Antidepressent Effectiveness

[Newlife73]

What was the longest you waited for an antidepressant to kick in?

[dbeck128]

I've went 3 months waiting on one to kick in before I decided it was time to move on. They say 6-8 weeks is the time it takes for full affect though. But takes others longer..

[Coralrose5]

How do you know it’s working?

[Hidden]

I'll say about three months as well. That's also with dosing up. I don't want to be negative in terms of antidepressants...they do help some people....but I believe I'm among the treatment resistant or my body just doesn't properly metabolize it. If you can name it SSRI/SNRI wise, I've tried it. Nothing like going to a psychiatrist,

Her: "So which ones have you tried?"

Me : "You ready?"

Her: "Yes, go ahead."

And off I go, only to be looked at like, holy crap, he's had them all. I have even tried one insurance companies don't like to cover (Viibryd). I do hope they work for everyone, but yes, apparently a month usually is when they should be working. There are a lot that need fiddling around with the doses or possibly even "boosting" with a low dose of another antidepressant (my doctor liked Prozac or Zoloft paired with Wellbutrin). Definitely where having a psychiatrist is the best idea for their expertise.

Coral, you asked how can you tell it's working and I think that's an important question for people. A lot of people, I think, expect to feel euphorically better and that isn't what one should expect. I think, if one can tell the medication is working, it'll be like if you're usually depressed in the morning, you notice your less depressed or barely so with the medication, as gradually the chemicals in your brain balance correctly. Same with anxiety and panic disorders. There's a level of patience required which is why it could take a month or even longer. You may still have issues if it is working, but they are manageable and having additional help (such as therapist) helps chip away at any residual issues. Gotta insert the disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is just my opinion based on being educated in the psych area/actually having to use the medications. There is an opinion of being treatment resistant, there are studies of the placebo effect, and then there are studies showing that specific medications have higher success rates. On top of those, there is the case that we are all unique so where one medication works wonders for one person, it may not for another and vice versa.

On the account that they work quicker, I think that's why benzo drugs are very popular in lieu of or in addition to antidepressants. This could be even where people expect to feel great, symptom free, and so on. Hope, this helped NewLife (and Coral). I think many doctors will try you on a med and then up the dosage if it's not "working". After a period of 2-3 months of no helpful reports (in my experience), my doctor would attempt another. If you're having horrible side effects, treatment would be discontinued and moved to a different antidepressant. The last I had heard, there are some newer drugs that should be entering the market, but I don't have names other than my physician informed me we could try them when they hit and he had samples. Thus far that I'm aware of, Viibryd is the newest. A last tidbit, if you have done genetic testing (like 23andMe or Ancestry.com), there are companies that can show which antidepressants work best for you and the ones that do not work using your genetic coding from the genetics test. Depending on country/insurance company, I'm assuming taking this test is likely going to come directly from your pocket and is not covered. Best of luck and hope this information was helpful.

[Newlife73]

Thank you veritas. Great insight. Sorry you have tried many that haven't helped. That has to be so frustrating. I have used several SSRI's in the past and they worked pretty easily but with the Lexapro I am going into my 6th week. My psychiatrist added a mood stabilizer plus ativan. I went from no good days to like 3 good days then 2 horrible days. The yo-yo'ing is exhausting. 1 more week and I can increase my mood stabilizer again. My psychiatrist is extremely cautious so the process has been grueling. My counselor tells me I will get better but I have my doubts