Choosing an antidepressant

How to find the right antidepressant? What is the best antidepressant medication? Which antidepressant is safest? What are the best antidepressants?

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Amitriptyline (AMI) has the longest track record and the best data from well-conducted trials, though it can be very difficult to tolerate in antidepressant doses. Some antidepressants can do a bit of double duty. Potential Side Effects.

Especially for parents or siblings, how a medication worked for them is. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. With more than antidepressants on the market, finding the right one is definitely a process.

Recently, research published in the medical journal The Lancet indicated that sertraline ( Zoloft ) and escitalopram ( Lexapro ) may be best for treating depression without causing intolerable side effects.

Several antidepressants and other types of drugs are available to treat depression. Has the patient had a particular response to a certain antidepressant in the past? Clinical Bottom Line All the antidepressants in this guide are effective for treating the acute phase of major depression in adults, including those and older. Learn about a depression medication and how it may help treat depression.

Find treatment resources as well as safety and clinical data pertinent to doctors. There are a number of antidepressants available. Types of antidepressants.

Certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters are associated. Most antidepressants are. When choosing an antidepressant for someone with depression who is worried about sexual side effects Wellbutrin may be a great medication to start first (as long as the person doesn’t have a seizure disorder). Now I’m going to describe the “I’d rather die than get that” approach.

Antidepressants and risk of suicide. Many HCPs choose an antidepressant by their side effect profile. For example, someone with trouble sleeping may prefer an antidepressant that is more sedating.

If you have taken a medicine from one class of antidepressant and it didn’t work, you may want to try one from a different class. A narrative review was undertaken addressing antidepressant ‘choice’ considering a range of parameters either weighted by patients and clinicians or suggested in the scientific literature.

The test was developed by Brain Resource, Ltd (San Francisco, California) and purportedly could help personalize the management of depression. Claims of more rapid efficacy may be exaggerated. Patient profile most likely to benefit. A fourth consideration when choosing an antidepressant is possible drug interactions. Depressed patients, especially elderly persons, may be taking several medications prescribed by other physicians.

However, there is no clear data that one drug is superior to another. Choosing a medication is based on side effect profile, patient factors, and symptom subtype. Finding the right antidepressant.

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about The BMJ. A SSRI is a good drug to try first in a depressed primary care patient. Fluoxetine ( Prozac ), paroxetine ( Paxil ), sertraline ( Zoloft ), fluvoxamine ( Luvox ), and citalopram ( Celexa) are all usually efficacious in treating depression.

The starting dose of any of these antidepressants is often an.