Best antidepressant drug

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Me and my obsession with depression... oh well, it's for a good cause.


How about all of you who've ever been on antidepressants-- legal, prescribed ones-- tell everyone exactly how it worked on you and what it did to you, etc.? My experience is limited to citalopram, which I started taking about 4 weeks ago. So here's my "story":


I go in, saying that I feel dead, that my soul will die if I don't do something or get something or whatever, if I'm not stimulated, that I feel part of me has already died, that part of the damage is already irreversible, that I am therefore very adamant and desperate about the survival of what is left of me, which thankfully is most of me. Scott is a very nice, perceptive, understanding, smart, informed, unassuming shrink. He says some stuff about me that is SO true. I just KNOW we'll get along. We just clicked right away, almost. He seemed to KNOW. He asked me a few questions, I spilled my guts, he said I was in such a severe depression that I was almost psychotic. He said he would, however, give me an antidepressant, not an antipsychotic, because the psychosis was most likely caused by the very severe depression. He seemed to know not to give me a sedative to help me sleep. He gave me an antipsychotic, Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate), instead (I was to take one or two at bedtime as needed; it wasn't mandatory or anything. Everyone else I know who takes it takes it in the daytime.) I was also prescribed citalopram (I was to take half of one every morning for the first 5 days, and 1 each morning after that).


So I take half of one, and it makes me feel noticeably better-- at least it took the edge off my understimulation/depression, as he said it would. I tell you, that man is BRILLIANT. He doesn't just know how it'll work after 4 weeks; he also knew all the side effects, like giddiness, which was jsut what I needed, that giddy little push. It was starting to work already, after half an hour. The second day I also took half of one, and it was AMAZING. Within half an hour, I was GIDDY! I knew that I COULD and WOULD find stimulation if I just looked for it! I COULD and WOULD find love in my life. I COULD and WOULD find pride, beauty, companionship, everything I wanted. But it started wearing off by the afternoon. I took the other half of the tablet. The only reason why they told me to take half of one for the first 5 days was because of physical side effects, which I didn't care about. I really wouldn't have cared if it turned me into a wrinkled old hag at 19; anything to save my soul, or what was left of it. It's so stupid, saying "my soul"-- we ARE souls. Anyway, after taking the second half that afternoon, I was giddy again, I was happy, I was walking around with a big smile on my face, talking cheerfully to people. I could feel the sparkle in my eyes.


It worked like that for the next few days, gradually tapering off. Then it stopped. When I went down, I didn't go as far down, but I still went down pretty damn far. However, the lows were fewer and farther between.


And now, four weeks later, it works off and on, and the lows are even fewer. I know antidepressants are NO substitute for a life, or even part of a life. It's supposed to just gie you a little motivation, a little guts, whatever, to get a life. I'm still desperate for a life, but I'm less psychotic now; I can wait for things and amuse myself in between, planning for my future when I can't actually do something to contribute to it. It really helped me; at least its placebo effect did. Yes, I'm an attention whore, and I'm proud of it.


Now your turn! This should be so interesting, full of horror stories! Didn't one of you almost die from taking sertraline (Zoloft)? I'd like to hear more about it!

Tricyclic antidepressants: Tried trazodone ounce I do not need sedation

Selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors: tried reboxetine(20mg) too many side effects. No antidepressant effect
but increases focus.

Dopamine reuptake inhibitors: Tried survector(100-400mg) few side effects but not a strong mood brighter for me either.


Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: tried zoloft(100mg), paxil(40mg), prozac(20mg)
I was convinced in the last year prozac was superior (for a man) but
now I'm starting to think I'm getting too much emotional blunting and no pro-social effects.


Norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors: tried wellbutrin up to 500mg. no antidepressant effect. pro-sexual and limited increase in focus but not worth the trouble. Some one has a patent on nasal use
of it (since its poorly orally absorbed) I made some spray from saline nose spray and lye to increase(to near neutral) the pH but I was not impressed. In theory one would get mostly the dopamine reuptake effects as alot less noradrenalin reuptake metabolites would be produce due to the much lower dose of wellbutrin.


Monoamine oxidase inhibitors: 10mg deprenyl pro-sexual but no other benefits. Moclobemide took it about a month no amazing results or side effects though I had a dangerous reaction when i first tried it while still on paxil(serotonin syndrome).

I say serotonin reuptake inhibitors only removed my negative thinking and suicidal thoughts. So I'm picking the SSRI.

I guess I would have to pick SSRIs, even though for me it depends which SSRI.

I tried citalopram and it affected my concentration and made me incredibly sleepy. At one point I could only stay awake for 4 hours a day!

I now take Prozac which really helps. It keeps my emotions and depression under control and if anything has slightly improved my concentration. I had a bit of an upset stomach when I started taking them, but this is nothing unusual and only lasted for a week.

I once took an SSNRI and it made me dangerously ill. I now have to take other medication 3 times a day for the rest of my life as a result of the problems the SSNRI caused me.

I haven't tried any MAOIs or Tricyclics - my doctor is very anti those options for me.

I have not heard of any of them then anyway I don't take anti depressants

I was put on Prozac, Seroxat and Citalopram, all of which caused extreme side effects at the lowest dosages. Replacing depression with apathy seems to be what they do besides the other effects.

I've refused to take anti depressants any more, as I don't see the point in treating the effects of depression when it's not going to go away because the causes are still there. Now I take the herbal remedies gotu kola for anxiety, and ginseng for concentration, and I can keep myself occupied and distracted half the time (I've got enough motivation/concentration to do marathon 36+ hour computer programming sessions again), and go out with friends without worrying all the time when I feel I should get out. Now I've got the satisfaction of having several projects on the go, and making headway in them, and being able to make progress socially without stupid anxieties keeping me back.

I've still got problems with insomnia, but if I really need to sleep and be up for something the next morning (the alternative being staying up for the whole night and feeling awful the next day, instead of going to sleep when the sun comes up, like I usually do) I'll take valerian a couple of hours before I need to sleep.

I'm on dosulepin at the moment. Don't know if it's working or not though; it seems to be, but I've only been on it for a week or so. I took Prozac as well, but that was or my anxiety.

Oh, really? I was sleeping a lot for the last 2 days, but now, suddenly, I couldn't sleep all night, and I'm in no hurry to go to bed anytime soon. It's not that I'm not psysically tired, but I'm still too depressed to get to sleep, the citalopram (or should I say citalopram hydrobromide? Why do they always leave that part out?) gives me the motivation to do whatever I need to do, and in this case it is stay awake and look for stimulation. I believe it saved me from a fate worse than physical death.


I've been reading all these differing opinions on each antidepressant. Like with citalopram alone. Some gain weight, some lose it. Some get giddy, others go to sleep. Some want to puke, others want to eat. Some get horrible anxiety, others get miraculously cured of their anxiety. Some call it a mood enhancer while others say it made them apathetic. It's an antidepressant but one of the listed side effects, ironically, is depression.


It is, I guess, just a matter of personal faith.