For lots of people, finding the proper shrink Joseph Hullett, MD, senior medical director for OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions in Minnesota. “And even after trying four distinct depression treatments, only 67 percent of people experienced remission.”

The chances can appear somewhat stacked against you as you seek for the melancholy medicine that is right. To enhance your likelihood of getting the treatment that works best for you personally, look for these nine signs your antidepressant is not working, isn’t working well enough, or is no longer working like it should:

“If you respond to an antidepressant quickly, that’s actually a terrible sign,” Dr. Hullett says. Antidepressants work by balancing and raising feel good neurochemicals in your brain, an activity which takes some time, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Depression relief from an antidepressant usually takes to set in, using a peak at six to eight weeks. “So if you’re feeling distinct immediately after beginning a depression treatment, it’s either a complication of the depression medicine or a placebo effect,” Hullett says.

2. You skipped a dose — or several.??Lack of adherence to antidepressant drugs can be a motive medicines do not work, as well as a major barrier to melancholy treatment.??

3. You experience no relief from depression symptoms after a couple of months. “You should see some improvement within three months of starting an antidepressant,” explains Zinia Thomas, MD, a psychiatrist at Spectrum Psychiatry in St. Louis, Mo. “If you’ve been on an adequate dose of a melancholy drugs for three months, and you don’t get results, it is probably time to try something new.”

4. You feel a sudden upsurge of energy — along with all the blues. “If you feel more physical energy after starting an antidepressant, but you still have depression, that is good and bad news,” says Gabriela Cora, MD, MBA, a psychiatrist in Miami. “It means the depression drug is starting to operate, but not in the best manner.” She says that increased physical energy along with melancholy isn’t a good mix that could force you to act out or raise your risk. “Thus report these symptoms to your own doctor straightaway,” urges Cora.

5. You’re experiencing unpleasant unwanted side effects. “The largest study that looked at the effectiveness of antidepressants found that there are no marked differences — they all pretty much work the same,” Hullett says. That means deciding which depression medicine to take may come down to side effects. In case you gain weight or have sexual difficulties on one antidepressant, for instance, you may want to switch to one without those unwanted side effects, he counsels.

6. Your antidepressant does not pack the punch it used to. “If you’ve been on an antidepressant for quite a long time, your own body may produce a tolerance,” notes Hullett. So while your medicine could have functioned well as a depression treatment initially, now you might be believing that its power has faded. Hullett suggests talking to your physician about increasing the dosage. “If you have been taking 10 milligrams of Prozac, for instance, your physician may increase the dose to 20 milligrams,” he says.

7. Your melancholy gets more serious. “If your depression symptoms get worse as soon as you start taking an antidepressant, or they get better and then quite suddenly get worse, it is an indicator that the depression drug isn’t functioning properly, and you should see your health care professional right away,” Hullett says. Special warning signals to keep an eye out for include feeling normally uncontrollable, hand wringing, or feeling agitated or restless, pacing or constant movement.

8. Your depression symptoms have improved, but you are still not yourself. Should you experience some relief on an antidepressant, but it is not the relief you hoped for, it may be time to test something new, Dr. Thomas says. Which could contain attempting another depression medicine or adding counseling, psychotherapy, mood-boosting cardio exercise, or even light therapy to your own treatment regimen. The combination of medication along with other depression treatments can increase the time to healing and reduce your total time on antidepressants, she says.

9. You are having violent mood swings. “Melancholy medicines can occasionally cause mood swings, especially in individuals who possess a tendency toward bipolar disorder — depression and mania,” Hullett says. In case you feel unusually elated or you also become very terse along with your partner, rest furniture, or have an uncharacteristic bout of road rage, you almost certainly should modify your antidepressant, he advises.

10. After a long period on an antidepressant, your depression is gone. “If you’ve been taking an antidepressant for at least 6 months and you have attained remission, then it may be time to stop completely,” notes Hullett. He stresses the importance of tapering off depression drugs, nonetheless. “Antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can produce physical symptoms of withdrawal if you stop taking them suddenly,” he says. “So you should decrease the dosage of depression drug slowly, typically over a few weeks.”

Antidepressants can be very helpful, like taking aspirin for a headache, but they are not. Should you are feeling your drug isn’t working up to your expectations, call your doctor, and she or he can help you get back on course to feeling