What's Your Opinion of the Best AD..You tried for Major Depression?

Hello what Ad helped you when you had bad bad depression??

I need to take something soon.... No matter what coping skills I use.... It's too dark inside.... Please any input will help??

 

Mr scared

Thank you.

Hi Mr. S,

 

Effexor helped me immensely, however, it raised my bp. I had to stop taking it.

 

In 2010, after the xanax rebound, I was prescribed sertraline(zoloft). It worked well for me.

 

Bless you!

 

  T2

Zoloft helped me with w/d related depression......and mine was pretty bad

I was on lexapro for 4 years, that really helped me..I made the mistake of  getting off that and going on a benzo. Now, I am afraid to take much of anything...Im not depressed...but I know AD work for anxiety and pain as well. I hope you can find something to help you. Just be careful, Mr scared. Best wishes to you and continue healing. Little

Lexapro was probably the most effective, but it was also the hardest to quit.  I'm talking 'suicide attempt bad'.  Never again.  (I was on AD's for 9 years and tried almost all the SSRI's, plus several others.  I've been off all AD's for the last 4 years and am no better/worse than before). 

 

I've heard great things about MAOIs like Parnate and Nardil for treatment-resistant depression.  They can interact dangerously with certain foods, but they've saved many lives when nothing else worked. 

My doctor wants me to take Zoloft .... I'm just scared to take it. Most people start with 50 or 100mg?

Also when u stopped ur AD how long did you taper? Did you get brain zap? I can handle all the rest WD except for Dreaded Brain Zaps!!!!

Any more input will be sooo helpful?

 

Btw nice to see all the new members answering posts... Nice to meet you all!!!

 

Mr scared Ottawa Canada.

Lexapro has helped me.  I also understand that Zoloft can be less stimulating, which could be a positive.  Understand, however, SSRI's can make things worse, initially.  Every time I increased my lexapro dose, I felt very jittery for awhile.  You do get used to it though.

 

SSRIs are not benzos.  You can't take one and have your anxiety lift immediately.  It takes time for them to work.  I imagine this is the reason so many people quit them initially.

 

I couldn't handle SNRIs like Effexor.  I found the norepinephrine effect too stimulating.

 

roberr

Mr. S,

 

I actually stopped taking the sertraline(zoloft) when my taper of clonazepam(klonopin) ended. I had some dizziness for about a week.

 

When I first was prescribed the sertraline, it was 200 mg.!!!!! I tapered down to 100 mg. & stopped tapering it & just tapered the clonazepam.

 

I had those awful brain zaps until I began taking fish oil caps. I take krill oil caps now. If you do this, get a good quality oil--no store brands, or cheap-o types. Also, take with food or a meal, never on an empty stomach.

 

There were ad's I tried that gave me electrocution-type zaps. Pristique was the worst for that.

I'm taking Welbrutrin. Its the only one that worked for me, but did not relieve it completely.

Effexor XR is the only one that did anything at all for me, and it was not much. The withdrawal from it was chest pain that can drop you right to the floor. I belive I remember being told that I had been prescribed everything that could be prescribed that fell under the category of anti-depressants, now on Seroquel 300mg, some luck but anti-psychotics are a whole different story.

.... Walking! Very underrated! Every time a doctor or friend recommended that to me I would feel like they did not understand depression at all. It has worked better for me than any pill has.

Lexapro worked for years, but you must stay on it, now it doesn't work for me. Cold turkey withdrawal changed my body...

 

Prozac was also really effective, a little too effective...if you have a family history of bipolar though you should be careful with the anti ds.

After my brain got so screwed up by klonopin, no antidepressant really worked for me except Cymbalta and that raised my blood pressure as effexor did. Lots of the meds seem to cause heart racing and blood pressure increases for me. Now that my brain is getting back to "normal" maybe I can try something else again. I am not optimistic that any of them will work for me. Lexapro is a pretty easy to take drug if it would help you.

 

Severe major depression plus no antidepressant med to take equals disaster in my experience, living it now...

For me no luck with any of the conventional ADs: SSRIs, SNRIs, Mirtazapine, TCAs, ...didn't try MAOs and selegiline might be of interest. Also haven't tried Wellbutrin because in our country it's only prescribed to help quitting tobacco. Dextroamphetamine is good if used in small doses (10-20mgs) and NOT DAILY as tolerance builds. Some people can effectively manage their depression this way. The key is NOT DAILY and to NEVER ESCALATE THE DOSE OR ABUSE THE MED.

 

The hard part will be finding a doctor that is willing to prescribe it for anything else but adult ADD/ADHD, but some psychs will. Good luck.

Prozac I have to say works best for me. I have tried all the others over my life, but Prozac remains the sole reliable and effective of all. I stopped A/Ds last year after 16 years of mostly being on, but had to reinstate after becoming very low during the elimination of  benzos 4 weeks ago.

 

However, it does give a speedy boost and so might not be best for a vulnerable CNS during withdrawal.

I started taking 50mg sertaline (Zoloft) about two years ago. It seemed to have no affect on my depression, but made me feel a bit weird, sort of not quite right - very difficult to define.

 

Anyway, the doctor increased the dosage to 100mg and the 'weirdness' that had subsided returned. However, I perservered as I had read that this drug takes some time to do its thing. Well it took quite a bit longer than I had expected, but I'm glad I did perservere as when it kicked in, which was actually quite gradual, I realised just how bad I had been as I was feeling so much better.

