I think I'm on my last legs for anti-depressants. I'm not done yet, but I'm getting really close and that scares me, because I think the next step is ECT. I don't like that idea.

Right now I'm taking Cymbalta, and we just added Wellbutrin. My pdoc says that covers all three neurotransmitters, so it should work. That's cool with me. It'll be a couple of weeks before I know anything about the Wellbutrin, but I'm pretty sure it will help.

But when this combo quits working, what do I do?

I've tried a few SSRI's. They didn't do anything except give me side effects. Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa - after that, we quit trying them. I guess Serotonin isn't my problem because you'd think ONE of them would do SOMETHING.

I tried Effexor, but it made me so darn sick that I just couldn't take it. I tried to ride it out, but I was SO nauseous for days on end that we called it off. Since Cymbalta works for me, maybe the Effexor would have. I just can't afford to be that sick for that long (I've got a full time job).

I don't remember what results we got with the tricyclics. I guess that means they didn't do much for me. If they did, I'd remember.

Remeron got me functional, but that's about it. I ate like a horse, though. So I was still kinda depressed and gained weight too. Oh, joy. Nope.

I DID have really good luck with Parnate, which is an MAOI. Lemme tell you - that's a SCARY drug!!! But it WORKED. I mean, really worked!! I didn't really have any side effects, but I DID have to watch absolutely everything that I put into my body. Food, medicine - No OTC medicines, no good cheese (velveeta wasn't a problem, but that's not real cheese, either), no aged meats, all sorts of things. I had a couple bad interactions, and I really thought I was going to die. I mean this stuff can KILL YOU! It's definitely a bad thing to be in the ER getting a scan to look for intercranial bleeding. AND I seem to build up a tolerance to it. I'd be good for a while, and then I'd need more. After a while, I'd get to where they wouldn't prescribe any more to me, and I'd have to go off it to get my tolerance back down.

So MAOIs work for me, but I REALLY don't want to go back to them again. I think I'd rather have the ECT, but that's a really close call. Is there anything out there we've missed? Anything new I haven't tried yet? I mean I hope the Wellbutrin works with the Cymbalta, but what do I do if it doesn't? What do I do when these pills wear off? I'm in therapy, and working on the psychological part, but the meds are important,. too.