Scared of meds

[Nick76]

A while back I had a course of cbt via a NHS txt message service and it would seem it kinder worked , however it would seem I have good days and bad , I suffer with depression and that comes with a side order of anxiety, all my family members have advised me to take antidepressants which I understand would be the way forward however I am literally petrified of taking medication mainly because of all the side effects, I'm told its common to feel worse before you feel better , I'm scared that if I feel any worse then I do I would end up taking my own life . Has anyone had a positive experience when first taking antidepressants. I would like to add I'm 43 with 3 kids two of them are under 6 and one is 15 but doesn't live with me and I'm happily married .

[Dolphin14]

Hi: so many people are afraid of meds, you certainly aren't alone. I've been on and off many meds. What I find is it takes me a couple days to adjust. So, I will typically start or stop a med on a weekend so I have the time to adjust. With young ones at home I wouldn't do it if you have big family plans. Sort of clear the schedule and have your husband around .ive never had horrendous side effects. But enough to want to stick close to home.

Also at your age hormones may be contributing to sine of this.

Whatever you decide to do hope you feel better soon.

[chbale]

Hi Nick76,

I suffer with similar issues to yourself and was very reluctant to take medication. A friend of mine was on a cocktail of all sorts of medication (for various issues) and it turned him into a zombie.

My GP suggested medication for me which I eventually agreed to. I was on Sertraline for a year which helped but didn't do a great deal for me after a while. I was switched to Citalopram.

When starting both medications after about a week I had side effects. Mainly it was tiredness and some nausea. For both that lasted about 10 days. It wasn't particularly pleasant but it did clear up over that time. My GP told me that you have to give the medication at least a month to see any positive effect. I have to say that my condition didn't worsen when I started taking them and certainly improved over a number of weeks.

I fully understand you concerns. I'm in no way medically trained so wouldn't offer specific advice. Speak to your GP about your concerns maybe they could start you on a low dose to minimise any side effects and increase dosage over time - I'm sure you won't be the first patient they've seen with similar worries.

I hope things work out for you. If you need to speak to somebody anonymously about concerns or just to get something off of your chest try the MIND helpline, They are fantastic and might be able to point you towards any services local to you.

All the best

[Russty]

Hi Nick

I have taken citalopram before. I had very high anxiety at the time and straight away in a couple of days my very high anxiety symptons massively reduced. If u read the internet or the instructions it can scare you to take them. I woke up in a cold sweat first few nights then that side effect completely dissapeared .it takes a few days for your body to adjust and a few weeks perhaps for your mood to change. What citalopram did with me straight away was reduce my anxiety so i could start to function as a person again and get some sleep. Everyones different. Dont be afraid of side effects its really important to stick with it for a few weeks as side effects subside over time, and definitely do NOT SKIP any days, if u forget thats different. My mood did change for the better , its important to remember though that the best way to get out of depression anxiety is to seek professional advice 1 to 1 , self help groups ,try meetup website and type anxiety and depression there are lots of cheap freeish self help groups. Cbt is good . Medication and doing the cbt etc is a more successful combo. Alot of depression is challenging your behaviours thoughts and beliefs which can take a long gradual time , thats why its great to have professional help etc as its much easier to see things from different perspective. It took me years to pluck up courage (anxiety) but I was lucky to go through priory for depression and anxiety and the skills of professionals makes huge difference. Did social anxiety classes which were great etc . Petrified comes under Anxiety symptons , try them and hopefully they will work out well for you ,if not at least you tried, dont forget to liase with gp and other proffessionals while taking them. Just a a quick few of my thoughts good luck