Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.
I undersand that you must be going through a difficult time with your
depression. Now, though many people respond well to anti-depressant medication, there will be a proportion of people who respond only partially or have a poor response to treatment. If there has been poor or inadequate response despite receiving an adequate dosage and duration of different types of antidepressants, then it is likely that you may be suffering from a "treatment-resistant depression".
In such cases, the management approach first involves investigating for any causes for treatment resistance, for example, certain medical causes, like
thyroid problems, certain vitamin deficiencies, etc. can be contributory. If so, they have to be detected and treated appropriately. Further treatment options include trying different combination of anti-depressants, augmenting the antidepressant with other psychiatric medication like an anti-psychotic or a mood-stabilizer,
thyroxine supplementation, etc. Combining intensive psychological therapies (such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - CBT) with medication often gives good results. Sometimes, if medication and
psychotherapy fail, Electro-convulsive Therapy (ECT) can also be used as an option.
It is not advisable to prescribe any anti-depressants without a proper psychological assessment. So, please see a
psychiatrist for a detailed evaluation and further treatment.
Wish you all the best.
Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist