

nesf

hullaballoo wrote:

There are threads on this here.

I do know that withdrawal from effexor increases libido beyond belief. Also, I think getting off it asap would be a good idea, 12 people in the UK have died from taking it. Wyeth are in serious legal difficulty - I actually thought they had taken it off the market. It causes haemorrhaging in the brain. Blasted artificial happiness.

Don't advise people to drop drugs.

nesf

Moved to Medicine.

A word of advice for the OP: Do not take anything you read on here without a huge pinch of salt. Do nothing without consulting your doctor or psychiatrist.