How Many Different Meds Till I Find the Right One???

[mrswinter]

Hi everyone... I'm wondering what's the average number of different meds people have to try to find the right anti-depressant. I've tried several and am now seeing a Psychiatrist, whom I have told that I don't think my current meds (Cymbalta) are the right ones for me. He just wants me to stick with it. Not sure if I should be persistent that I need something else, or try a new Psychiatrist. I don't want to be a Dr. hopper either. Thoughts???

[BonnieSue]

Duloxetine, or Cymbalta, could be the right med for you. Have you given it 6 weeks? These meds need that long for a fair trial unless you have a bad reaction to them. My 1st med worked for me, it was a close relative of duloxetine...prozac, or fluoxetine. Is it maybe time to adjust the dosage? Do you perhaps have anxiety that needs treating separately from the depression? Possibly the antidepressant is sufficient for your depression but you have anxiety that requires an additional drug. Give this some thought. Bring it up with your Dr. if you think this is true for you.

Do you still have side effects that are bothersome? They may still lessen as time goes by. You don't say why you don't think this drug is the right one for you so I'm just guessing here. Duloxetine is a good drug, one that I'm taking myself, but that's not why I say it's good, I say that because it's an SSNRI and effective for so many people. It's effective range is 60-120 mgs. If you're at 60 mgs/day you may need to come up in your dose somewhat. That's the very least effective dose. My move to 90 mgs helped me very much.

I wish you the best of outcomes with your meds and your doctor.

[mrswinter in reply to BonnieSue]

Thank you! I've been on it for quite some time, and at first it did seem to be helping, but now I seem to be at a plateau of sorts. Not feeling terribly depressed, but not feeling great either. I can definitely tell a difference when I miss a dose or two though! I did mention anxiety to my Dr., but he seemed to dismiss that. Wants me to do counseling, but there are no openings right now at his office (another reason I'm considering switching Dr.'s/practices).

[BonnieSue in reply to mrswinter]

So you could probably do with an increase in the duloxetine. That's what the "at 1st it did seem to be helping but now I seem to be at a plateau of sorts, not feeling great" tells me and should tell your doctor IMHO. Why not ask for an increase in the duloxetine as an experiment to see if it helps? And added to that is the anxiety that you told him about that he dismissed. He seems less than ideal as your Dr. But he may respond to your request and be suitable for awhile anyway. You could get your next psych Dr. lined up and you may need to go on a waiting list so take that thought into consideration.

You don't have to have a counselor in the same office as your psych Dr. at all. It's convenient but not at all necessary. I've never had them together and probably never will. I want the best Dr. and the best counselor and having them be in the same office is quite the coincidence to me. Not very likely it seems. But I suppose it could happen. You are having a delay in waiting for the counselor and that's a downside for wanting the counselor in the same office. I get that it's good that the doc and the counselor will sometimes talk together about how you're doing but that has never hurt me that mine don't do that. I have signed permission for my doc and counselor to speak to each other when necessary.

[Hidden in reply to BonnieSue]

How did you find a good counselor

[BonnieSue in reply to Hidden]

My GYN doc referred me. I didn't immediately take the referral but eventually I did and I couldn't be happier.

[Kia381 in reply to BonnieSue]

Hi ms bonnoe do you k ow about paxil it took it two days an had the worst panic attack had to call the ambulance and all should i keep trying to give it time or what i just wanna feel better im tired of aching an laying around all day its terrible

[BonnieSue in reply to Kia381]

I know how hard it is to keep waiting for something to work so you can start feeling like a real person again. The minutes just drag on, don't they?

Paxil doesn't normally cause you to get more anxiety, you should get less anxiety but it takes more than 2 days to work. Since you were only on day 2, I think you would have had the panic attack no matter what and can resume the Paxil without fearing it will cause a panic attack. Please remember I am not a doctor and can only tell you what I've learned from other patients and myself, plus my research. I just researched this again before answering you. Paxil is used regularly with success for panic disorders.

[BonnieSue in reply to Hidden]

There's a site called Psychology Today where you can see a photo of Psychiatrists and therapists in your area and they give their philosophies for counseling and their specialties, their education, if they bill with a sliding scale based on income, insurance accepted and so on.