Anti Depressants

Does anyone know anything about these? "Good" brands? Side effects?

I've been considering taking anti depressants -- for obvious reasons. Any information would be helpful. (I'm seeing a doctor before getting them, of course, lol).

every antidepressant is going to affect an individual differently.  Some are know to be stimulants (wellbutrin/buprion) some are known to be depressants (elavil/amitriptyline, celexa), others have possible anti anxiety effects (paxil).

It is trial and error and a lot based on your individual symptoms.  Me, personally, paxil makes me want to kill people.  Other people-- its a godsend.  If you have family members who take meds, look to what they take and what works for them.  A lot of it depends on your unique chemistry and metabolization of drugs, the way that family members work will be significant for you.

Good luck!

(and ps, they all have side effects.  sometimes they are significant (um wanting to kill people?  really not much better than wanting to die.  dry mouth?  that I can handle) and some less so.  It is very much a cost benefit analysis.  Some people will notice very few side effects, for others, they can be huge.  The biggest thing to realize is that most side effects will disappear after the intial titration, a few weeks, six weeks usually at the most.)

I just took my psychiatry final. We learned quite a bit about antidepressants (more from a mechanism perspective though). What kind of information were you looking for?

Edit: Let me rephrase that. If I tried to list all the antidepressants that we learned and all the side effects, it might take a really long time. Is there anything more specific you were looking for?

Thanks for helping me out. =)

Anything specific? Not really. I just want to stop feeling so down and unmotivated all the time. I've stopped caring about EVERYTHING and I hate it. I want to be able to focus again.

You know that silver lining that other people see? I don't. There's a f***ing dark cloud following me around all the time -- no sign of any silver lining. =(

Suicide preoccupies my mind so often it's ridiculous... It isn't fun.

=(

I'm really sorry about your situation. Depression Sucks. At least your going to go get treated though. Half of the people who need psychiatric treatment never pursue it. You'll at least be part of the functional half. 

There are a lot of different antidepressants. Prozac is used a lot because its action is much more specific than earlier antidepressants and its pretty cheap. People tend to have less side effects with SSRIs such as prozac. 

A decent amount of your appointment with your doctor will probably be determining if you have ever had a manic episode. If you have even had one, then you'll be diagnosed with Bipolar depression. This is an important distinction because if you are bipolar and they put you on regular antidepressants, it could push you into mania.

Also, if you spend a lot of time thinking about suicide, its important to have someone that you can call if you think you won't be able to stop yourself. A friend, family member, or even a suicide help line would work for this kind of thing.

I know that the hopelessness of depression can be incredibly defeating. I wish you the best!

I'm on Prozac/Fluoxetine which is an SSRI and that's been pretty good for me since I started taking it in November - I've regained a lot of pleasure in doing things and more motivation and energy to get up and about and enjoying life again. However, side effects for me have been dry mouth and really some pretty bad phases of insomnia...but I'm seeing my doc about that so dunno if I will get my medication changed or not.

but yeah, your doc will try to find the right meds for you and your situation and it will just be trial and error. We have a family friend who has, in the last couple of months or so, been trialled on so many different medications just to try and find the one which suits her because everyone is unique! One drug won't cure the problem for everyone yknow. :)

Best of luck, I really hope you start to feel better soon because I know jsut how crappy all this can feel.

Lexapro has worked for me. Alot of stress in my life and helps me focus and beable to deal with everything. It gets rid of those thoughts that run through your head. They seem to work really fast too. I take 10- 15 mg.  Also, lexapro doesn't have any sexual side effects so has worked better than the others - who need to add that to someone already depressed. good luck.

infiniteheart, sorry to hear about your depression, I hope you can make it to a psychiatrist soon, and you may want to consider a talk therapist in tandem with taking medication. I can't really tell you what a good brand is, because like people said, they have different side effects in different individuals. Also if you need to use them long term they may "rotate" the meds as your body chemistry adjusts to them and they eventually become less effective or may even get rejected. You also may need to take "drug holiday" at these intervals. It's weird.

So I dunno, throw out a drug name and I can tell you what it did to me, but that won't necessarly mean you'll experience it the same way.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

I can only say I don't recommend take Zoloft unless you want to feel like a zombie all day. It made me incredibly sleepy and I fell asleep in class all the time.

i used to work a high stress job and also had weight issues and always felt down so i took lexapro... it is for anxiety and depression. it did not make me gain any weight which was good too. but be careful because you can be dependent on them. i finally just weaned myself off of it and went through many dizzy spells (for about 2 weeks- but now i am ok). good luck!

FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd4tugPM83c&am p;feature=channel 

 I'm sorry to hear about your depression. I don't have any suggestions for medication, but thought this clip might cheer you up. :) Good luck.

I take the generic for Zoloft for anxiety and I don't have the side effect of being tired at all.  I do take it at night, though, because that's when my anxiety kicks in. I've taken it in the morning and still have not had a problem.  I've heard good things about Lexapro.  It does take about a month for the medicine to really begin to do its job, so don't wait much longer to see your doctor.  tell him about your thoughts of suicide. We Don't want you to do anything drastic.  You always have a friend close by on this site, so don't forget to use us if necessary. Best Wishes!! 

I've been on Zoloft, then went off of it. Went on Paxil, went off of it. Went back on Zoloft (also the generic brand) along with Mirtazapine and Zyprexa for awhile. I was also on Klonopin for a short while. I stopped taking all of them because I felt they only worked for a while, but then they just weren't doing it for me anymore. Been off of meds for over a year and am considering getting back into counseling (I actually need to go back to it.) and get on something again and I am finding it is too hard to deal with my emotions anymore especially during TTOTM when my hormones and emotions are put on a loop.

My guy takes Lexapro and Klonopin and the two together seem to be helping him.

I guess you just have to go by the guidance of your therapist and try a few out before you find the right medicine for you. If you start a medicine please do NOT go off of them stupidly like I did...the results are never good....:/

I was on Lexapro for anxiety and it did amazing things for me! I was able to go to school and finish highschool. I would probably sell a kidney to get back on it if I could. I didn't make me a zombie, I stayed on the honor roll and continued life like a normal person. I think back to how I was then and I feel like it wasn't even me but a normal person. :O

 

I wish you the best of luck and hope you find something that works for you. And please tell the doctor everything you told us here. *hugs*

Original Post by silentdeadlyrose:

I guess you just have to go by the guidance of your therapist and try a few out before you find the right medicine for you. If you start a medicine please do NOT go off of them stupidly like I did...the results are never good....:/

I agree. I did this with prozac... and man... bad idea.