How many different anti depressants have you been on? Which is best? - My View

Mental health
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Hi - recently joined this forum - if I can share any of my experiences to help people I will. Nature or nurture (I don't know) but I've suffered from depression for most of my life going back to teenage years. I'm now a professional man just made redundant mid 40's. I'm lucky in that I have good transferrable skills - but the ability (or lack of) to cope with work, relationships etc. puts the brain in stress mode. Being stressed for too long leads to depression, and in some cases the loss of the ability to function properly at all - why? because our brains are not designed to deal with the long term stress modern life demands. The answer? Your GP will have a list of ADs to try one at time.

I've been on Prozac, Seroxat, Effexor, Sertraline, Amitriptyline and most recent Valdoxan. I've been given a log in for CBT and spend hundreds on seeing someone privately.

First of all - I'm not a medical professional and whether it's a genuine or placebo effect I believe drugs are convenient but sometimes necessary. Out of the above I found that Seroxat did havesome effect. Prozac did nothing, Effexor gave me headaches, Sertraline terrible stomach problems, Amitrityline gave me a very dry mouth. Not to mention the sexual side effects that most of these drugs give - loss of libido, painful orgasms or the inability to orgasm at all. Read the reviews of Valdoxan - sounds a bit like a marketing campaign. I'm giving it another 2 weeks before deciding - definitely not the reaction I was hoping for. CBT - this requires commitment and motivation - depressed people are less likely to be able to commit to this even though CBT and changing the way you think is effective.

All of the above may or may not help depressed people. My main point is that, in this day and age, why we have such poor options. I suggest we're a few decades behind physical treatments due to the stigma of mental illness.

By all means keep taking your tablets (in fact never stop without professional help). But try to establish efficacy - has it really made a difference (if so great). Is the mood improvement worth all the side effects.

My view is NOT advice. Current drugs at best give you a 'crutch' that allows you to address the factors in your life that have led to depression. In my experience current ADs are poor options but if it gets you going great. Drug companies are desperately trying to find 'the' drug. Valdoxan I don't believe is the answer. Drugs that mimic the effect of Ketamine is an immensely better angle for drug companies to go (please don't buy Ketamine - it will kill you). There are some drugs out there that are used 'off label' for depression. One of these is Modafinil - originally developed for sleep disorders. Now used as a cognitive enhancer by many students. Tests have been done showing fighter pilots given 600mg of Modafinil out performed their colleagues. Studies have shown that this drug improves motivation, focus, cognitive ability, improves ADHD symptoms, and most importantly has a very positive effect on lifting depression. Another route for drug companies maybe.

The bottom line - drug companies have to get their fingers out and develop drugs that work quickly and without making you feel 10 times worse for the first few weeks. More importantly there should be much better information on why depression occurs, what we can do to avoid it. More simple CBT methods to help make small changes in the way we think - people with bad depression need to move in small steps.

Sorry for the long post - there is no magic formula to curing depression, just finding a combination of things that help us to focus on life changes that reduce stress and depression.

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Hi David ,I feel very similar to you , cbt required motivation , commitment and above all the strength to look at my own self and decide what I wanted to change about how I saw myself , how I behaved and how learned patterns of behaviour from childhood impacted my adult life . Long story short , meds have a place with me at present , I am in wales with my soulmate of 26 plus yrs experiencing a new phase in our lives re moving forwards ( nearly split approx 2yrs ago) and on a bike for first time in yrs. I am currently off sick with what I think is manic depression that I now want confirming by a psychiatrist because I think that acknowledgment would definitely help me make sense of my life so far which has been really tough.i am a healthcare professional and I actually think it has helped me really connect with patients/ clients in a way that is unique . Best wishes 

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Hi lynne05476. Firstly it's good you are going to a psychiatrist. GPs have a tough job and in my experience go through the motions of available treatments. CBT and methods of changing ways of thinking  are positive - but as I said, depressed patients need solutions to be simple, easy to take in - not a 6 x 2hr course. Meds do have a place and some people respond well. My point is that in the modern world they haven't been able to understand depression properly (or at all) - hence drugs are made in a hit and miss approach - some trials show a modest improvement despite a list of very unpleasant side effects. I may be wrong but believe that the drugs available are poor. What's required is a drug that acts quickly, has few side effects coupled with education of how to remove the items in life that are causing the depression. Instead people stay on SSRIs for decades. Hopefully we will see developments in the furture. Good luck

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I don't think meds are the answer life is a balance and for us who suffer with depression that balance has been knocked out of place.

Our experinces define so so we need positive experinces to mend our wounds depression is a result of negative fealings and experinces drugs will never be able to resolve that they may help depending on the person but it is not a sure fix as we all need.

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Hi Francis

I agree with what you are saying. Life is a balance. There are elements such as physical, mental, spiritual, relationships etc.. Many people have tried to analyse what makes us tick. In my opinion they have failed. What a lot of scientists have realised is that our brains are hotwired in a way that makes it difficult to deal with the 'progress' of technology, communication, career expectations. If your brain can't cope it becomes stressed. Your mental health will affect your physical health and the relationships you have with people around you. People can get to the point where it is difficult to rebalance their life. Some days they can't get out of bed. My point is that current medication and other treatments are poor and potentially decades behind the treatment of some physical conditions, the stigma of mental health has not helped. Unfortunately we are left with drugs that are developed by trial and error - if something works, regardless of the side effects, stick a label on it and make sure it makes money. Some drugs help people to a degree - however the majority have side effects that almost balance out the benefits. Meds are not the answer but they will always be part of the solution. My point is that the current SSRIs etc need to be a thing of the past - but if a drug company develops a med that enables a severely depressed person to function long enough to focus (with the aid of a professional) on those areas in life they need to change to avoid stress and depression there is the beginning of a strategy. So a life well balanced without drugs is the goal - however in some cases a drug that allows a severely depressed person to function properly for several weeks (without having to wait 4 weeks to work, without feeling worse at the beginning) would be the answer to millions of people who bear this illness every day - allowing them to change ways of thinking, eliminating things that cause stress..... I'm not a doctor but surely the way severe depression is handled now is inadequate in almost every way. 

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The list of antidepressants (and painkillers for chronic back problems) I have been on is very long and all except VALDOXAN (which helped me sleep but did nothing for depression) and fluorine (which did nothing) had dreadful side effects.

I feel the "pharma" companies want to make money but really don't care about us.......also GPS prescribe anti depressants with little or no knowledge.

So I am determined to get off all these poisonous drugs if at all possible

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I feel like you, these meds are just so awful to take, been through a load of,them and still anxious and down.  I will try to go without imthink, if i can manage it. Mynself confidence has gone, my self esteem too. My sociability is nil, all,in three years ofmusing these after a difficult,operaton.  My whole personality seems to have changed.  Where are the new good drugs, why no more advances with ketamine? Yes it is all inadequate.

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good for you. I want the same!   Fed up of big pharma and  awful side effects of drugs ending up discontinuing for me not tolerable ones.  Just need to be out of,this hole.

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my friend takes Citalopram and she said it works

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Valdoxan is the cheapest and very reliable tablet which safely deal with depression and anxiety problems. Valdoxan is branded medicament which have Agomelatine as their main function ingredient. Valdoxan Tablet is the FDA approved medicine which peoples can use to handle anxious problems. Valdoxan Tablet is available in 25mg Dosage forms.