Last night was the first time in a month when I had a full night of sleep. Now I’ve been waking up at 8AM instead of going to bed at 2 PM. Don’t have a lot of people to share with but I’m not sure how to describe how I feel. It’s like the absence of a headache I didn’t know I had. My body feels much lighter and energetic. Hopefully I’ll get back to cooking for myself this week!
I really don’t want to harsh your buzz because I’m really glad all of that happened to you, but antidepressants typically take 2, 4, even 8 weeks to work. Within a week is very unlikely. The reason I’m saying this is that there also could be serious side effects within that timeframe and, even if you’re feeling better now, you need to be hyperaware of them because they include things like suicidal thoughts. Antidepressants can sometimes do the opposite of what is intended. The brain is complicated and it often takes more than one trial before you find the one that works for you. I went through at least 4 different antidepressants until I found one that worked- although I’m type II bipolar, making it more complicated, but my wife, who is not, had the same issues.
Like I said, I’m really happy for you that you got sleep and feel more energetic, but please, please, please pay attention to what your body and mind are telling you more than usual over the next couple of months.
Thank you for your advice, and I appreciate it. In light of your words, it could also be because of the sleep aid I took enabled me to actually sleep peacefully for the first time in about a month. I’ve had it thrice but I’m planning on cutting that one out starting today. Staying cautiously optimistic for the future!
I’ll chime in, because I’m about 3 months on and remember exactly what you’re experiencing. While Squid is probably correct about the meds not working just yet (and the great advice about making sure you check in with yourself), I now believe what I experienced on day one was happiness that I was finally taking care of myself.
I’m doing so much better now, and with CBT and the meds I feel like I’m finally enjoying my life for the first time in years. So enjoy your sleep, you’ve earned it by taking a huge, important step.
Good luck!
This being said I remember starting mine the first week 20+ years ago I felt the same. Right off within the first week I noticed changes in my body and it was good. I know how it feels to take them and to not take them. Taking them is better.
Taking them is definitely better, and if they don’t work for you, you have to step down gradually. And I am happy for OP regardless of whether it is the antidepressant, better sleep or whatever.
Different classes of antidepressents have different timeframes and take effect differently. SSRIs certainly behave as you say, but others such as Trazadone (a mixed agent that works seretonen and andrenergic receptors) or Buproprian (norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake, nicotinic receptors) have very different profiles.
Trazadone works rather quickly, has minimal suicidal ideation, and has a side effect of making you sleep. Its often prescribed off-label for insomnia, and always has the instruction to only take at night, before bed.
Buproprian takes full effect within 3 or 4 days o, the first dose. It also is nit certain whether it needs a full titration schedule to discontinue, In trials, it was not distingaishable from placebo in causing suicidal ideation.
Based on OPs report of immediate sleep quality improvement, I would certainly not be surprised if short or long term trazadone were part of their prescribed depresshon management strategy. Its often prescribed in tandem with other agents as well, which we also do not know about.
TLDR: theres more than one kind of antidepressant, they have different mechanisms and side effects, and we don’t actually know which ones OP is using
They just said they took a sleep aid and who takes Trazadone for depression? I’ve been prescribed almost every med for it and Trazadone was only for sleep.
I took trazadone for depression, its the primary on-label use. And they hadn’t mentioned the sleep aid when I started the comment
Interesting. Most sleep meds I’ve been given were always originally made for depression, or vise versa. Pharmaceuticals always seemed to be an educated guess followed by trial results. Not an exact science. It sucks.
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Woo! That’s really nice to hear! You’re really lucky haha I remember for me during my first week while my body was getting used to it I was feeling really nauseous and couldn’t sleep lol.
Also like @[email protected] said I agree you should be careful as it is unusual to be feeling better that quickly. There are many reasons that could happen tho, the obvious one is placebo (but who cares really if you’re feeling better); second one is that the desicion to go get antidepressants has had a positive benefit to your life and made you feel like you want to make even more progress, in turn increaseing your happiness; third one is mania (extreme euphoria) which is extremely unlikely, but a dangerous potential side effect of anti-depressants and you probably need to call an ambulance if this happens; and finally fourth one is that it really has just worked extra quickly for you, which is unlikely but not impossible!
