I have been treated for depression for over 20yrs and now have severe major depression for last 6 months. I take 150 mg Effexor XR and it doesn't seem to be working. I also have anxiety and panic attacks.
What is a good medication for severe major depression?
Question posted by PNHHM2 on 30 May 2012
Last updated on 28 October 2024
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97 Answers Page 5
Inactive
4 Sep 2012
Hello PNHHM2. I recommend Remeron. It works well taken alone and is used and does well in combinations with other drug families. Regards pledge
missykay2040
16 Aug 2012
I have heard a lot about adding abilify to the antidepressant u r already taking they say it can really help like a little boost. Zoloft works great for me I've taken it since I was a teen on and off for about 20 years I hope u find something that works good luck :)
jebnow
13 Aug 2012
I am terribly sorry to hear how long you have suffered with depression.
I have suffered with this for many years as well. I take Celexa and more recently I was put on Xanax for anxiety/panic. Seems to have helped a great deal!!
Celexa to me anyway, is a more "gentle" pill and doesn't have many side effects for me personally. I have heard the same from others as well that take
it.
I hope that helps you somewhat. Maybe you could look into those and see what your DR thinks about a switch. I tried Effexor too and it did nothing for me except cause side effects.
Take care and my best wishes to you!
Jul
missjb4
13 Aug 2012
I take Effexor and it works great for me, although everyone is different and it may not for you. There are plenty of other antidepressants your doctor can prescribe for you such as Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, Cymbalta, Paxil, etc...
kcfp
13 Aug 2012
I have been suffering from depression & anxiety attacks for 25 years now. I was prescribed an ssri and to this day I am still on the same ssri although there were slight changes in dosage made by the doctor.
To answer your question, I believe there is no such medicine available right now as there is no one size fits all in such cases using psychotropic medicines.
The doctor will usually prescribe a certain medicine to treat a specific or a combination of disorders within a certain time frame. If the feedback from the patient is negative such as unwanted side effects or no therapeutic responses from the medicine, the doctor may then increase the dosage or replace the medicine with another medicine from the same or different class of medicines. The doctor may also use an off-label medicine to augment or to treat very resistant-prone depressive symptoms.
It is very important and pertinent that such treatment must always be done under the care or supervision of a doctor and requires & necessitate that the doctor should always be kept in the loop during such treatments.
kcfp
13 Aug 2012
To answer the question, I believe there is no such medicine available. There is no one size fits all solution. The psychiatrist in most cases will try one medicine and will monitor the effectiveness of that medicine within a specific time frame. If the patient feedback is negative whether due to unpleasant side effects or no change in his/her condition, the psychiatrist may increase the dosage, or replace it with a new medicine in a similar or different class of medicines. Some times he may augment the prognosis with an off-label medicine but this is rarely done unless its for cases that are resistant to traditional treatments. One point to note always is, the treatment plan outlined by the psychiatrist is very much based on the patients reaction to the medicine and such treatments must always be based with the psychiatrist always be kept in the loop.
HighonLife
12 Aug 2012
How long have you been on the Effexor? The reason for my question is because it normally takes the med a good month to start doin its magic!! I know that sounds awful but you will start feeling a tad bit better as the days go by. Hope you the best of luck! Let me know how it works out for you ;)
sara12345
12 Aug 2012
And don't be surprised if you don't feel any difference until BOOM it suddenly hits a month later.
That's what happened to me when I was severely depressed. Taking my doctor's advice to increase the dose of Effexor XR, the depression was suddenly gone 5 weeks later. And I thought with the cause of my depression being so situational, that no drug could possibly touch it. What a tremendous surprise.
happyagain003
8 Aug 2012
I never had a depression problem until 7 months ago... then BAM... I did nothing... spoke to no one unless I was crying . I started Cymbalta 60 mlg and on the 30th day I was the old Happy me again! This med saved me!
jebnow
31 July 2012
HI there,
I have severe depression too and take Celexa 20 mg. I think we will be moving up to 40mg though on my next visit. It has seemed to work very well for years
now, but it does tend to "wear off." Then you have to switch and every time I do that I end up more depressed. So, Celexa is the best for me personally.
Not sure if you have ever tried that one???
I also take Xanax for anxiety. Works wonders!
I hope that helps. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me.
Best wishes!
Julie
bumblebee90
30 July 2012
PNHHM2,
Hello, and I hope you are feeling better. A little anyways. I have suffered from major depression most of my life. I was raised in an alcoholic home with an abusive father for several years. My parents divorced when I was 10. This made me happy. However at 11, my 17 year old sister got a rare form of cancer, and lost her one year later at the age of 12. I started drinking when I was 14. How sad that is. Life had it's up's and down's but nothing really major happened after that until I was 21 yrs. old. My very best friend in the whole world, my mother, suddenly had a stroke, and I lost her. Unfortunately I turned hard core to alcohol. I met my ex-husband at 22, and it became an abusive marriage for five years, during in which my father passed away too. I had two children from that marriage, and was a single parent for years. I remmarried 10 yrs ago. This time to a wonderful man.
