Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

..are taking anti depressants since you emigrated?

I was just scrolling through and was shocked to read someone in OZ is having to take Anti Dees to get through her days, she's so desperate to go back home but can't...awww now that is heartbreaking.:(

It got me wondering if it's something that's happening to more people!

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I've taken anti-depressants since around 1995. Not to deal with homesickness, though.

It really helped me a lot, just to deal with normal life. It doesn't *numb* you (as some people I talked to thought); and it doesn't make you "high." For me, it just made me better able to cope. It made a tremendous and positive difference to my life.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Oh sarah, thanx for sharing. I know there's lots of reasons for people to be taking anti depressants on a regular/long term basis, but I was just so saddened to realise how a dream can turn into the kind of nightmare that needs medication. Just very sad :(

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I do agree. If being in another country is the reason for starting on antidepressants, then it's probably wise to think about moving back. At the same time, change of any kind can be hard to handle, and perhaps short-term medication can get someone over the hump.

I did the same thing with quitting smoking last year (almost a year smoke free!). I knew I wasn't mentally in the right place to quit on my own, so I took Chantix, and it worked like a charm.

Sarah

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Oh well done you on the smoking front, but please tell me what is chantix?

I have tried everything and just can't stay without for any length of time.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Chantix is fairly new, and it's not for everyone! It provides dopamine to the brain, thus satisfying the cravings of cigarette smoking (I know that's a bit of a simplistic explanation!). It is known as Champix in the UK.

You start off at a low dose and gradually build up. The first week or two weeks, you just keep smoking as usual, and you set a quit date. If you fail to quit on the quit date, no worries, just set another one . . . You register online with the drug company and they have exercises and stuff for you to do to help you get mentally prepared for quitting.

Like I said, it worked really well for me, but I know other people who had bad reactions to it. I actually have had a couple of smokes in the last year, but I haven't completely relapsed.

See www.chantix.com for some information.

But,

"In November 2007, the FDA announced it had received post-marketing reports that patients using Chantix for smoking cessation had experienced several serious symptoms, including suicidal ideation and occasional suicidal behavior, erratic behavior, and drowsiness. On February 1, 2008 the FDA issued an Alert to further clarify its findings, noting that "it appears increasingly likely that there is an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms." It is unknown whether the psychiatric symptoms are related to the drug or to nicotine withdrawal symptoms, although not all patients had stopped smoking. FDA is aware of the highly-publicized case of Carter Albrecht who was shot to death by his neighbour after, in the apparent state of delirium, hitting his girlfriend and trying to force the entry in the neighbor's house. Although in this case the delirium appeared to be caused by taking varenicline with a high dose of alcohol, FDA asked Pfizer for additional cases that might be similar. The FDA also recommended that health care professionals and patients watch for behavioral and mood changes."

I'm sure there are plenty of other web sites that will give you pros and cons.

BTW, I had smoked for about 30 years, with a 6-year break from about 1997-2003, when I started up again.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Oh I will definitely look into this more, you sound excatly the same as me, I too stopped for 5 years, but sadly ...actually the worst thing I ever did,..started again, and now it seems to get harder & harder to stop and I've tried everything affordable.

One of the biggest incentives in the UK to stop of course (apart from health reasons) is the price of Cigarettes, I think around 6 quid a packet or 50 odd a carton currently. Here in Spain I don't have that incentive as a whole carton of 200 costs the equivelant of 15 quid.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I now have to take anti-anxiety meds in order that I can go out without having panic attacks & collapsing in a sobbing heap in public. If I miss them I'm a mess. Also prescribed something called Paxil but read about the hideous side effects and don't dare take it! I had Prozac before which screwed me up for a year after coming off. I've always been a nervous type but this move has made me even barmier! (got to have a laugh hey)

Trouble is it's a vicious circle as I would like to work to keep myself occupied but cant go to interviews or on public transport in my current state aargh!

Big hugs to everyone else in the same boat!

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

No, have fortunately managed to keep off the antidepressants - came very close once though! For me, getting myself out of the toxic cesspit that was my workplace has wrought miracles and even though the homesickness is underlying everything it isnt stopping me from leading a reasonable life. Last year though when I got back from a wonderful month in UK on the Saturday and was faced with going back to work on the Monday, I couldnt stop crying once DH asked me how I was feeling. I went to the doctor who took one look at me blubbering in her office and promptly gave me 6 weeks off work and I had "retired" (read "quit in disgust") after the first week of sick leave. I now exercise more (but not enough) and that has helped but I never never never want to go back to the utter despair of those crying days ever again. I was offered a job while having coffee with an ex colleague and now have a 15 hour a week job (yeah, right!!!) doing something that I quite enjoy for an organization which is treating me well.

