I have been suffering from Anxiety and depression since my early 20's, I turned 31 last week. for the past 10 years I have been on every antidepressant's and benzodiazapins on the market and I am still trying to find something that will help for more than a few weeks. at this point I will try anything that might improve things so that I don't waste another 10 years. I am Originally from LI, NY; but am residing at Israel for the moment. I desperately want to start enjoying my life so any idea or information that might help would be great. I truly feel lost and confused and don't know what else I do. Thanks Again, Eddie, I forgot to add that the only times i felt normal in last decade was when I self medicated with either prescription pain killers, or mild stimulants. (not street drugs) But during those periods I there was an amazing difference in my overall functioning.
Answer:
http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-a01...
It sounds as though you're now on a tricyclic anti depressant; they're the older types of this medication and are still believed to be very effective, more so than drugs like Prozac, for example.
You say you've tried every drug on the market - does this include Venlafaxine(Efexor) and also the MAOIs? This is a newer type of anti depressant that appears to be highly effective for people who don't respond to any other medications. The only possible drawback is that's apparently a hard drug to stop taking due to withdrawal problems - it has to be discontinued very slowly, over weeks, if not months.
Or, what about the MAOIs, older medicines, and again good for people who haven't found success with other anti depressants. If you take one of these, though, you have to be very careful to avoid certain foods - so ensure you get detailed advice.
I've also heard many Americans mention an anti depressant called Wellbutrin, or Zyban.
Some psychiatrists combine drugs for patients who are not getting anywhere when they take a single anti depressant - again, something to ask your doctor about, perhaps.
Anyway, hope some of this might prove helpful. For more info on all of the medications, get hold of a copy of 'Feeling Good' by Dr David Burns - you need the revised/updated copy. At the back of the book is a really good section on anti depressants.
Best of luck.
The above advice on Tricyclics is good, but I'd suggest caution when using MAOIs due to the side-effects. But if you seem treatment resistant it may be helpful.
Perhaps finding out the exact mechanisms of actions of the mild stimulants and the bahaviour and cognitive changes they caused may help you find a more suitable drug treatment. Wikipedia often has a good explanation of neural mechanisms of function and you could try and find a drug that might have similar actions. However, I'm not sure how your Dr would respond if you suggested your own treatment, especially if it wasn't standard!!
I have had luck with Cymbalta: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/...
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