Home > Health > Family Health > Chronically Depressed? What to Do When Antidepressants Don't Work

Chronically Depressed? What to Do When Antidepressants Don't Work

Reader Comments
Back to article

I have been suffering from Major Depression for about 9 months now and I have tried 2 meds(Viibryd & on Zoloft Curently). None of these meds improved my condition in a way that I could say that I was getting to the person to whom I was before. Sometimes it's so bad that I feel like I am going mad. The medication is keeping the suicidal thoughts at bay for now. But when it stops working, I do not know what I will do. I am curently looking into ECT because I think this depresion is drug treatment resistant. It sucks really. I never thought that a human being can actually feel this way at all. It is like literally hell on earth!!!!! I hope ECT works for me.

sonny of NY 2:39PM May 02, 2012

N very understanding. I started seeingI have sufferd savere depression fo 23yrs and through i have 7 children and suffered and kepted everything under control. I also have had a marriage that has not been understandind. After all my children were born i started seeing many doctors and taking different types of medications that work and then dont thought oowf going under electroshock treatment but am afraid what should i do.

maria rivas of IL 9:04PM January 22, 2012

euthanasia is the only cure for depression antidepressants and therapy dont cure being broke because no one will hire you or make people care about you . Some people have a good life while others are cursed . It is not like you had a choice not to be born in this world . Animals have it made when they are unwanted they are put out of there misery . Humans are forced to live a life they are unhappy with and have to put up with people telling you jesus loves you. If jesus loved me i wouldnt be miserable. I feel like hitting those people in the head with baseball bat and then tell them jesus loves you.

keith of 5:42AM June 22, 2011

If you are struggling with depression and weight gain, get your thyroid hormnones tested. And RE-tested. The T-tests aren't all that accurate, and you made need two different kinds (blood tests), plus retesting. Even if your doctor says you are "low normal" you might have hypothyroidism, easily fixed for most people with a simple pill every day. If nothing else has worked, see a neuro-endocrinologist and ask if trying medication for hypo ("low") thryoidism might help. I have had depression for years, but it suddenly got worse, with my hair falling out (more than normal), achey arms when doing my hair, eating a lot for no good reason (I felt I was starving, even though I knew I couldn't be), feeling cold, crying jags. Most doctors will do one thyroid test and say it's normal. The test norms/levels are off for a lot of people, though, so ask to be tested again and go see a specialist if necessary. It's worth a try. The thyroid pill has helped a lot. Psychiatrists etc. who say "loss of appetite" is one symptom of depression are correct, but so is overeating. And it might be due to hypothyroidism. See the Thyroid Foundation .org website for more info. Another cause for antidepressant not working well is antibiotics. With some antibiotics, your liver metabolizes things differently, so if you're treating for something like Lyme disease or something needing tetracycline or other antibiotic, it can mess up your system for processing the antidepressants well. Most docs don't know this. Don't give up.

Louise of NY 1:53PM April 30, 2011

I AM A GRANDMOTHER IN TEXAS. MY GRANDSON IS IN ARKANSAS. HE HAS MOOD SWINGS(POSSIBLY BI-POLAR). HE IS TWENTY. HE HAS HAD A STORMEY LIFE AS A RESULT OF DIVORCED PARENTS. HE HAS BEEN TREATED WITH MANY MEDICATIONS AND BEEN ADMITTED TO SOME INSTITUTIONS. HE HAS BEEN RELEASED EACH TIME AND MEDICATION HAS STOPPED.
HE CAN'T HOLD A JOB ANY LENGTH OF TIME. HE NEEDS MEDICAL HELP. HIS FATHER IS OUT OF WORK AND CAN'T HELP WITH MEDICAL HELP.
HE IS RESORTING TO RUNNING WITH PEOPLE WHO ACCEPT HIM AS HE IS AN GETTING HIM INTO TROUBLE WITH THE LAW. HE LEAVES HOME (WITH FATHER)DAYS AT A TIME.
HE IS A GOOD BOY WHEN NORMAL. IS THERE ANY FREE HELP OR STUDIES THAT CAN HELP HIM? PLEASE RESPOND

