Later on, the side effect of a lower libido began to matter but for obvious reasons was not noticeable for some time. (And some anti-depressants do not have that effect, btw)
The A/D I'm on (Viibryd) is reported to not affect labido, it was hard to tell at first because depression DOES affect labido so it's easy to blame the med's rather than the depression.
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To sum up, I needed both anti anxiety meds and anti-depressants for awhile.
I did too. As you mentioned the A/D's have to be taken every day and it takes 3 to 6 weeks for the body to adjust to them and for them to really work their magic, but for me when they finally started to take effect it made a huge difference. I still feel down about my sitch of course (especially on the weeks I don't have the kids), but it's quite manageable now. I function normally at work and home and enjoy my hobbies again. Before the A/D's I was a complete mess, couldn't get anything done at work, endless crying, etc. etc.
For a while I had to take benzos whenever I had an anxiety attack, but whereas A/D's are not addictive, benzos are so I was really paranoid about them. I tried to take them only when I had to. As I adjusted to the A/D's I needed the benzos less and less. At this point I don't have anxiety attacks at all and I haven't taken a benzo in well over a month.
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At first it bothered my ego./ But then I said, "so what?" So I let my ego take a small hit and boy, it was worth it.
I agree completely. I've never taken long-term meds for anything and didn't want to start, but I sucked it up and now I can't imagine anything helping my DB'ing more than the A/Ds have. It's so much easier to have a PMA and to act "as if" when you're not constantly trying to dig out of depression.
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Many around here do/did take both. Arsene, this is not permanent.
Exactly, since A/D's aren't addictive you can get off of them once your sitch stablizes. It's not a good idea to go cold turkey, but you can reduce the amount each week and taper off of them in a month or so.
