SSRI's |
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After 15 years of taking tri-cyclic antidepressants, visiting doctors, having therapy ... I was put onto a newer type of medication called SSRI's back in the 1990's - Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor.
6 months later I recovered.
Lots of people put off taking anti-depressants and try and fix themselves. This is absolutely fine, but you first really need to understand anxiety (see Understanding Anxiety and Resources for books and links) because if you don't then all the confusion can just make you stick further into this mess. But please don't avoid medication if you need it - its there for a reason, to help make you well and to give your body and mind a break. Lots of people have a fear of being labelled, or think they're weak if they resort to medication, but would you think the same if you had to take blood pressure pills or medication for diabetes, epilepsy or any other condition? I doubt it. There is medication for every ailment, and anxiety is no different. Its a medical condition just the same as any other.
SSRI's or Selective Serotonin Receptive Inhibitor ...... the medicine works by hanging onto the serotonin in your brain (our happy hormones / neurotransmitter) before being reabsorbed back into the brain, making us feel happier. Slowly with continued medication, my body returned to this 'normal' state once more.
SSRI's are no overnight fix. They're tough, and they take a long time to work. They don't work for everyone, but they do for the majority of people. There are many types of SSRI's and everyone is different. I took Citalopram 20mg. What suits one person doesn't mean it'll suit another and one dose will suit one person and not another too. If you find one doesn't suit you, then ask your doctor to change it. But ..... you MUST give your medication time to work - not just weeks, but months before you can decide if they need changing. You simply cannot tell until they've been given a chance to settle into your body.
Months might sound a long time ..... but please don't be disheartened by this. Some people recover quicker than others - again we're all different. Mark your recovery in months, not weeks. If you're told you should feel better in 4 weeks, treat that as 4 months. Remember - you can't hurry a good thing.
Before you take your medication, remember to read the Patient Information Leaflet that comes with it. Do not just stop taking the meds - see Coming off SSRI's.
Decide when you'll take your medication. I always took mine in the mornings - my stupid logic was that I'd get more benefit from the medication throughout the day, but in reality, it doesn't matter when you take it, though my doctor told me morning is better as its less disruptive to sleep. Again, everyone is different. Whatever time you decide to take it, stick to it rigidly.
Most people will experience side effects which can be quite unpleasant - these ease off in time. Some people experience worse side effects than others, and not everyone has the same. Some side effects can be increased anxiety, dry mouth, insomnia, headache, feeling of detachment, depression, itchy skin, sexual dysfunction and a whole host of others. You'll find a full list of them on the Patient Information Leaflet that came with your medication. These often start within the first few weeks. You can feel worse before it gets better. It's just side effects. Some people feel better in the first few days or weeks on these meds, but often this can be short lived and the side effects may follow. Having side effects doesn't mean you're sensitive to the meds - everyone experiences some degree of side effects. Its whether or not you can tolerate them for the first few weeks.
Increasing your dose is not the answer to stop the side effects. You simply have to wait and get through them and remember they're just side effects, however uncomfortable or scary they are - they will ease in time. Each dose increase will also give you the side effects all over again too, and again its just waiting for them to pass. If you find it's too uncomfortable you could reduce to a lower dose, easing yourself back up onto them slowly at a later time, but you must speak to your doctor about this.
After you've passed through the side effects you may start to feel better, or you may feel flat. Often when you begin feeling better, you may then find yourself feeling anxious and depressed again. This is normal. Again people often rush to their doctor and get their medication increased thinking they're ill again. You're not. This is normal and recovery often comes in patches/waves so you will be up and down for quite a while. You need to pass through this - an increase isn't always the answer. An increase in your medication often gives you side effects again plus you will probably arrive back at this same stage. Whatever dose you take, you will go through the up/down stage. You can't avoid it. Everyone needs different doses that's true, but you can't determine what suits you until you've given the dose you're on enough time to settle. For many weeks, or months, you may go through this process of feeling well followed by feeling ill again. This is the normal path for recovery as it often comes in patches. For the next few months your mood may be up and down - feeling good for days, weeks or even months, followed by days, weeks or even months feeling down (blips). You may feel well for months and months then suddenly be hit by a massive anxiety feeling right out of the blue. Just accept it as still part of recovery. This is all normal. You may feel really well but have anxiety every morning you wake up, only to find it may disappear as the day wears off and feel well by the evening again. This is how it happened for me. That early morning anxiety isn't always an indication to how the rest of your day will be.
Throughout recovery you will probably think negatively. That's normal. That's how your mind is at the moment. You won't believe you'll get better, you won't see any progress. As you begin to heal though, you'll begin to think in a more positive manner.
As you progress through recovery, the low times will get less in duration and less intense, whilst the good times will get stronger and last longer.
For me, when I started also waking without anxiety, I knew I had finally turned that last corner.
It took me around 3-4 months before I started feeling any benefit from the medication, then around the 6 month mark before I felt truly well and I continued to get better further after that. Some people get better quicker and for some people it takes longer.
During recovery there are some things that can help you too, as they helped me and other people I've helped too.
Exercise - Exercising is good because it releases endorphins, our feel good factor, and it helps to burn excess anxiety. You shouldn't rush about, exercising vigorously, madly trying to rid yourself of this illness, as again that'll add tension. Instead take a daily walk, take in the nature, the fresh air (though I doubt you'll take notice of them at first).
Health - Eat well and sleep well. Not so easy when you're feeling ill I know, but small mouthfuls, liquids that are nourishing are better than a bag of crisps and junk food. Your body is a machine and it needs good fuel ..... not sludge. Sleep can be difficult I know, but try and get to bed at a good time - your body needs it.
See the Anxiety page for Relaxing / Letting Go.
