“Do antidepressants make you worse before better?”
I am a 34 year old female and I want to start taking antidepressants. Do antidepressants make you worse before better?
9 Answers
Usually not. It often takes a few weeks before you get the positive effects of the antidepressants. In some situations the antidepressant can trigger manic symptoms in someone who has an underlying bipolar condition.
There are many factors that impact the effects of psychotropic medications, such as genetics, overall physical health and lifestyle. That is why there are so many different medications to address symptoms. It is recommended that you work with your doctor closely to find the right medication for you.
Sometimes yes
Not usually. The most commonly used antidepressants would not make one more depressed before they began to alleviate the depression a couple weeks later (they usually take several weeks before they help lift the depression). But sometimes there will be side effects like weight gain or interference with sleep that can be bothersome at first before the depression is lifted.
The immediate effects of medication are sometimes difficult--for example it may increase anxiety,agitation, insomnia and other side effects. Usually it is short lasting, such as for a few days or so until the medication reaches a therapeutic level in the bloodstream. It's a matter of getting over the hump in my clinical experience as reported by patients.
No. The moment you start taking meds they will start interacting with your brain cells. It might take about 4 weeks before you see concrete improvement. In these 4 weeks, you might feel more depressed off your triggers are still present or even if you believe your meds are not working when in fact they are. Keep taking your meds as prescribed and follow doctor's directions to augment medication amount or strength.
Dr. Rosana Marzullo-Dove
Dr. Rosana Marzullo-Dove
No, antidepressants do not usually make you worse before better. About 30% of patients do not respond positively to antidepressants, and another 35% only partly. About 1% of individuals under age 25 will have suicidal ideation. This caused an FDA black-box warning which had the effect of reducing the treatment of this population and an increase of about three thousand suicides. With this info the FDA continued their warning and the suicides continued because of the lack of treatment. This was all because 1% had suicidal ideation, but not suicide.
Sometimes they feel that way. Most take up to 6 weeks to take full effect. Consult your prescribing physician.
Some insight into your question can be found at this link:
https://time.com/3636985/antidepressants-depression/
https://time.com/3636985/antidepressants-depression/
