About me: I am 19 years old and have had problems with Depression for a while now. I was taking medication from when I was 14 to almost 17, and it never seemed to help much. I was on at least 5 different kinds for long periods of time and it never helped really. It helped with depression just a bit but the bad side effects..I just couldnt handle them: I just didnt feel human, no emotions, nervousness, weight gain/loss, appetite loss/gain, virtually no sex drive, feeling like a zombie, I couldnt control myself at all...More recently with my moderate depression, Ive had panic attacks and episodes of psychosis, I also deal with bad anxiety all the time. I thought it was something physical but I recently went to a doctor yet again and he yet again came up with nothing and said I might be depressed and he said I should try medication out again (I havent taken any medication in over 2 years).

Question: Are there any good Anti-Depressants???
(I mean without really bad side effects and help more than they hurt) I am finally maybe possibly willing to take them again, but if they have the same side effects Id rather just quit or not take them at all then deal with all of that again. Or does anyone know of alternate medication/things or natural things that you could take with less or no side effects? I am looking for anything that could help that wont hurt more than it helps.

[splitimage]

Everybody's different and reacts to different medications differently so it can be a case of trial and error to find one that works without nasty side effects.

I take Effexor and Celexa.

The Effexor was my first anti-d and pulled me out of a bad depression. I had bad side effects when I was getting used to it, but they've mostly passed with time. I still have a slight problem with nausea and dizziness about 4 hours after I take it, and it's knocked the hell out of my sex drive, but to me it's worth it. No weight gain - iff anything it's been an appetite suppressant for me.

The Celexa - got me out of an even worse depression that I went into when I was on the Effexor. the only side effect that I'm aware of is it's made my skin more oily.

I also take risperidone (an anti-psychotic) to augment the anti-D's and help with dissociation / feelings of paranoia. Side effects are interesting. It causes me to lactate slightly and it's knocked my menstrual cycle completely out of whack. And I have a slight tremor in my hands from it. Despite the side effects it's worth taking it for me, because once we reached the right dose I felt like a completely new person.

I'd say give meds a try, but give yourself a month to see if they have any effect. You should see some small benefit after taking them a couple of weeks but it really takes at least a month for them to kick in, and you may have to spend some time messing around with dosages.

I'd strongly recommend getting a referal to a pdoc rather than just getting meds through your family dr. Pdoc's are specialists in psych meds and so are more likely to be up on the latest research and are better able to adjust dosages / combos.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

--splitimage

[ErinBear]

Hi Pennkid,

Antidepressants are tricky! What helps and works for one person may not be the answer for another. I have some friends who really do well on certain antidepressants - it has helped them feel so much better mentally and physically, and they are doing much, *much* better with their depression! But other friends, taking the same medications, had a rough time. We're all individuals, and each person reacts to medications in their own way.

I don't know what kind of doctor you're seeing about your medications, but you may have better luck if you are consulting a psychiatrist. They have more experience matching people with antidepressants, and often have good ideas about which ones to try. If you want to try antidepressant medications again and you aren't seeing a psychiatrist yet, it might be worth asking for a referral. A psychiatrist may be able to find a medication which would be a better fit for you. Sometimes it takes a few tries to find one which works best for someone.

Take good care of yourself, and I hope things start looking up soon!

Take care,
ErinBear

[blue_roses]

i definitely understand your frustration! sometimes you feel like you'll never find the one that works.

i spent years trying different meds...at least 5 or 6...didn't help at all and sometimes made things worse!

i finally found one that worked for me (zoloft). but i've been on it for years. i've noticed the past couple years it's not been working as well. so i've added another to the mix. don't know how that'll work.

just know that you are definitely not alone in your search for the med that works!

good luck!!!

[blue_roses]

one more thing... i found a lot of doctors tended to give up on a med that didn't seem to work. instead of adjusting dosage. i finally found a doc that up'ed my dosage till it worked.

just something to keep in mind and to ask about.

A few years back when I was on anti-depressants they were all prescribed by a psychiatrist and I was also going to counseling at the same time from ages 14-17. Like i said, I havent been on any medications in about 2 1/2 years. I took at least 4 or 5 different kinds and none of them worked that well for me. That whole time when I was going through all of that was pretty bad. A few weeks after I quit I felt I had awoken from over 2 years of a bad dream or I felt I was finally alive again even though the depression came back slightly.

Honestly, I just dont know anymore. I was so sure I was done taking them forever but right now I cant really function much with my depression and bad anxiety. Its just that all of the medications I took had bad side effects that I just cant deal with. I was trying to see if there are any natural things to help with depression and anxiety or possibly medications with little to no side effects. The weight gain that a few of them gave me, and the complete lack of sex drive really make me never want to take those again.

[Perna]

Start an exercise program first, see if that helps you; it's free, has no negative side effects, and can really help.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dep...ercise/MH00043