Antidepressents

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For those of you who don't know, I'm MtF, though i haven't done anything to transition yet. My dad (he don't know about the trans thing yet) is thinking about getting me a prescription for anti-depressants. So what I'm asking to those of you who have taken them. what happens? did you become more sure of being trans or gay or whatever? did you become less sure? I'm just wondering because he said taking them would clear things up for me.

I'm not sure I understand, does he want you to take them for depression, or for being trans, or something else?
I take them for depression, but I wouldn't say they have had any effect whatsoever on things such as gender or sexuality, hadn't even thought about the possibility, really.

I would make sure that you can see a experienced and qualified mental health professional such as a psychiatrist who could prescribe, or even a psychologist first and see what they recommend.

Not knowing I had cyclothymia, I was prescribed anti-depressants by my primary care physician and that made me worse. Come to find out with bi-polar and cyclothymia, you really shouldn't be on anti-depressants without other drugs in the mix to balance or counteract some of the side effects. I would have known this if I would have seen a psychiatrist. Now I'm on a mood stabilizer which is what I should have been on in the first place.

Your pcp if you have one may already understand this and recommend a psychiatrist to see. Also don't expect to get it immediately. You may have to have a session or two with the prescribing doctor to see if it's what you need.


Overall though, I would talk with your dad. If your depression is rooted in the transgender aspect of your life, no amount of anti-depressants will fix the problem, only smother the symptom. If your father is concerned enough to accept the possibility that you need medication to get through life, then it sounds like he's looking out for you even if he may or may not like you being transgender. I'd start with this. Remind him that he does care and watch out for you if you have any trepidation for informing him of being transgender.

If you're depressed and the anti-depressants remove the depressed feeling from your life, you can concentrate on the other thoughts and feelings. I know when I got depressed or manic, it tainted everything I do. Every other thought or feeling and choice was filtered through the mood. Without the mood extremes, I'm better at coping and dealing with other things in life. This might be what your father meant for clearing things up.

I've read that it's trial and error in a respectful sense.

And also, that it's important to phase down from an antidepressant in steps, even if it doesn't seem to be working. That's even more important than phasing into the medicine when first starting out.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/03 ... ing-drugs3

Yes. Phasing out is a really good thing to do. I quit cold-turkey using an anti-depressant the second time around because I couldn't stand it anymore. The brain shocks were the most interesting symptom, but overall it was not pleasant.

And yes to the trial and error. You may experience side effects worse than the depression with one med, and should switch to another. A good psychiatrist will warn you of what to look out for. This is true for any neuro-medicine. I was warned to watch out for some of the side effects with the mood stabilizer I'm on. Some of them were pretty bad, but luckily none of them occurred.

Most Antidepressants targets your serotonin levels which affects your mood so I'm not sure whether they'd be any use to you.

The first couple of weeks you're on antidepressants, you need to be monitored regularly as they tend to make you suicidal but after a while, you're body gets used to them and sort of makes you feel numb.

I'm on antidepressants, but I'm still severely depressed all the time from gender dysphoria and wish I were dead. I cry shivering most nights. It's possible, though, that antidepressants move me from immediate suicide risk to merely wishing myself dead without acting.