Anti Depression and Anxiety Meds

There is no best medication. What works best is different for each person. Celexa works well fo me. It's best for me at the moment. I suggest you would get better info from a professional who can give you info based on research. They can tell you which meds are known to allow more energy for most people.

B.,

There is no such thing as the BEST antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication across the board for all people.

I'm not anti-med. Quite the opposite. However, finding the right med(s) in the right dosages and combinations is not as simple as ordering a burger. It takes someone really experienced in prescribing, monitoring, and adjusting psychotropic medications when these meds are used for long periods of time.

Please go back and work with your Dr. to find a combination that works for YOU! If your primary care dr. is the one prescribing, please consider going to an experienced psychiatrist to help you manage your psychotropic medication issues. Yes, PC drs. can prescribe the stuff, but they often do not have the extensive training and experience required to manage long-term use of psychotropic medications. This is especially true when medications "stop" working and things need to be changed and adjusted.

You can listen to other people's experiences all day long, and that's fine, but it doesn't mean those meds will work for you. People have unique responses to medications, and you just can't predict how these medications are going to work with you and your situation--- particularly if you are combining meds and you have other on-going medical conditions.

Medications aren't intended to give you energy, as your question suggested. They are intended to improve particular symptoms that allow your body to work properly, and when that happens, you have adequate energy to meet daily demands.

So, if you are relying on medications alone and have not experienced improvement in your symptoms, it's probably time to check into some lifestyle changes and talk therapies as well as your dr. tweaking your meds.

How is your sleep? Do you get adequate, restful sleep where you awaken refreshed and ready to meet the day's demands? How are your eating habits?
Are you eating a variety of healthful foods, or are you loading up on unhealthy carbs (this happens a great deal with people who are depressed and anxious and start to "stress eat"). Do you exercise regularly? This is also essential to keep your energy reserves regulated.

You don't give a lot of information, and I'm sorry if I'm reading into things, but something in your post leads me to believe you may need to be talking to a therapist and making some lifestyle changes in addition to taking meds to help manage your depression and anxiety. Just like in a case where a patient has diabetes. Yes, they can take meds as prescribed, but if they don't make lifestyle changes, the outcome isn't going to be optimal.

Remember, the best outcomes are when patients take an active role in their health and make necessary behavioral changes in ADDITION to taking medications.

J. F.

The best medication/s and combinations for one person aren't necessarily the best for someone else. It depends on the individual and their situation. These are questions you need to ask your psychiatrist, who would be telling you this if you saw them on a monthly basis for talk therapy. If you're simply trying different meds and different combinations through your PCP, that's a really bad move and it's time to ask for a referral to a psychiatrist for constant monitoring.

Honestly, this is totally not for us to answer because individual chemistry is individual. You have to ask your doctor about this. You need to give all this info to your docs, tell them what you're trying to accomplish, and get them to work with you to find the right dosage.

A bunch of moms can tell you their experiences, but what's best for them might not be for you.

Good luck finding the right prescription!

As others have said, there is no one perfect medication.

It sounds to me, too, that you may want to revisit Vyvanse with your doctor. That's a long-acting medication and shouldn't be causing a dramatic shift four hours in. It should be stable throughout the day. There are a million other ADHD medications out there, so I wouldn't stick with something with the side effect of making you tired and lazy. Not an OK side effect in my book.

I took Celexa for about a year and did great on it and our son has taken it for many years. Again, goes to show what works for one person isn't ideal for the other if it's not giving you the right results.

I don't know of any ADHD or depression medications that offer extra energy. If that's a big problem when the medication isn't active, too, you REALLY need to talk that over with a doctor. Could be an entirely different medical issue going on.

I would also like to suggest that you try to focus on diet and exercise if you aren't already. Nothing provides you better energy than an all natural healthy diet and plenty of exercise. And you do not get all the crappy side effects like you do from medication. Try eliminating processed, boxed, fried, artificial sweetened and preserved "non-real" food. And try walking with a friend for at least an hour each evening a few times a week. You will be surprised how great you will feel just by walking. Try changing the diet slowly over time, it's easier that way. Also drink plenty of water!!! Stay away from caffeine in any form! Alot of people do not realize how bad food has become. People have gone to convenience for their meals but convenience food is not even real food anymore. Just look at the ingredients on everything. Just try it for a month you will be amazed at how much better you will feel and sleep!! It certainly won't make anything any worse!

I don't know or can't say what will be the best for you because each person is different. I have had a lot of great energy results from Cymbalta, but I tend to get snappy, so I take Welbutrin to help balance that. I went through several cocktails until I found this one, and it still isn't perfect.

It's taken my hubby 3 years to find a combo that works for him....Talk to you doctor and don't be afraid to try new things. I really recommend keeping a written list of med names and your symptoms so that you can remember later, a lot of them sound the same or are very similar.

I agree with Patricia! I am on Xanax right now. I was considering Paxil, Zoloft or Prozac, but after a LONNNNGGGG discussion with my doc, we decided another 30+ days of Xanax was the way to go. Sorry im not much help. Good luck!

My son takes Prestiq and it has done well for him. He has never had any severe problems and never takes it at the exact same time each day. He even misses a does quite regularly with no dizziness, etc. So, as everyone has said, not all meds work the same for everyone. I would caution you on Vyvanse though. My son took it for about six months (before being on Prestiq) and it seemed to really increase his anger and anxiety. We have found Focalin to be the best tolerated ADHD med with the least side effects. Best to discuss with your doctor.

Sweetie, it's one or the other.
The anti-anxiety drugs are supposed to keep you on an even keel, not anxious, but not asleep. Somewhere in the middle.
I had to choose "lack of energy" over panic attacks.
I would much rather be relaxed in a messy house, than feeling like a long tailed cat in a clean room full of dust-free rocking chairs.
Now keeping that in mind, 40 mg of Paxil made me sleep to 6 pm. I take 20 mg now so at least I get up before noon :)
I drink half caff coffee when I get up, so I'm sure that helps me get started. Sometimes I will take a half of a Gurana from the health food store (it's natural caffeine, gives you energy slowly and then wears off slowly).
Take care,
A.