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What Should Be Done When An Anti Depressant Becomes Ineffective?

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Posted on Mon, 20 Jan 2014
Question: Hello Doctor I have been taking 20mg of citalopram in the mornings for 2 years to help with anxiety and mild depression. In the first 6 months I found it to be very good, and gradually it controlled my symptoms less effectively. Now I find it totally ineffective ( this is my view ), as I am starting to feel very tense and over react to every day frustrations very easily. I don't want to increase the dose. I also am finding that I feel very tired about 1 hour after taking the medication, but at night suffer from insomnia , however this is an ongoing problem . Any advice would be much appreciated. XXXX
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Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: Switch to a new antidepressant Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. Its not very rare to see an anti depressant to be effective initially and then loose its effect after a few months. Dont increase the dose further. It would be wise to switch the antidepressant. There are better options available like venlafaxine, mirtazapine or amitriptyline. These drugs may act in situations where escitalopram was not effective. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Srikanth Reddy

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Practicing since :2007

Answered : 2770 Questions

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What Should Be Done When An Anti Depressant Becomes Ineffective?

Brief Answer: Switch to a new antidepressant Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. Its not very rare to see an anti depressant to be effective initially and then loose its effect after a few months. Dont increase the dose further. It would be wise to switch the antidepressant. There are better options available like venlafaxine, mirtazapine or amitriptyline. These drugs may act in situations where escitalopram was not effective. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.