Anxiety and depression thread (Please read OP)

Multipass

FHFM50 wrote: »

Anyone tried an antidepressant with little or no sexual side effects?

I can manage the weight gain side effects but the sexual ones are why I stay off them.

The only one that didn’t affect me that way was mirtazapine. All of the SSRIs I tried were bad.

charlietheminxx

Meeoow wrote: »

Anxiety spiking thinking about work on Monday. Not looking forward to it.

Just work itself or going in with the way the Covid numbers are? I’m so worked up over it I feel physically sick. I can’t understand how my workplace is staying open... we were all WFH in March. I’m generally really paranoid about Covid at the moment, it doesn’t mix well with anxiety.

SpacialNeeds

Sardonicat wrote: »

I am feeling so, so bad. I'm either overwhelmed by dread and feel powerless to do anything to change that or I feel 'switched off' like I'm not really here at all. Panic attacks waking me from my sleep. I'm not looking for advice. Just need to share this somewhere. Sorry for dumping on you all.

You're not alone and you will get through this. I hope you have someone to talk to about this. Nobody should suffer alone.

RabbleRouser2k

carzony wrote: »

January is usually a very bad time for everyone.. The uncertainty with these lockdowns doesn't help.

Thank hell for that-thought it was just me.

FHFM50

Multipass wrote: »

The only one that didn’t affect me that way was mirtazapine. All of the SSRIs I tried were bad.

Tried that for a while and I was like a zombie all day. It hits you like a ton of bricks.

Multipass

FHFM50 wrote: »

Tried that for a while and I was like a zombie all day. It hits you like a ton of bricks.

Yeah, it gets a bit better. It worked really well for me for a short while, then it just stopped. Shame because it had the most bearable side effects.

FHFM50

Multipass wrote: »

Yeah, it gets a bit better. It worked really well for me for a short while, then it just stopped. Shame because it had the most bearable side effects.

What do you take now?

Gremlinertia

I'm lucky, prozac holds the worst at bay for me without too much side effects seroquel then with it which also worked out ok for me after many other drugs tried over the years.

Hellokitty1212

Hello all. I took Sertraline mainly - it took a long time to help with my GAD but when it did it really worked.

Meeoow

charlietheminxx wrote: »

Just work itself or going in with the way the Covid numbers are? I’m so worked up over it I feel physically sick. I can’t understand how my workplace is staying open... we were all WFH in March. I’m generally really paranoid about Covid at the moment, it doesn’t mix well with anxiety.

Work itself, I am wfh and it is not suiting me at all. I am not worried about covid, my workplace is really covid protected, loads of space and ppe. I got tinnitus in May from sertraline, so cannot take anything to help my anxiety, and I can't get rid of it. I feel like every day is an effort to keep going. I have never felt so sad and hopeless before. And I have depression over 20 years.

Wanderer78

I'm on sertraline almost a year now, mood and anxiety have settled to some degree, but I'm noticing some tightness in my chest from time to time, assume it's anxiety based. Mood is relatively stable now, even though it is dropping just a little at times, but returns relatively quickly. Was originally put on a 150mg dose, but side effects became too much, blurred vision, and intense eye irritation, so slowly reduced to my current dose of 75mg, significantly reducing side effects, but still minor issues. Reluctant to try other ssri's as doc said it's the only one he's found with the least side effects

Multipass

FHFM50 wrote: »

What do you take now?

After a horrible few years on venlafaxine, I currently take nothing

One More Toy

Has anyone else got the January blues?

RabbleRouser2k

One More Toy wrote: »

Has anyone else got the January blues?

Yup. My sleep is erratic and odd. Cold weather isn't helping either.

Wanderer78

One More Toy wrote: »

Has anyone else got the January blues?

im strangely not too bad at all, and my current status is 'indirect covid contact', sleep is really good, but feeling a little iffy today

Sardonicat

Wanderer78 wrote: »

im strangely not too bad at all, and my current status is 'indirect covid contact', sleep is really good, but feeling a little iffy today

Take care of yourself. Keep well hydrated and try to get some fresh air if you can do so safely. Both those things have been shown to mitigate against the worst of Covid. Hopefully you are in the clear. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I've just got off the phone with my Dr. He's starting me on 20mg of Prozac. Mixed feelings but mainly feeling relief.

