Has anyone tried antidepressents? My doctor gave me Mirtrazapine to help even me out.,I havent taken it. My husband doeant want me to,and I,am worries aboit being hooked on something. The medicine is supposed to make you sleepy.
I started taking Prozac 5 years ago after a lifetime of high level anxiety and low levely depression. They were a wonder drug for me and helped so much that they basically changed my life.
This is fairly rare and lots of people have lots of issues with psychiatric drugs but I can only share my own experience of them. As far as being hooked goes - i dont know much about tetracylic antidepressants like the one you mentioned but Prozac is an SSRI so not narcotic.
This means it doesnt give the user a high or anything like that so it is, as far as i know, not possible to get hooked on. In the same way heart medicine is not possible to get hooked on.
Important note: I am not a medical professional so take what I say with a boulder of salt.
I think this a deeply personal question. Are you otherwise also getting support to sort through whatâs dragging you down? A therapist, support group, recovery program for the substance related questions? Itâs a question I wouldnât face alone.
Ultimately itâs really between you, the doctor and whatever you believe in. Honesty is the most important thing there, I think. Speaking openly with the doctor about usage and how you feel. Using only as prescribed. Preferably touching base regularly with a trusted friend who can relate and knows your struggle.
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Iâve tried a number of different ones. A doctor will usually start you out on a starting dose that is on the low end of what is clinically effective, only increasing the dose when necessary. So on the chance youâre sensitive to it or have a bad reaction, thereâs not much of it in your system. Side effects, like sleepiness, also tend to be strongest at the beginning, some may go away entirely, and some may not. On the âgetting hookedâ aspect, I wouldnât worry about it. Itâs not addictive. Your body might get used to having the medication, and you might notice some minor effects if you come off of it, but not everyone experiences this, and it can be mitigated by coming off of it slowly. If/when you decide to come off the medication, your doctor can put you on a taper if you need.
I donât have an opinion on what you should decide, but whatever you decide to do, just keep your doctor in the loop. 
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As others have already said, it is highly dependent on the person and the situation. My personal anecdote is that I was self-medicating depression and anxiety with alcohol for many years. Addressing this properly required a few new tools, and that includes therapy and antidepressants.
It is not a silver bullet. But I donât see it as being âhookedâ on something any more than I would see a diabetic being âhookedâ on insulin. It is managing a medical condition that I tried (and failed) to self manage for decades.
Others might disagree, but that has been my experience, for what itâs worth. No matter what, you deserve to be OK.
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Im on mirtazapine 45mg its nothing to be scared off helps you sleep and shiukd start making you feel abit better within a couple of weeks
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This is incorrect, verging on dangerous misinformation. Please do not give false information as it is damaging to people that need help.
SSRIs cannot be taken on a âone as you need itâ basis. They build up in your body over the course of a few weeks so taking one whenever you think youre low enough to do so will have a placebo effect at most.
They are not narcotic so cannot be abused like xanax. The changes they make happen gradually over the course of weeks, not instantly or even within hours. It cannot be abused like a quick acting narcotic drug like xanax.
They can cause withdrawal symptoms if abrupty stopped but this is not because of an addiction, it is because of physiological changes that need to be weaned off of. You will not crave an antidepressant.
Please be more careful with your comments.
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My therapist said that the medicine can help this spiral that I am in. I am not working or functioning. I sit and stare or lay in bed. This is the wierdest feeling. Like a demon has entered my body. The shame, guilt, grief is tearing me,open
Just take it easy give the tablets a go if they dont work you can always go back to the doc and change meds i was the same couldnt face getting out of bed or leaving my house but meds can just give you the extra boost but obviously alot has to come from yourself the mirtazapine will just balance you out and slow your thinking down a little bit id suggest councelling whilst taking the tablets aswell
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That sounds very difficult. Im sorry youre going through this. Medicine can help clear the fog a bit so that other treatments like therapy can start to help. Just remember that the first month or so on new meds can be weird - i had dry mouth with a weird taste, trouble sleeping, increased anxiety. But after that it got much better very quickly.
Be open and honest with your doctor, and follow his/her instructions. If you still have concerns, a 2nd opinion is always a great avenue.
