Are there any antidepressants that don't make you feel like ***? (sensitivity to side effects)

I have only ever taken antidepressants once many years ago - and it was Citalopram. The side effects were HORRENDOUS and I would never dare take another SSRI again as a result. They made me feel suicidal too - extremely so that I was all ready to make plans and do it, not just thoughts. Thankfully I had my husband with me to get me through it - he had to take time off work because I wasn’t safe to be left alone. I’d never take them ever again. I’m sorry you’ve had a terrible experience with this drug too. Take care.

I had the same and attempted suicide but thankfully failed. They are horrible medication those.

They are, but the ignorant pushers of such dangerous and frequently misdescribed drugs face no consequences whatsoever...

In fact many people revere them and they get paid handsomely. 

They've been drugging a friend of mine to the point where he stopped being able to speak coherently, and I have had to intervene, by attending his consultation and advocating for him.

Turns out they upped his dosage to "help him deal with a crisis" some years ago and never reviewed it afterwards... Consultant had LOADs of personal information wrong too, and was completely unaware that he was having the speech problems, despite having to ask my mate several times to repeat himself... I'm going back next week to provide the requested feedback, now they've reduced his dose a bit.

SOMEONE needed to be in his corner...

I don't think they're deliberately trying to kill us but it can seem that way.

Like others on here have reported I also had an horrendous experience with Citalopram. I experienced severe agitation, restlessness, a massive spike in anxiety and panic attacks, insomnia, horrific nightmares when I did manage to sleep.

My GP kept telling me that was normal and that I should stick with them. After a couple of months on them I was experiencing constant suicidal thoughts and obsessively making actual plans to act on them. I had not experienced such suicidal thoughts prior to taking the Citalopram ( I was put on them for anxiety not depression) and it was terrifying.

Finally I saw a locum GP who had the sense to take me off them immediately and prescribed a non SSRI antidepressant instead. I was no longer suicidal on those but they had other intolerable side effects and had to be stopped. I genuinely believe I would not be alive today if I had not seen that locum GP.

In my opinion they are potentially very dangerous, should be used with extreme caution and only if the patient requests them. Of course some people do find them tolerable and helpful and I can only speak from my own experience.

I think you are right that they don't understand us. These drugs have not been adequately tested on autistic people and we can have atypical and adverse reactions to them. Here on the NAS website it says:

"Although guidelines consider antidepressants are generally useful and safe, there is very little research into whether they help treat depression specifically in autistic people. What research there is suggests autistic people may be more likely to experience side effects"

Much more research is needed. Scientific research indicates that a significant proportion of autistic people actually have high serotonin levels in their blood already.

https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/serotonins-link-autism-explained/

"researchers have consistently found that about one in four people on the spectrum has high blood serotonin"

The doctors prescribing these drugs do not understand the impact they could have on autistic people. I believe the effects I suffered were as a result of SSRI induced activation syndrome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activation_syndrome

"Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) have been associated with a state of restlessness, lability, agitation, and anxiety termed "activation syndrome". In some people, this state change can increase suicidal tendencies"

There was a BBC Panorama documentary recently about SSRI antidepressants. It covered some of the long term side effects people were experiencing, even long after they had stopped taking them. It also showed how difficult withdrawal could be. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001n39z

Ultimately it's your decision if you take them or not. If they're not helping or the side effects are intolerable for you then it's perfectly understandable if you decide not to. Good luck whatever you decide.

Hi Jakey, I don’t think they’re trying kill us.  However I think they often prescribe anti-depressants because they know that the waiting lists for talking therapies etc are ridiculously long whereas SSRI drugs can be prescribed on the day and are much MUCH cheaper for the nhs than therapy. I do agree though that they are pretty damn reckless in that they know that many already vulnerable people are going to get very distressed by the side effects and some poor souls to the extent that they take their own lives.

I think these drugs do help some people though - I’ve heard a lot of people say they’ve been helped by them. I think I agree with you and others here who have said that people with autism seem to be more sensitive to drugs and their side effects. That’s been the case with me with various things. Maybe it’s hypersensitive interoception - that we feel bodily sensations more acutely than neurotypical people. I don’t know. Ultimately what matters is that we get good and effective help when we need it - and it’s often not the case.

I’m sorry you’re going through this, it’s horrible and traumatic. Please don’t lose hope though. And take care and remember that all the advice says to come off anti-depressant medication very gradually - especially if you’ve been taking it for some time. If you suddenly stop you might get withdrawal effects. So please be careful and do it gradually, because you’ve already suffered enough and the last thing you need is for stopping them to be harder than it has to be. 

I know it’s tough but you’ll get through this. I hope you’ve got a supportive family member or friend to support you at the moment? Good luck. 

Hi Jakey, I don’t think they’re trying kill us.  However I think they often prescribe anti-depressants because they know that the waiting lists for talking therapies etc are ridiculously long whereas SSRI drugs can be prescribed on the day and are much MUCH cheaper for the nhs than therapy. I do agree though that they are pretty damn reckless in that they know that many already vulnerable people are going to get very distressed by the side effects and some poor souls to the extent that they take their own lives.

I think these drugs do help some people though - I’ve heard a lot of people say they’ve been helped by them. I think I agree with you and others here who have said that people with autism seem to be more sensitive to drugs and their side effects. That’s been the case with me with various things. Maybe it’s hypersensitive interoception - that we feel bodily sensations more acutely than neurotypical people. I don’t know. Ultimately what matters is that we get good and effective help when we need it - and it’s often not the case.

I’m sorry you’re going through this, it’s horrible and traumatic. Please don’t lose hope though. And take care and remember that all the advice says to come off anti-depressant medication very gradually - especially if you’ve been taking it for some time. If you suddenly stop you might get withdrawal effects. So please be careful and do it gradually, because you’ve already suffered enough and the last thing you need is for stopping them to be harder than it has to be. 

I know it’s tough but you’ll get through this. I hope you’ve got a supportive family member or friend to support you at the moment? Good luck.