what depression medicine should I take?  I have taken prozac but i
sweat a lot and i am very very sleepy, i also gto a headache for over
a week . the headache became mild after a week but the sleepy feeling
and the sweeting presisted for over a month . then i stopped takeing
it.  but im very cranky again.  what depression medicine (s) do you
suggest.

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Request for Question Clarification by alienintelligence-ga on 18 Aug 2002 06:41 PDT

Hi golda...

Real depression is serious. It is also very
particular to the individual person and their
situation. I agree with errol, please see a physician
and let them decide this answer for you. Since you
have already had drug interactions, that would be
the sagest answer we could give. 

hope you feel better,
-AI

Hi,

First of all, you've received excellent advice so far.  You really do
need to see a doctor on this, not only because you need one to get you
the medicine legally, but also because a doctor can tailor the choice
of medicine to you specifically.  I could tell you, for example, that
many people have been helped by drugs such as Celexa and Luvox and
that would be totally true -- but that doesn't mean they would
necessarily help you.  Before your last experience, I might have
recommended Prozac, which has been a wonder drug for millions.

All that said, an excellent source of information on the various
antidepression medications can be found on the following page:

Depression Drug Database
http://www.coreynahman.com/antidepressantdrugsdatabase.html

This page has summaries of the various medicines available as well as
links to further information and the official web sites of the drug
manufacturers.  You'll find a load of information there; study as much
as you can, and you'll be better equipped to talk to your doctor about
any concerns that you have.  If you follow the links named "General
Information," you'll find especially helpful lists of the advantages
and disadvantages of each drug.

As you can see, all the medicines have side effects; the drowsiness
you reported with Prozac is not uncommon.  Chances are that your
doctor will prescribe another antidepressant in the SSRI family (such
as Zoloft or Paxil), because the SSRI drugs tend to have fewer side
effects and interact less with other drugs.  Make sure your doctor
knows of all the effects that Prozac had so that he or she can do the
best job of avoiding giving you that experience again.  Although
Prozac is effective for many people (including one close relative of
mine), it is not uncommon for patients to try two, three or even four
antidepressant medications before they find one that works for them.

I know that depression can be a tough illness to fight.  I sincerely
wish you the best.

Sincerely,

mvguy



Google search term: compare depression medicines
://www.google.com/search?hl=es&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=compare+depression+medicines

Hi there Golda!
I think that it could potentially be quite risky for a researcher to
answer this for you, my suggestion would be to consult your doctor for
the best advice.
regards,
errol-ga

If someone does give you advice, be sure to ask how much this advice
is based on the experiences of a single person's opinion.

Without being too specific, I have personally found the best approach
is to take medication when life is too, too, too painful without it,
and to stop the medication the soonest you think you can live without
it. Most medication zombifies you to some extent, and that is not
optimal living.

The symptoms you are talking about- headache, sleepiness, sweating-
can be related to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).  Many people with
sleep disorders are treated for depression.  I, like the others, can't
give you advice on what medicines to take, but I can speak from
personal experience with OSA.  It's worth mentioning to your doctor (I
don't fit the profile, so it wasn't diagnosed until I went to see a
specialist).

I know you'll find the right thing with your doctor.  :)

Ask your doctor about Arapax - my son finds it useful becauseit has
the advantage of not being a sedative, and having few side effects.

I agree that you should see a doctor for your illness. However, a very
effective medication that you may want to consider when you visit your
doctor is effexor! This medication acts quit quickly, is non-addicting
and has worked for many of my university friends.

It might also be worth looking at St John's Wort.