Going on anti-depressants

[Sleepwalking]

I was told today I'll be going on antidepressants in the next few weeks.
What way will they make me feel? I don't know the name, so sorry about that. He just said they increase serotonin levels.

[aperson444]

Depends on which. Most antidepressants are SSRIs (which your doctor seems to have told you). They block the SERT protein and increase synaptic levels of serotonin. They also tend to desensitize serotonin receptors (for example sertraline or Zoloft will desensitize 5ht1a receptors). Some antidepressants have action on 5HT2A receptors (antagonism), some have affinity for sigma receptors (usually antagonism), some will bind to the dopamine transporters (like Zoloft).

When I went on them for the first time (Prozac) they made me feel like total shit for the first 2-3 weeks. I was in a mental hospital though, so that added to my discomfort. I got really bad headaches, a little nausea and severe fatigue. There was also a little appetite fluctuation. Most first-line antidepressants have sexual side effects as well. Masturbation might not feel as good, and you might be delayed or premature. Throughout the school year (9th grade, I'm in 10th now, so it has not been too long) I was tired. I slept in class. I couldn't stay awake. I got enough sleep. I'm not sure what caused my fatigue. I drank a lot of caffeine -- but even when I drank more when I got tired, I still fell asleep or got drowsy. So we decided to switch medications. I was only getting more depressed anyways. I was put on Zoloft (sertraline). I still am on Zoloft. I found that it made me very hyper and energetic at first, then tired all in a sudden. This continue for the first month or so. Sexual side effects were slightly less and I didn't get as tired as before. Zoloft gave me some pretty gnarly headaches though.

For all antidepressants, there seems to be a common phenomena: They make you feel very numb. Things seem almost unreal. It can be an unpleasant state to some, because you just feel "normal". You may or may not actually be "normal" emotionally, but you will feel in a limbo. It's hard to describe.

[DefianttotheEnd]

In contrast to the novel that aperson just wrote.

For the first 1-2 weeks you'll probably feel worse and be messed up psychologically, but it should be a bit better after a while.

If it's an MAOI you really need to watch what else you take, they interact with EVERYTHING. And I mean EVERYTHING. If you take something without looking and you're on an MAOI you're trying to fuck yourself up psychologically.

If it's an SSRI it's not as bad but those make you feel the worst for a few weeks.