To take or not to take antidepressants?
Posted , 5 users are following.
For almost 6 months I've been crippled with health anxiety. Every day has been a struggle with a new worry and health concern. Every odd week I may feel okay which gives me some hope that soon I may just return back to my usual old self again. However the anxiety always returns and has me spending days on end without a break of stopping worrying, the stress leaves me tired and I'm forever checking myself and wanting to cry or be given reassurance.
I was given sertreline Afew weeks ago and have yet to begin them properly (I've took three but not over consistent days). My question is, should I start these tablets properly or continue to try and get back to myself unaided? I'm scared I will become reliant on tablets or suffer with withdrawal which obviously comes hand in hand with my health anxiety.
How has people got on with taking these or generally any anti depressants whilst suffering from health anxiety in particular ??
0 likes, 6 replies
karen77710 Worryoverheath
Posted
Hi I have suffered really bad with health anxiety for nearly a year now, dr as gave me alsorts of meds to try but I won't take them because I worry about the side effects. I am going to CBT which I think is better hope this helps x
ann55375 Worryoverheath
Posted
arich Worryoverheath
Posted
I have every type of anxiety you can think of including health. I also got prescribed this and it gave me awful headaches and migraines so I stopped. I started zoloft and took it for 4 months, then started gaining weight like crazy even if I didnt eat all day. I gained 8 pounds which is a big no go for me so I stopped. I will say I was super depressed and anxious before I started and it made me feel so much better, weight gain was my only side effect with Zoloft. I took it for 4 months and then stopped, I've been off for 2 weeks and no side effects. But I think if I was on any longer getting off would've been hell. And my anxiety has been a lot better even being off... I do have xanax for when I need it. Anyways, I think taking this medicine made me just have a more positive outlook on life even now that im off I haven't really gone back to thinking negatively 24/7. I sometimes have irrational thoughts but nowhere near as often. I think the short period of me being on it helped. I wouldn't stay on for a long time though.
Worryoverheath arich
Posted
Glad you feel better! Would you recomend asking my doctor for something else maybe? I also felt really sick when I took the sertreline! 🤢 And I've never felt lad different when it's been taken, which I jusy put down to it needing to get in my system. How soon after taking Zoloft did you feel the benefits?
arich Worryoverheath
Posted
Yeah it's definitely that it needs to get in your system. it took like 3 weeks for me to feel any benefits after I started talking antidepressants. and I felt the benefits while on Zoloft but now that im off of it I still feel better than I did before taking them. I feel like since I felt good and not as anxious for 4 months, my thoughts started to naturally be less negative you know what I mean?
ariillustrates Worryoverheath
Posted
Hi Healthworrier!
Honestly, whether you feel comfortable taking the medications or not is completely up to you. I also suffer from health anxiety and an immense fear of medications and taking them. If you do decide to get on some, they can work wonders but it is a trial and error process. Right now I'm only doing CBT, which helps considerably. I was unable to bring myself to the point where I could start taking meds without freaking out about it, so i'm trying to just manage without them. Have you considered therapy?