All antidepressants are suspect. The original research supporting their effectiveness has been shown to be full of conflicts and irregularities. If you are interest look up the Star-D report and the subsequent critiques. The current science leans towards dramatically reducing the use of SSRI's and SNRI's for anything but the most severe depression. Even then the effectiveness of these meds is questionable. When doing research on what I put in my body I am very careful to make sure I reviewing the most current information. A lot has changed that even doctors don't know about.

I was put on high doses of medication fifteen years ago. I thought I was depressed. My life at the time was wonderful beyond my wildest dreams. The doctor never did a physical exam nor did he do any blood work. If he had he would have told me that I was obese, sleep deprived and needed to exercise. Instead he gave me a bunch of pills.

Fast forward five years and everyone and everything I cared about was gone from my life and I was on my way to prison. My life has been a nightmare ever since. I've been on countless meds. I have had ECT and Ketamine treatments. I have had years of therapy and nothing worked, until I made some logical changes.

I changed my diet to be much more nutritional wholesome and I started exercising everyday. I got much better very quickly. Unfortunately, I discontinued my meds to quickly and the side effects put me in the hospital.

To be clear, I do not think I should have ever been put on the medications I was put on. Instead, my doctor should have worked with me to improve my physical health. If he had done blood work, he would have found that my testosterone levels were low, something another clinic found out latter. The symptoms of low testosterone are depression and anxiety, among other things.

Now my health problems are the side effects of the medications I am trying to get rid of.

Anyone dealing with depression who doesn't address their physical health first is setting themselves up to be a lab rat for the pharmaceutical industry. Unfortunately, mental health providers have become the distribution network.

There are some medications that work as advertised. Typically they fall into central nervous system depressants. For straight up depression the science and my providers are now clear; life style changes and psychotherapy are more effective than medication.

It's too late for me. My system has been ravaged by treatments and medication that has left me with side effects that may never go away. My recommendation to anyone considering medication is do your home work. Make sure your provider does a physical exam to included detailed blood work. Control what you can. Eat nutritional food and exercise as much as one can stand.

Once the medication circus starts it is very hard to stop.

I hope you life in good health and peace.