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Some of the comments on here are scary. I've been using Sertraline on and off for 13 years and have never suffered any ill effects other than minor nausea and t

Some of the comments on here are scary. I've been using Sertraline on and off for 13 years and have never suffered any ill effects other than minor nausea and tiredness. This is, according to the vast body of research done, the majority of people's experiences. Most importantly, I feel better when I take it. If you're thinking of taking SSRIs, please don't let the comments here scare you. They can have a massively positive effect.

odiroot 8y ago
Exactly. I never understood why is there such a witch hunt against SSRIs and not only on HN. I have a strong suspicion alternative-medicine folks are just pushing it.
- jacobush 8y ago
  There may be, but on this forum I just see people sharing shit that happened to them. It's a self selected group. If you see a headline and some bad stuff has happened to you, it's only natural that you may want to tell about it.
  - maxehmookau 8y ago
    True. Well this is me diluting it. SSRIs saved my life.
- leetcrew 8y ago
  like any "internet review", the outliers are going to dominate the conversation. the drugs either saved the person's life or they had terrible side effects (or both). that said, a concerning issue with antidepressants is that doctors don't really understand how or why they work. the condition they treat, depression, is also not very well understood and does not seem to have a single root cause. out of twenty or so major drugs, a doctor has very little ability to predict which one will work for a particular patient. when you put all these factors together, being prescribed drugs for depression feels a lot more like "pulling random levers until something works" than most other forms of medical treatment. I don't share your suspicion that most of this is alternative-medicine shilling. enough of my close friends have experienced the same positive and negative effects described here that I will take most accounts as genuine.
Asooka 8y ago
> If you're thinking of taking SSRIs, please don't let the comments here scare you. Is this what you actually think, or just what the drug is telling you to think though? I would much rather just be depressed than chemically castrate my brain.
- maxehmookau 8y ago
  SSRIs don't "tell" you to think anything. Your comment is ignorant about a complex subject. If you'd "rather be depressed" then you've never suffered from depression.

odiroot 8y ago

Exactly. I never understood why is there such a witch hunt against SSRIs and not only on HN. I have a strong suspicion alternative-medicine folks are just pushing it.

jacobush 8y ago
There may be, but on this forum I just see people sharing shit that happened to them. It's a self selected group. If you see a headline and some bad stuff has happened to you, it's only natural that you may want to tell about it.
- maxehmookau 8y ago
  True. Well this is me diluting it. SSRIs saved my life.
leetcrew 8y ago
like any "internet review", the outliers are going to dominate the conversation. the drugs either saved the person's life or they had terrible side effects (or both). that said, a concerning issue with antidepressants is that doctors don't really understand how or why they work. the condition they treat, depression, is also not very well understood and does not seem to have a single root cause. out of twenty or so major drugs, a doctor has very little ability to predict which one will work for a particular patient. when you put all these factors together, being prescribed drugs for depression feels a lot more like "pulling random levers until something works" than most other forms of medical treatment. I don't share your suspicion that most of this is alternative-medicine shilling. enough of my close friends have experienced the same positive and negative effects described here that I will take most accounts as genuine.

Asooka 8y ago

> If you're thinking of taking SSRIs, please don't let the comments here scare you. Is this what you actually think, or just what the drug is telling you to think though? I would much rather just be depressed than chemically castrate my brain.

maxehmookau 8y ago
SSRIs don't "tell" you to think anything. Your comment is ignorant about a complex subject. If you'd "rather be depressed" then you've never suffered from depression.