antidepressants
 

Hi All,

I am just over 6 months pcs. I have not yet been perscribed anti depressants. I have a few questions. I am going to the doc today. If I am prescribed anti depressants;
1; will they work?
2; how long will i need to take them for?
3; will i have to take them forever?
4; what are the major side effects?

My current symptoms all centre around headaches, headaches and neck pain are my only real symptoms left, and ofcourse anxiety!.

Just looking for some thoughts.


cheers

and one more question. Do you think I need them, or should i still try alternative therapry, physio, stress reducing techniques etc...........???

Its difficult to know if you need them, because I don't know you face to face. Your doctor is the best person to judge, but you need to be honest with him about how you feel emotionally. I wasn't entirely honest about my mood with my doctor for months and I wish I had been. Each antidepressant has different qualities and side effects. I only know about Cymbalta which improved my mood instantly, it has also helped relieve headaches, given me energy and improved my sleep. The side effects are numerous, but the ones that affected me are nausea, upset stomach, insomnia (initially), crash (when drug wears off initially). It is quite strong at first but that soon wears off. Cymbalta also have unpleasent withdrawal symptoms. Now that it is in my system I have none of these side effects and all my symptoms of PCS are reducing and I am going back to work shortly. I intend to stay on them for at least 6 months, but its up to my doctor.

Hi Peter,
I personally had bad results from anti-depressants. But there are a lot of people they work great for. You kind of have to do trial and error to see what works and what does not as everyone is different. I do know that if you start taking these meds that you have to be very careful about coming off them. Do not just stop taking them abruptly. You have to taper down off them slowly. Some people have to go to rehab for anti-depressants. They are strong medicine. Some doctors feel they break the pain cycle. I did not have this result. I take pain medication to control the chronic pain. MS Contin has worked good for me. It is long acting. 12 hours of pain coverage. I have constant pain though. If you only have pain once in a while a short acting pain med works too. Your doctor will probably want you to try all other options before prescribing narcotic medication. I had to try all other options first. I wish you success in finding the right medication for you. There are other options for anxiety as well. Again, you have to find what works for you. Be careful with all these meds. They are strong medicine and you must take exactly as prescribed and do not stop any of them abruptly. You are not stuck for life on them but they must be tapered down and it is uncomfortable to come off them.
Good luck today. Let us know how it goes.
Brain