I have a friend who just told me that she is suffering from depression. She's actually been battling it for a few years with different types of antidepressants. I can't imagine what she has been going through.Depression is a common condition in the U.S. According to Mental Health America, more than 19 million Americans have clinical depression. More interestingly, one in eight teens and one in 33 children have clinical depression. Approximately 15 percent of people hospitalized for depression eventually take their own lives -- a tragic statistic.
The good news is, depression is treatable -- 80 percent of people who seek treatment show improvement. I decided to find out what the most searched antidepressants are on AOL Search and discovered that Lexapro, Cymbalta and Zoloft are in the top three spots on the list. (Please remember: Before taking any medication, especially for a serious condition, you should always consult your doctor.)
Do you know of any depression treatments that did not show up on our list? If so, please tell us about them. You can read more about depression on AOL Body and search for depression treatments on AOL Search.
Top Searched Antidepressants on AOL Search:
1. Lexapro
2. Cymbalta
3. Zoloft
4. Wellbutrin
5. Prozac
6. Celexa
7. Paxil
8. Effexor
9. Trazodone
10. Remeron
See sponsored links for: depression symptoms, antidepressants, depression medication
Reader Comments (Page 8 of 8)
141. Anti-depressants are good and go along way in the recovery process. But, another huge and equally important part to the recovery process is counceling and life style changes. Depression is caused by a lot of things, not just brain chemicals.
Posted at 11:16AM on May 17th 2008 by chad
142. I have chronic depression and am on Lexapro at present..I have battled this condition for over 15 yr.s and have been hospitilized once. Depression is such an individual thing that requires an individualized approach..Meds. that work for one will not for another and each person has different side-effects..You have to work with your physician and therapist to find a balance for you.Good Luck!!
Posted at 11:32AM on May 17th 2008 by laura
143. As a doctoral student in clinical psychology I would encourage people with depression to try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Study after study have shown CBT to be as effective as medication without the side-effects. In addition when medications are discontinued the symptoms normally re-appear. With CBT there is a long-term effect which is seen well after therapy ends. Of course you should not discontinue any medication or change any current treatment without consulting your prescribing physician.
Posted at 11:38AM on May 17th 2008 by Cindy
144. Coincidentally, I lost my sex drive because of antidepressants so last week I went off. With dr. advise. I suffered withdrawals that were almost unbearable. Dizziness, buzzing in my left ear, brain shakes and uncontrollable emotions. This is my 6th day and if that did that to me -going off- of them. What were they doing to me on them? I am NEVER taking anything that messes with my brain EVER again.
Posted at 11:47AM on May 17th 2008 by vistjezebeliv
145. I had TWO suicide attempts after several years on Paxil. I had a huge weight gain also. DO NOT USE PAXIL!!!!!! I am now on Lexapro..just 10 mg. a day...and have lost all the weight and the clinical depression is so much better. From, a very thin and happy person!
Posted at 12:51PM on May 17th 2008 by Karen
146. Hello All. I am disgusted by posting #20 and I've copied and pasted it below my post here. This poster doesn't realize that Depression and Major Depression leaves you where you can BARELY add 2 + 2, much less write all words properly. You know, its posting like this that AOL needs to monitor and throw in the trash. Depression is REAL and nothing can "snap" you out of it. I suffered from Major Depression for 8 months and I didn't sleep for 8 months! It came on due to NO fault of my own and I had never suffered from mental illness ever before in my life. My IQ went from 150 to a measly 65 during my illness. My illness started out as paranoia that came on in the span of literally 10 minutes and sent me into a life threatening illness for the next 8 months. My blood pressure went from an athletic 105 over 65 with a heart rate of 48 beats per minute to a blood pressure reading of 155 over 130 with a "resting" heart rate of 120 bpm for the next 8 months. The pain in my body, especially my hands and feet, was so intense from the Depression, I nearly put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. I have to agree with one of the postings that warns against Remeron. It is a very old drug that did absolutely nothing for me. It may work on some people, but thats the problem with mental illness, some drugs work on some, while they don't work on others. It took 5 drugs before the doctors found 1 that worked. None of the SSRIs worked at all and I warn against them if you have racing thoughts and can't sit still. Also, if you feel you are going insane, DON'T TAKE SSRIs!!! They will only drive you more insane! What only worked for me was a ANTI SEIZURE drug named DEPAKOTE. I had a sister it worked on and have know 10 people now this drug brought back from the physical brink of death. And not death by suicide, but death by the body killing itself. This drug brought me back from the brink of death within 5 days, literally. The great thing about it is that it CURES Depression and makes you NORMAL again. It levels out your brain activity and eliminates pain. It may not work for you, but it worked for me and many others. In this day and age, treatment for mental illness has advanced EONS since even the 1990s and you CAN be cured. What needs to be cured now is Law Enforcements handling of people who suffer from mental illness here in Texas. Look for a book written by me to hit the stands in about year. You're going to love it. The concentration will be on the drug Depakote and will explain my personal battle with Major Depression. Hang in there, don't give up, and know this guy loves and cares about those out there suffering from this battle. Also, I may not always agree with her on certain other things, but the book "Prozac Diary" written by Lauren Slater is excellent. I found in Lauren a good heart that battled nearly the exact symptoms I had. What you won't find in many books is the other side of our lives. The misery, the pain, the permanent loss of friends who once loved you but then found you "Crazy", the trouble we got into because of our actions that were controlled by the illness, etc. Many of those things are painful and can NEVER be written about. Those are the things we can NEVER tell.