If it were just the being in the wrong place that made me feel as bereft as that, I wouldnt be bothering with antidepressants, I would be on a plane home and divorcing the husband of 35 years. Fortunately it hasnt come to that and my sympathies to anyone for whom it is that bad!

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I started taking Cipramil after a year of being here. I took them for two years just to keep me level and able to cope with every day life.

It was a combination of events that lead to me to doctors, the main one being my darling OH who just didn't know how to help me. I remember having to write down a list of the things I felt before I went to the quacks because I knew I wouldn't be able to tell her for crying so much :(

It is the only time in my life I can honestly understand fully why desperate people end their own lives. The only thing that prevented me from seriously contemplating it was the thought of leaving my kids.

Thankfully, through the happy tablets, a lot of talking and soul searching, I am now fully back to working order and very focused, determined and maybe even a little more selfish. The need to put me first in order to be able to be a good mum and wife is very strong indeed.:thumbup:

Oh, and I gave up smoking too. I just read Alan Carr's book "The Easy Way" it's all in the mind, trust me ;)

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I've heard about this book and other people who have quit smoking after reading it -- or even before they got to the end! I haven't read it myself.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I gave up smoking cold turkey 4 1/2 years ago on New Years Day. My method was overkill in that I smoked so many cigarettes on New Years Eve (about 60 urgh) that I couldn't even look at a fag the next day or for days after. Seemed to do the trick. Husband gave up too at the same time-I don't think it's possible to give up if another person in the household is still fagging away

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

No pills for me I'm glad to say.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Jools I wish you lived in Qld, I think we would really get along! :D

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Yes I think you may be right!:D BTW did you post a message in support of Fern Britton on Daily Mail website the other day?

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Yes I went on the Prozac within about 6 months of being here due to living with mother in law (former nurse & kindy teacher so of course knew EVERYTHING lol) for 10 months with our two little ones. Ex husband was out of work for 7 of those months. It was hell on earth and we split up about six months after moving out; the relationship was not strong enough to survive the whole emigration process.

Now, 8 years later, after much resistance have finally succumbed to another bout of anti depressants (Zoloft) as I had been getting bad bouts of depression for the past few years over the inability to go home (more a feeling of being trapped against my wishes than anything I think). I am on a very low dose but I do feel less despair than I did before and moods definitely more even. My Dr (lovely lady) also referred me to a shrink to try and get my head around another 8 years or so stuck in Redneckland.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

:eek: Um no :o:o

Ok, yes :lol: you got me sussed!!! :p

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

:rofl:heheheh you've been rumbled!

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Why what has happened to Fern?

PS JoolsB - Prozac can be really difficult for some individuals with both anxiety and depression as it can heighten anxiety to hanging off the ceiling stage. (Me, Sydney 2004 - what fun)! I have tried Lexapro and thought that this was much much better in normalising depression with anxiety. All of these drugs are so indivualistic in their outcomes as you would expect and what works for someone will not be right for someone else.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Hi BB-not you as well (we should all start a club!). Thats the annoying thing-you never know which ones are going to turn you into a raving looney & which might do the trick.

Have you not heard the UK's most shocking news-that Fern's fat loss was die to gastric banding and not her consumption of Ryvita minis!!??

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Fern - who cares. Lovely lass whether fat or skinny or somewhere in between.

Quite a few in here have had some success with Paxil and some on Lexapro, Prozac sometimes more hit and miss but who knows.....I think that is the fear, which ones will be okay for the job in hand and which are just not what you need right now.

What works for some, can be quite hideous for another.

Go see someone, take a second opinion too.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

This made me sad!

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

So true, I started on Effexor but after one dose I came off as it felt sooo speedy and it's one of the hardest to get off.

Been on Prozac before too which I found pretty good. However, I recommended it to my mum when she was a bit depressed (madness runs in the family you see :p) and she had a really bad reaction to it - suicidal and ended up having to admit herself to a mental hospital for a week having had a breakdown. I'm don't know if it was totally the prozac but it did seem to make her an awful lot worse.

wow, can't believe we're all on happy pills LOL! :eek:

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

i'm off them now. I found that taking Lexapro was extremely useful but it is linked to compulsive consumption. Found that I drinking beer and wine like a fish. Now no Lexapro and a much reduced alcohol intake is making me better than I have been in years.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Thanks BB.

I do have a lot to be thankful for though: two healthy happy kids, a fabulous, supportive partner, nice house, car, I'm studying which I have wanted to do for years and don't have a lot of stress on my plate anymore. I'm lucky enough to get back to UK every couple of years. I sometimes just get in the "I hate it here and I hate being trapped, woe is me" mindset and find it difficult to get out again.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Good on you! Have cut right back on the booze myself as no point taking the anti-ds when alcohol is such a depressant.

