Depression + Anxiety medications not working.?

I've taken quite a few different medications for depression and anxiety, but all of them seem to backfire and make it worse.
I've heard the element selenium works wonders...
Does it really work?
Does anyone else have the same problem?

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you are having a tough time of it. I think that as you are now seeking for anwers they will reveal themselves in a time that is suitable for you. Things will get better if you want them to.

I think that ultimately, these chemicals are foreign and poisonous to the body and your body is saying "no- this doesnt work, i dont like it." Unfortunatley some people are wired differently and do not react to these medications in the way that others do, or they have a personality which doesnt take to the chemical.

Modern pharmaceuticals are still a blunt and very unsophisticated tool. Pyscho-neuropharmacists cannot prove that low levels of serotonin creates or causes depression. This is but one theory of depression and is propagated by mainstream culture and pharmaceutical companies. Hopefully drugs will become available which are more targeted and helpful.

Pyschotherapy could be much more effective in the long run if you have the patience and determination to follow it through. You can resest your baseline level of happiness thru pyschotherapy (i.e CBT, REBT, NLP) so that you dont need to rely on chemical crutches.

i hope these words may be of some use to you. i was in a similar situation three years ago.

Have you tried Prozac and Klonopin? It's really helped my friend.

Talk to your psychiatrist. Sometimes what looks like depression is actually the downside to bipolar. The brain chemistry is different, and antidepressants might not work.

Yes i had it before, they worked perfectly in the begening but later the TCA bothered me with their atropine like action , so i prefered to take the SSRI (Prozac)although they took a longer time to give action( about 10-15 days)

How long have you taken each of these brands??? Sometimes they may take a month or more to get results in case you have been switching rather quickly, so may have to either switch less or just haven't found the right "key" yet!

What family of medications have you taken? SSRIs? TCAs? SNRIS? .....MAOIs?

Have you tried lexapro? working for me. Also these medications are not happy pills, you use them alongside some good therapy to get to the root of the problem

I've never heard about selenium doing anything for depression, but since it is found in many vitamin brands, it probably wouldnt hurt to try. I too had to try many different antidepressants before finding one that works. So if you think one isn't working try another.

Selenium will only help if there is insufficient in your diet, and you need to avoid the inorganic forms, and not overdose. See http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris on pages 2 & 6.

It can take a lonh time and alot of differenet combinations to find something that works well. I take 150mg Effexor Xr and 2-4mg of Ativan when I feel extra anxious.

It seems that when people have issues that they haven't dealt with and they are causing depression or anxiety no amount of drugs will really do the trick.

A lot of times something will work for a short period of time but because the underlying cause of your depression and anxiety was never dealt with...it comes to the surface again.

My answer would be that you need to really find out what is causing your depression and anxiety and try to deal with it with professional help.

Just a thought, it might not pertain to your case, but it did in mine so I'd like to share it. If you are taking antidepressants, you CANNOT drink alcohol at all - the medication may not work correctly or at all, in fact, it can be a dangerous combination, I know. Please keep this in mind. Antidepressants did not start working for me until I finally quit drinking completely. On the other hand, once they did start working, they changed my life and probably saved my life.