So I've been prescribed medication, and I don't want to take it

[springheeljack]

Honestly you should probably see another doctor and get a better explanation on the benefits and side effects of the drug.
If you can afford it I would suggest going to see a therapist as well since it's what's usually suggested in lieu of medication.
I take something for anxiety/depression (I can't remember what maybe it's the same drug) and I have noticed a positive effect though it's not night and day. The only real downside I have noticed is that it has made me very constipated.

 

[Shraggler]

The problem with benzodiazepines is it very rarely amounts to a case of "a random pill every now and then". They're known to be highly addictive, and they're known to suffer from diminishing returns and severe blowback symptoms.

While I don't disagree that ANY anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication comes with risks and caveats, I've never heard of nor known someone to start gobbling 5 or 10x their zoloft prescription to try and battle down the side effects zoloft is giving them. Yet this is practically rote in cases of benzo abuse.

YMMV, of course. My concern is with any doctor who tells a patient "take a valium a day to keep anxiety away!", not "a random pill every now and then". As I stated, they're fine when used as intended...for acute situations. As a daily maintenance drug they're a complete disaster.

Well then I consider myself fortunate. I don't really understand the liability towards addiction with benzos. Physical dependence, sure. But all they make me feel is tired, and I hate feeling tired all day. There's no euphoria, just fatigue and chunks of apathy. It's not pleasant, but it's better than being scared of every fucking potential possibility.

I've never had a problem with them. They're a simple medication that works quickly and is removed by the system. Anti-depressants have such a long, blind course involved that, to me, it's just not worth traveling down that path ever again. The only upside? They're "non-addictive"... but they still cause physical dependence, otherwise there'd be no withdrawal.

As far as daily maintenence goes, I know a few people who've been taking benzodiazepines for years. They're perfectly functioning members of society and don't have any problems anywhere near related to the medication.

I was personally prescribed daily Clonazepam for a little over a year. Got sick of the fatigue side-effect and stopped taking them. Coupling that with Behavioral Therapy worked great. That was over 10 years ago.

Unfortunately these days doctors are too scared or reluctant to prescribe anything that "might" be addictive and hasn't shown "any data for more than short-term treatment"- great, so us outliers are screwed once again. Gotta go talk to Shady Jim next to the bus stop and hope my mouth services aren't demanded once again.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Okay, so in terms of long term side effects.. You will probably find it harder to control your weight, and you will probably find it harder to achieve orgasm. There are other possible side effects but they're very rare and if you have any of them you should probably go back and see your doctor.

Short term side effects will generally last a few days, and be pretty manageable (usually just drowsiness and loss of appetite), although it will take about a month for the positive effects to kick in. Often it's hard to tell when drugs are working because they just make you feel normal more of the time, so make sure to ask other people if they've noticed any improvement.

Really, it's not a scary thing at all. Slightly inconvenient maybe, but if you get to the point that the inconvenience outweighs the benefits you can always stop.

 

[WolfThomas]

Sertraline is an SSRI. That means a selective serotinin reuptake inhibitor. In simplest terms it blocks your body getting rid of serotonin a hormone that can be low in anxiety and depression. While commonly refered to as an "antidepressant", that term is a bit of a misnomer. SSRIs are used in depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (the nasty life-derailing disorder, not the personality disorder of a similar name).

They rely on having a steady state of the medication in your body and can take up to 6 weeks to actually show positive effects, such as improved energy, appetite, improved mood, decrease anxiety and better sleep. The side effects are often very early on and resolve with time and are not limited to gastrointestinal distress, sedation and paradoxically agitation (sounds crazy but it can). These often resolve quickly.

In mild depression and anxiety, often talk based therapies are as effective or more so than medication. Things like counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, bibliotherapy etc. However more severe conditions these interventions may not be effective until someone has been stable on a medication like an SSRI.

The common length of a first treatment is "Well plus 6months". It's not a quick fix like an antibiotic, but it isn't a lifelong thing. With each repeat bout of depression or anxiety the duration is usually extended. Some people choose to stay on them lifelong if they have had had several bad relapses.

For some people a particular medication isn't effective, in which most people trial swapping to a similar medication in the same class. This is often a lot easier as the body is used to the type of medication.

The most important pointed out above is you should go back and discuss this with your doctor, or another doctor you trust, a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist (though most depression or anxiety does not require a psychiatrist rather being capable of being managed by a family physican/General Practitioner rather than people on the internet.

Source: I'm a GP registrar.

 

[sky14kemea]

Pretty sure I've actually been on Sertraline. The problem is random people can't really give you advice about it because some medications work differently on other people. It wasn't right for me but it didn't cause me any major problems either.

All I remember is the first time I took any anti-depressant, I felt a bit sickly a few hours after. First few days are the roughest. After that you just have to make it habit.

But definitely talk to your doctor before taking advice from the internet.

Source: I'm a doctor.