But unfortunately when my boys got older they became a little rebellious and curious about things parents don't want their kids to be curious about. one of my sons got on drug's really bad, which was hard for me. He did however stop and cleaned his life up. I won't go into details, but an incident happened one night and he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and was put in jail and remained there for six months. The hardest thing I ever went through happened then. I got a phone call saying he tried to commit suicide. After that he would call me crying, saying how he just wanted to come home. This was my first born baby. Well he was a grown man now. Never cried. Until then. I had I guess what you would call a mini breakdown. I couldn't get my baby out of this one. I became severely majorly depressed. I would cry all day long. I had severe panick attacks where I couldn't breathe and I would break out. My chest would hurt soo bad and my heart would beat so fast. This happened just 2 1/2 yrs ago. I have went through 6 phsychiatrist's. Oh..he got out of jail and things did work out, but my depression was still there. I just now within the last 3 months, believe it or not, have found a combination that works for me. Before it was uncontrollabe crying all of the time. Talk about being sick of being sick. And I have a 5 yr. old. I was taking Pristiq. Well my current phsychiatrist put me on Wellbutrin, and it worked about 50-70 percent. He then put me on Lamictal. And I was already taking clonazepam for the panick attacks/anxiety. Now everyone is different, but let me tell you... the crying stopped. My panick attacks decreased. I started smiling and actually laughing again. I don't want to sleep all day anymore. I can play with my little boy, and enjoy it. My point is, it may take some trial and error, but if you stay at it, you will find what is right for you, and when you do, it is so worth it. You still have the memories of the pain and grief you experienced. And sometimes you will still feel it. Or at least I do. But I can handle it so much better on the right medication. I'm not one bit embarrased that I have to take it either. It's a lifesaver for me, no matter what anyone says. Please don't give up. Keep the faith. If you don't have any... I pray that you will find a little, and it will go a long ways. And a little hope wouldn't hurt a bit too. I wish you nothing but peace and happiness. Good luck to you. Take care. Your friend, Ruthie
briards
1 Aug 2012
wow, ruthie, thank you for sharing. i actually feel a tiny bit of hope. did you stop the pristiq when you started wellbutrin? i have been thinking of trying lamictal, how much are you taking? are you taking the generic? i have read in so many places that you really need to take the brand (too expensive for me). thank you for any details you can share, i am so happy for you.
bumblebee90
1 Aug 2012
You are so welcome. That is my main goal. Is to give someone else help and hope. What a awesome word. Hope. If telling you a little of my story gave you some hope, I'm so very glad I did. For right now I am still taking the Pristiq, but will be talking to my psych. about that. If I can get away with just being on two meds. I would much rather prefer that. I am on 100 mg of Lamictal, and yes I take the generic and it does just great for me. But everyone is different. We are, however, titrating up to 200-300 mg of Lamictal. I'm feeling so much better, I think we will only have to go to 200 mg. Its hard to say how it makes me feel. It's easier to say how it doesn't make me feel. It simply took all of my depression symptoms away, and leveled out my mood swings. Not to the point I would like, that is why we're gooing up to 200mg, but just the 100mg has made a huge difference. I don't feel like a yo you anymore.
Or like my emotions are on a never ending roller coaster. I'm glad I could help. I will friend you and if you need to talk anytime, just send me a private message. Take care, Ruthie
sara12345
30 July 2012
Regarding my change from Effexor XR to Pristiq, I had to keep increasing my Effexor to treat my depression over a period of 7 years. (Although after a major stroke and 24/7 migraines I had a lot more to be depressed about.) But when changing to Pristiq, I went on the smallest dose possible of it.
Do these anti-depressants sometimes stop working as well with time?
leonavid
12 April 2017
They sure do. I did great on Effexor for almost 15 years and then it just stopped working. It's been 3 years of hell since then, we've tried almost everything under the sun but nothing has worked.
Lizardoli
29 July 2012
I am not a doctor, but I take Effexor XR, 150 mg, 2 times a day for depression,but another med called Klonipan for anxiety, and one (concerta for ADHD. Sounds to me like you might want to address more than the deppresion? If you are getting treatment, I would discuss it with your doctor.
merri-not-done
28 July 2012
For ME personally a combine of celexa in the am and trazodone in the pm has been quite helpful. Also read, I have xanax for when I cant cope and adderall if I cant get outta bed for a week. And baclofen for neuromuscular spasms, that ones more medical, and what used to be serious painkiller addiction now managed with methadone.
Still some days are better than others. I like hearing from others who deal with both physical and mental torture. (Sorry, today's a kinds bad day. Rainy and t.-storms)
Fivestring70
4 April 2017
I have been self medicating with methamphetamines for years and before with alcohol. I have dealt with depression and anxiety issues since I was a child and started drinking heavily by 15 years old, I am now 46. I have went for treatment and was given many of the common drugs for anxiety and depression but none have had any lasting good effects on my condition. I have felt I may be bipolar and have mentioned this to drs but they don't seem too concerned that is the problem. I would like to find something that works. Anyone else have a similar experience?
navygirl1
26 July 2012
i suffer from major depression severe. so far my course has been welldutrin(bupropion) which worked for alittle while until i had a seizure. zoloft(sertraline) which worked shortly abilify which made me gain weight now i take effexor and amantadine so i really don't know what works its just trial and error but thats what ive tried so far i hope this helps
HighonLife
12 Aug 2012
There's a lot of us peeps out there with major depression. But just try to be positive about everthing and take it one day at a time :) I was on Effexor for a long time and it really helped me. Let me know how your doin!! ~smoooches~
sara12345
25 July 2012
In case you two who have been on MAO Inhibitors in the past don't see my separate question, I've asked if anyone who has only had depression, got manic or a strong high from taking an MAO Inhibitor. At the time I was also taking a tricyclic anti-depressant. Thanks.
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effexor, effexor xr, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, medication
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