Treatments for Depression

Now that you have been diagnosed with depression, otherwise known as major depressive disorder, there are several treatment options that you will discuss with your physician. Most of these treatments will fall under two categories, depression medications and depression treatments, or therapy. You might decide to try medication, otherwise known as anti-depressants, therapy, or a combination of the two.

To understand the effects of starting a round of anti-depressants, one must first understand what anti-depressants are, what they do and what different types there are.

Depression involves chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Specifically, one, two or three different neurotransmitters can be involved; seratonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Basically neurotransmitters are released from brain nerve cells to relay messages to other cells. There is a limited time when they can do this until they are destroyed by enzymes or reabsorbed by other cells. This reabsorption is call reuptake. In depressed brains there is not enough of these neurotransmitters, or the get absorbed to fast. Anti-depressants work on these neurotransmitters to fix which ever problem is being experienced, either low levels of the chemicals or poor reuptake.

There are several different types of medication for depression. Most of them fall into four different catagories. There are tricyclics, MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors), SSRIs (Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors) and anti-depressants that fall into an “other” catagory.

Tricyclics are the oldest form of depression medication. They work on two of the neurotransmitters previously mentioned; seratonin and norepinephrine. The side effects of tricyclic medications can be fatigue, blurred vision, alteration of heart rate and blood pressure and constipation, to name a few. Some of the brand name versions of this class of drug are Aventyl, Elavil, Norpramin, Pamelor and Tofranil.

MAOIs are strong depression medications. They are usually prescribed when there is evidence of resistance to SSRIs or tricyclics. This is because of their brutal dietary side effects. Some of the brand name versions of this class of drug are Emsam, Nardil and Parnate.

SSRIs are depression medications which only act on the neurotransmitter Seratonin, keeping the chemical in the brain longer by preventing it from being reabsorbed to quickly. Because they only interact with one neurotransmitter (and not two, like the others) they also have less side effects. These side effects include nausea, insomnia, dry mouth and sexual issues. Some of the brand name versions of this class of drug are Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft.

Other brand name depression medications used now are Desyrel, Effexor, Remeron, Serzone and Wellbutrin. They all work a little differently then the tricyclics, MAOIs and SSRIs. They do all have the standard side effects of nausea, dry mouth, fatigue, constipation, headaches, insomnia, dizziness and weight loss or gain.

With this basic crash course on depression medications, you are now more equipped to discuss with your physician which anti-depressant may be best for you.

Another consideration is therapy. There are many treatment centers for depression which treat patients on an in or out patient basis.

Again discuss with your physician if this is the direction your personal treatment plan should take.

No one is alone with their depression. Seeking treatment is easy and empowering, especially with this new knowledge of treatments for depression.