So I've been on antidepressants again since a couple of months ago.. They're not for depression, though, it's for anxiety and panic attacks. And that works great I've never been depressed a day in my life for as far as I can remember. However, ever since I started using these antidepressants, I've been feeling more and more depressed! confused2:!?) And that wasn't even my problem! So I tried to stop taking them, and almost immediately felt waaayyy better :eusa_danc Except I started having anxiety and panic attacks again :dry: (what I have the meds for), so I recently started taking the medication again to get rid of them, and now I feel like shit again! And it's not just feeling down.. everyone feels down every now and then. The way I feel is just unhealthy I have weird thoughts and feelings I've never had before, and it's just ridiculous. Can antidepressants really have the exact opposite effect of what they should have? :icon_conf This is confusing the shit out of me.
Talk to your medication provider ASAP. It is possible for psychiatric medications to respond in unusual ways for certain people, and if your medications are not functioning as they're supposed to, your provider will probably want to change your regimen.
Like Mogget said, talk to your doctor's office right away, but never stop or start taking psychiatric pills without medical supervision, even if you think they're causing an adverse reaction. If you read the paper that comes with the meds, it should tell you that, as well as how some antidepressants can have the opposite effect than what is intended.
KB will have more precise information, but my understanding is that some of the SSRIs, particularly Prozac, were notorious for actually making depression worse and in some cases causing the person taking them to feel suicidal when they'd never had any suicidal ideation prior. This is particularly the case in teens and young adults, if I'm remembering the studies I read correctly. I am a strong believer that in most cases, anxiety and panic attacks can be managed in ways other than with medication, and usually, in the long run, much more effectively. It does require some adaptive behavior, but anxiety is one of the most overprescribed diagnoses out there... and situations such as you're describing aren't uncommon. Mogget is correct, that you can likely find something that will work that won't have the other side effects, but I'd also encourage you to really consider the alternatives. The list of side effects for pretty much any mood-altering medication is about a million miles long, and the alternative options -- which work in a surprising number of cases -- have pretty much zero side effects. If you're seeing a psychiatrist or general practitioner, they may not be aware of the alternatives, but there are quite a number of psychiatrists and psychotherapists that take a nontraditional approach, using alternative methods and nontoxic prescriptions first, and using the stronger SSRIs and anti-anxiety meds as a last resort only if the other options don't work. Depending on the dosage and how long you've been taking it, stopping an SSRI may cause you some mood effects, but as far as I know, it isn't dangerous in the way that stopping other, stronger medication is. But always best to check with your physician, or at the very least, read up on what you're taking in the Physician's Desk Reference or the manufacturer's online disclosures to practitioners. (The disclosure written for the patient is so watered down and weasel-worded as to be virtually useless.)
I'm more pro-medication than Chip is, although I do believe that medication should generally only be used for anxiety and depression if they are causing suicidal ideation or if several months of counseling has failed to make any impact. However, Chip is correct that some antidepressants can cause increased suicidal ideation and depression, or even create it. In people who experience bipolar depression, antidepressants can trigger mania. But, as I said, there are cases where I think psychiatric medication for anxiety and depression is appropriate, and I tend to be skeptical of "nontoxic prescriptions." Modern medicine has become fairly effective at isolating active ingredients in medication, however, for medication that is not applied directly to the area needing the medication (which is usually only possible when cleaning wounds and similar), there is no way to prevent the active ingredient from being introduced to other parts of the body. Regardless of whether you're taking a modern pharmaceutical, a naturopathic remedy, or a dietary supplement, the chemicals in that product will go to other parts of the body and will have an impact on some of those areas. All chemicals are toxic in sufficient concentration, and while traditional antidepressants aren't safe, they have been proven to be effective through clinical trials. Naturopathic remedies and dietary supplements aren't regulated as strictly as medication, and so their efficacy is less well-known, and they may have ingredients that are actively harmful. Good nutrition is very helpful for recovery from depression, as is exercise, maintaining a sleep schedule, practicing good hygiene, and having a support system to help you. But if you want to go with medicinal treatment, my recommendation is to stick to medicine that's undergone the peer review process and FDA approval.
Actually, if you want to pick nits... there are a number of studies showing that SSRIs are near worthless compared to placebo... and the studies originally done to validate Prozac were near worthless (I cannot speak to studies done since its release, nor studies on other drugs because I have not looked into the issue.) But the notion that clinical trials definitively prove that various antidepressants or other psych medications are safe and effective isn't nearly as cut-and-dried as it appears; many of the studies were for very short terms, were severely flawed (usually intentionally), used non-representative populations (i.e., very mildly depressed people for a drug aimed at severely depressed people), or have other severe methodological shortcomings. The drug companies have done all sorts of shady shit to get the drugs approved. While there may be some value to some medications, I get really annoyed when people falsely represent that the quality of the studies done on most of the mood-altering drugs implies that they can be reliably counted on, because that's just BS. The entire FDA process is so flawed and politicized, as is much of the peer review process, that it's a joke. Take a look at how many drugs the FDA has approved that have subsequently been pulled for various reasons to get some idea... and then compare that with the number of nutritional supplements that have been pulled for safety issues. So let's not go trashing safe, nontoxic solutions as alternatives to immensely complex, patented medications with lists of side effects 10 million miles long. It's true the supplements are generally not as rigorously tested, but that's because there aren't drug companies interested in keeping people on these supplements for a lifetime, since the supplements cannot be patented... and also because, with few exceptions, the safety of nutritional supplements, even in relatively high doses, is generally far, far greater than almost *any* of the prescription materials. And...let's also not get too off-topic from the OP's original question, please.
