Should I try meds again?

[phil6]

I tried Citalopram 20mg for 12 weeks in the summer... It nearly brought me to my knees... My anxiety wen through the roof and I stayed on it as long as I could. That was switched to Sertraline.... After 2 days of horrendous side effects I stopped that. I decided that SSRIs are not for me and went though a bit of a low period after quitting them but then felt quite positive that I can recover with CBT ( which I am doing) and without worrying about having all the restrictions and effects of medication.
Now I seem to be getting vey low and depressed on top of some fairly constant anxiety (GAD).
I really got bad last night, waking at 2 am with anxiety and getting no better throughout the night. It feels like it is getting very bad again. The negative thought that I am getting worse is not helping, but I just cannot think positively today.
I tried to get a GP appointment but no luck, but I am not sure what the GP could offer. I feel pretty desperate and I fear escalation of treatment. If I ended up in hospital, I don't think I could ever face people again... Nobody knows apart from my immediate family.
Maybe this is just a bad day... Maybe it will pass..
Or maybe I need some help.
I don't know....
Phil

[Sands]

Hi phil. I too could not tolerate ssris one bit. I guess only you can decide wether to try again. I am on mirtazapine now which is a different type from what I gather. They have definately helped me, they gave me motivation again and seemed to calm me down. I really don't like the fact that I'm on them but at the time I needed some help. I have 2 little kids and a father to care for and I just wasn't coping. The drug I take also gives me a great nights sleep so that has helped me massively. I do believe that you can get better without them but in my case I think I was just getting worse. They have helped me turn the corner for sure. I hope you start feeling better soon with or without medication.
All the best

[nursegreenwhippet]

Hi phil the thing is with ssri's is that you initially feel worse in my experience. I think it depends on how bad you are and for how long, whether to take them or not. I must say I got great relief after the settling down period and it was like heaven. I am now only on a tiny dose but must say although am ok most of the time as coping skills have improved, when there is an issue it feels much of a bigger deal than when on larger dose. The way I coped with the meds was to start with a tiny dose (the doctors don't seem to get this!) and gradually put it up every 2 weeks then the side effects are only small.

[Emphyrio]

If you can try and manage without medication, by all means go for it. Medication brings with it a lot of problems for some people, though I recognise that many people benefit from it. In my case, it started causing more problems than benefits.

If you really need to go down the medication route, you could possibly try a small dosage if you find the higher doses too 'activating'. I benefited from just 5mg of citalopram. You could work up slowly to a standard dose, or like me, just remain on the low dose.