Cognition and Antidepressants

[kg85]

Hi everyone! Im going through a tough time with my anxiety, and my doctor is encouraging me to take antid for a while, which I think its a good idea.

Im currently studying with a really good GPA, and also starting to work in a high cognitive demanding job.

Ive done my research and found out that Fluvoxamine Bupropion and Sertraline seem to be the best anti-d for cognition. Furthermore, some neuroscientists are starting to say Fluvox is a Sigma 1 agonist, which has an impact on cognition.

I would like to know opinions from people that have taken anti d. Have they helped with cognition? Hhave they worsened it? Someone who has taken Fluvoxamine?

Thanks everyone!!!

[Robbed]

I've not taken antidepressants. But knowing people who have, I can tell you that decreased cognition is a REAL risk. Antidepressants CAN improve cognition for people who are REALLY badly off in terms of their depression/anxiety. BUT, if your cognitive abilities are pretty good, chances become MUCH greater that antidepressants are going to decrease your cognitive abilities (they start to have nowhere to go but down). As far as which antidepressant is going to be best for you, NOBODY csn tell you for sure. Just because somebody comes on here and tells you that they had no problems with a given antidepressant, this doesn't mean you won't. The only way to know is trial and error. And this can always potentially put you in a place you don't want to be if you try a drug that is a bad fit. So think about this CAREFULLY. Ask yourself what you have done to help you deal with your anxiety. Have you REALLY done everything you can to deal with it without drugs? If not, then I would first try a nonpharmaceutical therapy such as CBT or ACT. These have the potential to treat your anxiety MUCH more effectively in the long term, and without side effects like loss of cognitive abilities. And unlike meds, they have the ability to actually heal you rather than just putting a bandaid on your problems.

[DaneV]

If you are depressed and anxious it is very likely that an antidepressant that works to decrease the two will be beneficial for your cognition aswell. If this will be the case for you, you can only find out by trying

[Robbed]

If you are depressed and anxious it is very likely that an antidepressant that works to decrease the two will be beneficial for your cognition aswell.

Even this is uncertain. The problem is that antidepressants generally have sedative qualities, and often put people's minds 'in a fog'. So even if they DO end up reducing depression and anxiety, they may not improve cognition (or may have a negative effect on it). But, like I said, the better your cognition is in the first place, the more likely antidepressants will reduce it (regardless of any effect on depression/anxiety). And the worse your cognition is as a result of depression/anxiety, the more likely antidepressants will improve it. So if you're already an 'A' student, and are worried about how antidepressants will affect cognition, I would go for something like CBT or ACT instead. Besides, it is a well-known fact that antidepressants work MUCH better for people with particularly severe depression/anxiety than for people with milder symptoms (which it sounds like you have, since you are at least able to go to school and do well, get a good job, etc).

[DaneV]

@robbed
You're right... Antidepressants have the ability to both increase and decrease cognition, allthough this effect is rare for modern antidepressants. They will probably not increase cognition beyond pre-depression levels for allmost everyone so indeed it only makes sense to take them if your symptoms really get in the way of your daily functioning.

For me SSRI's improved my cognition slightly, but i have to say it was pretty severly affected by the damage depression and anxiety has done. Unfortunately SSRI's turned out to increase my anxiety even after 1,5month usage. Now i'm on stablon and I have the cognition improvement, along with some mild antidepressant effect without the nasty side effects. I'm able to do my exams this week, which relieves a lot of stress by itself (compared to failing the semester).

Stablon is really a great drug by the way. Hardly has any side effects (no sexual ones either) and its way more subtle on your nervous system then most other antidepressants. Unfortunately you can't get it the conventional way in the US and where i live (NL).

[kg85]

Thank you very much guys! Definitely taking in consideration Stablon and will council it with my doctor.

Im at the point where cognition starts to get impaired due to anxiety and stress, so I think its worth trying antid's. I read Stablon is good for cognition. Tianeptine seems to work well, someone has taken this antidepressant?

Thank you very much all of you for your help, opinions and share your knowledge!!