I use sertraline for coping with depression and anxiety. It works quite well for me, it has made me a lot more stable and even a bit happier. I have not even experienced any bad side effects. Therapy has been nice as well but sertraline made a big difference.
I have heard that is very common for transgender people to use antidepressants. Is it true? Do you all girls and boys here use antidepressants? Have you used it before? Or how do you cope with this hard but still beautiful journey?
I've been on anti-anxiety meds for 10 years. I tried to go off them, wasn't a good couple weeks. I'm much happier now being back on them.
I have not been on any anti depressant medications ever. I had some light depressions along the line, but was always able to get out of them, without meds.
I've been on several antidepressants since my breakdown. Not at the same time though.
Tryptizol, Venlafaxin, Mirtazapine, Voxra, Flouxetine among others.
Fluoxetin was my thing. I've been on it twice. But not since three years ago. I'm free from antidepressants now. It feels great. I was shut down emotionally for 7 years. Anhedonia they told me. But last summer something happened. I started to feel joy in the sunrise. I was happy and at peace. It was a great feeling. It was on a scout jamboree.
I want to share a pic of the sunrise that made me happy. I was awake and alone, everyone was sleeping. It was so quiet and peaceful.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181201/129dd29d8ad73513f133f985b7a960a8.jpg)
Tried sertraline/citalopram/prozac for short periods sometimes between 1995 and 2001. Then I used xanax for 3-4 months in 2007. This was long before I knew what my problems were or before transition.
Honestly they did nothing for me. The first three gave no noticeable results and xanax blurred the lines between sleep and wakefulness so much I was a zombie during the day and an insomniac at night. I resolved antidepressants were not for me. Not a fan of taking drugs unless they have a tangible positive effect, and most do not seem to work on me. I knew my problems would only be solved by action or progress toward a goal.
What did work was HRT and testosterone. That's been more effective since day one than any drug I've ever taken for any issues with anxiety or depression. Antidepressants can't hold a candle to it.
I had taken antidepressants for many years, before I decided to transition. Therapy is still beneficial, but HRT and removing the cause of my depression, I no longer take an antidepressant. Other than struggles with dating and sometimes the feeling of loneliness, I'm depression free for the first time in my life.
Yes, I have been on the Zoloft for almost 3 years as a result of deep depression brought on by my gender identity issues. There are several issues that help add to the depression and it is all connected to my knowing that I am really a woman. When I am presenting as my true self, the depression is so far away, it is as if I have never even had the depression.
I was on HRT for some time and had to come off for personal and family reasons (wife made me quit as she was threatening divorce) but it was during those short months I was on HRT that my life seemed so at peace and I had no depression at all.
Ultimately, I am struggling right now as I am really desiring to come out and finally live as my true self. It will be interesting to see if I am able to trade the Anti-depressants for Estrogen and T-Blockers to cure my depression.
Quote from: jeri1973 on December 03, 2018, 11:06:45 PM
Yes, I have been on the Zoloft for almost 3 years as a result of deep depression brought on by my gender identity issues. There are several issues that help add to the depression and it is all connected to my knowing that I am really a woman. When I am presenting as my true self, the depression is so far away, it is as if I have never even had the depression.
I was on HRT for some time and had to come off for personal and family reasons (wife made me quit as she was threatening divorce) but it was during those short months I was on HRT that my life seemed so at peace and I had no depression at all.
Ultimately, I am struggling right now as I am really desiring to come out and finally live as my true self. It will be interesting to see if I am able to trade the Anti-depressants for Estrogen and T-Blockers to cure my depression.
Would it help if your wife and you together would go to counseling, so she would learn that being in the closet is killing you?
God luck with your problem and feel hugged!
Linde
Quote from: Kylo on December 01, 2018, 02:44:35 PM
What did work was HRT and testosterone. That's been more effective since day one than any drug I've ever taken for any issues with anxiety or depression. Antidepressants can't hold a candle to it.
