To cut a long story short i have been given a list of meds to look into by my psychiatrist by my next session so we can discuss it more (read 'discuss' as him trying to convince me i need to be on meds and me trying to convince him that i really have thought it through and i have relevant reasons not to be on them).
So yeah, the list is below, let me know how they worked for you, what side effects they had and how they are long term vs short term... Especially mention is they worsened SH, ED behaviours or suicidal ideation in you because it was being on meds before that triggered the actual action of SH in me.
I was on citalopram and found it did nothing for me. I don't have ED behaviours so can't comment on that but I found it didn't worsen my SH or suicidal feelings. But it didn't help them either.
I take lamotrigine now and have found it evens out my moods pretty well (I have borderline personality disorder) I've found it doesn't worsen my SH or suicidal feelings.
But that's my personal experience and every one is different, responds differently, finds different medications to be effective etc etc.
Sertraline - Didint help me much and made my hands shake like a crazy so i eventually stopped taking them.
Citalopram - This was the first medication i was on.. other than it giving me dirrhoea for some time, i didnt have any side effects. It didnt help me much either though so it was replaced.
Lamotrigine - this I was on for about a year and it helped quite well at stabilizing my mood. The combination of meds i got then, also made me throw up every day though so i had to come off it.
Thats the ones on your list, that I've been on and my experiences. I hope it of any use.
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I've taken escitalopram, citalopram & lamotrigine (with the escitalopram). Didn't help, but apart from feeling tired all the time and suppressing my appetite, I didn't have bad side effects either. They help a lot of people so are worth a try.
I am now on venlafaxine which is helping a huge amount - I always tried to avoid meds but now I've found one that works I wish I'd been more open to it earlier.
Medications react different for every person, what works for some will react badly to another. The reported side-effects of these drugs can be found on the patient information leaflet, which will also be available online.
Individual experiences of drugs are pretty pointless when making your own decision about taking it or not.
sertraline did wonders for me on a high dose after about 6 weeks, but it only lasted 4 months. Went on it again a year later and the exact same thing happened. I guess everyone is different in their brain chemistry so will be affected differently by each of these meds... anyways thats my experience of these
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Claire - i have read up on them on their websites etc which has given me a bit of insight, i just wanted some personal opinions too. Especially as i am terrified they will act on suicidal ideation, i know they have a black box warning but i wanted to know from people's experiences just how much these warnings are put up there so that people can cover their own asses...
The only med here that I've been on long enough to comment on is Sertraline. I don't find that it makes a mahoosive difference to my mental health, but it does help a bit. I'm on 200mg. I was having suicidal thoughts before I was put on it but I don't feel these worsened when I was on it. You're right to express your concerns to your doctor - maybe you can come up with a plan together to check in with him more regularly when you start out on it - maybe a phonecall each week? Or to have more frequent appointments with a mental health worker, your GP or access to the crisis team to make sure things don't deteriorate without anyone knowing. It can be reassuring to have a contingency plan.
I'm not on Quetiapine but am on another antipsychotic, which has made a huge difference, both to my mood and psychotic symptoms.
My biggest problem is that i live at uni so all the support i have right now will end when i finish exams mid may and either go back to the other side of the country for 17 weeks or maybe even to another country... so its hardly an ideal time...
Escitalopram - believe this is the z-isomer of citalopram so im assuming its a bit the same. not been on it.
Sertraline - gives me tremmors. Lost loads of weight on it. find it pretty pointless.
Citalopram - same as sertraline
Agomelatine - never heard of
Lamotrigine - was alright. at 250mg felt rather zombied but 150mg was okay. Due to noncomplience / forgetfullness, they say im a too high risk for steven johnsons syndrome so cant take.
Quetiapine (low dose) - argh i hated this. Withdrawl was awful. I have never felt so tired in all my life. All i thought about is where I could fit 10 minutes nap in somewhere.
All in all ... probabaly escitalopram or lamotrigine, however, tis ultimately a choice between you and psych only. x
With the Escitalopram I didn't find it helped, but I don't know whether that was because I was so far gone by the time I started on it, if that makes sense. In fact, it might have made the situation slightly worse self harm wise. I was suffering from Bulimia at the time I started on it and I don't remember it making much difference to those behaviours.
I have been on Quetiapine a few times. In my experience it makes you really tired at first, so if sleep is a problem for you it could be worth a shot. My dose of it was pretty high though, so you might not have that problem. It did help with the self harm quite a bit. I found that I often felt a compulsion to self harm, and it helped with the intrusive thoughts I was having, which were commanding me to act on the compulsion. Also, I know it is meant to increase appetite, but I did not find that a problem, because I am Bulimic and hence don't eat when I am hungry so much as when I am anxious/ depressed..... well whenever I feel the need to binge, and it didn't make that any worse.
I guess everyone is different though. Anyway, I hope whatever you do decide works for you.
I am taking Agomelatine currently and have had no apppreciable side effects and it has definitely eased my depression. For me, it has been really effective but I'm sure it's been mentioned earlier in the thread that people can be effected by medication in different ways.
Yes, it varies for everyone and there is a list of possible side effects, but I also find it reassuring to hear other people's experiences - after all, once you've read the list of side effects it sounds as if no-one could ever survive them!
I think a lot of people (myself included) resist taking meds because that's part of the illness, so hearing that meds can help is also useful.
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