I am not a psychiatrist, but I do have some degrees in pyschology. The danger with taking meds like this whenever you feel like you need it, is that you can get yourself going between highs and lows pretty easy. It also hinders further dosage of any other meds a doctor might give you in the future. The other issueâŚlets face it we are alcoholics and addictsâŚtaking it when we think we need it could result in overuse.
Well then maybe you should watch your own misleading info as xannax is NOT a narcotic it is a Benzo.
Never ever ever go on antidepressants. I tried them all. I was hooked on them for years. I could not get off them. Made me gain a TON of weight and turned me into a person who I did not like. I finally got off them after years of trying. Best antidepressant is excercise (150 minutes a week), sleep and meditation. Try a holistic supplement plan if anything. Just my advice and experience
Doctors prescribe prescribe and prescribe. Its a $$$$$$$ industry. Psychiatrists treat you as a number to reach their quota. No one tells you the harm they can do and the severe addictiveness and negative effect of medication. And when you want to come off them they donât know where to start and each doctor will tell you something different. What a bullshit industry.
I was always skeptical about taking antidepressants to help with depression. For me they made a huge difference. I take Lexapro (SSRI) and can say itâs helped enormously to get my depression under control. Over time and with treatment, I hope to stop eventually. But for now its worth the minimal side effects I experience.
There are withdrawal symtoms with this medication when it stops being taken, but these can be managed with the help of a therapist. Depression and anxiety medications can be extremely effective if taken properly.
Like others have said, talk frankly and openly with a mental health professional, and see what is best for you. Maybe talk with a couple different therapists to get different opinions.
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I am on escitalopram mainly for anxiety but I also suffer with depression. Iâve been on and off of it for the past 2 years but a month ago my anxiety had gotten to a point where I couldnât function normally so I started back on meds. I had the typical side effects at first - insomnia, drowsiness, shakiness, emotional numbness, decreased libido, and no appetite but they all pretty much went away now. I can actually function at work now and I donât feel depressed and withdrawn all the time. SSRIs have been a game changer for me (and also reduced my alcohol intake since Iâm not drinking to feel less anxious now!).
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I take 30mg mirtazipine at night. It helps my insomnia. It also increases my appetite so I gained a significant amount of weight which for me wasnât a problem because my anxiety and depression makes me not eat and be really malnourished.
Itâs actually one of the safer, if not safest antidepressants. Itâs not an SSRI itâs in a class of its own.
THAT BEING SAID⌠In hindsight I wish I tried to battle it the holistic route. Because once your in the game itâs hard to get out. Look into accupuncture and herbal supplements. Iâve done so much research on it I have the perfect regimen I would do naturally but unfortunately I wouldnât be able to keep up with it price wise because Iâm poor and my insurance covers my meds now which just feels even more evil because it feels like they donât want me to stop or try to do it the natural way. Maybe one dayâŚ
Acudetox (acupuncture for your ears) was so helpful to me.
Benzo and narcotic are not mutially exclusive. This is exactly what i am talking about. Please be careful of your posts on these matters because you are wrong and it can be dangerous. Antidepressants help millions of people.
Narcotic
noun
an addictive drug affecting mood or behaviour, especially an illegal one.
Basically narcotics get you high in some noticeable way (like benzos) which is why they are addictive. And regardless of the semantics of the word narcotic, the result is exactly the same: Antidepressants do not get you high and are not addictive. Benzos do get you high and are highly addictive. Any comparison on that basis is incorrect.
As others have said you cannot just come straight off antidepressants but this is not because they are addictive. You also have to wean yourself off of other non narcotic prescription drugs if you take them for any lenght of time to stop various unwanted withdrawl symptoms - prescription steroids being another example.
Iâm not meaning to go off on you and I hope you dont feel I have but antidepressants can be literal life savers if used correctly, so it is important for the correct information to be out there.
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Mine were a life saver, my sister and I are both on Cipralex and itâs been life changing for both of us. I donât have any side effects (they lasted a week) and I have gone off of them before with no withdrawal. Do whatâs right for you, your husband isnât the one whoâs supposed to take them so he should support you in whatever your decision is.
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