How does antidepressants make you feel

It can take up to six weeks after the first dose of medication before it has an antidepressant effect. For some people it can take up to eight weeks or a little longer before they start to feel better, and the maximum benefit is felt after six months.

Antidepressant medication is generally very effective. While antidepressants make you feel better they do not change your personality. You may notice that you find it easier to get on with people because you feel less anxious. Antidepressants help relieve the symptoms of depression and associated anxiety. They do not make you euphoric, but simply help you react more realistically in your emotional responses. You may notice, for example, that you take in your stride little things that used to worry you or get you down.

Taking antidepressant medication is one important step in getting better but is rarely enough on its own. As well as medication, effective treatment for depression and anxiety-related disorders may include education about the illness and how to deal with it, and psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CBT , for example. For some people, ongoing clinical support in the community, rehabilitation, accommodation and employment support are also helpful. Antidepressants, like most medications, can change the way you feel.

This means that if you stop taking the medication you may start to feel the way you did before the treatment. Some people confuse this with being addicted.

Antidepressants are not addictive and you will not become dependent on them. However, it is important to talk to your doctor before you stop taking them. It is always advisable to reduce the dose slowly, with close monitoring, to minimise possible discomfort as your body adjusts to the lower dose. It is also important that the medication is monitored carefully in the first couple of months, as some people may experience an increase in symptoms if the antidepressant is not effective.

There are many types of antidepressant medication available: an older group known as tricyclics , and newer groups known as SSRIs and SNRIs which tend to have fewer side-effects and a wider safety margin than older ones if the wrong dose is taken. Different medications work for different people. While there is usually a period of trial and adjustment, there are some things you and your doctor can talk over to help decide which is most likely to be right for you. Some things you should discuss with your doctor are:.

These medications are not generally recommended for treatment of depression in children and adolescents, but they may be prescribed in certain circumstances. It is important to discuss this issue with the treating doctor, and ensure effects are monitored if an antidepressant is prescribed.

If a child or adolescent is currently being treated with an SSRI, they should not have the medication ceased abruptly, but reduced gradually by the doctor if it needs to be stopped. People over 65 taking antidepressants may also be at greater risk of falls and fractures.

Certain antidepressants may interact adversely with some medications for physical illnesses. That is why it is important to tell your doctor if you are on any other medication. People with mild or moderate depression seem to find SSRIs and SNRIs most effective, while some people who are severely depressed may find the older tricyclics more effective.

If you experience these symptoms, you should stop taking the medicine and seek immediate advice from your GP or specialist. If this is not possible, call NHS If you experience symptoms of severe serotonin syndrome, seek emergency medical help immediately by dialling to ask for an ambulance.

Elderly people who take antidepressants, particularly those who take SSRIs, may experience a severe fall in sodium salt levels, known as hyponatraemia. This may lead to a build-up of fluid inside the cells of the body, which can be potentially dangerous. This can happen because SSRIs can block the effects of a hormone that regulates levels of sodium and fluid in the body. Elderly people are vulnerable because fluid levels become more difficult for the body to regulate as people age.

Mild hyponatraemia can cause symptoms similar to depression or side effects of antidepressants, such as:. The most serious cases of hyponatraemia can cause you to stop breathing or enter a coma. Hyponatraemia can be treated by feeding a sodium solution into the body through an intravenous drip. Long-term use of SSRIs and TCAs has been linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes , although it's not clear if the use of these antidepressants directly causes diabetes to develop.

It may be that the weight gain some people using antidepressants experience increases the risk of them developing type 2 diabetes. Victoria started to feel calmer and happier almost immediately And did you have any side effects at all from it? No not the first time round not that I remember everything seemed fine. I was worried about the fact that I knew the tablets would take some time to have an effect. Yeah I kind of thought that and to be honest the counselling, even though it was only an hour a week, was medication to be honest.

And that did give me a little bit of relief before the tablets started working because it just confirmed that it was, it was alright to be the way I was. So your body has to get used to having it inside. Your body gets used to it and then it starts doing what it should be doing. Yeah but you do want, you do want that quick fix. Sleep problems had been one symptom of Lucy So I continued taking that more or less straight for three years which have been the three happiest and most productive years of my life.

When you started taking that one did you get any different effects? So when you were waking up after your long sleep you were still feeling groggy? Yeah, for about three or four hours, yeah which, which again was useful it was a kind of cushion from all the horrible feelings which, you know, it sort of gave me a couple of weeks to sort of sleep off the worst of it and. But yeah luckily after, I kind of acclimatised to the levels or whatever it, the cognitive stuff got a lot better.

I had a bit of, sort of strange short term memory stuff going on as well, the first maybe month that I took it but all that cleared up really quickly. Emily stayed with her parents for the first few weeks and said she