I would take myself off them as I have done before.

Do not try celexa. That is what I was on. They make life feel like you're Ben Stein's voice.

 

This is EXTRAORDINARILY bad advice.

To the question: everyone is different, and their brain chemistry is different, and their reuptake rate of serotonin and norepinephrine is different.

That's why it is not uncommon to have to try several different meds until you and your doctor find the one - or the combination - that suits you and works without undue side effects.

Zoloft is the most-prescribed in the nation and therefore, you would assume the most effective. But again, it depends on a lot of factors.

The one of which I've always heard good anecdotal accounts is Paxil; there don't seem to be many people who aren't helped by Paxil to one degree or another.

However, the sexual side effects of Paxil are difficult to live with if you have a full sex life.

Work with your doctor to find the best therapy for you; don't resist trying combinations of differently-based drugs if your doc thinks that's best.

Most importantly, don't give up. You can fool yourself that you're better off without meds, but if you really do have chronic depression and you're off meds all it takes is one incident out of the ordinary to set off a spiral you might find difficult to recover from.

 

I didn't say that they should I said that I would.

edit:

also, just because it's not what society would deem a normal idea and what a MD would do it's bad advice?

edit again:

look into holistic medicine.

 

That's exactly what you said.

This isn't a philosophical exercise, man. It could be life-or-death for someone. Stop being so flippant about it.

 

Different people have different reactions but a very good friend of mine uses Zoloft. It's worked for her pretty well. The best person to ask would be your doctor, as Nabo says. You can ask him about several drugs but he'll be the most informed about what to take considering your situation.

 

myself not anyone else.

stop assuming depression medications will automatically take the 'life or death' out of the situation.

it's not a 100% cure even if they are on it.

 

A person comes on here to ask about meds and you want to make it some ****ing hypothetical exercise. Nice going.

I've lost a lot of respect for you today.

 

they just don't work for me.

how am i supposed to say "go take depression medication" when due to my experience I don't think it made a lick of a difference to me or my life?

OP take the medications I'm not saying don't. I'm just saying they didn't work for me.

edit:

take a look at the original question:

GIVEN YOUR EXPERIENCE.....

my experience nabo. not yours. that is my experience.

sorry it isn't agreeable to yours :glare:

 

Work with your doctor it may take more than one try but from the experiences I have seen (family/friends) they do get it figured out and it makes a world of difference. I agree about looking into other options besides medicine but they will probably be your best bet (although don't count out non-traditional means). Talk to your doctor and see what happens.

 

A combination of psychotropics and therapy is, in my porfessional opinion, usually the best way to go when dealing with depression. There are many good meds out there with different side effects and different effectivness rates. In my experiences, I've seen thebest success rates with Prozac, Zoloft, and Wellbutrin. Please don't let this go untreated. Even if you just see a therapist for treatment, its better then nothing. With some cases of depression, therapy can begin to alleivate symptoms in as little as 10-12 sessions. One more note on medications, people typically don't see results of meds for 2 to 4 weeks after starting the regime. It can take that long to build up therapeutic levels in the blood stream. Good luck.

Edit:
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. My professional experience lies in the area of adolescent and family therapy. My post is not intended to replace the consultation and advice from a physican.

 

I am not offering advice, but I know others here have knowledge. Of course, a physician has to be consulted, but for general purpose knowledge, doesn't it depend on if the depression is situational or chemical? Is it sometimes combined?

 

It can be. Depression can be what I refer to as state or trait. State depression is the depression that one experiences when something bad happens, a loved one dies, etc. Trait depression is the chemical predisposition to depression.
However, someone could have a genetic predisposition to depression but the depression doesn't manifest itself until something bad happens. Ie someone who years later is not able to lift the overwhelming saddness they experienced after their mother passed away five years ago.

Hope this makes sense.

 

I can't say I have any experience with it. I do know cymbalta is made by Eli Lilly, the makers of prozac, and that its realtively knew on the market (meaning less then 20 years old). If this is the medication that is being prescribed, or even discussed, I would make a list of questions and bring them to the psychiatrist. Side effects, how long will it take to work, how long will I be on the medication and so on. I know typically psychiatrists only spend 10-15 minuets with their patients so I suggest you use this time to your advantage and get all your questions answered.

 

I'm bipolar and I'm using Lexapro & lithium. I tried a few others (cant rem the names) & it didn't help but Lexapro works great for me. I'm not as depressed as before. I can't say it will work for you but I can say you should consider researching and ask your doctor about it.

Another thing that has helped me is everytime I felt depressed, I would go do something that makes me happy: surf the web, sex with GF, watch pron, play video games, etc. You get the point.

 

Cymbalta is effective for a lot of people; it wasn't for me but everyone is different.

One nice thing about Cymbalta is that it aids in controlling anxiety as well as depression.

 

Paxil works pretty well for me. Theres a good generic version of it out thats very affordable.

 

In my limited experience, it's important to -- at least to start with -- combine therapy with medication. And be very, very honest with your prescribing psychiatrist regarding your progress -- that's how he or she will know how to adjust meds and dosages, if necessary.

 

I understand you were being funny (I chuckled myself), but it bears mentioning that weed, unfortunately, ultimately makes depressed people more depressed, because ... well ... it's a depressant. :up:

 

Smart move. It's the last thing you need now.

Yep...the reason is that pot (and ecstasy, except X is 1000 times worse for this reason) causes the release of "feel-good" chemicals in the brain - among those serotonin.

And what happens then is that when you come down, your body has produced so much serotonin in such a short span of time that it stops making it altogether for a time. And that can be as long as a couple of weeks.

A week or two without serotonin for a person who already suffers depression is a REALLY bad thing.