[EvasEm]

I hope this is the right place-

I have been on several medications to try and cope with my depression and anxiety. I've tried:

Zoloft
Effexor
Prozac (I think I went up to 40 MG if I remember right and that was pretty high for my size)
And right now I'm on Paxil.

I also tried another drug I don't remember the name of when I was around 13.

None of these have really helped aside from keeping me from feeling suicidal but I am still over all sad and anxious. I feel hopeless, to be honest, that my depression is so bad that maybe it can't be managed (I've had depression for about 8 years and am just now trying to seriously get treated for it).

Maybe I'm expecting too much?

Depression aside my anxiety is still the same. My doctor made it sound like there aren't really any other drugs to try at my last visit when I switched over to the paxil. I'm starting to feel really uncomfortable around my doctor, too. It's hard to explain.

I don't always manage to take my meds at the same exact time every day, could that be interfering with the process?

I would appreciate any thoughts or advice.

[Skeezyks]

Hello EvasEm: Well... if you've only been on Paxil, Prozac, Effexor & Zoloft you haven't tried "everything". I was on Paxil, Prozac & Effexor at different times in years past. (I seem to recall I was even on Zoloft for a bit... I'm not sure.) None of them did anything for me. The best antidepressant, for me, I ever took was Cymbalta (& it's generic equivalent.) Of course everyone is different.

The thing I found with Cymbalta though was that it didn't wipe depression out either. But what it seemed to do is, if I started to get really down, it would kick my sorry butt back up to a more manageable level. (I used to say it kept a "floor" under me.) So I still had to work at keeping myself up. But at least I never sank so low that it became a real problem. So that has become sort-of my perspective with regard to antidepressants. It is perhaps not realistic to think they are going to relieve us of depression entirely. But if they keep one from sinking so low that one cannot do what one needs to do to maintain their equilibrium, then that is what one can expect.

[hermitix]

Sometimes it takes a combination of more than one medication to feel better. It's a lot of trial and error

[EvasEm]

Thank you both for your input. I do appreciate it.

It took me a lot of medications to come up with the right combination for me. Everyone is different. Don't give up and make sure you have a supportive doctor who won't give up either.

[*Laurie*]

Fortunately or unfortunately, there are many meds you haven't tried yet. I do believe it's important to take meds at roughly the same time every day. Have hope...you will find something that works!