Most of the information in this thread is correct. The primary problem with anti-depressants (SSRIs, in particular) is that they were never studied in teenagers during the approval process. The initial recommendations were that they should only be prescribed for adults. Somehow, they have become one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for teenagers. For short term therapy, SSRIs work well for most people. However, in teenagers they can have some very serious side effects. Worsening of depression is one of them. Suicidal thought and compulsive behavior is another. Sexual side effects (like inability to come) is a complaint for teenage guys - some studies say up to 50% of males will have some sort of sexual complaint. When it comes to anti-depressants and anxiety, a good number of people complain that the drugs make the anxiety worse, so they're given a drug like Xanax to treat the anxiety caused by their Zoloft, for example. My complaint about SSRIs is that they are used as first line therapy. Insurance companies will pay for anti-depressants but they won't pay for therapy. For someone who has anxiety, it's far too easy to medicate the symptom instead of dealing with the underlying cause and trying to help the person "relearn" how to deal with anxiety. If your doctor prescribed meds for short-term symptom relief but you're in therapy to help you deal with your anxiety, that's fine. You may have to try a few different meds to find the one that has the least amount of side effects. But I emphasize the word "short-term" because medication is not the best way long-term to deal with anxiety.
Thankyou for all the information. It was very interesting. As for maybe changing the medication.. First problem is that I have already tried nearly everything out there, and they all have pretty bad side effects for me personally. I've always reacted strongly to any kind of medicine (give me an aspirin and I'm pretty much numb), and the same was the case with basically any kind of medication I was on for my anxiety. This one was the only one that worked without side effects for me. It's a bummer that out of nowhere it's turning out to be the worse so far Second problem is I'm in the US right now at least until December, and my doctor who prescribed it to me is in Holland. I do have a therapist here, but I don't think he can prescribe anything, plus my doctor wants to discuss everything with me before he makes any changes. It's all quite a hassle... But like I said, even if I could change the meds, I'm extremely hesitant about trying anything new because of the way I usually react to them. At least I'm glad to read it's not uncommon for me to be feeling this way, and I guess, especially after reading all of your responses, that means I'm just gonna have to try without them. Already been thinking about that.. At the very least I found a therapist I kinda like and get along with, so that should help. Also thanks Mogget for your suggestions; I will work on good nutrition and a sleep schedule, as those are pretty crappy right now.
I am no doctor but I am a pretty strong believer that antidepressants dont address the problem and are prescribed far too readily. I am sure they can help in extreme sitautions and probably do save lives but there doesnt seem to be a strict enough 'safety net' to make sure people dont get dependant on them and so therefore do not actually correct what is in their life that might be making them depressed or anxious in the first place.
It's certainly problematic when people take psychiatric medications in lieu of therapy, but antidepressants (unlike sleep and anti-anxiety medications) are not addictive.
Zoloft made me go from "mostly okay" to "I want to kill myself". I have refused to touch another anti-depressant since then.
:surprised That is exactly what I mean! I'm on Zoloft. Thankyou for sharing that, I thought it was impossible to go from one end to the other in such a short amount of time, but apparently I'm not the only one. Scaring the shit out of me.
I'm on Zoloft and it is the first truly effective anti-depressant I've been on and with the least side effects. I was only Abilify and it caused severe anxiety which I don't ordinarily have. I'm the opposite of you, I take the meds for depression. Anyways, it is important that you talk to your doctor or find a psychiatrist in the us. You need constant checkups when taking psychiatric drugs because the can be dangerous and everyone reacts differently. It took my about two years to get a combo that worked for me and five psychiatrists. The last two actually lowered my dosage. A lot of the time doctors start people off with too high a dosage and then just increase it when it doesn't work. Apparently, a very small dosage can actually be more effective and is less likely to cause side effects.
It took me years as well to find something that worked without side effects, and it has helped me through a lot. My dosage is the same as it has always been. It just has a completely different effect now than it had before. I'm gonna talk about it with my doctor, indeed.
I used to take Seroxat for the social anxiety and for the first two weeks I felt awful. Aside from expected side effects (like insomnia and low libido) I became really depressed - I wouldn't get up for a whole day because I felt totally useless. The most scary part about the whole thing were rather weird suicidal thoughts - I didn't actually want to hurt myself, but whenever I looked at something that could be used for that I imagined myself doing it. And it felt like those weren't really my own thoughts. But I was 19 then and Seroxat shouldn't be prescribed to kids because it's known for making them suicidal. The point is, it ended after those two weeks and I felt good. But now I feel really stupid for not telling my shrink right away.
Two out of three antidepressants I've tried have made me more depressed then I was to begin with. I was never suicidal before I was on zoloft, but I had a suicide attempt a few months after starting that medication. Celexa even worse. Antidepressants can have adverse effects sometimes, and if they do, consult with your doctor.
