Do anti-depressant medications work?  Are the  side effects & expense worth it? Can exercise cure depression?
478013
Well ! I know homeopathic can help you 100% without any doubt whatsoever !\nSend me your details how you feel and what do you think are the causes of these feelings and I assure you I will have you feeling like a million dollars within days of it !
71389
I am not sure if cure is the proper word.\n\nTreatment is a better choice.\n\nbelive it or not, exercise. Even just getting out and walking. But in many cases, increased levels of chemicals produced when exercising are enough to help mild cases of depression and help make more severe cases more treatable with medication.\n\nAs for herbs and such, non have been proven to work. Many have claims that they help - For example, St. Johns Wort, but this has notbeen clinically established. You would be better off with exercise.\n\nDepression is a serious illness. You should make some time and seek medical attention. Even if you choose not to go on prescription medicine, you should make sure the depression is not part of another pysical problem. There are some hormonal imbalances that cause depression and they are really medical cases and not true depression.\n\nGood luck.
990499
Ask your doctor about drug interactions.  That can get serious.  Try a simple and consistent exercise program.  That will release those magical endorphins nature gave you and help you with depression- and help you lose weight!
294340
Anti-depressant medications work like SSRIs.  Probably cognitive and behavioral therapy are used too.
621780
Ummm I definitely know people who have gained weight on it.  Most anti-depressants have that side effect.  It depends on who you are...it doesn't affect everyone.
175537
it relases endorphins chemicals in your brain that control how happy you are wgen you exercise,so exercise is good for depression
674064
I am not sure that you CAN cure depression.\n\nAs for St. John's Wort, be careful with that because it can cause reactions with other medicines you may be taking.  Such as birth control pills.\n\nKnowing you have depression is the first step to feeling better.  Talk with a doctor to discuss medicine options, see a counselor/psychologist, try a self-help approach and do some research on your own.\n\nDepression is something that can be dealt with and you can learn to cope with it.  The main thing to remember is that however bad things get, it will pass.\n\nHang in there and Good Luck\n\nP.S. Don't let others tell you that medicine isn't the way.  Depression is a sickness and should be treated as such.  If you are Diabetic you need insulin, if you are depressed and there IS a medicine that can make you feel better, why wouldn't you take it?
815614
I have also suffered severe depression on and off for quite a while, and am currently battling post-natal psychosis.\nAnti-depressants aren't any good for me either. If medication isn't working for you, then more medication probably isn't going to achieve much.\nSelf-confidence comes with self-esteem, which cannot be provided by any drug. I'm not sure feeling elated all day is exactly normal, either.\nI am currently being treated by a natural therapist and an excellent psychologist, and have come further in the past eight weeks than in the past four years.\nYou need to check things like your hormone levels (these will most likely be out of whack with the depression), there are nutritional factors to consider (depression, anxiety and stress deplete the body of many many nutrients), cognitive behavioural therapy is brilliant, as is learning relaxation techniques. There are probably past issues you need to deal with (psychologist), and good regular exercise is suprisingly helpful (I hate it but I do it!).\nI honestly think you'd be better off exploring other treatment methods than putting your poor mind and body through another horrible experience with medication.\nWhatever you do, I hope it works for you :)
931767
I have taken antidepressants off and on for 22 years.  I have taken tricyclics, SSRIs and what they refer to as atypicals (like Effexor).  I know hundreds of people who take them through my work and they are fine.  The antidepressants allow them to function more comfortably while hopefully they work on other ways of dealing with life and the causes of the depression or other disorder.\n\nBut...as to what we know long term...I asked my doctor the same thing and he said, and I agree, we do not know.  The trycyclics have been around a while, but they are not given much anymore.  The SSRI's have not been around a "life span" so in essense we are still finding out about them.  \n\nWe do know that for some people, they reach a point where they stop working and they much either up the dose, change to a different medicine or add a medicine to what they are taking now.\n\nSome people are NOT able to take them, that we do know. And, we do know that the reaction to them is very individualized...one person may do great, the next person may not get any relief at all. Going off them should be done with your doctor and any of them should be tapered off very, very slowly to prevent relapse.\n\nIn time I think there will be better medicines for us and we will also know more about those we take now.  Medicine is advancing almost as fast as technology.  But, really, I am glad you are doing okay now.