Continue with these whilst you wait for the medication to kick in. It really will help you.
I have been well since about 1996.
6 months later I recovered.
Lots of people put off taking anti-depressants and try and fix themselves. This is absolutely fine, but you first really need to understand anxiety (see Understanding Anxiety and Resources for books and links) because if you don't then all the confusion can just make you stick further into this mess. But please don't avoid medication if you need it - its there for a reason, to help make you well and to give your body and mind a break. Lots of people have a fear of being labelled, or think they're weak if they resort to medication, but would you think the same if you had to take blood pressure pills or medication for diabetes, epilepsy or any other condition? I doubt it. There is medication for every ailment, and anxiety is no different. Its a medical condition just the same as any other.
SSRI's or Selective Serotonin Receptive Inhibitor ...... the medicine works by hanging onto the serotonin in your brain (our happy hormones / neurotransmitter) before being reabsorbed back into the brain, making us feel happier. Slowly with continued medication, my body returned to this 'normal' state once more.
SSRI's are no overnight fix. They're tough, and they take a long time to work. They don't work for everyone, but they do for the majority of people. There are many types of SSRI's and everyone is different. I took Citalopram 20mg. What suits one person doesn't mean it'll suit another and one dose will suit one person and not another too. If you find one doesn't suit you, then ask your doctor to change it. But ..... you MUST give your medication time to work - not just weeks, but months before you can decide if they need changing. You simply cannot tell until they've been given a chance to settle into your body.
Months might sound a long time ..... but please don't be disheartened by this. Some people recover quicker than others - again we're all different. Mark your recovery in months, not weeks. If you're told you should feel better in 4 weeks, treat that as 4 months. Remember - you can't hurry a good thing.
Before you take your medication, remember to read the Patient Information Leaflet that comes with it. Do not just stop taking the meds - see Coming off SSRI's.
Decide when you'll take your medication. I always took mine in the mornings - my stupid logic was that I'd get more benefit from the medication throughout the day, but in reality, it doesn't matter when you take it, though my doctor told me morning is better as its less disruptive to sleep. Again, everyone is different. Whatever time you decide to take it, stick to it rigidly.
Most people will experience side effects which can be quite unpleasant - these ease off in time. Some people experience worse side effects than others, and not everyone has the same. Some side effects can be increased anxiety, dry mouth, insomnia, headache, feeling of detachment, depression, itchy skin, sexual dysfunction and a whole host of others. You'll find a full list of them on the Patient Information Leaflet that came with your medication. These often start within the first few weeks. You can feel worse before it gets better. It's just side effects. Some people feel better in the first few days or weeks on these meds, but often this can be short lived and the side effects may follow. Having side effects doesn't mean you're sensitive to the meds - everyone experiences some degree of side effects. Its whether or not you can tolerate them for the first few weeks.
Increasing your dose is not the answer to stop the side effects. You simply have to wait and get through them and remember they're just side effects, however uncomfortable or scary they are - they will ease in time. Each dose increase will also give you the side effects all over again too, and again its just waiting for them to pass. If you find it's too uncomfortable you could reduce to a lower dose, easing yourself back up onto them slowly at a later time, but you must speak to your doctor about this.
After you've passed through the side effects you may start to feel better, or you may feel flat. Often when you begin feeling better, you may then find yourself feeling anxious and depressed again. This is normal. Again people often rush to their doctor and get their medication increased thinking they're ill again. You're not. This is normal and recovery often comes in patches/waves so you will be up and down for quite a while. You need to pass through this - an increase isn't always the answer. An increase in your medication often gives you side effects again plus you will probably arrive back at this same stage. Whatever dose you take, you will go through the up/down stage. You can't avoid it. Everyone needs different doses that's true, but you can't determine what suits you until you've given the dose you're on enough time to settle. For many weeks, or months, you may go through this process of feeling well followed by feeling ill again. This is the normal path for recovery as it often comes in patches. For the next few months your mood may be up and down - feeling good for days, weeks or even months, followed by days, weeks or even months feeling down (blips). You may feel well for months and months then suddenly be hit by a massive anxiety feeling right out of the blue. Just accept it as still part of recovery. This is all normal. You may feel really well but have anxiety every morning you wake up, only to find it may disappear as the day wears off and feel well by the evening again. This is how it happened for me. That early morning anxiety isn't always an indication to how the rest of your day will be.
Throughout recovery you will probably think negatively. That's normal. That's how your mind is at the moment. You won't believe you'll get better, you won't see any progress. As you begin to heal though, you'll begin to think in a more positive manner.
As you progress through recovery, the low times will get less in duration and less intense, whilst the good times will get stronger and last longer.
For me, when I started also waking without anxiety, I knew I had finally turned that last corner.
It took me around 3-4 months before I started feeling any benefit from the medication, then around the 6 month mark before I felt truly well and I continued to get better further after that. Some people get better quicker and for some people it takes longer.
During recovery there are some things that can help you too, as they helped me and other people I've helped too.
Exercise - Exercising is good because it releases endorphins, our feel good factor, and it helps to burn excess anxiety. You shouldn't rush about, exercising vigorously, madly trying to rid yourself of this illness, as again that'll add tension. Instead take a daily walk, take in the nature, the fresh air (though I doubt you'll take notice of them at first).
Health - Eat well and sleep well. Not so easy when you're feeling ill I know, but small mouthfuls, liquids that are nourishing are better than a bag of crisps and junk food. Your body is a machine and it needs good fuel ..... not sludge. Sleep can be difficult I know, but try and get to bed at a good time - your body needs it.
See the Anxiety page for Relaxing / Letting Go.
Continue with these whilst you wait for the medication to kick in. It really will help you.
I have been well since about 1996.