What anti-depressants are you taking?

[anterrabae]

I am currently taking Cymbalta, Abilify, benztropine and Klonopin for anxiety attacks. At first I was taking just cymbalta and Xanax, but I was still rather depressed and I was abusing the Xanax 'cause I always thought that I needed more. So my doc put me on the Abilify to aid the Cymbalta, and that worked wonders for my depression but increased my anxiety. That's what he prescribed the benztropine for. Now I can actually sleep past 6 AM and not feel constantly on edge.

I have been on some sort of medication for well over a decade now. My first drug was Zoloft when I was 16. This was before they stopped prescribing it to individuals under 18. A few weeks after being prescribed the stuff, I tried to hang myself. So, next was Prozac, then Prozac and Wellbutrin, then Effexor and Seroquel after I deliberately put myself in a corner, and then Lamictal after my former psych declared I was bipolar. My current psych says there's no way I could be bipolar, 'cause after the Lamictal I was antidepressant free, under no meds whatsoever for a year and had zero mood swings.

Whew...anyway, so yeah: Cymbalta, Abilify, benztropine and clonazepam.

 

[Lazyscience]

i dont believe in antidepressants. theres no evidence they work better than placebo. also, i took them for many years, many different types too, and they did nothing for my depression whatsoever. imo the only way to fix your depression is to deal with your problems and move on.

 

[n3ophy7e]

^^ I agree with this to a certain extent but I also believe that in certain cases, medication is necessary to help the brain stabilise itself. You're right, there's a lot of evidence that says anti-depressants work only as well as placebos do, BUT there's also a lot of evidence (anecdotal and trial data) to say that anti-depressant meds work wonders for some people.

They have their place

 

[Romie1092]

^ Antidepressants have a bad rap, as do pharmaceutical companies, but AD's do work for some people, me included. A lot of people only try one type of AD before they are ready to say none of them work, when you really need to play around with the different kinds to fit your needs, as there are Tricyclics, SSRI's, SNRI's MAOI's, Mood Stabilizers, NDRI's, and a few others. They are all way different and all work by helping your body to balance out your neurotransmitters that cause you to be happy or depressed such as Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinepherine. If you didnt have any luck with lexapro and are still depressed why not try an NDRI or Tricyclic? Or go the all natural way and use psychotherapy and meditation as a way to beat the depression?

So true ive was experimenting with ADS for around 1.5 years before the right one. I cant remember how many different ones ive tried but around 6-8 before I found the right one. Now im on Moclobemide (Aurorix, Manerix, Arima) and im feeling alot better so dont lose hope people their is the right medication out there!

 

[Anon54]

I used tramadol as an antidepressant for a while & it worked good
150mg/day (It is an SNRI, not just an opiod which i've read is closely related to Effexor)
How do u guys think tramadol compares to the standard ADs?

I'd assume it would be more euphoric, & prone to abuse potential.

 

[hbrewste]

let's see...
when it comes to anti-depressants i've done celexa and lexapro.
i've been on prozac for about three years now and it's just not doing anything for me.

 

[flat line]

Pbr and hydrocodone. wheneva im feeling blue they lift mre right up. magic

 

[n3ophy7e]

i've been on prozac for about three years now and it's just not doing anything for me.

Was it ever working, like when you first started on it? Sometimes (in my experience and other's as well) you can build up a tolerance to the anti-depressant meds you're on and they don't have the desired effect any more. If that's the case it might be time to speak to your doctor about trying something else.
Are you getting any therapy at the same time as being on anti-depressants? Therapy + medication is usually far more successful than just meds alone. Might be something to think about

 

[paranoid android]

Right now im taking wellbutrin. It's the only anti-depressant that doesent make me manic really. Although ive been so far in the manic spectrum that i hardly need a anti-depressant these days.

 

[hbrewste]

Was it ever working, like when you first started on it? Sometimes (in my experience and other's as well) you can build up a tolerance to the anti-depressant meds you're on and they don't have the desired effect any more. If that's the case it might be time to speak to your doctor about trying something else.
Are you getting any therapy at the same time as being on anti-depressants? Therapy + medication is usually far more successful than just meds alone. Might be something to think about

Thanks for the tip. I have talked to my psychiatrist about it and he's raised my dosage many times over the years. I'm also seeing a therapist 3-4 times a month. But maybe you're right. I have an appointment coming up and I'll discuss what other options i have with him :D

 

[Mariposa]

Bupropion and Gabapentin. It is really the gabapentin that works for me, but I need huge doses. I found that bupropion greatly potentiates gabapentin, and that their synergy really works for me.

Before that, I used to take Tramadol and it worked fantastic, but the addiction part was not exactly pleasant.

Tianeptine works great as well but isn't available in Canada .

I swear we have the same brain sometimes. Tianeptine is not available anywhere in North America AFAIK. It looks amazingly promising, particularly in that it is not stimulating but helps with concentration, focus, and anxiety.

It may be approved for IBS in a few years (at least in the US) and can then be prescribed off-label. The FDA can seriously suck it.

