If I can resist being attracted by that fantastic array of emoticons, I'd like to add my penn'orth to this topic. I am 48, have suffered from episodes of depression on and off since I was 18, and have been on citalopram 20mg for almost 3 years, having tried to get by without antidepressants for about three years before that. Whenever I take any ADs in this group I feel rather odd for the first couple of weeks- in a bubble, a bit nauseous, sleep disturbances. After four weeks on citalopram (or thereabouts) I felt as if I had been lifted and dropped in another place, a vantage point from which my life and I looked OK, and I realised that my dissatisfaction and unhappiness had mainly been a result of depression. Stick with it, this SSRI is in my opinion very good- it doesn't even interfere with sexual function, which mostly they do in my experience. I feel a lot more myself on them than say, Lustral, which was the last one I was on. But after almost 3 years I am so used to them I don't know where I end and the tablets begin, which I guess in itself is a concern in terms of getting off them! I have a sister who also suffers from depression and she has more or less accepted she will be on a maintenance dose of prozac for ever. Last time I came off tablets successfully I phased out the medication by increasing amounts of meditation, which took dedication
. But the depression returned. I feel pretty good now- not amazing, I still have ups and downs, but they are manageable. Us folks just have to do what it takes ^&* even if it involves tying a balloon to a dog. Good luck xx
