Have anti-depressants helped you?

[Edge]

In the worst case scenario, it will mask the symptoms while the issue keeps growing in the background, and at some point tolerance to the product will appear and things will be much worse than before.

Actually, the worst case scenario is being one of the percentage of people (yes, we do exist) for whom anti-depressants have the opposite effect, having a doctor who won't listen and keeps adding more no matter how much you beg him to stop, getting worse and worse over the course of a couple years, each drug you are given has the same horrifying effect (I am not exaggerating. A good person would not wish this on their worst enemy), people keep telling you to just try another or adjust the dose or that "meds don't make people worse," and all you can see stretching before you is more of this. Even after you stop, you have panic attacks for the next few years whenever someone mentions the drugs.
So sorry to correct you here, but I just wanted to point out that I exist and my experiences happened.

[vegie271]

Anti-depressants are there to help control depressive symptoms. But unless the depression is strictly chemical, it does nothing about the cause(s). In the worst case scenario, it will mask the symptoms while the issue keeps growing in the background, and at some point tolerance to the product will appear and things will be much worse than before.

Obviously you did not read my post -

Worst case scenario - gran mal seizures (I had to relearn the english language) - suicide from allergic reaction to the drug   - some of us do have serious reaction sto allopathic medications - there are actual warnings on the packagings - they come with these papers that you are supposed to read the thing folds out to a whole sheet that is about 3' by 3' and the print is 6 point. you need a magnifying glass

[mikaelmackison]

{It's worth noting that I suffer from chronic major depression.  There is no trigger required, sometimes it just occurs.  Additionally, PTSD & social anxiety were added for flavor.}

My last regimen was Lamictal, Abilify & Neurontin.  I started at a fairly low dose of all three & experienced an adequate decrease in generalized symptoms.  In total, I took that combination for just over two years.  By the end, when we suddenly found ourselves without insurance, I was taking the max dosage of all three due to an ever increasing tolerance & still saw little improvement.

I've taken medications such as Celexa, Zoloft & Lexapro but there was no improvement at the 6 month mark. 

Wellbutrin, (which I have taken 3 times for 1 year each) induces fairly extreme mania (in me). 

Cymbalta introduced true homicidal tendencies & is off the table for life.  (I realized there was a problem while watching the film, Sweeney Todd.  It was as if I were watching an instruction manual and experienced great joy at the notion.)

In my late teens, one psychiatrist placed me on a 6 month regimen of Effexor and Zyprexa.  That combination rendered me a catatonic state.  (As an adult, I requested my medical records & was afforded the knowledge that she felt I was homicidal & per my mother's request, discreetly sedated me.)

Despite the stigma attached, Prozac is appropriate for some.  One of my sister's reluctantly began that medication several years ago & it treated her beautifully.

There is a huge selection of medications now available.  Each person reacts differently. 

No pill can change how you feel about something.  Some pills do have the benefit(?) of disengaging emotional function.  The trade is that you don't care, at all, about anything. 

In my experience; yes, some medications can take the edge off the anxiety (I) have felt regarding things like transition & dysphoria.  The pills don't *fix* it though.  You work to accept your trans-ness, work to find some middle ground or continue to fight (or ignore) it & continue the cycle. 

SaveMeJeebus (& everyone else), *hugs*.   

[spacerace]

You can be proactive about your own treatment as well - Not that you should tell your doctor what to do, but no reason not to go into an appointment with an idea of what is out there medication wise.

http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage

^this is the best resource I have seen. The side effects listing are concise and honest - based off what people actually experience instead of numbers in folded sheets of paper included for liability reasons.

The other posters who said you have to keep trying to find something that works are absolutely correct. It is a process. And, at times you may need more than one medication depending on what is going on with your mood and your life.

I agree that the pills only help when it is a chemical issue and not just depression from gender related issues alone.

With crazy pills and transitioning, I think I might actually be on my way to (almost) functioning as a normal person.

[CalmRage]

Oh god. I used to be on that crap. I stopped being able to function.

I miss my emotionality. Now nothing feels real. It's all gray now like taking away the color from a picture.

[A]

That too. My family is very close-minded.. for example, if someone who was transsexual appeared on TV, they'd laugh at them. My gender dysphoria doesn't cause all of my depression but i would say that it causes most of it. I have sucidial thoughts a lot because of my dysphoria. I don't want to get out of the house or anything because of how uncomfortable I feel with the incongruence of my body and my brain. I do have a therapist (not a gender one) but I don't think i would be comfortable telling them about all of this.

You need to. If you can't tell THAT therapist, consider finding a new one you'll be comfortable with. The more you wait, the worse things are likely to get, and the more reluctant you'll be to asking for help, probably. Because depression, for me at least, can include the lack of a will to ask for help.

Also, you'd be surprised at how sometimes, issues like being trans suddenly become so much more real to people when it's close to them. It's scary, but if you're positive that they love you and wouldn't hate you for it, the consequences can hardly be all that terrible. Actually you could help them become more open-minded, in time. Pretty sure I've had that effect with much of my family. You don't have to jump right now. One step at a time. That's what the therapist (assuming they're competent in this) comes in. If the fear is too great, they can do the coming-out with you, explaining everything to your family. Having an "expert" tell them about it and explain why and how can tremendously help a lot of people understand and stop denying.

You shouldn't put things off because you're not comfortable or because you don't think you'll be supported, I think. It's scary, but it's likely that you'll have to change things yourself, whatever you do, sooner or later. Don't let yourself rot too much, ideally, before moving.

Oh how long I put back transitioning, convincing myself otherwise, thinking about my mother's reaction, thinking... and then I did it and it went so much better than I ever thought it would.

Actually, the worst case scenario is being one of the percentage of people (yes, we do exist) for whom anti-depressants have the opposite effect, having a doctor who won't listen and keeps adding more no matter how much you beg him to stop, getting worse and worse over the course of a couple years, each drug you are given has the same horrifying effect (I am not exaggerating. A good person would not wish this on their worst enemy), people keep telling you to just try another or adjust the dose or that "meds don't make people worse," and all you can see stretching before you is more of this. Even after you stop, you have panic attacks for the next few years whenever someone mentions the drugs.
So sorry to correct you here, but I just wanted to point out that I exist and my experiences happened.

Obviously you did not read my post -

Worst case scenario - gran mal seizures (I had to relearn the english language) - suicide from allergic reaction to the drug   - some of us do have serious reaction sto allopathic medications - there are actual warnings on the packagings - they come with these papers that you are supposed to read the thing folds out to a whole sheet that is about 3' by 3' and the print is 6 point. you need a magnifying glass

I'm sorry, I meant that as a worst case scenario assuming that medication works as intended and you don't get unlucky on that part. I didn't mean to underplay the consequences of things going critically wrong.