# Need help choosing an antidepressant



## 13765 (Aug 7, 2006)

Does anyone know of an antidepressant that doesn't cause weight gain, constipation, or a low sex drive?


----------



## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

Lexapro didn't cause me to gain weight or cause constipation or decrease my sex drive. Zoloft hasn't effected either of those things for my fiancee either.


----------



## 14617 (Sep 16, 2006)

i've worked in mental health for years and can give some general advice.most of the anti-depressants have implication for lowered libido (which can also be caused by depression) although there is a lower profile with some. without researching, i seem to remember desipramine having the lowest of the tca's. amitryptaline and imipramine are definately higher. nortryptaline is also tolerated better with some and used also for as an adjunct pain management medicine.of the ssri's and other newer generation anti-d's, serzone (nefazadone) has the lowest sexual side effects. however, this drug has received what i believe to be politically motivated ill-treatment and has a black box warning for possible liver problems. there are many ssri's and newer generation antidepressants and this is useful because their efficacy (and how they're tolerated) vary widely and so if one is not right for you there is another to work with. i think lexapro is a good medicine and i've seen people on as low as 2.5 mg up to 40 mg. it's basically a "new and improved" celexa (marketing ploy as the patent on celexa was ending and it could be made generic). it's important to remember that new medicines were not made because the older one's were not so good. it's more about the older one's having a more challenging and sometimes not worthwhile side-effect profile, hence a lower risk/benefit ratio.best to you.


----------



## Guest (Sep 18, 2006)

Obviously Singer knows where its at - being a health professsional.If I can just add my two pennoath - having been on anti-depressants. I think the important thing to realise is that they are very PERSON SPECIFIC - so what might suit one person, and have no or very little adverse side-effects - might be an absolute nightmare for another.For example, I presented with severe depression at the beginning of this year and was initially put on Citralopram, then Prozac - both of these made me even more anxious, the Prozac gave me spasms and lose a horrendous amount of weight, sweats but extremely high sex drive!!!I'm now on summat called Mitrazapene - I don't think its all that frequently prescribed, certainly not here, also goes by the trade name Zisprin. I feel extremely well now (though another important point


----------



## Guest (Sep 18, 2006)

sorry, must have pressed the Post Now button!!!ANTI-D'S OFTEN TAKE 6/8 WEEKS TO BENEFIT THE USER - you have to keep the faith - though obviously if you are getting very adverse side-effects - you must notify your GP or Psychiatrist immediately.So, keep the faith with whatever you are presribed and don't expect the earth - the old maxim - no pain no gain rings true - you might have to live with say, weight gain, like I have but in exchange, in my case, for good mental health - being abit porky for a while is a pretty fair exchange I'd say and, like me, you can allus exercise to try and combat it!!Good luckSue


----------

