raising antidepressant dose?

How do you all decide when you need to raise (or, maybe, lower) the dose of antidepressants you are taking?

I am doing okay at 20mg of lexapro for the moment, but the doctor seems to think 30mg is in my future. But I don't know when to make that decision.

I've been on this dose for 3 weeks and have seen improvement, but it's so hard to know what to do.

thea

I leave it up to my pdoc to suggest a dosage change, then we discuss the pros and cons, etc. I always try what he suggests to see if it will work, and so far his advice has been spot on.

I'd go along with Binti--let it be your doc's call, and try it. Then work with him/her on it if you think it's too much or not enough over time. I always went to my GP for psych meds in the past. But I wasn't terribly depressed then. When I was this time around, we increased it, then sought a psychiatrist to better evaluate what I needed and confirm my diagnosis. My current drugs they put me on in the hospital; they started me out and quickly ramped me up to the maximum dose of Cymbalta and the middle of the range on Remeron on top of that. My psychiatrist doesn't want to reduce it yet because I'm still felling pretty down some days. Maybe later we can reduce it some.

the thing is, he's kind of left it up to me. like "you should think about going to 30mg". so it sounds like a suggestion, but also my decision. I don't know how to make it though.

thea

He must have confidence in your assessment of how you are feeling. Maybe you should try the higher dose--you can always cut back again if the side effects are too much or it doesn't help more or you get to feeling better and want to see if you can maintain that on the lower dose. How wonderful--you are in the driver's seat and have been given license to make your own choice! If it were me, I'd probably try the higher dose at least for a month or two and see how it goes.

hey thea,

i would say if it were me that if i was feeling good on 20 and there were no signs of depression i'd stay on 20. If however, there were still signs of depression i'd move it up to 30. it being your choice. Don't just increase it to increase it. you know your body best.

Love and hugs,
Tara

hi thea,

just wanted to say that i've been suffering from tough depression for over ten years and consulted my personal psychologist only once at the very beginning. i mean, sure you have to have your reasons to take antidepressants, but my friend talked me out of that and i listened, he also recommended me a book i read later. i have to say that life without drugs is much better and i don't recommend taking it too much.
myself, i don't recommend taking it at all. yes, it can be tough at times, but there are other methods to fight depression.
like in the book which helped me. here's the link: i hope it helps you.

tinyurl[dot]com/6f3fu9c