 

I gather it doesn't work for everyone, but for me it's been a life changer.

 

Take care. All the best.

These are 2 "old ad "    amitriptyline and imipramine.      Tried others but they just didn't work.    Hope you feel better soon.        Kay

Everyone's neurochemical issues aren't the same. If they were, one AD would - or would not - work for all.

 

I seem to get aid from all ADs I've ever been prescribed(see special exception for mirtazapine).

 

Effexor(venlafaxine) was perhaps the most effective, but also had the most troubling side effect profile for me. I was too happy while I felt like crap. I was switched from venlafaxine) to Prozac(fluoxetine). My p-Doc did this as a stop-gap measure to ease me off the venlafaxine. This time - using fluoxetine to ease the 'discontinuation syndrome' - I did not get the awful weirdness that many get(and I have experienced as well) from discontinuing vanlafaxine. The upshot is that fluoxetine alleviates my depressive symptoms as well as being much easier on my wallet.

 

As an adjunctive AD, I am now on Remeron(mirtazapine) as well during my withdrawal. This helps enormously with anxiety, sleep, and appetite. As a stand alone AD, it doesn't seem effective to me, but its other benefits are really helpful. I have my triglycerides measured regularly, and mirtazapine has not impacted my lipid profile to nay degree. YMMV.

 

On Edit: The other good thing about mirtazapine is that - at least for me - the effects were evident from the very first dose. Another huge plus.

Everyone's neurochemical issues aren't the same. If they were, one AD would - or would not - work for all.

 

I seem to get aid from all ADs I've ever been prescribed(see special exception for mirtazapine).

 

Effexor(venlafaxine) was perhaps the most effective, but also had the most troubling side effect profile for me. I was too happy while I felt like crap. I was switched from venlafaxine) to Prozac(fluoxetine). My p-Doc did this as a stop-gap measure to ease me off the venlafaxine. This time - using fluoxetine to ease the 'discontinuation syndrome' - I did not get the awful weirdness that many get(and I have experienced as well) from discontinuing vanlafaxine. The upshot is that fluoxetine alleviates my depressive symptoms as well as being much easier on my wallet.

 

As an adjunctive AD, I am now on Remeron(mirtazapine) as well during my withdrawal. This helps enormously with anxiety, sleep, and appetite. As a stand alone AD, it doesn't seem effective to me, but its other benefits are really helpful. I have my triglycerides measured regularly, and mirtazapine has not impacted my lipid profile to nay degree. YMMV.

 

On Edit: The other good thing about mirtazapine is that - at least for me - the effects were evident from the very first dose. Another huge plus.

 

i think "healthy" people do much better on remeron than sick people.  i think it very possible the remeron gave me that "hyperlipidemia" or high cholesterol and triglycerides.  very good idea to monitor and test while on remeron if you are already on it.  i have been off it since mid feb and also noticed it did not help with depression but for a brief time and increased my anxiety and health problems in general and it began to not help my sleep and appetite even after months of use.

 

it think it is a matter of how healthy we are when we try things?  i've been very sick from benzos and seizure med for a long time.

 

it's a catch 22 for me as my health continues to decline.

Wow, I'm sorry remeron has given you actual metabolic issues, kian, among all other things...I think this drug is no good, especially after hearing that. That's unbelievable...

 

I am thinking of you kian, I hope you're doing just a bit better at least. Really hoping you find some peace somehow

Ive been on citalopram (celexa) 10-20mg for something like 15 years.

I never questioned it really.

When I tried to get off it, I'd get a recurrence of symptoms. Now I know that could have be w/d. It might not be though and even if after a slow future taper I find I need to be on 5-10mg to stay out of depression I'll be ok with that.

 

It has always worked and worked quickly for me. Side effects probably include some slight weight gain and some insomnia/cortisol issues.

 

I've tried mitrazepine since and that drug kind of freaks me out. It is fairly intense stuff and I've taken a fair amount of psych meds, including obviously ssris, seroquel and then benzos.

Careful what you wish for. The western medical community wants you to take antidepressants...

 

Caveat emptor.

Iggy 

AD's really helped some of you its sounds. I find that amazing as Ive tried over 10 of them and nothing helps my suicidal depression. Zoloft, Lexapro made me just totally suicidal, added Abilify to one AD i cant remember which one and same thing.

 

What is wrong with my brain chemistry that wont allow me to get any relief...God its so frustrating. Ive tried so many Im just sick of them. Now on top of my normal depression Im going through wd depression to boot. Id cut an arm off to get rid of the depression.

My experience with AD's is that what works for one person can be a total disaster for another. When I really needed an AD for me it was Zoloft that helped. Many of the other AD's did not agree with me at all nor did they work. Basically how AD's work for me is that they simply make me feel emotionally numb enough that I do not have to experience the full pain of depression. Coming off of the AD's after 20 years on I was faced with dealing with a ton of nasty emotions that had been hidden for all that time. The idea that AD's 'cure' depression is not valid, they simply mask our response to it. Still, when one is depressed to the point of being suicidal or being totally non-functional, AD's can get a person up on their feet enough so that they can learn some worthwhile and enduring coping techniques that really do work.

Groove, new moon...

I know I feel like im getting nonfunctinal...worried..

May need to try AD, but also fearful ...I tried celexa once too, kinda flat feeling, insomnia also..

This is rough, tapers and stress, depression..