Pleased to hear you sounding much more settled these days. :)

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I understand.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Hi there everyone

Just to let you know that I am on the happy pills too. Had depression for years, on and off pills but when we emigrated it somehow became worse. After I went back to the UK for a holiday in 2003 it became worse still. I don't think the doctors could get the dose or tablets right for me as I kept having bad reactions to them and eventually after coming back last year I am seeing a Psychiatrist who has put me on a high dose of Prozac, also a dose of Roboxetine to give me some energy, also said that I suffered with panic and anxiety attacks (was wondering why I didn't want to go out in crowded places !) so put me on some extra pills for that. So with the Essential Tremor I have which is progressively getting worse and the tablets for that, I shake rattle and roll but wouldn't want it to be any other way. Feeling so much better but also realised that if I'd gone to a different doctor in Australia we probably would still be there but thats another story!

I have tried Efexor which gave me really bad side effects and felt like I was having a breakdown, but my daughter takes it without any problem and Prozac doesn't work on her. So obviously what works for one doesn't work for another.

All in all, if you need the pills keep taking them, and if your not feeling right either tell your doctor or go see another doctor.

Oh, depression runs in our family too but at least we are happy little soles now!:o

PLANTS

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Cipramil, I think that's Citalopram. I can't take that stuff, it makes me loony. I took it once and had to take an anti-psychotic to level me out again. :eek:

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I was on Prozac for about 10 years and then it just seemed to be innefective. I tried Zoloft, but it didn't seem to do the trick, and then I tried Effexor and it made me feel nauseated all the time so I gave up on that. Currently I'm not on anything and I'm doing ok, though there are times where I feel that I'm "flatlining." I feel nothing. Nothing disappoints me or upsets me, but I don't feel joy or excitement either. It's just blah.

I take Xanax for anxiety, but only when I fly.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I've been on them for 2.5 years now - every time I try and give up - I get the "wobblies" back!!!

Got to try and back off them now - can't be taking these things forever - and they do have side effects - something to do with making "night time activities" a little less enjoyabe - shall we say..........(trying to put it politely).

Sometimes I just think " God its so unfair - why do I have to take these bloody things - and for how much longer!!!"

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I can fully understand this as well. I've thought about it too - but not sure I'd actually carry it out.

Since living in Australia and suffering depression - I have often told my OH that I wished I was dead - at my very lowest point of course!!

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I have felt like that too and I can sympathise with how you must have felt but life does get better, honestly it does, and if remaining on the tablets makes you feel better then surely its worth it.

The "night time activities" you mentioned before I can understand too but in reality if I was off all my tablets I would be a raving nutcase mixed with a jibbering idiot so for me its a small price to pay to feel ok. Just have to get the sex drive back some other way! :o:o

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Well, I'm glad I asked the original question now, and thanks to all who've bared their soul, and not felt ashamed (because there's no shame attached of course) to let others know that they're not the only ones in the same situation.

I've never taken anti depressants, not that in my life I've not needed them at some points, but simply because I watched my mother destroy herself with them, so my choice not to go down that road. I totally realise that there are no other options for many, and I wish everyone peace and happiness with or without medication, and I'll leave this thread now for those of you who may want to use it as a bit of a sounding board.

Thank you all again.:thumbsup:

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

This is a good thread and one which is close to my heart just because of the stigma involved with by the wider community ,it is about time it was REALLY recognised .
It is a most dibilitating feeling and just getting out of bed can be a major up heavel at times .
In my case i think depression runs in the family because as i have got older some how its got worse ,i cant blame australia for it but certainly the stresses it has put on me personally it certainly has made the lows very very low indeed .
The only way i could deal with the stigma was to just think all the time of what the doctor said and that was you basically cant help it due to the serotonin imbalance in the brain ,you need to get your right side conected to the left side because at the moment you are just using the side of the brain that analyzes everthing.
To be honest i couldnt believe how much a little tablet can change my life ,all of a sudden i was creative and not analyzing everything to death,i was more positive too.
This has been my experience only and others obviously have differnt experiences depending on what mental illness it is .

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I was on effexor for 3 years.... coming off was a trip - but drug free for one year now and holding my own. the side effects of coming off of effexor is brain zats. you get a zipping sound thru your head at random times and hear things that aren't there.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

You have my heartfelt sympathy in coming off Efexor and the side effects you suffered. I was only on it for a month and that was way enough for me, never want to go on that one ever again but I can understand how it does help some people get over depression and thats all that matters ah

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

That's what I do. Coworkers comment on it. Tell me to just let it go . . .

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

I just saw this:

"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm."

In my case, at least, it seems pretty on target.

Re: Anti Depressants, how many of you
 

Oh yeah. I am guilty of that, analyzing things to death, have to have a complete answer/solution to everything from A-Z, its awful ah.

Plants