Do Depression meds truly work?

My therapist diagnosed me with depression and prescribed me medication a few months later, this happened in October. But my father still hasn't gotten the meds yet.

One of my close friends, who is an adult, told me that medication actually makes it worse and can lead to other serious things. So if anyone is taking depression medication, can you message me back or something?

Taking meds for anything is 50/50. You either are going to respond good to them and they'll help you with whatever you're dealing with or they won't and you'll have to switch to a different one. It is true that some meds have made people do crazy stuff and made them feel worse. Some have tried every med there is yet nothing helped. I suggest really weighing the pros&cons.

To further complicate the situation, the wide variety of antidepressant medications can affect different people in very different ways; a drug that works for you might do nothing for me and then crush me with withdrawal symptoms when I end my unsuccessful trial, others might suffer intolerable side effects that you don't experience on the same medication, and a drug that works for you for months or years could suddenly or gradually lose its efficacy as your brain adapts to it or your underlying disease changes. You have to work with an experienced and flexible psychiatrist who is willing to work with you to find the medication or combination of medications that works best for you. I enjoy reading love letters to Latuda on this forum because when I tried Latuda it threw me for a loop. Last year I tapered off Wellbutrin even though it had seemed to help in the past, but I had felt so badly for so long at that point that I decided that it couldn't possibly be helping me anymore.

When it comes to depression, you need to try multi pronged approach.

Depression meds alone are never enough, but can help. You also need to go to a therapist. It's a good option to take a full health evaluation, because there are many diseases which make you depressive...like hypothyroidism.

You also need to try a little exercise, since it releases feel good hormones.

It's a combination of meds, therapy and exercise.

Hope you come out of it. Depression is beatable. Good luck.

I wouldn't take a friends word as gospel. Depression meds are a godsend for many who have depression. For others, not so much. The thing is that you'll never know if medication can work for you unless you try it yourself.

Is your adult friend someone who has taken depression medication before? He may be giving you his personal experience, or he may just be feeding you a bunch of third-hand hype. The truth is that no matter what the medication is, there are people out there who will tell you not to take it because its horrible and other people out there who will swear that its the best thing ever.

When I was younger nothing touched my depression and I didn't cycle typically as in bipolar but I may have experienced mixed moods. But for decades nothing helped lift the depression until prozac came out. It didn't take the depression away but it did give me the ability to finaly utilize therapy for a better quality of life. I also took an AP along with it.

30years later I live in the south n all the sun has pushed my more or the hypomanic side of stability. M on a very minimal dose if paxil. Pdoc reduced it last viditt. May take me off it next visit. For 40+ years I was diagnosed MDD. Now I am diagnosed bipolar. Seroquel is finally stabilizing the rapid cycling I was experiencing down here. But meds without therapy also don't work for me. Neither does therapy without meds.

Correction. Prozacwas my miracle drug. It finally lifted my depression enough that I was also able to begin benifiting from the therapy.

Sorry about all the spelling errors. I m replying while taking a bumpy jerky bus ride to my appointment.

i'm on 8 different meds and have hypothyrodism. the depression meds do help but only a little, like i'm not happy all the time. i wish you well

BINGO, right there.

For me, Prozac lifted me out of the depths of hell. It was like waking up from winter to a bright beautiful colorful warm and shiny spring day!

Personally, I couldn't have done it without the medication.

I'm diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and without meds and therapyI would be in a very bad place. I've tried just meds and it isn't enough for me. As said above you have to try the meds to see if they work for you. My advice is to stay in close contact with your doctor incase you have a bad reaction to the medicine prescribed to you. Take it exactally as prescribed. Best wishes.

I agree MelloJoy. My meds allow me to manage my Depression. I went through a major episode when my doctor reduced my medication and ended up in the hospital for weeks. I improved once these meds were reintroduced. I daren't go off them.

Sometimes they work and sometimes not so much. Antidepressants work for me for a while then the doctor has to change them and try a new one however I'm med resistant which just means they don't work on me for very long. But it is still better with them than without.

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Meds work for me. They helped me be able to do the work I needed to do in therapy. They keep me stable now so I can have a life worth living. Before meds I was severely suicidal. Without meds I probably would not be here.

Don't listen to those that disparage meds. The internet allows idiots to spread their lies. You need to explore your options with a doctor you trust. Meds, therapy, or both may benefit you the most.

Without meds, as a middle-aged male I would have likely never entered therapy. My PCP understood this and she got me onto meds then persuaded me to enter therapy. I am in debt to her for me still being around to do battle against this monster called depression.

And don't get me wrong -- the meds were no panacea. We have juggled combos and dosages, withdrawals, and Serotonin syndrome.

But I am in a debt to my doctor that I will never be able to extinguish.

Based on my agonizing experience, the answer is a clear & resounding "No." They exacerbated existing difficulties & created entirely new problems which spiraled out of control with seemingly no end in sight.

I gained an APPALLING amount of weight along with skyrocketing levels of cholesterol & a blood pressure that kept rising. **** that! There was no slowing it let alone reversing the damage being done while on those pills.

Dropping them was the best thing I've ever done. I wish I had done so right off the bat.

Generally speaking, depression meds do work. There are many: SSRIs, SNRIs, and some people are helped by mood stabilizers.

As mentioned, a multi-pronged approach works best. Seeing a therapist, exercising, diet, and socializing are important prongs of the approach.

Many people believe that the opposite of depression is happiness, but I believe the opposite of depression is vitality.

I agree with this 100%! My meds don't make me happy. They allow me to have a life worth living.

Ive been off and on dang near every ssri drug since I was 16. Im 31 now. They have never done a thing for me. Ive taken a lot of mood stabilizers and they don't do much either. Im on lithium and lamictal now. They help with my anger a bit, but that's about all. The only drugs that have ever done anything for me are DRUGS. Controlled substances. Xanax, kpin, Adderall, opioids...things like that.

hi...The thing with antidepressants is they can boost the "happiness chemical" (serotonin/ noradrenaline) in your brain if there is some activity done to produce them in the first place..its a very simplified explanation I'm giving, omitting all medical/technical terms.

so dear, please indulge in something that might have been somewhat pleasurable at any point in your life..or find some new interest..

exercise, moderate at least, is known to produce another type of "feel good" chemical (endorphins), which also helps in the action of the meds.

your hypothyroidism has only made matters a little worse for wear, but try overcoming the avolition and it would do great.

hopefully i have been able to suggest something worthwhile for you.

yes socialising and exercise do help, but i still need the meds for stability

For some people they do, for some they don't. For those who it helps, sometimes it helps a little, sometimes it makes all the difference in the world. For those it doesn't work on, it can be just not working, or it can be horrible side effects. Overall I'd say give them a shot, and not just one, but multiple ones, to see how you respond. In the meantime, keep going to the therapist because meds in conjuction with therapy is better than either alone.