I've been subscribed citalopram. From what I understand it's a low-risk anti-depressant, of a new generation of SSRIs with fewer side effects. This'll be my first time taking a drug that'll have such a long-term effect on my brain chemistry.
Can anyone offer me any experiences of using it, or is there anything people here think I should know before trying it?
However, this can result in you being down all the time. When I was given them, I was having mostly bad days, with some good ones. After a few weeks, I was constantly down, but stable.
I never had a good day on them. However, I never had a shit one where I wanted to kill myself on them. I did get sectioned while on them though, because I wasn't eating. I just didn't see the point in anything.
They put me on Mirtazipine after that and I started to improve, because it encourages your appetite.
Side effects I noticed where reduced sex drive and not feeling anything when I orgasmed. It was a really disconcerting time for me. It also made my piss green, at least I think it was that, for a couple of days.
>>6246 So it basically lobotomises you, makes you docile? Wow. If there's one thing I've learnt it's that you can't have ups without downs, good days only seem good compared to the bad ones.
Antidepressants are best in high doses over very short timeframes.
Taking inordinate amounts of AMT over a weekend did more for sorting out my depression than any prescription drugs ever has. As a bonus you get night vision, fractals everywhere and the ability to understand Dali paintings.
In essence, we have no idea how SSRIs work and we're not entirely sure that they do work. The sum of our understanding of these drugs is essentially what is stated in the name - we know that they enhance the uptake rate of serotonin, but that's about it. We don't really understand what role serotonin plays in the chemistry of the brain, nor do we have any clear idea of what raising or lowering serotonin levels does. A drug called Tianeptine [1] is an SSRE, which has exactly the opposite effect of an SSRI (increasing rather than reducing the rate of serotonin reuptake) but is still approved as an anti-depressant. The whole thing is a bloody mystery.
There is a large body of research on SSRIs, but it is heavily coloured by the misconduct of drug companies, who use selective publication to make their drugs look more effective than they really are. Looking at the data as a whole [2], it appears that antidepressants are either marginally effective or ineffective at treating mild to moderate depression and somewhat effective in treating severe depression.
The most important thing in understanding the treatment of depression is that a) most cases of depression will get better of their own accord for no obvious reason and b) pretty much any course of treatment works, but not very well. Antidepressants, talking therapies, exercise or a better diet will each individually improve your symptoms of depression, but only by quite a small amount.
If you really want to improve your mental health, you need to start building virtuous circles for yourself. If you start taking antidepressants and feel like you've got a bit more energy and motivation, then use that energy to start an exercise regime. If your improved fitness makes you feel more confident, then use that confidence to be a bit more sociable or to try a new hobby. Keep your mind focussed on what you can do today and tomorrow to improve your life and make yourself feel better, and use each achievement as a stepping-stone to the next. It doesn't have to be a big thing - something as trivial as tidying-up can give you the boost that you need to take on a bigger task. Lots of little improvements add up to more than the sum of their parts, like compound interest.
Let's imagine that we could measure your level of happiness very accurately. If we did something to improve your level of happiness by 1%, you'd be hard pressed to even notice that anything had changed. If you do something every week that improves your mental health by 1%, then within a year you'll feel 62% better and in two years you'll feel 181% better. That's the trick - small but consistent improvement can completely transform your life if you stick at it.
>>6252 Your math is a bit dodgy unless you live on a planet with 62 weeks in its year, but the rest of this post is invaluable. I'm still working on giving up smoking and holding down a job before I start exercising again though. I think perhaps my priorities are a bit screwy.
Personally I hated citalopram as it just made me feel dead and uncaring. Sertraline gave me full blown panic disorder. I'm now on mirtazapine, and planning on taking myself off it as soon as I feel mentally ready to (even when in my darkest moments) simply because the NHS window of 6 months is too much of my life when I've already given over 4 months to pills when I said I never would, and have lost too many important people to the upheaval of medications. Live and learn.
Sorry for not properly explaining my numbers. As >>6264 says, it's a cumulative gain. When you earn interest on savings, you get paid interest not just on the original sum, but also on the previously-accrued interest. The same principle applies to self-improvement - gains seem slow at first, but after a while you start to see those gains compound on top of each other.
OP here, thank you for the posts thus far. The citalopram is still sitting on my desk, and I'm still undecided on whether to take it. After reading some of the posts in this thread, I've been dissuaded a bit, but I'm keeping it open as a possibility.
Just for some background: I've already kicked drinking and smoking for over a year, I exercise well and regularly, manage my diet, and try to keep myself intellectually stimulated. I've been seen by two doctors, one of which described my case as a depressive illness with possible bipolar disorder, the next saying that I was experiencing cyclothymia.
The main reason I've been prescribed citalopram is to help me adjust to seminar classes. I'm on a university course right now, and I find myself feeling something that I've been told closely matches the symptoms of a panic attack or acute anxiety when in a certain environment. I'm told that the citalopram will help me calm down and maybe help with the long-term depressive conditions, also.
I really appreciate this post, too. 'Virtuous cycle' is a good term for something I've found difficult to match to words for a while now. I understand how powerful cumulative changes can be in shaping someones life. Over the past few years I've actually pulled myself out of quite a hole by finding energy for hobbies, taking care of myself physically, trying to plan out goals, etc. At the moment I feel like I'm overcoming the 'final hurdles', which is just about finding work and generally 'fitting in' to the world a bit more.
I've not properly worked since entering university, and after finding another couple of rejection e-mails in my inbox I admit I found myself imagining if the citalopram might help in keeping me motivated. I'm not sure, though. For the moment I feel alright. My head is above the water and I'm going to continue looking, and I'm not too upset about it, even though I know for a fact that today is one of those days where I'm going to do the bare minimum to keep myself going.
I appreciate the other posts here, too, describing experiences with it more generally. Keep them coming, I'm taking as much as I can into consideration.
Citalopram didn't do shit all for me when I was on it for three months. Instead I became more apathetic, more withdrawn and more suicidal. I was also prone to fits of intense anger which didn't do much good for my relationship. I'm on prozac now which, although hasn't been quite so rough, hasn't exactly made me feel alive.
I've stopped taking Sertraline which too is an SSRI.
As far as I know all anti-depressants will affect your sex drive. Sertraline murdered my dick; My erection never flew at full mast, my natural lube dried up like an African well, and I found it near impossible to orgasm (I couldn't think of a simile for that one). At times I would beat my meat 'till it was literally red raw yet it was always in vein. Some mornings I woke with a foreskin swollen to the size of a small plum and only slightly off the colour. After months of failed orgasms my mind started to venture towards more extreme types of sexual activity in search for some release. I considered piercing my bell end and ramming things up my arse. I was very close to attempting frenulum plasty upon myself (I'm not sure if thats the correct spelling). Thankfully I decided to stop taking the pills before I did any real damage.
