How effective are anti-depressents.

Also I talk to and know a lot of people who do you take it and find that certain tablets affect people completely differently.

1) one person I know is always depressed regardless of the tablets she takes.

2) Another person I know is very bubbly but when she runs out of her medication she cries constantly.

Your health is important but I just thought I would tell you what I know about it hope this helps you to make the right decision.

For me i was on the same ones for a year before they upped them because they weren't doing anything for me! I still felt numb and empty with no feelings about anything one way or the other so my dose was upped! We will see if they work!

If you don't think they are working for ypou speak to your doctor and see if they will up the dose and if that doesn't work they may think of changing them altogether but talk to your doctors about it!

I am using Sertraline (aka Lustral aka Zoloft) as treatment for depression and OCD.

It is very effective for both of my conditions.

I hope this helps.

Well I've been on (not in this order):

Citalopram

Mirtazipine

Venlafaxine

Trazodone

Fluoxetine

Duloxetine

Sertraline

Amytriptaline

Clompipramine

There might be some others, I haven't had too much success as you might have gathered, but don't give up hope.

I've had some minor side effects, some awful, but this is so individual it's difficult to predict.

Everyone is different and everyone responds differently to different meds and doses. It's important to discuss with your GP.

Sometimes a combination of tablets would work best for you.

Recently, I've tried pre-gabalin which was originally a pain relief medication but had been proven to have anti anxiety properties. I have to say its been great so far but its still early days.

May I ask have you been prescribed something?

I hope you are well.

Take care xxx

first all it took was Prozac to keep me on an even keel. About 7 years. Then it stopped working and I started looking for a better drug / combo.

honestly - I have tried a few, liked some better than others. The one I hated the most helped best. Stopped my suicidal thoughts. But I gained weight. So now I am looking at Moclobemide and possibly an augmentation drug to go with it.

but yes. Drugs are sometimes necessary. Life savers. And yes, I can drive usually when I am on them. Unless I take a heavy sleeping pill.

Here is the thing... unfortunately no one elses story is really going to be able to help much when it comes to medication, because it completely depends on you, what other medications you are on, what your medical history is etc etc as to how each medicine will affect you.

I speak to an awful lot of people with mental health problems since I write a blog on it, and one thing I will say is that, though medication isn't for everyone, I have heard of it working a lot more than I have heard of it failing. But the big thing is that you have to stick with it. It can take a while to find the right antidepressant at the right dose to help you, and even when you do you may need to increase or lower the dose as time goes on. That is why it is best to find a GP you like and stick with them if possible.

It is also worth noting that during the course of finding the right treatment you are likely to encounter side effects from time to time. In  most cases these will be mild, and will go once you have been on the medication for a while, but if you ever feel they are making your symptoms worse, or they are too severe to cope with (or don't fade after a few weeks) then please don't suffer on the medication, let your doctor know so you can try something else (though never stop taking a medication without discussing it with your doctor first).

It is also important to remember that going on tablets now doesn't mean you will be on them forever. Many people seem to think that once you start anti-d's you are on them for life, but in the vast majority of people that isn't the case. I know a lady that was on antidepressants for 36 years successfully come off them recently! And my brother only needed them for 4 months and has been great ever since, so please don't worry about how long you will have to take them for.