Health Forums

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 7:17pm | IP Logged

  This is all new to me. Following problems at work I was signed off with stress for 2 weeks. Went back to drs today and have been signed off for a further month and been perscribed sertraline. I have started taking it today but am scared of what it is going to do to do. I feel totally out of control anyway. Also I have worries over anti depressants as my mum became addicted to them and landed up in a psyciatric hospital when I was a teenager. I know this isn't likely to happen nowadays but the worry is still there.

   Dh doesn't seem very keen on me taking them but to be honest he won't accept the fact that i am suffering from depression keeps telling me I have a bug so he won't discuss my anxieties with me so feeling pretty lonely as well as useless.

   Sorry this is very much a negative post, finding it hard to find positives at the moment.

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 7:24pm | IP Logged

I have taken sertraline on 3 seperate occassions. My mum is also on them.

When I was 16 my mum attempted suicide. She was on prozac at the time. When I was diagnosed with depression at 18 I was really scared of taking them. I tried a few different ones and settled on sertraline eventually and I have been really happy on it (as happy as you are with anti ds).

Taking anti ds is tough, but it is a step towards getting better. Remember depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain and the anti ds fix that. Your doc will monitor you closely so you wont become addicted.

Anti ds do cause some side effects in the first few days so you may feel a little odd but bear with it and it will settle. You may find it takes a while (up to 6 weeks) for them to work, but stick at it. You will get there hun.

Hugs x

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 7:27pm | IP Logged

aww im so sorry to read this post,it must be so awful having to cope with depression feeling you have no support from your dp but im sure he means no upset,i think a lot of men struggle to understand such things,i too have just been prescribed anti d's and my new fella wasnt keen on me taking them but ive talked to him about all my feelings and how i have good days and bad days and that i know i should be bhappy but just cant turn my feelings off and that im willing to give anything a try if it might help.

i really hope the anti d's help soon hun and you can start feeling more positive...we are all here if you need to chat xxx

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 7:36pm | IP Logged

Aww Nicky, huge massive hugs hunny.  I understand your worries about the side effects ect.  Things have moved on quite a bit so the likelyhood of you getting addicted shouldnt happen as the doc will wean you off them when s/he thinks the time is right.

Ive been on Fluoxetine pretty much since Lewis was born, however, cured from my PND, I take them because I still get really down when I have bad days with my condition.

Don't forget that we are here for you Nicky, I can understand how lonely you feel, but we are here hunny xxxx

Hope the anti d's kick in soon and the fog starts to lift for you hunny xxxxx

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 7:39pm | IP Logged

  Thanks for listening. It makes me feel as though I am not totally alone.

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 8:56pm | IP Logged

Aww babe you are not alone so please don't ever think that you are.

I'm sure that was the one i also went on when i suffered from Pnd but i was depressed before to so wasn't really helping myself.

After a few months of being on these i was feeling so much better. I didn't have any side effects other than my appetite came back with avengence but it didn't really matter i was happy again...

Good luck babe and you know where we are if you need to chat. xxx

Posted: 22 January 2008 at 9:11pm | IP Logged

Awww hugs hun.... it's a hard topic to face and admit..... taking anti d's for some reason has a stigma attatched to it and like Madz said it's to balance the chemicals in the brain which where it's all muddled..... (ok my words not her's....lol)....

It's a shame your dp isn't being very supportive but i have found men in general and nothing personal meant to any members, but they do tend to have a attitude of work, money, etc and health issues such as depression, anxiety, fears etc don't come into an equation which they don't understand any struggle to grasp.

I'd say try them anything's worth a shot to give you a helping hand to see a glimmer of light... but i would just like to say you are not Useless! Please post away hun and if you need privacy but feel you need someone to confine in the buddy system is there.

Give it time it takes ages....and then one day you suddenly realise that the muggy feeling has gone..... take care hun and hugs xxx

Posted: 23 January 2008 at 8:55pm | IP Logged

I know exactly how you feel..I am taking Sertraline and have been for about - erm about 5 months or so I think - they took about 5-6 weeks to work for me but they really have worked wonders for me - I too am worried about becoming addicted as I missed 2 days worth and I felt dreadful but the doctor said that when you come off them, you do it really slowly so that doesn't happen and if you do have the symptoms again, you just go back on them - my doc said that she wants me feeling "normal" for 6 months before even considering coming off them.. 

quite honestly, I think that if they make me feel better I try not to worry about what will happen when I have to try and stop taking them..

I do hope you feel better soon, xx

Posted: 23 January 2008 at 10:05pm | IP Logged

I was on Setraline for a number of years and found it really helpful.  I didn't have any side affects when I came off of it and haven't had a relapse of depression since coming off of it either.  I had suffered depresion on and off since I was 13 up until I was about 31.  I had been on lots of other medications at different times for example Prozac.  My dr at the time prescribed me setraline and told me not to even think about how long I would need to take it but to take it and feel better and only after having felt better for at least 6mnths to a year could I consider stopping it.  A number of things changed in my life during the time of taking it but I don't think I would feel as well as I have done since stopping if I had never had it.  I suffered PND very badly with both my girls but didn't have it at all after stopping Setraline and then having Ollie.

Everyone is different and some drugs work better on others, it can take a bit of trial and error with the dose and the medication so if you don't like it or feel you have side affects from it go back to your gp there are lots of other things they can try.

One thing to remember throughout depression that can be very hard to believe is "You will get better".