It is very common for people with gender identity disorder to be depressed as well. However, there are many other causes of depression. Some are situational, that is something in your environment is causing you to feel depressed. Other people may have depression without any known external cause. A proper diagnosis is essential for treatment of depression.
For myself, my gender dysphoria was the only cause of my depression and HRT helped immensely, but it was not until after genital surgery that I no longer had a depressed mood. When your inner sense of self is aligned with your physical body the feeling is amazingly fantastic. I never felt this good about myself.
I know heaps of transwomen who've suffered depression. It seems to be pretty much standard. Many use or have used antidepressants. I've been offered them a number of times but refused. I prefer to deal with the root causes, and I've not been so depressed that I can't.
Quote from: Dietlind on December 03, 2018, 11:12:49 PM
Would it help if your wife and you together would go to counseling, so she would learn that being in the closet is killing you?
God luck with your problem and feel hugged!
Linde
We have been to counseling and she just kept saying that I was not in my right mind. After the counselor started diving into the gender identity with her on an individual basis she was ready to stop going to the counselor and told me that I just needed to turn to God to heal me and that there is no way I am really a woman.
Yes, being in the closet is killing me and I have even asked her if she had rather our children have someone who lives in their true gender and still make contact with them or would she rather visit a gravestone in the local cemetery. Thanks to the therapy that I have received I am no longer thinking about killing myself on a daily basis but it was something that was on my mind a lot at one time.
That is why I am thankful the therapist recommended antidepressants.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Quote from: jeri1973 on December 04, 2018, 09:07:38 AM
We have been to counseling and she just kept saying that I was not in my right mind. After the counselor started diving into the gender identity with her on an individual basis she was ready to stop going to the counselor and told me that I just needed to turn to God to heal me and that there is no way I am really a woman.
But that's just soo absurd. Turn to god and heal? Does she not trust established medicine and psychology?
I'm sorry for your situation. It brakes my heart.
Quote from: jeri1973 on December 04, 2018, 09:07:38 AM
that I just needed to turn to God to heal me and that there is no way I am really a woman.
Thanks for the encouragement.
I know a little how hat feels! My best female friends, who helped me a lot after my marriage fell apart, told me this after I came out to her. She also is of the opinion that somebody talked me into it, and that I just need the right medication to be that very manly man again who is her friend!
Quote from: Dani on December 04, 2018, 02:03:13 AM
It is very common for people with gender identity disorder to be depressed as well. However, there are many other causes of depression. Some are situational, that is something in your environment is causing you to feel depressed. Other people may have depression without any known external cause. A proper diagnosis is essential for treatment of depression.
For myself, my gender dysphoria was the only cause of my depression and HRT helped immensely, but it was not until after genital surgery that I no longer had a depressed mood. When your inner sense of self is aligned with your physical body the feeling is amazingly fantastic. I never felt this good about myself.
Clinical depression, yeah. Some aspects of gender dysphoria might fall under that, since the specific causes/triggers are often unidentifiable and invisible even to the individual. There's no way to 'act' to fix something that is actively causing daily mental abrasion on a visceral level.
Usually my identifiable "depressive" problems were only fixed by me getting out of a situation; what I didn't give credit for was the weight of daily abrasion that I was living under and took it for being some given part of existence. I didn't give hormones the credit they are due for general wellbeing.
I didn't expect the HRT to do anything for my mental state. In retrospect I was a nervous wreck before it in comparison, and that anxiety and high-strungness was what the antidepressants couldn't make a dent in. I even tried valium at one point and my nerves were practically immune to it from the get go. It was useless. My brain needed "rewiring" apparently.
I'm not sure I know what dread and anxiety is any more. I'm starting to forget what it was like.
I've been on SSRIs for more than 10 years (currently Viibryd for more than 3). Transition and particularly HRT made things much better. I was able to taper down, but when I went off completely, I was a mess... Very volitile. Apparently I still need the help :(
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I've been on Lexapro for some time now. My doctor says that it helps with depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Quote from: jeri1973 on December 04, 2018, 09:07:38 AM
We have been to counseling and she just kept saying that I was not in my right mind. After the counselor started diving into the gender identity with her on an individual basis she was ready to stop going to the counselor and told me that I just needed to turn to God to heal me and that there is no way I am really a woman.