So whatever the reason is I’m glad it’s working out for you, just be mindful of your emotions but don’t worry too much as you’ll probably be able to tell if something is seriously wrong.
Good look for the future :)
Some of the drugs work quicker than others. I’ve taken several that took weeks to build up, and I really didn’t notice feeling anything except giddiness and nausea. But I’ve also taken one where the doctor told me it would take weeks but I felt my energy clearly increasing within days. I wondered if it was a placebo effect, but the effect stayed and it turned out to be the most effective antidepressant I’ve taken. So it’s possible OP is experiencing a real beneficial effect, depending on the drug.
I remember for me during my first week while my body was getting used to it I was feeling really nauseous and couldn’t sleep lol.
That was my wife’s experience. She was so nauseous and it kept her awake. It gave her such a bad headache, too. All those symptoms made her mood even worse. I’m so glad she stuck with it, though, because she’s doing much better now.
Congrats! I started mine in May of this year and can absolutely relate to the “headache I didn’t know I had” feeling. I’m less agitated and more able to enjoy things. The biggest thing for me was being able to enjoy social gatherings again. Since starting my meds we have had 3 parties at our house. Which is more than we had in the 10 years prior. Really a life changer. I hope it continues to go well for you!
Happy to hear that you are feeling better!
Congrats! I have used antidepressants several times to help manage my depression. It can be amazing how helpful they are. Not just in the relief of symptoms, but in giving the breathing room to engage in longer term, deep impact activities, like therapy and exercise. Despite the popular advice, neither of those is really easy when you are in a depressive episode, but I was able to engage in both longterm thanks to antidepressants, and that made lasting changes to my mental health. I have occasionally refilled a script for antidepressant, (just in case), but haven’t actually needed them for years
I had a terrible time on antidepressants, but that’s because I’m bipolar type 2 and they don’t work on us. Instead I got a mood stabilizer and naltrexone for the anxiety disorder, and I’m like a new person. Naltrexone is actually incredible, it’s usually used for alcohol abuse but it worked super well for my anxiety and I’m so different now.
Anyway not to make this about me, just sharing your feelings that it feels great to improve so much. I’m glad for you OP.
I’ve been on them for about 10 years now , they’ve made a big difference to my life , I don’t think I’d be here now if I wasn’t
I took Mirtazapine for a while last year, just the sleep and appetite helped a lot. I’ve considered asking about something else, since my mood and anxiety isn’t great, but I don’t know.
What are you taking? I’ve tried a couple different ones - effexor, pristiq, lexapro. The yawning and sweating drove me crazy. If you start having weird thoughts, remember it’s the med. For me the ‘suicidal thoughts’ were really just an absence of fear of death - feeling like I’m one of a bazillion people to have lived, we all come and go, and my like holds no more meaning than any of those before or after me.
Hey, I’m so glad it’s helping!
Finding the right med for me was 100% a game changer. My brain would race for hours at night time, but now I can sleep throughout the night, and if my dog wakes me up to go potty, I can fall right back asleep afterwards. Words can’t express how that changed my life.
An even bigger change for me was brain fog. I’d lived my whole life with it constantly. That’s gone now, and I was able to go back to school and earn my AS because of it. Turns out I wasn’t lazy or dumb, just exhausted and constantly foggy.
I wonder a lot about how we’ll view how we treat people who struggle to do well in school as lazy in the future. The fact that I was so easily labeled as such by teachers in my childhood and sometimes treated cruelly because of it is pretty wild, considering what I know now.
I was having a few drinks last weekend and you know that slight buzz you get when you’re only a few drinks in? I thought how fucking good would it be to feel like that all the time… Is that kind of what this shit does??
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“Everyone I took 5 Wellbutrins and I feel amaze-balls!”
But fr good to hear!
I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful new chapter in your life!
