What depression meds have people had success with?

@sherylmyers48
Hi there! Just wondering what dose is "maxed" out for Effexor? I have been on the uphill climb with mine over the last several months without success. (150 - 225 - 300) When I got to 300 I felt like it was too much (body shakes, bad stomach, buzzy head) so I backed down to 262.5.
My Dr. has talked about adding Seroquel. It scares me adding yet another med. How did your body handle the initial starting of it?

Yes, I did the saliva test. Medicare paid for it.
I was taking 20 mg dose of Prozac generic, for years and then it stopped working.
I did the saliva test and the results indicated that Prozac was only second best for me. With the help of my doctor we tried one of the #1 Recommendations, Lexapro. That was the worst drug I could have ever taken. It made me so tired and I didn't realize it was the drug that was doing that, I thought it was long Covid.
I stopped Lexapro and within days I felt more alert. 6 months later
I went back on Prozac 20 mg and recently had to increase it to 40 mg which did help.
I don't believe the saliva gene tests are valid.

One of the medications I found helpful for my depression is Vilazodone HCL 40 mg 1 time daily. It seems to make me feel happier. I did have the mouth swab test done for how I metablalize medicines. There is one partticular medicine I take that does'nt seem to help though it is Pregablin. Cost for vilazodone for 90 days at CVS with their discount member card runs about $63.00. Ask your provider or insurance if they cover the mouth swab test. It is very hekpful and interesting.

@amholzem19
Hi! Vilazodone is one of the medications I am looking into if this latest increase of my Celexa doesn't work. Were you on something else, then switched over?
I curious because I know coming off the current regime I am on (Effexor & Celexa) may/will be difficult. I don't want to cross taper, because I do not want to mistake the withdrawal effects from them, with the uptake side effects of a new drug. I'd like a clean slate (so to speak) to I know what is causing what. With ineffective increases I have tried and having to taper them back and increase something else ..... I don't know if I am coming or going sometmes???!

@rufus31 Personally, I was put on a low dose of clamazapam with trazadone. I switched to this after being on hydrocodone for ages. The mixture of those two drugs helped me immensely. I've tried several other antidepressants and Prozac helped for awhile. I like Trazadone because I had no side effects like weight gain. Everyone's body acts differently to these drugs. I would be afraid, (myself) to go on two different ones. But that is me. A lot of it also depends on how long you have been on the same one. Your body can get resistant. Hope you get answers and relief soon. 💕

@nannybb
I am very afraid of having to do the switch...medication (albeit a necessary thing) has always terrified me. I was on 150mg of Effexor & 20mg of Celexa for 21yrs(!) and it worked extremely well. On December 7th, Poof, out of nowhere, I suffered a huge recurrence of MDD. At least it feels like it was out of no where ,,,, but I suspect that perhaps my tolerance over those 21yrs had built up and it just stopped working.
Because that combo HAD worked so well, it only made sense to try increasing the dose(s) of those before going down a whole new path .... but alas😢 nothing is working yet.
I'm doing tons of research into my next possible moves to discuss with my Doctor.
It's either going to be meds related or I am also looking into accelerated TMS 🤷‍♂️
Relief would be SO wonderful .... Answers to Depression may be a long time coming. Argh!

I've been tried on many different antidepressants and bupropion (wellbutrin) has worked the best for me. It gives me a similar energy boost as caffeine but without a jittery feeling. It has improved my motivation and interest in daily activities. Zoloft was also helpful in the past and seemed to help reduce anxiety of the worrying variety.

@nancecandance - I've personally had the best luck with bupropion (Wellbutrin), too. I was on citalopram (Celexa) years ago, but I gained weight from it and lost my emotional highs and lows, so finally asked if I could switch. Switching is not a fun exercise, but it's worth it if you find a medication that works for you.

@lisalucier I'm glad you found it helps you too!
Kind regards and hugs!

@nancecandance I have been on a combination of Zoloft, Wellbutrin and Buspar for years and it is still effective after 30 years.
I also take 1mg of Clonazepam in the morning and 1mg before bed. My dosage of Clonazepam has never changed and I am down to 50 mg of Zoloft. I had no issues with tapering my Zoloft from 100mg to 50mg and that combined with 5mg of Cialis daily has counteracted the sexual side effects from Zoloft. Nobody ever talks about sexual side effects from SSRI’s but they are very real 5mg of Cialis daily can drastically improve your sex life.
Sex is very important in relationships even as we age.
Good luck to everyone.