Medication question?

[knickfan15]

Hey.  I have been suffering from depression for about 16 months now after some life events took place.  I have been seeking professional help but it only seems to help me a little bit/temporarily.  I may be improving slightly but nothing substantial enough.  I was prescribed zoloft but i cant deal with the side effects.  The worst being the sexual side effects and the insomnia.  I cant deal with those side effects so i stopped taking the medications.  I have tried Wellbutrin which did not work for me.  The SSRIs all have terrible side effects that make it almost not worth to take but they seem to be the most effective.  Do you have any suggestions for medications I can take that may help me with less severe side effects?  Thanks

[Bubulous]

From my knowledge of taking most of the SSRIs, no all of the do not have that side effect.  For me it was only Zoloft.

[knickfan15]

thanks for the honest response.  I dont expect any miracle drugs and I know side effects come with all drugs and everything for that matter but i literally cannot sleep on this stuff.  I was always under the impression that abilify was added to the use of an already used antidepressant, i didnt know you can use it by itself?  Anyways I will definitely look into it.  Do other SSRIs effect sleep the same way, or does it depend on the specific persons brain chemistry etc.  I want to take medicine to get better but i also need to sleep, its sorta like a catch 22.  Anyways ill look into the abilify and ill give more thought to it.  Thanks for your help and if you have anymore recommendations feel free to let me know!

[Bubulous]

Hello and welcome to the forum,
I am not a dr so I cannot tell you what medicines might work for you but I will say this...
Although it is a hard pill to swallow, pun intended, life has side effects regardless of the medicines you take.  I hear a lot that people like the SSRIs but hate the side effects.  I completely understand because I delt with the same thing when I was first getting myself together.
One thing to remember is that you do not have to stay on the medicine for the rest of your life.  All the medicine does is aid you in your recovery, then you taper off of it and you're done.
In most cases either the medicine does not work or the medicine is too strong with side effects that are difficult to tolerate but you have to ask yourself which is the less of two evils...
Do I stay on the pills because they make me feel a little better dispite the side effects?  Do I keep searching until I find the miracle drug?
I am sorry and I am not trying to be harsh or a smart a$$.  I just have gone through it and switching around witht the medicines could do damage in itself.  We should always learn about our medicines and I commend you for being aware of yourself and how you react to the medicines.
I only want you to be careful because this fight against depression is a long one.  It takes major changes and major sacrifces to get through it.
However in my opinion I will go ahead and tell you that you may ask your dr about a mood stabilizer like Abilify.  Anything that has a good half life and helps you get some good sleep.