Soon (likely) to be back on Wellbutrin SR or XL - the IR formula is totally ineffective for me. I will mention the combination to my doc. I'm not going back on tramadol for the same reason you mention. Gabapentin is excellent for my neuralgic symptoms, has no abuse potential in me, and does a great job on my anxiety - for which I am down to 5 mg diazepam every other day and getting worse.

I'll report back after my shrink and I make the decision.

 

[HippieChick]

My current antidepressants are heavy physical exercise and marijuana (like a few light puffs at night). So far they have been working pretty well. I suffer from depression and anxiety and I'll have to say exercise works about as well as the AD's I've taken (I've taken every SSRI and SNRI as well as wellbutrin). Plus I'm losing weight, have better self-esteem and sleep great.

Now- that combo doesn't eliminate all of my symptoms but no AD ever did. I realize my approach isn't for everybody but I'll bet a good 20-30% of people on AD's could achieve very similar results if they just exercised aerobically 5 times a week. The weed gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day

I agree, unless you have to pass randoms at work; otherwise this is what I would suggest too. Best of luck to you.

 

[theseeker]

Thanks for the tip. I have talked to my psychiatrist about it and he's raised my dosage many times over the years. I'm also seeing a therapist 3-4 times a month. But maybe you're right. I have an appointment coming up and I'll discuss what other options i have with him :D

The advice you got before is right-on- most AD's will be effective for awhile and then they will just stop working. This has happened to me sooooo many times. You can try another class of AD- for example switching from an SSRI to an SNRI or to Wellbutrin. Just keep in mind that after some period of time- these AD's will probably stop working for you as well. This is a fairly common phenomenon.

In my view- AD's are good for the short term (actually they can be excellent in the short-term), but you really need to find a long-term solution to what ails you. Drugs are seldom helpful over the long haul. In my experience, without exception, they've just made things worse.

All the best!!

 

[paranoid android]

I swear we have the same brain sometimes. Tianeptine is not available anywhere in North America AFAIK. It looks amazingly promising, particularly in that it is not stimulating but helps with concentration, focus, and anxiety.

It may be approved for IBS in a few years (at least in the US) and can then be prescribed off-label. The FDA can seriously suck it.

Soon (likely) to be back on Wellbutrin SR or XL - the IR formula is totally ineffective for me. I will mention the combination to my doc. I'm not going back on tramadol for the same reason you mention. Gabapentin is excellent for my neuralgic symptoms, has no abuse potential in me, and does a great job on my anxiety - for which I am down to 5 mg diazepam every other day and getting worse.

I'll report back after my shrink and I make the decision.

Im on wellbutrin SR 150mg's twice a day as well as 600mg's of gabapentin 4 times a day. I don't find the gabapentin to help my mood at all really (i take it for trigeminal neuralgia) and in the past has probably added to the depression. It certainly does fuck all as a mood stabilizer for me despite the fact that some psychiatrists praise it up. Although in really high doses the high is kinda nice.

You can't get the IR version of wellbutrin in canada at all which sucks cause id like to try it. I find the SR version to work abit better then the XL version all the same.

Lamictal has abit of a anti-depressant effect on me and so does some anti-psychotics like zyprexa and seroquel. In fact i find seroquel to be much better at treating the depression side of my bipolar then the manic side though it does help with mixed state mania abit.

I am diagnosed bipolar NOS with some psychotic features so naturally im going to react differently to meds then someone with unipolar depression. Also since the winter ive been way more manic then depressed for some reason.

 

[lestahb]

Taking effexor XR, lamictal (for stability). for the depression. I'm prescribed a few others as well, and right now I'm taking champix (chantix) to quit smoking (3 weeks yes) and oddly enough i've noticed a shift in my mood. i'm happier.
I'll take it, because i'm on a really high dose of effexor and i want to actually start tapering.

i've tried: lithium, olanzapine, paxil, prozac, wellbutrin, zoloft, trazadone, ECT, and a few others.
it took me 12 years to get my meds stabilized, so if you are getting discouraged, know that it takes time and there are improvements every day. Also, remember, that if you treat your doctor with the respect of someone who went to school for a long time, and has more knowledge in this area than you, you tend to get further. I question, probe and argue, don't get me wrong, but I treat my doctor with respect, and it changes the dynamic. It took me a long time to figure out that WebMD ain't always right.

 

[unsettled]

i was on wellbutrin for a year, then off anti depressants for a year (opiates replaced those damn things for a while), now that I'm coming off opiates again I went to my psychiatrist and she suggested I try effexor, I haven't started it yet, I do have some friends who swear by it, we'll see.

I don't think anti-d's are a long term solution but they can be lifesavers for a short time when you just need the fog of depression to lift long enough so you can figure out some things.

A little off subject maybe, but the other day i was standing in line at rite aid to get my scripts filled and I could see all the bottles of booze from where I was standing, it reminded me of all the nights that i'd go into that exact same rite aid with some girl i picked up at the bar, buy a bottle of something then go home and have sex all night.

I started thinking, man, I used to have a girlfriend and an alcohol addiction, now I have a psychiatrist and a prescription pill addiction...... which is better? am I evolving or devolving? cause I swear I was having more fun getting drunk and sleeping around every night!

 

[b4rd]

I am on celexa and it is working very well for me. Works for my anxiety and for my depression!