The Student Room Group

Anti-depressants

My life is falling apart, my mother recently passed away, my long term girlfriend recently dumped me, and i am back from uni, and i dont feel i have many friends at home now, and all this has happened over the last 2-3 months. I went to the doctor and he advised anti depressents. Im not sure if i should take them because i dont want to become dependant on them. Such as i would enjoy life whilst being on the pills, but when i come off them, i would come crashing back down. So what are the pro's and con's of going on anti depressents, i am 19 years old and male by the way if that helps with anything. I have just completed my first year at uni too. Also are there any herbal remedies or anything that can pick you up, and make you happy. And no before any of you mention it, i am not going to smoke weed, i want a perfectly legal way. Many thanks if anyone can help, i am desperate.
Reply 1
I'm kind of suprised the Doctor suggested pills first (actually, no I'm not, but I'm sure it's not how they should do it!). You've had a hell of a lot going on, and perhaps councelling might be the first port of call.

Anti-depressants do have both pro's and con's. I've been on anti-depressants twice in the last 4 years, and despite them being exactly the same prescription, the effect they had on me was different both times. It mainly depends on what's going on around you, and whether there is any way that you can get out of the problems without turning to medication.

You've mentioned being worried about "crashing" afterwards - it's not exactly like that; the tablets have a lasting effect - they take a month or so to get into your system, and while they can be addictive, you would be weaned off them when either you or your doctor decides you can be.

the first time I took them they helped me a great deal - I'd been trhough councelling and hadn't got any better - I was constantly in a dark mood and had begun to think about suicide, so I turned to the pills as the last resort, and I'm not sure whether it was 50/50 in terms of the medication working and a sort of placebo effect of me knowing I was doing something to help myself at last. I took myself off them 3 months later, 3 months earlier than the doctor wanted me to.

the second time, however, I hadn't got the same personal problems and the tablets didn't just take my mind off my problems, they took my mind off everything and I really struggled to cope on them, so I stopped taking them and decided to chose other ways of getting better - exercise, diet and a new hobby.

Before going for anti-depressants I would suggest at least thinking about councelling. PM me if you want to know anything else!!

B

EDIT: can I also say, Weed = the worst idea ever. There's scientific evidence to suggest that weed can make depression worse as it causes the user to become paranoid.
Im sorry your going through such an awful patch at the moment, I don't think you should take anti- depressants though, because in some cases like with my Grandmother the side effects the drugs have are worse than the actual problem itself. I would recommend a natural remedy like St John's Wart, which you can buy from Holland and Barratt on the high street, I hope this helps.
Reply 3
As blondevalkyrie said, St. John's Wart can be helpful, but check with your doctor if you're ok to take it first - I'm sure I remember being told about certain medical conditions or other medication it can't be taken with. A little irrelevant for you, but girls on the contraceptive pill shouldn't take it as it reduces the effectiveness of the pill.
Yes thats corrects, which is good that you pointed out you were male! I've also just thought of 2 other natural remedy ones Kalms and Happy Days.
Reply 5
Hi.

Firstly, let me just say that any advice you are offered on TSR should not be considered definitive - if you are really in such a bad state of depression then I would recommend speaking to friends, family, someone you trust in person - a good unburdening talk can help in so many ways.

In regards to your question about anti-depressants: A couple of years ago, I was hit with a really bad bout of depression. I flunked my exams and just generally couldn't face anything - it was a really black time. So I went to my GP and told her how I was feeling, and she referred me to a 'young people's centre'. This wasn't very helpful - the appointment was weeks away, during which time things got worse. The night before the appointment, in an effort to cheer myself up, I went out with some friends, and got really hammered. I went to the 'interview' with the psychiatrist really hung over and looking bad, and he prescribed me anti-depressants. I was feeling awful, my judgement was clearly not great - I was reluctant, as you are, about the pills - not wanting to be dependent, considering pulling myself out of the mess over time to be the best option, rather than relying on pills. In my weak state, however, I took them.

The next few weeks were a nightmare. The pills somehow made everything so much worse: during the first week it was as though I couldn't trust my own emotions, like I was being brought 'up' into a kind 'high' which was unnatural, and made me become very introspective and, I'll be honest, a little crazy - I started getting paranoid and raved about nonsense - non of which had happened before. So I came off them. It got even worse after that. I just descended, after this artificial high, into the most black, crippling low. I attempted suicide, was almost hospitalised; it was a horrible experience for myself and my family. As a result, I was put on more pills - a ridiculous combination, I later discovered, of diazepam and Prozac - so I was rendered physically weak and incapable of doing the simplest things, while at the same time feeling really hyper and in need of activity. The week or so that I was in this condition remains the worst experience of my life.

After that, I came off the pills, more or less - for about a week on holiday I went back on the 'mild' anti-depressants proscribed on the first occasion, but, again, had a bad reaction and stopped. Things remained bad. The summer ended, I went back to repeat lower sixth in something of a daze, a shell, I thought , of my former self. Eventually, however, through the support of friends, through the routine of getting up and going to school every day rather than sitting at home thinking about it, things improved. I started writing daily events down in a diary, charting the improvement. By the New Year, I had recovered, and I havn't really looked back.

So, for me, the cure was Time. I am convinced that, without taking the pills, things would have eventually improved much faster, and I would not have suffered, and caused my family to suffer, such appalling a nightmare. However, as I said, advice on TSR should not be considered definitive. I know that many, many people have recovered from depression thanks to anti-depressants. For me, the pills simply made things much worse. I would also advise you that all anti-depressants come armed with a fairly hefty list of possible side-effects, which is scary. GPs have been, rightly in my experience, accused of being too quick to prescribe anti-depressants, especially to teenagers and young people, because the NHS simply does not have the resources to meet the needs of people with Mental Health problems. This is a travesty. However that is for another post.

Sorry about the length of this reply! I hope my little tale can help with your decision. Good luck, and if you need any more advice and feel that I could help you in some way, please do not hesitate to PM me.

Ray.
I went through a very bad time in my life a couple of years ago and the first thing a doctor did was try to convince me to take anti-depressants but I refused and instead pursuaded her to refer me to a special young persons mental health service to allow me someone to talk to. That was pretty pointless to be honest. In the end it was lots of excercise (went to the gym everyday) and finding little projects for myself to do like painting as well as the company of a couple of friends that got me through. Time was important. Not very easy though. You have to find the strong motivation within yourself to make it happen.
I would agree with those who have already posted.

I went to my GP after a failed suicide attempt which I had to go to hospital for and he first suggested counselling. I went for that but the waiting list was very long. He also asked me to come back in a week and at the second appointment offered me antidepressants but I refused, saying I would rather go down the counselling route. In the time I was on the waiting list for counselling, I got worse so went back to my GP. He again offered me antidepressants and this time I said ok as I was not likely to get a counselling appointment any time soon (I was about to go home for the Easter holidays). The first few weeks were terrible, but I noticed an improvement once I was back in Coventry. I still have my ups and downs and can never predict whether a day is going to be good or bad, but overall I feel better than I did in March.