Experience with anti-depressants?

[TxiaHoria55]

Hi everyone,
I finally was able to have an appointment with the psychiatrist at my univeristy. She agreed that I had "PTSD" symptoms (she didn't seem to make the difference bettween C-PTSD and PTSD, wich I'm starting to think it's a common thing specialists do here where I live). She proposed me to start with anti-depressants, like Celexa or Trintellix.
I'm still not sure about it. I've been reading some articles, and I know that not all anti-depressants are addictive. But there's still this part of me that's kind of afraid of taking this step. It would help me with my CPTSD symptoms, but still...
Does anyone here have any experience with this type of anti-depressants? I would really be grateful for some advice...

[Ghost]

Hi TxiaHoria,
I was very scared to get on medication. I was so afraid of what it would do to my body and my brain. I also have a long history of addiction.
It took me a long time to be comfortable taking meds.

I don't know Trintellix but I do know Celexa. It's an SSRI. My mom has taken an SSRI for the majority of my life.
She really likes it. It doesn't change her behavior too much. She just seems to underreact. Her exact words are "I know what's happening but I don't have to care about it." My mom is still in an unhealthy situation so it really helps her get through it without taking harsh comments into herself. Water off a duck. 🦆
This is just my perception of her experience though.

Your concerns are totally valid, taking meds is a big change. I think we're so sensitive to our bodies because of what happened that doing something that could chemically change us, our behavior, or how we experience things can be really scary.
But you totally have the right to take your time or ask for other medication options and ask the psychiatrist as many questions as you need to feel comfortable.

PS
My doctors also just call it PTSD. I think they just lump them together.

[blue_sky]

Hi TxiaHoria,

I was also incredibly scared to start anti-depressants. For a long time, i even feared going to a psychiatrist because of the stigma/taboo those things hold in South Asian culture. But since trying therapy alone didn't help me much even after 2.5 years, I finally went to see a psychiatrist and started on medication.

It helped me but the first one i was on made me drowsy. Then the doc changed the meds to Celexa. It was working better for me but not the best.

With changed circumstances and when life just happened, Celexa wasn't working well for me but my doc kept insisting on not changing the dose or meds.

I decided to change the psychiatrist altogether and the new psychiatrist (have been with him for 2 years now) is a Godsend for me.
He doesn't hesitate changing/trying new medication or dose or even trying combination of two different meds to get the best effect for me. He calls it the titration method.
He is also constantly in touch with my therapist and my general practitioner to make sure they're all aware of what's happening for me.

Honestly, it's really important to have a rapport with your doctor and also to trust the process and listen to your guts.
I'd suggest don't hesitate to ask questions/ research on your own/ find another doc if things don't seem to click.

Take care.