459112
I took Prozac in 1994 for depression.\nIt took about 4 weeks to take full effect, but when it did, I lost 40 lbs. in 3 months!!!\nI really felt like exercising and keeping my life very active every day! \nI didn't eat much; the medication took my appetite away.\nI felt very happy and energetic!\nI saw things in life very vivid and optimistic.\nI wish that I could have stayed on Prozac, but when I had lost all of that weight, my brain and body started to work overload.  I found out, after a manic episode, that I really had Bipolar Disorder!!!  \nWow.\nI would highly recommend Prozac, however, for depression.  It really took my blues away and then some.\nGood luck.  Be patient.
449702
i works really well, i know loads of people who kept trying all the herbal rememdies such as st johns wort and wouldnt do anything for them, and it also reacted with other meds they where on! Citalopram is the one that worked wonders for my partner, but all the anti-depressants in the drug group SSRI's work well, its just finding one that doesn't give you bad side effects. \n\nGood luck what ever you choose
1166191
Tired, yes. sluggish, yes. bloated, no. trouble loosing weight, not really. \nMy wife left (she was too busy to be married), was severally depressed. \nStarted working out 7 months ago. Lost 30 pounds, developed strength, stamina and good muscle tone. Working out is a natural anti-depressant. Now I'm getting depressed again and have stopped working out. Here's were the tired and sluggish thing comes in. \n\nLife sucks sometimes.
89646
you can always talk to your doctor about anti-depressants, or if you know you or someone you know is depressed then find what makes him/her depressed and keep them away form it and lead them towards things of a fun and loving nature. If it is you yourself then find friends of a positive attitude to keep you mind off the thing that dpresses you and try to look on life with a positive attitude. Depression is like a major sadness that leaves you stripped of all desire to do anything, so the best way to cope with it is to stay active and deny your brain the though of the act that depresses you.
1146257
Yes absolutley, The most natural remedy is your mind and the strength of it.\nJust as your body needs exercise so does your mind.\nKeep yourself occupied when feeling depressed.\nlook up in the sky when you feel a bout coming on.\nLearn to recognize depression for what it is.....\nIt is only an emotion you must learn to control...\nEmotions can hurt you only if you allow them to...\nEvery one gets depressed ...some let it go to a point where it causes one to inflict harm on themselves.\nAs it is an emotion and only that you can and must realize it for what it is and make a consious descision to control it and not let it control you.\nThat is the exercise.\nYou must work out just as you work out with weights or in the gym.\nAlways keep in mind that it is only a feeling and it will pass it is uncomfortable at the time but it does go away and harming yourself for relief is not the way. Control it and it will pass.\nThere is a chemical reason for its increase and progression but that is brought on by the mind not controlling the emotion.It will feed itself if you allow it.\nDo not throw away the meds immediatly as the sudden shock to your system could worsen your situation. Tell your Doctor what your trying to do and work with him or her.\nBut you must first come to the reality of your affliction.
652076
You absolutely do not have to suffer from chronic depression!  Antidepressant medications are a lot more sophisticated than they were years ago and have helped countless people regain their lives.\n\nTalk with a doctor and get a treatment plan started.  If your dr. won't listen to you then find another one.  Find one that will help you.  Get started TODAY.  If you had a broken foot you'd get medical help, right?  Depression is a medical condition...just like any other.\n\nAntidepressants usually take a couple weeks to kick in, although most people I know that are taking them say it didn't take that long.\n\nDon't believe that depression is something you just have to 'deal with'.  It isn't.  There is nothing wrong with seeking help and getting medication to make things better for yourself.\n\nGood luck!!!
596398
Hi Honey,\n\nI too suffer from depression, and have now for about 17 years.  Recently I did something about it.  I stopped looking at it as a flaw I have in my personality and started looking at it as a flaw I have in my medical health.  I went to the doctor and let her put me on antidepressants and mood stablizers.  And guess what I discovered?  I'm not flawed and depression is not hopeless with no cure.  YOU CAN TREAT THE SYMPTOMS!  You have to let someone help you, please.  Go to the doctor explain whats wrong and let them give you medication.  My medication helps me alot: I can sleep now, I'm less worried about things, and every little thing doesn't just disrupt my life.  There is no magic pill that can make it all go away, but if you take your medication consistently and be patient some of your symptoms will be alieviated.  I'm living proof.
571857
Yes. Years ago I was sooo suicidal; I tried many antidepressants; but they didn't help enough. I ASKED for ECT and after 7years I am still alive and, and the quality of life is much better. It sucked at the time cuz I woke up with a headache and didn't know where I was. It screws with short term memory, yet it gets better over time as does the depression-if you are taking an antidepressant