Airyfairy12

Wanderer78 wrote: »

I'm on sertraline almost a year now, mood and anxiety have settled to some degree, but I'm noticing some tightness in my chest from time to time, assume it's anxiety based. Mood is relatively stable now, even though it is dropping just a little at times, but returns relatively quickly. Was originally put on a 150mg dose, but side effects became too much, blurred vision, and intense eye irritation, so slowly reduced to my current dose of 75mg, significantly reducing side effects, but still minor issues. Reluctant to try other ssri's as doc said it's the only one he's found with the least side effects

How did you find it when you started taking it? I took it once and never again, had a nightmare of a day with side effects getting worse as the day went on. I was like a crazy person. Is that a normal reaction?

RabbleRouser2k

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

How did you find it when you started taking it? I took it once and never again, had a nightmare of a day with side effects getting worse as the day went on. I was like a crazy person. Is that a normal reaction?

I had that reaction when I took Effexor. I had to quit taking it after a few weeks.

It was a nightmare, and I was a nightmare-it took me months to fix myself to get back to where I am now.

charlietheminxx

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

How did you find it when you started taking it? I took it once and never again, had a nightmare of a day with side effects getting worse as the day went on. I was like a crazy person. Is that a normal reaction?

I'm not the person you've asked but I thought I'd answer anyway since I'm on it for the first time and have been documenting things as I went. I'm 8 weeks in now. I had a lot of side effects, ranging from annoying to unbearable for the first few weeks. Most of them were gone around 5/6 weeks in and the ones that are left now are manageable for me (e.g. bit of a dodgy tum every morning).

If you had a very extreme reaction instantly then they must not have been the ones for you. Do you mind me asking what kind of side effects you had?

charlietheminxx

Sardonicat wrote: »

I've just got off the phone with my Dr. He's starting me on 20mg of Prozac. Mixed feelings but mainly feeling relief.

I'm so glad you spoke to the doctor, you should be really proud for giving Prozac a go. Fingers crossed it works well for you.

Sardonicat

charlietheminxx wrote: »

I'm so glad you spoke to the doctor, you should be really proud for giving Prozac a go. Fingers crossed it works well for you.

I've had it before with great success so I'm optimistic. I know the first 4 to 6 weeks won't be easy though.

charlietheminxx

Sardonicat wrote: »

I've had it before with great success so I'm optimistic. I know the first 4 to 6 weeks won't be easy though.

Do you have good supports and people to talk to for the ups and downs while you adjust? I've been told (though this may be incorrect) that it's easier to adapt to an SSRI if you've been on them before. You could be lucky with side-effects and adapting to them this time.

I hope it's also not too dark to suggest that this is maybe the best possible time to be feeling sick and miserable. The whole country is miserable, it's cold, everything is closed, it's just bad news everywhere and you won't be missing anything by hunkering down and focusing on self-care for the next few weeks

Airyfairy12

charlietheminxx wrote: »

I'm not the person you've asked but I thought I'd answer anyway since I'm on it for the first time and have been documenting things as I went. I'm 8 weeks in now. I had a lot of side effects, ranging from annoying to unbearable for the first few weeks. Most of them were gone around 5/6 weeks in and the ones that are left now are manageable for me (e.g. bit of a dodgy tum every morning).

If you had a very extreme reaction instantly then they must not have been the ones for you. Do you mind me asking what kind of side effects you had?