POST #20 is below:
20. First, it is stabilizers, not stablizers. Second, behavior influences attitude. One should try acting happy until the real happiness kicks in. For example, you know that your handwriting says alot about you. Well, if you force yourself to use the writing style of a happy person, eventually the rest of your body will(might)catch up. Good luck to all those in pain and misery!
Posted at 4:59PM on May 13th 2008 by Tom
Posted at 1:00PM on May 17th 2008 by Rob
147. Not to seem like "Mr. Know it all" here, but I do have to comment on POST #147 that I have also copied below my comment here. Also, regarding many of these posts that condescendingly correct people's spelling, stop it! The errors are very minor and not everyone is familiar with the correct spelling of many technical words. We ALL make mistakes.
To the poster of post 147: That is great you are a doctoral student in clinical psychology. One thing you are not is a doctoral student in clinical psychiatry. There is a HUGE difference in the two fields and I hope you are learning the difference. Psychiatry treats the physical diseases of the brain that affect the mind, where psychology on tries to treat the actions of the person. Cognitive Behavorial Therapy is a good therapy (most the time) but tends to best be used for people who are criminally minded. It is controversial at the least; strongly swings to laying blame on the person with mental illness, that somehow the illness is their fault and caused by their actions; and doesn't address the root cause of the illness, THE PHYSICAL BRAIN itself. How can you think someone can be cured of mental illness when mental illness is caused by the brain itself? Therapy only works when a person is able to make sense of what is being presented and weigh if it applies by using an open mind. The mind can't be open and objective if it is diseased. In us exists a triad, the physical, mental, and spiritual with the physical being the strongest and most critical of the three. If only 1 of the links in the triad fails, the other 2 fail, but the physical remains intact, suffering to restore the other two as it weakens and weakens. If the physical (the brain) isn't cured, the other 2 will not follow.
147. As a doctoral student in clinical psychology I would encourage people with depression to try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Study after study have shown CBT to be as effective as medication without the side-effects. In addition when medications are discontinued the symptoms normally re-appear. With CBT there is a long-term effect which is seen well after therapy ends. Of course you should not discontinue any medication or change any current treatment without consulting your prescribing physician.
Posted at 11:38AM on May 17th 2008 by Cindy
Posted at 1:27PM on May 17th 2008 by Rob
148. My last post for the day is to comment on post #18. The reason I am doing this is so that people begin to see Mental Illness as a SERIOUS disease and psychotropic drugs as great tools in this battle. Many of these posters are not "juvenile" and are to be taken seriously. How do many of you "real juvenile" posters know if someone on this board isn't on the brink of suicide and looking for an answer. I, and other serious posters, should (and many, many are) offer solutions and not a bunch of "opinions". If you ever see the painting of "Scream", it displays a person holding their hands to their head in misery. Yes, that was me for 8 long months!
So, my response to post #18 is this: People don't take psychotropic drugs to get high. Its impossible to get high from these types of drugs and develop an addiction to them. Most all people who use psychotropic drugs NEED THEM.
As a "real & knowledgeable" advocate for mentally ill citizens in the State of Texas, I encourage people out there suffering to please hang in there. It took me 8 months to finally find a drug (Depakote) that stabilized me and another 2 weeks to be totally cured. Some will be cured in less time, some a little longer. But the average time to cure is 1 year. Please wait it out and I pray you land with a smart psychiatrist. It took me going through 5 doctors until I found one that knew the field of Psychiatry. The wait to healing is well worth it because you are going to come out a better, stronger, smarter, and wiser person that will have an invaluable wealth of knowledge to share with our society.
Post #18:
18. You guys are so juvenile. So many people that take depression medication aren't even depressed! Most people pop pills just to get high or chill out. The ones that get used the msot are Paxil, Prozac, Vicodin, Deseryl, Desipramine, Xanax....these are the most common ones. But more people take drugs that aren't even anti-depressants!! like percocet, oxycontin, heroin, meth, and most people just smoke weed!!! get a life, and dont talk about stuff you know nothing about
Posted at 4:51PM on May 13th 2008 by tampabaylitening
Posted at 1:50PM on May 17th 2008 by Rob
149. whomever said most people who take psychotropics do so to 'get high' or 'chill out' needs to do their homework. If you do not have the chemical imbalance that these meds correct in the first place (I speak of SSRI's) then it will have NO effect on your depression. It's like taking a placebo. This is like equating Prozac to a "happy" pill~The other drugs you mentioned Are either pain killers or Benzo's which are a different class of drugs completely. It is persons like yourself that keep the stigma against mental illness alive! I do not dispute the side effects of the more commonly prescribed SSRI's-weight gain, inital mood swings,nausea. I personally never had suicidal ideations while on meds but I do know people who have. Arm yourself with knowledge-its your best weapon-Push your doctor if you don't like what he/she is saying, you've only got one life, right? Yes, seroquel should be added to the list for Bipolars I & II.
