Do antidepressants really work?

I have tried fluoxetine for 6 months but couldn't continue due to the nasty side effects. I am now severely depressed now. Should i try medication again and is it the only way to recover, or is it possible to recover using therapy for severe depression?

Yes. Prozac is keeping my temper under control right now.

AD's do work and not always for what they were intended for.

Do go to therapy. It helps.

The effects of antidepressant medications - and their combinations - can vary greatly from individual to individual. Even if they work, their effects may diminish over time.

If you can gain substantial relief from therapy alone, then by all means pursue that. In most cases of severe depression, though, I suspect most doctors would want to prescribe an AD too.

Unfortunately, the insurance side of things may interfere with what you and your doctors want to do. Keep complaining.

Medications to take time, but they WORK, when you find the right drug, or combination. It takes time, but therapy can help, groups can help.

I tried a couple when I was a teen and it didn't work. My doctor said teens minds worth differently than adults. I think it was something to do with hormones. I can't remember exactly what she said.

I started taking Prozac a couple weeks ago. I'm starting to feel better. Last week I wanted to hurt myself and couldn't stop thinking about it. Right now I feel a lot better. Therapy helped me too when I was younger and really depressed.

There are more antidepressants out there. Maybe there is one that makes you feel better without bad side effects.

There are some natural things you can try, like eating heathly, staying away from certain chemicals such as caffine. Getting the right amount of sleep. Exercise and some people say meditate, but I never tried meditation. Sex makes me feel better. Afterwards is the only time I felt happy in the last few months. Maybe something to do with the brain during sex, I dunno.

You may need a different med or med combo for sever depression. Meds help but they aren't the cure all, you need to take steps to get better, healthy food, exercise, sleep, clean and organize your living environment, etc...

Meds didn't seem all that successful in lifting my depression. Since I started changing behaviors and habits for the better it has made all the difference. Start out slow with one behavior, when that is going well then add another. It really will help.

Love the reminder to start out slow, with one behavior and when that is going well, add another. I know, I know, I know that AD don't help alone. I do talk therapy too. Have tried so many diff. kinds of AD over the years. Last one I tried was Abilify added to my longer standing Cymbalta. I gained 20 lbs in 9 mos and didn't feel any diff. Stopped it and the weight came off.
But my biggest dilemma, which I'm sure is a common one, is that when ur feeling depressed, which for me is every day, HOW/where do I find the motivation to start a new behavior? I know it's baby steps. Sometimes, it's hard enuf to get out of bed. Any suggestions for my 1st baby step?

How do you bring up the subject of starting medication?

If you try multiple meds and none of them have the results you need, it may be a sign that there's an underlying cause that cannot be treated by meds. Something to keep in mind.

My 90 mg of Cymbalta, stabilized by 20mg of Topamax, works beautifully to keep my depression under control.
roadie

I just went to my general doctor and told her I was feeling depressed. We talked and she asked if I wanted to try some medication.

Not for me, though the more I learn about anti-depressants the more vague the term seems. It seems most common 'anti-depressant' drugs are stimulants or very similar to stimulants. I think that explains why they seem to make my anxiety worse.

Right now I am taking trazodone which apparently is an anti-depressant as well as a sedative so it doesn't have stimulant properties as far as I know just is sedating with potential anti-depressant benefits. But with so much variation of what can be considered an 'anti-depressant' what exactly does the term mean any drug theorized to combat depression...though it seems they prescribe them for anxiety, PTSD and other conditions which confuses me as I am not so sure anti-depressants are really such a cure all. I mean obviously PTSD symptoms and anxiety symptoms are a little bit different than depression symptoms.

That said anti-depressants do help some people, and don't help others...depends on the specific drug and the individual.

Antidepressants never worked for me, I tried quite a few and none of them worked so I completely lost hope. Eventually I got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which seems to explain why the antidepressants didn't work. The chemical imbalances I was going through were very complex. The bipolar medications I've been prescribed are an absolute godsend after all the failed medications. My life is livable again.
Bottomline, there are thousands of medications and infinite medication combinations out there, and one of them is bound to work for you. You've only tried one med, you have to keep trying until you find the medication (or possibly medication combination) that works for you.
I also recommend therapy as well. If you have a good therapist, that can make things so much better.
If the meds and therapy don't seem to work, you have to keep going, even if you have to change your therapist or whatever you have to do. It may take a while to reach the best fit for you, but just have faith and keep going. It's out there somewhere.

Maybe I can add some insight. I'm currently in pharmacy school. Anti-depressants can work, if you have the right one. It really depends on the underlying cause of the depression. If it's due to low levels of serotonin, then SSRI's like fluoxetine will work. But that doesn't work for everyone and sometimes the side effects aren't worth it. MAOI's work for others, but same deal. Also there's the pesky problem of them having to build up adequate levels in the blood. Basically it can take over a month to actually have an effect. And sometimes the side effects are only temporary until your body gets used to it. It's different for everyone.

They can definitely work if you find the one that is right for you. That can be the hard part, though. It took me years to find one that was good for me. And even so, I still have episodes, and they will probably have to increase the dosage. The problem I've had is that the ones I've used in the past have had to have the dosages increased, and then they poop out. Fluoxetine did that to me. Buspar, Paxil, Effexor, and Zoloft are just some of the ones that have eventually stopped working for me. I'm on Wellbutrin right now, and it's good, but they will have to increase it because the episodes are getting worse. I was thinking, if this one poops out, maybe trying Cymbalta. Maybe Wellbutrin really isn't the perfect one, but it's sure better than the others. Effexor was horrible. It made me an aggressive witch, I couldn't stand being around myself. It also took away my sex drive completely. Just talk to your doctor and maybe they can get you set up on something else. Wellbutrin has worked pretty well for me so far, and it also helps with my ADD. Cymbalta is good for depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia, of which I have all three. Buspar, when I first took it, gave me full-body tremors. But those subsided. Your doc might better be able to help you find one that's right for you. I take another one, clomipramine, for OCD and depression, and I can tell you one thing, that one is a godsend. Most amazing OCD drug that I've ever taken.

I'm currently on 10g a day.
I have to say that I, personally, do NOT believe they are helping me at all; in fact, I believe it has gotten worse. On the other hand, it still counts as early days so hopefully things will change.

I have noticed a few upsides though. I would say that they DO work but in the early weeks/months things will get worse before better. Like with most things.

If you are severely depressed, I don't think therapy alone will work. But I don't believe in meds without therapy, either. I was on Zoloft and it worked well for almost 20 years. Last year I got a new pdoc and he said that he couldn't promise that help would be found quickly, but that he was a persistent bugger and he would keep trying with me until we found it. I have always had more of a problem with drugs having no effect than ill effects. He put me on Effexor and I've been on it ever since. The one thing I notice most is that I have more energy. Before I was spending all my time in bed.

Anyway, yes, bring it up with your general practitioner if you trust him or her. That's where I started. But I would recommend finding a good pdoc.

I think my doctor won't give me any though,as fluoxetine didn't work on me

Can anti-depressants work on you if you are bipolar?