What Should Be Done When An Anti Depressant Becomes Ineffective?
Posted on Mon, 20 Jan 2014
87292
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
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.
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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.