Posted at 1:51PM on May 17th 2008 by Dpiv
150. I was experiencing chronic pain and my Neurologist prescribed ZOLOFT. ZOLOFT is the worst thing I ever experienced! I became a ZOMBIE. A BAD ACID TRIP is preferable to ZOLOFT. ZOLOFT should be banned!
Posted at 2:16PM on May 17th 2008 by Joseph Leslie
151. You can get to the point where none of the med's work well and you become like me disabled from depression/Anxiety. I have anxiety attacks so bad, I pass out from them. I'm on Effexor XR right now, 225mg in the morning, 150 at night. Along with Klonipin to help me sleep with Seroquel to aide in that. I take high blood pressure med's because I stay upset all the time, and I never leave my bedroom, unless I have to go to the doctor. Then someone drives me. Some of you people that commented have no idea what depression can do to you, but I know, and if you think I can just snap my finger and be happy by putting a smile on my face, you are dead wrong. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, I belong to a group that helps me get through the day it's for people like us, and the e-mail address is: DailyStrength.org It's not a religious site, it's just for people with depression, and many other mental problems too many, to name. But it cover them all, and I mean all! And by the way ECT treatments weren't listed as an alternative treatment. Side Effect short term memory loss. Hope I've help with the ones who are serious and know what depression is really like, and can use the help.
Sincerely yours
Posted at 2:26PM on May 17th 2008 by V.Barton
152. I am 40, have had depression since I was a teenager. I have been on just about all the anti-depressants, Effexor XR is what I currently take (with other combinations of other psychotic meds) I once tried to go off of Effexor and each day I got dizzy, and it got worse to the point to the point of falling. I went back on it cause it helps with my diabetic neuropathy. I am on other meds for other medical conditions, and it does seem to help. I could notice the difference mentally also when I got put back on it.
Posted at 6:08PM on May 17th 2008 by marsha hagberg
153. I am 40, have had depression since I was a teenager. I have been on just about all the anti-depressants, Effexor XR is what I currently take (with other combinations of other psychotic meds) I once tried to go off of Effexor and each day I got dizzy, and it got worse to the point to the point of falling. I went back on it cause it helps with my diabetic neuropathy. I am on other meds for other medical conditions, and it does seem to help. I could notice the difference mentally also when I got put back on it.
Posted at 6:11PM on May 17th 2008 by marsha hagberg
154. More clever disinformation from the psychiatric/drug company cartel. Anything short of death is "treatable!" And almost anything you do that you think will help any condition will probably result in some "improvement!" 50% of depressed people will get better if they do absolutely nothing! But psychiatric treatments make conditions chronic and lead to chronic emotional and physical disability and illness. And there are dozens of things a depressed person can do to stop being depressed that don't create the effect that psychiatric treatments invariably create: a lifetime of mental and emotional disability. Duke University has done some good studies about exercise - its a great antidepressant. Don't buy the propaganda. It's not your health these people are interested in - it's your money.
Posted at 2:28AM on May 18th 2008 by windwarner
155. I've been on 150mg of effexor for some time but read about and started taking fish oil capsules and gingko (240mg) daily while lowering Effexor to 75mg and I feel much better. Omega 3 and gingko biloba both have anti-depressant benefits.
Posted at 2:57AM on May 25th 2008 by David
156. I also am taking Lamictal. About 2 weeks ago, I couldn't drive, write or remember my kids names. I was falling over because I had vertigo. I slurred my words and had to stop working for over a week. My poor kids and husband didn't know what to do with me. I never was warned of the side effects except for a "dangerous rash". What the hell are these people thinking?
Posted at 12:59AM on May 27th 2008 by Justine
157. I have been taking Klonopin for 8 years for anxiety and depression. It has changed my life and I can get through each day without those anxious feelings. Now I read all these bad things that it can cause and feel a little nervous. Should I stop the med's? I am now a senior citizen and just don't feel like going through all that again.
Posted at 3:13PM on May 30th 2008 by janet taylor
158. I have been taking klonopin for 8 years. It has helped me through anxiety and depression but now that I read all these after affects I begin to worry. The medication has changed my life around and I can't imagine stopping it. I am now a senior citizen so I figure what can it hurt?
Posted at 3:16PM on May 30th 2008 by janet taylor