Depression and Anti-Depressants??

[emily_the_spoiled]

Hi Jenn,

Unfortunately people are right in saying that everyone reacts differently to medications and some will poop out. There are alot of other meds that you can try before you go to something like Adderall.

In the mean time you might want to talk with your MD about trying some of the other SSRI's such as Luvox, Celaxa, Lexapro, etc. If those do not work for you, there is an older class of drugs call tri-cyclic antidepressants. These drugs have side effects that are different than the SSRI's but you might find one of them works.

In the mean time PLEASE do not use any herbal medications (such as St. John's Wort). Many of these drugs work similarly to the SSRI or interfer with them, both of which will result in bed news for you.

If you would like a few more suggestions for meds (from your online pharmacist) please contact me...

[jennielynn1970]

I stopped the St. John's Wort... it gave me a headache and I felt really really agitated. I think it was conflicting with the Prozac.

[crow_noir]

Jenn, have you had any bloodwork done? For stuff like your thyroid?

Possibly talking to a nutritionist might help too.

I know that i have to avoid certain food and smells if i want to avoid becoming depressed. (Lavander, though i love it makes me VERY depressed.)

[columbine]

I've certainly heard of dietary changes getting rid of depression, but it's usually pretty radical (vegan, gluten-free, all-local - all stuff that takes a lot of extra time, costs more, and/or takes a lot of getting used to). Herbal supplements can be helpful, especially if you can't afford to go to a doctor (I'm in the USA and see that often) but if you can, make sure to tell EVERY doctor EVERY medicine or supplement you use. And don't assume that they talk to each other! Your diabetes doctor or your arthritis doctor might send copies of your records to your psychiatrist, but that doesn't mean they're getting read. It's a good idea to keep a list of the medicines and supplements you take regularly in your wallet for quick reference.

St. John's Wort is often said to "neutralize" other medicines, but it's not quite that simple. It speeds up the cytochrome P450 enzyme pathway, which is the way many medicines are metabolized, and can cause the medicine to zoom right through your system so fast that it doesn't get absorbed properly. Here's a table that lists a bunch of things that affect and are affected by P450.

Love, Columbine