This thread has been posed before. I do take anti depressants and believe they help me immensely. They do not eliminate stress but they allow you to come down from the worry of it a lot quicker than if you weren't on them. For me personally stress is a very big trigger for my RA so this aspect of what the anti depressants do for me is very important. I used to be prone to getting very depressed and withdrawn. Now if I get down I allow myself a reasonable time to have a pity party of one , then kick myself in the butt to get over it. The anti depressants allow me to make that happen. I had to try 3 different meds before I found the right one for me and like RA meds they take a few weeks to kick in. Hope this answers your question. P.S. It is important for you to know that before I went on the anti depressants I had high BP and migraines from stress. My BP is normal w/o meds and I rarely get migrianes anymore. Also pre anti depressants I thought of them as a crutch and unnecessary pills. Now I would trade my RA meds before I would give up on my anti depressants!

Thank you for your reply. I've also have had a migrain since Feb 10. yuk

Before RA I was on 75 mg of effexor for mild depression once I got RA & RPC it was increased to 150mg a day I also take 150 mg of topamax a day it helps with migrains & takes the edge off the high dose's of predisone I must be on. My rhuemy prescribes both. Without them I don't know where I would be. I did have to try several anti depressents before finding that effexor worked the best for me. RA is a lot to deal with so never be ashamed of asking for help. Good luck to you.
God Bless
Deb

I've taken a few different things for depression and anxiety. They have helped somewhat. I would reccomend at least trying them. I would ask your regular doctor and would suggest getting a psychiatrist. Mine helps me a lot.

I was actually prescribed Elavil for Fibromyalgia to help me sleep at night. The side benefit is that I haven't experienced any of the deep depressions I can get into. I also take Zoloft in the morning for anxiety - because I have been incredibly anxious since I stopped working full time two years ago. Both these meds are antidepressants and they have helped me a great deal.

Like Marcia I suffer from stress very easily. I once had a massage therapist who told me that there are people who live in the fast lane, and there are people who live in the slow lane - but you - she said - live in the intense lane... She was right on! So I would reccomend this type of drug therapy.

I would ask your rheumy. Chronic pain caused by the RA will cause depression. Antidepressants are also good for pain. Good luck to you

I used to take Cymbalta for depression. It's also part pain killer so that seemed to help with my RA.