You're in your right mind. More so than most cis people. You know who you are. God doesn't need to heal a perfect creation, and that is you! God needs to heal people who can't see that in you.
Quote from: jeri1973 on December 04, 2018, 09:07:38 AM
We have been to counseling and she just kept saying that I was not in my right mind. After the counselor started diving into the gender identity with her on an individual basis she was ready to stop going to the counselor and told me that I just needed to turn to God to heal me and that there is no way I am really a woman.
Yes, being in the closet is killing me and I have even asked her if she had rather our children have someone who lives in their true gender and still make contact with them or would she rather visit a gravestone in the local cemetery. Thanks to the therapy that I have received I am no longer thinking about killing myself on a daily basis but it was something that was on my mind a lot at one time.
That is why I am thankful the therapist recommended antidepressants.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Sounds like she knows my ex. ugh. So sorry for your situation. It is beyond me how people can be so hurtful and then invoke religion to support their hurtful comments and beliefs. I thought it was supposed to be about love. Glad you are doing better.
I have been taking Lexapro for six months. HRT definitely reduced some of my depression however transitioning hasn't cured my mental health. I'm about to have GRS in 8 weeks (can't wait!).
My psychiatrist wanted me to try Lexapro and so far it's helping. I'm going to try go off it in about a year and see how it goes.
I haven't used any medications besides hrt. My doctors, psychiatrists, and therapists over the past year and a half have recommended I try antidepressants. This past year my depression has been pretty bad and I've been unemployed all year. I see a psychiatrist in a few weeks and they'll probably prescribe me meds again, so I'll have to decide soon if I'll take them or not.
Quote from: Allison S on December 21, 2018, 09:43:54 AM
I haven't used any medications besides hrt. My doctors, psychiatrists, and therapists over the past year and a half have recommended I try antidepressants. This past year my depression has been pretty bad and I've been unemployed all year. I see a psychiatrist in a few weeks and they'll probably prescribe me meds again, so I'll have to decide soon if I'll take them or not.
I think if you can solve the unemployed situation, the depressions will go away. I was lucky, and have never been unemployed my entire life, but talking to people who have been, it is really bad for the self worthiness feeling of a person.
I hope you can find a job pretty soon, and pull yourself out of the depression again!
I wish you loots of luck!
Hugs
Linde
I am on two antidepressants right now to handle some of my work-induced anxiety and depression. One worked well to lift my mood but did not result back in the focus I need for work.
The second one (Bupropion) is the one I am not too happy about. I have more energy and focus but at the same time, it brought back some of the old anger I had along with not feeling as feminine as I used to feel. I called my doctor about it and they are looking into different options now. I am partially back to the person I never wanted to be again in my entire life. If it does not change, I have to carefully stop it.
Hugs,
~S
I've been on anti-depressants for thirty years and I still was depressed. Prozac, Citalopram, Wellbutern. However I made a breakthrough when I started Estradiol and I no longer have depression on a long term basis. If I do get depressed it usually goes away quickly and I have not reported a depressive incident in over a year. Also coming out has done much to ease the depression as I no longer have to harbor secrets.
Quote from: Dietlind on December 21, 2018, 10:02:51 AM
I think if you can solve the unemployed situation, the depressions will go away. I was lucky, and have never been unemployed my entire life, but talking to people who have been, it is really bad for the self worthiness feeling of a person.
I hope you can find a job pretty soon, and pull yourself out of the depression again!
I wish you loots of luck!
Hugs
Linde
Yeah, I think you're right about that! I need the money and my independence back for sure.
I had a partner that needed Lexapro for separation anxiety. It was effective enough that she was able to travel for a few weeks to cross off a bucket list item.