So far, it hasn't been any particular kind of medication.....tricyclic, SSRI, others like Effexor that work on multiple paths.....it may not even be the drug effect, per se, as I don't generally stay on anything long enough to stabilize on it. It could be that I am so clearly attending to the feeling that my depression could take over my life, and that my doctor's act is so blatantly supportive, that the drug effect is not even relevant (placebo response ?). I don't even care what it is that reverses the trend. I don't need to know that, and maybe it's better that I don't (or the putative placebo might not work). It is a state of mind that leads me to the doctor's office, not a calendar thing. I know I need help, I go and get it, and somehow I get out of the hole. I often start feeling better within days, but then again, I also disagree with the assumption that it takes weeks for these drugs to affect the mind. There are immediate psychological effects, and that may be all I need, to get the trend going the other way.

If I could easily tolerate medication, I may well have stayed on an antidepressant long-term. However, I do not consider side effects such as sexual dysfunction or insomnia to be trivial. I do not like even calling them side effects. They are, plain and simple, effects of the drug(s). I'd rather risk the return of depression, while maintaining a normal sex life, thanks. Others do make different decisions, no doubt.

Lar