Its a few years now but 20 minutes after taking one 50mg tablet I felt nauseous and anxious, this progressed to stomach pains and high anxiety and then progressed to panic that lasted hours, 6 hours in I couldnt sit still. Then I turned into a crazy person, I was really paranoid & convinced my family were going to be killed in a road accident or something horrible was going to happen.
I was scared of my cat, kept thinking he was going to attack me, he never left my side through the whole day, he's such a sweetheart & gentle by nature, I was so irrational.
When I petted him I was scared about not being able to control the pressure of my hand and feared hurting him. It felt like my anxiety was up x1000.
in a mad panic I tried to call my doctor, I thought I was dying but she never rang me back, the receptionist must have thought I was a crazy person.

I had physical symptoms like vomiting and upset stomach, my pupils were huge, I had all over body twitching, cold sweats, hyperventilating and didnt sleep for nearly 40 hours after.

It was like taking drugs but having a really bad trip.

I dont know if everyone experiences that while taking them at first?

charlietheminxx

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

.

It was like taking drugs but having a really bad trip.

I dont know if everyone experiences that while taking them at first?

No, that is certainly much more extreme than anything that I had. I felt my anxiety worsened for the first week and over the first few weeks I had frequent headaches, extreme fatigue, poor balance, nausea, upset stomach, an extra couple of migraines (I get them anyway), hot flushes in my face, a rash all over my face, neck and chest and went off my food. It was nothing instantaneous or as frightening as your experience, that must have been so traumatic for you.

I know some doctors prescribe things like Xanax to get people through the first few days of antidepressants but I don't know how much that helps.

FWIW I feel sertraline has definitely helped with depression but it's had little to no effect on my anxiety levels, bar me being extra amped up for the first week I took them.

NOTE: If anyone is reading this thread like I read everything I could on Sertraline before I started taking them, please don't let this put you off. Everyone's experiences are different and it was still worth all the hassle for me personally.

emilymemily

Sorry to post here again but im just trying to find different medication for social anxiety I was speaking to my GP and she recommended Brintellix (I think) she said its a new alternative to Lexapro.
Has anyone tried this and can give feedback of their experience and side effects..
Thanks

Gremlinertia

emilymemily wrote: »

Sorry to post here again but im just trying to find different medication for social anxiety I was speaking to my GP and she recommended Brintellix (I think) she said its a new alternative to Lexapro.
Has anyone tried this and can give feedback of their experience and side effects..
Thanks

I think with most drugs around mntal health in particular the effect is a very individual thing. That's why the most important thing is frequent communication between you and your prescribing doctor..

That said, two friends currently on it approve, one other tried for nearly a year but found no benefit

Hellokitty1212

Does anyone else get cross when they hear people talk about their “anxiety” when it’s just nerves or worry??

My better half has a friend who was planning to shop online on Black Friday and for the day before all you could get was “I want this X so bad my anxiety is all over the place”.

I almost had a meltdown because I couldn’t find a knife in the block and thought a maniac had broken in. True anxiety tends towards the irrational do we agree ??

Gremlinertia

Some words are misused or become buzz words for a period.. Hopefully time is soon up for the misuse of anxiety. I don't think too many people saying these words mean anything bad by saying it, it's usually because they've been exposed to it elsewhere. It can definitely irk me but then i try to think of it like the human versus the clinical definition

Hellokitty1212

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Some words are misused or become buzz words for a period.. Hopefully time is soon up for the misuse of anxiety. I don't think too many people saying these words mean anything bad by saying it, it's usually because they've been exposed to it elsewhere. It can definitely irk me but then i try to think of it like the human versus the clinical definition

That’s a very good way of looking, thank you.

Though in a way I’m glad the younguns can freely talk about mental health, was a bit of a no no till recently.

RabbleRouser2k

Hellokitty1212 wrote: »

That’s a very good way of looking, thank you.

Though in a way I’m glad the younguns can freely talk about mental health, was a bit of a no no till recently.

Tbh, it's still a no-no. Whether we like it or not.

I imagine it will always be a no-no. Even something like dyslexia ( a strange analogy, but one I feel is pertinent) is even a no-no, just from folks I've spoken to.

We'll always find weird things to make 'no-no's'. Human's are very reluctant to discuss 'weakness'.