what are anti-depressants exactly

[Lien]

what is your experience or experiences with people who take them or knowledge of anti-depressants?

 

[Octarine]

Re: taking Prozac
A subset of people with depression have a mild dysfunction in the serotonic pathway, resulting in low serotonin levels. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) which increases circulating serotonin levels. Because biological systems are dynamic systems, the receptor levels (both presynaptic and postsynaptic) will adjust and normalise over time. This means that at first the antidepressant will have a strong effect in the short term (can cause drowsiness and other side effects), but this will reduce over time. It also means that if you stop taking the drug, you will have short term withdrawal symptoms until the receptors normalise again.

I personally believe the prescription of antidepressants without testing for biological suitability is a real problem as some people with depression may already have excess serotonin and their depression may lie in other areas such as dopamine deficiency.
But the reason why SSRIs are chosen as a first line treatment because they have very few/rare major side effects compared to other drugs.

Declaration of conflicts of interest: I've never taken a drug in the SSRI class as I've never been diagnosed with depression.

Additionally, there are other classes of antidepressants, the suitability of which depends on the underlying biology.

 

[Thalassa]

Wellbutrin is buproprion, it affects dopamine levels (um, like cocaine, but cleaner and not nearly as dangerous and I personally take it at the lowest dose possible) and it's the best anti-depressant that has worked for me.

Wellbutrin rarely spikes mania for some reason, and it doesn't cause weight gain, and can even help some people quit smoking or lose weight.

On the other hand, it makes some people feel like they're tweaking I guess. It's just what works for me.

I've tried SSRI's and they aren't really good for me at all. However, they work wonders for some people.

You really should talk to your doctor about what is best for you, whether you get "emo depressed" (can't stop crying over Hallmark commercials and hang on your boyfriend's leg like a six year old when he tries to leave the house, yell at people, etc.) or if you get "flat depressed" (numb, no feelings, empty, no motivation).

 

[Ginkgo]

Wellbutrin is buproprion, it affects dopamine levels (um, like cocaine, but cleaner and not nearly as dangerous and I personally take it at the lowest dose possible) and it's the best anti-depressant that has worked for me.

Wellbutrin rarely spikes mania for some reason, and it doesn't cause weight gain, and can even help some people quit smoking or lose weight.

On the other hand, it makes some people feel like they're tweaking I guess. It's just what works for me.

I've tried SSRI's and they aren't really good for me at all. However, they work wonders for some people.

You really should talk to your doctor about what is best for you, whether you get "emo depressed" (can't stop crying over Hallmark commercials and hang on your boyfriend's leg like a six year old when he tries to leave the house, yell at people, etc.) or if you get "flat depressed" (numb, no feelings, empty, no motivation).

I'm taking wellbutrin as well.

When I was tritrating onto higher doses, I started experiencing mood swings. Undisturbed, I was very stable and earthy, but if someone chipped the surface enough, a geyser would foam up and slice them with high pressure. At least it was controlled high pressure.

Since I started taking it, I've grown, but it would be reckless to say it was the sole cause of my progress.

It's a dopamine inhibitor, which means it prolongs naturally occurring dopamine effects.

 

[Octarine]

It's a dopamine inhibitor, which means it prolongs naturally occurring dopamine effects.

It is a reuptake inhibitor (of dopamine and noradrenaline).

 

[Totenkindly]

It is a reuptake inhibitor (of dopamine and noradrenaline).

I knew eventually someone would get it right.

I was on the stuff (200mg/day) for probably 6-7 years. It worked decently, though not perfectly, for me without giving me many side effects at all. (The worst thing I remember is the first few days I started: I was a heavy coffee drinker, and taking that stuff + my coffee resulted in hands that shook so bad I could just hold them out in front of me and watch them. I had trouble typing, it was so bad.)

I did spend a few months trying out Effexor at one point (a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) in addition to the Wellbutrin, and while I didn't have any very quantifiable problems, it just didn't feel right and I wanted off of it, badly. I had to make two attempts; the first failed after a week, because I was getting dizzy and felt like my brain was stuffed with cotton. The second time (about two months later), I stuck with it, and even dropping dosages a little bit at a time, it literally took me 6-8 weeks to get through the mentally degrading parts of it. Just hellish, I had trouble doing my work. Wellbutrin never gave me those problems, coming off.