Medications?

Question

I've heard that taking anti-depressants make your depression/anxiety just go away for the TIME BEING. But once you come off of it, the problems are worse than they were. Is this true?

I'm on 27.5mg of effexor and 50mg of Prozac.

(Also, what can some side-effects of these 2 medications be?)

Answer 1

Confirming above. They do not make them worse, but the pills only work when you are taking them.

For prozac, the two side effects people gripe about are weight gain, and loss of sexual function. It can really muck with people's s*x drive, and you can gain~10-15 lbs on it (Lots gain none, rarely people gain a bit more).

For Effexor people complain about weight gain, and sexual dysfunction, until they get up to higher doses, then t hey complain about losing weight, increased s*x drive, having trouble sleeping and sweating. Oh. And no one on the face of this earth likes to stop taking Effexor.

These are psych drugs, so your experience may vary, you may get no side effects, or you may get several.

Answer 2

I was never one of those people that could take them. I hear they work but I know sometimes it can make your depression worse.Its trial an error.All you can do is let your Dr know whats going on

Answer 3

No, anti-depressants do not make the underlying depression or anxiety worse.

Yes, anti-depressants only alleviate depression/anxiety during the time period that you take the medication.  The idea is that you stay on the medication until you feel better, then stay on the medication for a while longer to give the underlying condition more time to resolve, then try getting off the medication.  Some patients who are high-risk for having another episode (generally those who have had 2 prior episodes) stay on a "maintenance dose" even after recovery to reduce the chance of a recurrence.

For side effects of Prozac: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_s...

For side effects of Effexor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effexor#Adv...