What is the best anidepressant?
SirMickTravis
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The thing is I speak to lots of people and they are all on different kinds of antidepressants. However with me I get the impression they just stick to the obvious. I'm wondering if it has something to do with cost? I was on Citalopram for years which worked but had side effects like sleeping difficulty. Now I'm on Mirtazapine which I don't think is doing any good and I'm not at all sure what encouraged my GP to give it to me. Do people just end up on the other ones when these ones are shown not to have worked?
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It also depends upon what symptoms you are showing, for example, if you're depressed AND suffering from anxiety, the doctor would prescribe something different to someone that's simply just anxious or depressed, not both.
My advice is give it time. The GP's generally know what they're doing, and if you don't think the anti-depressant is right for you/not working, go back to the GP and request a change.
So Venlafaxine works for me but for someone else it may result in side effects that you find difficult to live with.
The key with taking any of them is that you need to take them long enough to give them a chance to work, they can make you feel worse before you get better so you need to be prepared for this and continue taking them. You should notice a difference after 5 weeks, a dose can be increased and if they are definately not working your gp may suggest something else.
I read somewhere that if you start feeling worse when you start taking one it's an indication that it will work for you.
Yes they will start with 'the obvious' as these are what are commonly most helpful.
What 'other ones' do you mean?
Everyone is different and like a lot of illnesses, is trial and error what medication or combination of medications (and other therapies) have the desired effect.
The only problem is it's not so widely funded.
It's a bit of both really.
GPs tend to prescribe SSRIs first because they have less side effects than the older drugs and are useful for people with mild to moderate depression. In my experience, people on the older drugs have either had no success with the new ones or have quite severe mental health problems so SSRIs aren't suitable. Cost definitely has an effect, citalopram is apparently the cheapest and it does seem to be the first choice for a lot of people. But it really depends what the problem is - fluoxetine is supposed to be good for people with eating disorders, sertraline for PTSD and social anxiety. Depends on your health in general as well, for example venlafaxine can raise your blood pressure so obviously not good for people with blood pressure problems.
I seem to remember from your last thread that your weight is quite low, maybe that's why your GP prescribed mirtazapine as it's an appetite stimulant. Also, because you've had sleeping problems with citalopram and mirtazapine helps with sleep. I think it was quite an obvious choice for you actually but if you're not getting on with it then go back to your GP.
I had some really bad reactions to fluoxetine and citalopram.
Can't remember which one, but one of them sent me into anaphylaxis..
Unfortunately, there is no perfect medication for depression and sometimes it can take a while to find the right one for someone. Mirtazepine was fantastic for me when I started taking it but I'm not so sure now
Mirtazapine takes about 6 weeks to get into your system. My GP wouldn't let me switch from ecitalopram to it until two months had passed and I know the same has applied to people I know. I hope it works eventually Mick.
: shudder:
because depression is just that simple.
there isn`t really a best, just a best for you at the time.
This is why I was prescribed Sertaline because I have both depression and anxiety. It does have a side effect of lack of sleep.
Yes sertaline also has worked to some extent for me but have had real problems with sleep. It such a struggle to get up in the morning and go to work especially as I have a really long commute.
it takes less than a week to become addicted to them even on low doses .
issues need to be resolved , rather than reliance on these medications which do have side effects
It's the one that works best for the particular person concerned and it might mean trying out a couple to find out which one works well. These days, even chronic and severe depression can be treated e.g. by the use of an antidepressant and an adjuvant such as lithium.
not all depression is caused by an outside event or "issue", very often it hits for no identifiable reason, or by other [physical] illnesses..
Yes, marc822, talking therapies such as cognitive behaviour therapy [CBT] can often help with depression but in many cases it can require the use of both antidepressants and CBT to overcome a period of depression.