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I am a on and off user of anti-depressants for almost 20 years. I am not against them in any way and they have helped me immensely. It has been almost 2 years since I have been on any. Normally, I have clear signs that I need to go back on them (I've been told I will need them throughout my life). The thing is, I am not having my "normal" signs. I am not necessarily sad, miserable, crying, hopeless, etc. I am just blah. As far as the affair goes, I've accepted that it is over and done with and that how our marriage is is how it's going to bad...it's not bad but we are at a standstill...just roomies (and I'm okay with this). My big concern is that I am not enjoying anytime with my children and I am easily agitated over the smallest thing that anyone in my family does. I feel no empathy for anyone, including my 7 yo DD. She drives me crazy the most.

So, I guess I'm wondering should I put myself back on AD's in hopes of becoming a better mom and being less angry....or just accept that this is how my family is. My family is not going to change...I've tried to encourage more helpfulness, being nicer to each other, scheduling time to hang out together, but no one in the family is making any attempts to make things better. It's not a horrible family life, but it's not what I wanted or how I want my kids to remember their childhood. I have a teenager and a 7 yo who do not get along. My house is constant fussing and messiness.

Will AD's help in any way or do I need to be in full-blown depression? My go-to AD is Prozac, though I have tried many others. Prozac has been the one I trust.

I have been on Prozac for years. I have gone off now and then, but always end up back on them. I don't have a full-blown depression, but I do relate to the quickly agitated feelings and getting angry/having a flare up over innocuous things.

Prozac is a lifesaver for me. I figure if I had diabetes, I would take my insulin without question. There just seems to be a stigma attached to taking AD's. But in my case, I have some kind of a chemical imbalance that the AD's help to smooth out and it works for me.

I say give it try and see if it makes you feel better. We all go through slumps in life, but if it seems to hang on, I think that's when meds should be explored. Life is too short to *not care*.

This is in OffTopic so I am going to kinda dance around the questions that I want to ask.

You joined SI in 2011. That was just 2 years ago. I have to tell you that in the 4 years after I joined SI, I am not sure how I would have survived without anti-D. Like you, I have suffered from cycles of depression since I was young. I also have clear signs of when I am cycling into depression. However, the reason caused me to join SI caused so much turmoil in my emotional an mental health that my classic depression was completely washed away and replaced with desperation. I also was prescribed Xanax during this time period.

I was in an angry phase for several years. I do think the anti-d helped me manage my anger (but not reduce it...). And I actually started to taper off anti-d after my father died (and actually stopped taking them when my mother died), although my therapist did not think I should. Thing is, I did not NEED them to deal with a natural life event like an elderly parent dying -- most people's parents will die before them. I needed them to deal with a life event that was so unexpected and so catastrophic that I did not know which way was up.

You know the side effects for you when you take anti-d. If they are not bad for you (and everyone is different) then I think it would be worth trying them for a few months and see where you are. They obviously will not help with the natural chaos of raising kids (including the fighting) but they may help you deal with it better and not get as stressed and thus be a more laid back parent. The only down side of trying them, that I see, would be dealing with the side effects for a few months and then determining that they really are not helping.

(((hugs)))

[This message edited by Dreamboat at 8:39 PM, January 12th (Sunday)]

If I were your physician I'd tell you to restart them.

Dr. PJ4

Double post

T/j: why do these happen????

[This message edited by purplejacket4 at 10:57 PM, January 12th (Sunday)]

Thank you all for your replies! I have an appt set up for next Monday, would have had one this week but my kids have half days at school this week and I'm working the other days. Grrr!

The only side effect I get with Prozac is sleepiness, but again I haven't taken Prozac except for when I'm on the deep-end of depression. Hopefully I will see benefits this go around. I have no desire to try any other type of AD because I have had bad experiences (and good) with others in the past. How do Dr's know if we need the SSRI or the SNRI? Wondering if Prozac will be the correct med for me this time since my symptoms are different.

I think I know the answer to this but...I have some Prozac left from last time (about 2 years ago) and I probably shouldn't take those...right? How would I know if it is no longer good...and if it was no longer good, it just wouldn't work right? It couldn't harm me though...right?

Thanks again everyone!