antidepressents

I'm currently making the decision whether I should start taking anti-depressants for my mental health and i have a few reservations... namely the side effects of sertraline/fluoxetine are really scaring me. What are your stories about being on antidepressants? Any advice?

I'm currently making the decision whether I should start taking anti-depressants for my mental health and i have a few reservations... namely the side effects of sertraline/fluoxetine are really scaring me. What are your stories about being on antidepressants? Any advice?

I'm not on antidepressants but I have a friend who's on sertraline. She says it has helped even out her mood a little but it takes weeks to properly kick in though. Hope that helps and it's good to be aware of the early warning signs if a specific medication doesn't work for you

I've been on fluoxetine before. The only potential persistent side-effect for me was weight gain (which may have been more to do with my diet being abysmal and me not getting out of bed for days than the fluoxetine; it's VERY unusual to gain weight on it, from what I have read - most people lose weight). I had headaches and some temporary increase in anxiety for a few days when starting/increasing doses but other than that, I felt OK on it. It totally eliminated anxiety for me, helped with sleep and helped with SH thoughts. Did less for my mood but looking at my mood diary, my mood was definitely better when I was on it.

Anything in particular that you are worried about with starting antidepressants?

Hi thanks for your reply, i really appreciate it,

Honestly side-effects like you listed I'm happy to put up with if the benefits of going on fluoxetine outweigh the negatives. Do you ever regret going on fluoxetine?

I mean I am worried about negative changes to my behaviour... i knew someone who was on sertraline and they became very agressive and generally I didn't recognise them anymore. Now that they are off sertraline, it feels like they are back to their old self. I don't know how many people become like this but i know there is a link between adolescents using antidepressants and aggressiveness. I really don't want that happening to me.

I'm also really worried that it won't work..... it's kind of a last resort for me and I'm worried that my depression could get worse if i don't see any significant results.

Finally I have read so many horror stories about people on antidepressants so I'm worried it would do more harm than good yk?

Thanks for listening x

The only minor of regret I have about taking it is that when I stopped taking it (I stopped it when I shouldn’t have; long story, nothing to do with the fluoxetine or its side-effects), I became aware of my anxiety. I was on it for low mood and whilst anxiety was there in the background, I didn’t really see it as much of a problem and coming off fluoxetine kind of unmasked it for me because it was so well-controlled whilst I was on it (if that makes sense?). Other than that, no regrets.

I’m not a teenagers but I certainly had no issues with aggression.

TW mention of suicidal thoughts




If it doesn’t work (and it might not - the first thing my GP said to me was that I might need to try different meds), you can always stop it and try something else. Like for you, it was the last resort fo me too, and the reason I went on it was because I was reaching the point where I was simply not managing to do anything any more, I wasn’t eating and drinking on my days off from work, I was just lying in bed and struggling to even get up to use the toilet. I had constant intrusive thoughts and

TW




Fluoxetine did get me out of that place even if is didn’t make things completely better.

Give it a shot. You can always stop taking it if it doesn’t work for you.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do, and I hope you feel better soon.