Guest guest Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 > > Do you know which one sound more like it would work > for me? Esther, Nerve cells release chemical messengers called neurotransmitters to communicate with other nerve cells in the brain. Neurotransmitters transmit signals across a gap (synapse) between the nerve cells. Neurotransmitters most commonly associated with depression are serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. People with depression often have lower levels of one or more of these neurotransmitters. Nerve cells send a signal and then reabsorb (reuptake) the neurotransmitters after they've communicated with other nerve cells. Antidepressants interfere with this reuptake, resulting in more of that neurotransmitter remaining in the synapse. This can change the activity of certain nerve cells and influence brain activity. Maintaining a higher level of neurotransmitters improves neurotransmission (the sending of nerve signals) which, in turn, improves your mood. Each of the groups of antidepressants affect neurotransmitters in a different way. Finding the right one might take time. Each medication has its own pros and cons, and until you try one, you won't know how exactly it will affect you or how well it will work. You may need to try several antidepressants before finding the one that's most effective for you with the fewest side effects. Your doctor should take into account your symptoms and their severity, your health history, other illnesses you have and lifestyle factors when determining which antidepressant to prescribe. Other factors that are very important to consider are your age, weight and diet. Some antidepressants require you to alter your diet. Pregnancy is also an issue. Some psychiatric medications may pose a risk to the developing baby. Other medications may be excreted in breast milk to infants. Some people tolerate the side effects of the newer antidepressants better than the side effects of the older tricyclic antidepressants. For other people, the older medications are more effective in treating depression , even if there are more side effects. The bottom line is that your doctor will probably narrow down your choices, but when it comes down to it, it will likely be trial and error until you find just the right one for you. You may get lucky and get it right on the first try. I hope so. > > Do you know which one sound more like it would work > for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Thanks ! I have already been on Zoloft and Effexor. Neither one really helped. Effexor was better than Zoloft. Zoloft didn't seem to do anything, and that was on the highest dose possible. Effexor XR worked but I had to be on at least 75 mgs before it did anything. They upped the dose a lot to like 150 and for a while 300 and it really didn't help much and just made me so tired and sleepy. Weight gain is a huge concern for me as I already weigh 120 pounds more than when I got married and even that wasn't my ideal weight. I just keep gaining no matter what I have been trying. It is a slow gain, but it is around a pound or more a month, no matter how much excersize I do and no matter how much or how little I eat. So I would rather go on nothing than gain more weight, because that makes me more deppressed than anything else. I still have some of the Effexor left and 3 bottles of Zoloft left, but I don't want to take them because I don't think they do any good and I am not sure how they would react to my other meds that my new doctor has me on. He doesn't know about my depression. I was trying to have him figure out some of my other health concerns before he judged me and determined I was just " Out for attention " which other doctors have told me I was. I don't even go in until I feel I am ready to die of the pain, I dislike my experience with doctors that much, and yet I always get accused of coming in for attention. This doctor has worked wonders compared to all my other ones. He has found out that I have Arthritis, Insulin resistance, adrenal failure, plantar faciatis, some malabsorbtion Gut issues and other things. Thank goodness I didn't just tell him about my " Label " of Depression yet, or he may have never even looked one step further. Anyhow thank you for taking the time to explain all that stuff to me. You are so educated and I am so happy that there is some one on here that knows all this information like you do. Actually many people here do and I really appreciate your help and time. Thanks, Esther --- cathylynn2 wrote: > > > > > > Do you know which one sound more like it would > work > > for me? > > Esther, > > Nerve cells release chemical messengers called > neurotransmitters to > communicate with other nerve cells in the brain. > Neurotransmitters > transmit signals across a gap (synapse) between the > nerve cells. > > Neurotransmitters most commonly associated with > depression are > serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. People with > depression often > have lower levels of one or more of these > neurotransmitters. > > Nerve cells send a signal and then reabsorb > (reuptake) the > neurotransmitters after they've communicated with > other nerve cells. > Antidepressants interfere with this reuptake, > resulting in more of > that neurotransmitter remaining in the synapse. This > can change the > activity of certain nerve cells and influence brain > activity. > Maintaining a higher level of neurotransmitters > improves > neurotransmission (the sending of nerve signals) > which, in turn, > improves your mood. > > Each of the groups of antidepressants affect > neurotransmitters in a > different way. Finding the right one might take > time. Each medication > has its own pros and cons, and until you try one, > you won't know how > exactly it will affect you or how well it will work. > You may need to > try several antidepressants before finding the one > that's most > effective for you with the fewest side effects. Your > doctor should > take into account your symptoms and their severity, > your health > history, other illnesses you have and lifestyle > factors when > determining which antidepressant to prescribe. Other > factors that are > very important to consider are your age, weight and > diet. Some > antidepressants require you to alter your diet. > Pregnancy is also an > issue. Some psychiatric medications may pose a risk > to the developing > baby. Other medications may be excreted in breast > milk to infants. > Some people tolerate the side effects of the newer > antidepressants > better than the side effects of the older tricyclic > antidepressants. > For other people, the older medications are more > effective in > treating depression , even if there are more side > effects. > > The bottom line is that your doctor will probably > narrow down your > choices, but when it comes down to it, it will > likely be trial and > error until you find just the right one for you. > You may get lucky > and get it right on the first try. I hope so. > > > > > > > > > > > > > Do you know which one sound more like it would > work > > for me? > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Ever had Cushing's Syndrome ruled out? That can cause a lot of what you're describing. HTH, Debi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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