I have a few thoughts on the issue but best person to talk to is a doctor or two....
I went to on Anti dep for about 6 months about 7 years ago....I was having anxiety attacks...chest pain, SOB etc and everything was so dark, didn't want to get out of bed etc....I self medicated a bit with alcohol but that didn't work so well with having children to look after.....my son who was 2 at the time was very ill and they thought he may have had CP or some other neurological disease, even cancer...as it turned out he had a fatal metabolic disese....anyhow I was so stressed out I was getting lost when I was driving places, my heart was pounding in my chest, I was running around so much but getting done......
My doctor put me on Paxil...it seemed to be the wonder drug of the moment....and it was like the sun came out in all its glory....It was so great....it took the edge off enough that I could concentrate....I went for therapy as well...which is an absolute part of the whole treatment...no pill is gonna do everything...I learnt a lot about myself and got the support I needed. I had so much energy.....my doctor said I had felt so bad for so long that it felt good to feel good....or something like that.
Anyhow as it turned out my son died one year later....I was no longer on anti dep but I didn't end up on a pysch ward as I would have imagined...I had gained the ability to cope with my break down one year before.....and even though it wasn't easy and I was in so much emotional and physical pain at times it would have been easier to die....I hung in there. I lived for my 4 year old that was left behind and my love for her was all that pulled me through to the other side.....
So long story short, I think that they help and for some people it is a life long necessity...like insulin for a diabetic...other times it is short term like a course of antibiotics....it depends on what type of depression you have.
That is (part of) my story and I'm sticking to it.
Let us know how things go!
Elizabeth (aka liz321)
P.S. There is no reason you have to lose your sex drive with anti dep...your doc just might have to play around with the drug that works best for you...I would imagine if you are feeling less depressed you will feel better in all aspects of your life
Hang in there!