R L WRIGHT of TX 11:23AM April 18, 2011

I first tried "Prozac" and quickly strayed away from it because of all the guff it was getting, i was a little scared as i was not so desperate at that time. A time later i was put on "Effexor" ...WHEW...it took me 2 yrs to weeeeeen myself off of that med. I constantly felt that i was grinding my teeth. A time later The Dr. put me on "Lexapro" I actually did'nt feel much differently with or without that particular medicine. I have now been on "Cymbalta" for about 2 yrs. I started out taking just one a day, this was a medicine that i had a little bit harder time starting out with than the others, my husband drives a truck so i had a friend come and spend the night (i prepared her for a 4 night stay) because they seem to give me a little to much boost, wich interupted my sleep and i didnt want to wake up alone. So ...she did! After the first initial week i got through it and i was fine! I woke her several nights to talk and we just talked and talked, I hope you all have someone that you can get to help you through these rough times. Dont be embarresed to ask. I am 47 yrs old and i still have friends come to spend the night even when my husband is at home that is why i have a spare bedroom we love to cook and decorate and stay up late playing games, i think its part of self therapy, try it !!! OK back to my "Cymbalta", I now take two a day and i feel like i have my life back again. Although i do have some other physical problems. The Cymbalta has really made a big difference. I am going to start some Therapy classes that i believe go hand in hand with the treatment but i was in no condition to do in the beginning. Still going up hill but the walk is a little easier. I am also going to go back to church with my family again. I hope you all have a blessed walk.

Kimberlee Gray of TX 2:01PM September 27, 2010

Even when active with all the sleep I need and while being on medication, I still feel depressed. Not to mention taking anti depressants stifles my creativity, and just makes me feel apathetic all the time, bland and without inspiration. Of course, without them I would be very, very severely depressed constantly with severe anxiety to top it off.
So far I've only been on two different medications (as I've only been getting treatment for a bit over two years)-- Zoloft and Lexapro. At first, Zoloft worked pretty well, but then gradually, after about two or three months, it lost its touch and made me apathetic, depressed, and, it may sound weird, made me feel a bit like I was getting anti-social personality disorder.
I quit for a while, but needed to get back on an SSRI since I was back to feeling like whale turd at the bottom of the ocean. So I went on Cipralex, a brand of Lexapro, and for two or three months that worked too and I'm still on it but again it's not doing so well even when I up my dosage.
I think my body builds up tolerance to SSRIs. I'll have to schedule an appointment with my doctor to switch to another, and the cycle will repeat. Sigh.

Kira 1:26AM August 26, 2010

I AM A 50 YEAR OLD WOMAN WHO HAS SUFFERED FROM SEVERE DEPRESSION FOR MOST OF MY LIFE.I HAVE TRIED DIFFERENT DRUGS,HERBS.NOTHING HAS HELPED ME.IT IS A BAD WAY TO TRY AND LIVE IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT THAT.GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO IS STRUGGLING WITH THIS CONDITION.

patricia of AR 10:10AM July 15, 2010

I feel so bad for you and for your husband. Your desperation just leaps off the screen.
Has you husband read a book called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl? If he hasn't, it might help. It has done a lot for a couple of other people.
That's not much of an offer, but it's all I can think of since the meds, therapy, and ECT are not helping.

Yzetta of WV 11:13PM May 07, 2010

My husband used to be such an ALIVE ,creative person- he is an artist & musician- but has been completely paralyzed by severe depression.
It has not responded to 22 different drugs 4 psychiatrists have given him or 11 Electro Convulsive Therapy sessions he just had a month ago .It was heart breaking for him to see the other patients improve so much after ECT, while he was just as miserable & anxious as when he entered the program.
He has tried therapy as well, but is so sick now he weeps every day & says he feels like he is dying.
I don't know what to do next or how to help him. The Dr's we see have no answers for us & I'm lucky to work from home so I can make sure he eats & takes his meds (which are not helping).
I am so desperate to get him help- I just dont know where to turn next- & we are paying the bills for all this treatment which has not helped.
WHAT do people do when ECT & drugs don't help ???

Sandy Lloyd of NJ 5:54PM May 05, 2010