Check around at www.crazymeds.org They probably have some information on the topic.

I can say from personal experience that Lexapro does what is advertised. It really made a big difference. I was never going to be the one to use this sh*t. However, if you reach a certain point your willing to try anything. It is important to remember that this stuff is just a bandaid in most cases. You should be looking into the alternatives for the long term.

The only bad side effect isthis.

You certainly want to see a doctor.. a Pyscharitrists for sure.. I wouldnt even take these drugs prescribed from a family physician.

Have you asked your Doctor about Lamectal (lemectal) my wife is bipolar and that has worked miracles for her.. she''s back in school and doing great now for 4 years.

dunno how they measured it, they did some tests in my early 20s. the stuff i''ve dealt with since the early teens was seen as laziness , moodiness, and being easily distracted. of course NOW those are recognized symptoms. the depression has almost always been there, but not bi-polar- never really high, but the lows are bad, if i do something i like, i could stop doing it in a second if a mood hits and think I don''t like what it is i''m doing. I was prescribed nortriptilyn for a couple of years, and stopped taking it when weird social reactions like sever panic or intense anxiety started to kick in.

it''s weird, but it feeds my creative side, hurts my social side and sometimes the ability to do my work properly, if at all. this is a good one, as sometimes when i''m driving to work or the movies or to a friend''s house, sometimes the decision to go the other direction and go somewhere else is impossible- even in the parking lots. one thing it doesn''t help is relationships, because the women i''ve been with don''t understand it and think it''s crazy.

weird.

I''ve always been pretty firmly against using meds unless it''s a last resort. If you''re feeling open minded you may consider seeing a homeopathic doctor see what he says. I''ve also encountered people who found they were eating a ton of stuff their bodies had sensitivities to and once they cut them out it really helped with the despondency they were feeling. Looking at your lifestyle in terms of diet and exercise levels could be very telling. Or not.

I don''t know, just adding another idea to the mix.

If you''re feeling very open minded, you might as well try Smarties.

Now you''re talking. Eating well and exercising is the key to most problems.

I perform violent acts within the acceptable confines of video games.

I have to say that you shouldn''t accept a general practitioners advice on SSRIs without consulting a Psychiatrist first. GP''s are great folks, but are, as a rule, not trained in brain chemistry. SSRIs can be dangerous, they can cause psychosis, and in the EU, they''ve been banned from use in pediatrics because of the possibility that they cause suicide attempts.

They can also be very helpful to some people. The majority of people who take them do so without serious complications. But they''ve become the ""2 asprin and call me in the morning"" response to many problems that may not need to be addressed from a chemical standpoint.

Here''s some wiki information that you can arm yourself with when discussing your options with your medical crew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor

I strongly agree you should avoid GPs when in need of psychiatry. One of the big problems is a severe lack of psychiatrists, so be prepared to get a referral and wait a Very Long Time (tm) for your first appointment. Even when you do get a psychiatrist cornered, he/she is severely overworked and will want to just start trying different meds on you until they find one that works. This is in lieu of an careful diagnosis, takes a very long time (but in helpful (to them) 15-minute appointment increments), and will have a bunch of side effects you don''t want. It helps to read a great deal and be informed (something crazymeds is very good for), and you can use that information to help guide your treatment.

Almost five years fast-forward..! To Zoloft is the answer, and it seems to be doing some good.

Good for you. Zoloft has worked well for me.

It's fun watching our little babies grow up!

I'm with Certis here. Meds are evil.

Have you thought about trying acupuncture? The Chinese have methods to diagnosis and treat a host of ailments and may be able to help alleviate symptoms at the very least. Two of my family members go regularily (combination of digestive, nuerological, and other issues) and swear by it. One of offices has a book of testimonials (several hundred) from patients and what's interesting is 100% had successful changes after their treatments and about 85% of the people only ended up there as their absolute last resort after trying Western doctors, meds, and.or surgery.

A little reference for you on the above

Acupuncture for treatment of depression:
insufficient evidence to determine efficacy of acupuncture for depression
based on Cochrane review systematic review of 7 randomized trials of acupuncture with 517 adults with depression
Reference - systematic review last updated 2004 Mar 17 (Cochrane Library 2005 Issue 2:CD004046)

It doesn't say eitherway and that studies are largely inconclusive.

Also as coming from the field it is sad to hear most peoples impression of allopathy is that they don't perscribe lifestyle modifications before medication.