Is it good or bad when your doctor ups your dose of anti-depressants?

Question

My doctor may be putting my dose of anti depressants up from twenty mg to forty, but i am a bit worried because that means their is definitely something wrong with my mind. does this always happen? it was hard enough to take the first dose let alone start again. Any advice??

Answer 1

Could be good - some people find that doubling the dose gives them a kick-start and they feel better quite quickly.

Others get no benefit, and some find the side effects are worse.

Try it out and see what happens - let your GP know if you get side effects.

But for goodness sake don't get paranoid about it! Depression is one of the most common illnesses. Your mind is fine - just needs a little help.

Answer 2

I notice on the end of your question you ask for any advice. It has been said several times in existing answers that doctors like to start you on a lower dosage then up it until they find what works best for you. I couldn't agree more, but i would like to add something to this. I'm not sure what you mean by it being hard enough to take the first dose without starting again, is this not the first time you have been on medication for depression?

Regardless, the medication you are on will not 'cure' depression alone. Depression is not simply a chemical imbalance in your brain brought about for no reason. Your life is probably rough at the minute which has a direct effect on your depression levels. The medication you are on will give you a boost which should allow you to start looking at the things in your life which you are not happy with. Start changing them into things which you are happy with. This may take time and help but don't be afraid to ask the people who care about you for support. Has your doctor offered you councelling? If not it would be a good idea to ask for it because it will provide you with further support to get through your depression.

If you take the medication but do not get to the cause of the depression in the first place then it can sometimes lead you into a viscious circle because as soon as you come off the tablets you still have to deal with the cause of the problem only without the extra 'boost'. This could lead you back to where you started so take advantage of the lift that the meducation gives you and find the causes of the depression.

Bottom line, don't be afraid of the medication, at present it's estimated that 50% of the British population suffer from stress and depression, you are not alone in this, several people already have shared their own experiences of trial and error techniques from their doctors with these drugs. Give them time to kick in properly before you start to think that they don't work. Some antidepressants take upto 4 weeks before they start to work properly. Remember, the medication is not forever so follow the instructions given by your doctor and try to alter or change the things in your life at the minute which you are struggling to deal with; share the burdon with the people who care about you.

Final piece of advice. If you take anything from this please make sure it is this final piece of information. Do not stop taking the medication without seeking advice from your doctor first. Antidepressants have to be gradually reduced before you can come off them, if you simply stop taking them it can undo all of the good that it did in the first place. Good luck with all of this, depression is something that can be beaten! Hope this helped.

Answer 3

First of all don't think of this as something wrong with your mind.
Depression is an illness just like any other illness.

When a doctor puts a person on an antidepressant they start with a low dosage then raise it until they see the results that they are looking for. Sometimes the doc's need to try a variety of meds to find the right one. Please be patient with this. Once your brain chemistry is balanced life well be better all around.

All of us have brain chemistry and many people, more than you can imagine, need help now and then will balancing that brain chemistry. Don't fear this because doctors are trained for this and they have a great deal of experience with this.

Are you getting counseling along with the meds? It might be benificial.

Also, on your own work on makeing positive choices in you life, choices that take you down a more positive way. You might have your brain trained to negative self talk. That needs to change.
Change your negative self dialog. When you find your mind thinking something negative....stop and replace those thoughts with positive thoughts.

This is a process. Don't fear it, embrace it.
And pleaseeeeeeeeeeee don't tell yourself that there is something wrong with your brain. Think of this period of you life as an oppertunity to become the best you that you can be.

Answer 4

Don't worry; it's normal to have to experiment with the exact dose to get the best effects. Better to start low and have to go up than to be taking more than you need. Once you've been stable for a while you can ask about going back to a lower dose or perhaps even weaning off the drugs completely. Good luck.

Answer 5

Neither good nor bad. It just means you're not responding to the low dose. Different people respond differently. Some take 10 mg and notice a huge effect, and some take 60 mg and feel nothing. Don't worry too much. Antidepressants are a very safe drug. Just keep taking them until your doctor thinks you should stop...

Answer 6

The only thing "wrong" is that the antidepressant is not working for you. I was on antidepressants that didn't work, or worked for a short time then stopped working, before I found an amazing product called EMpower Plus. When I started using this completely natural product, my depression started to lift within 2 days and I was able to wean myself off prescription medications in 10 days, with the completely free support of the Truehope staff. I had suffered from a cyclical form of depression since childhood and was virtually incapacitated.

It might be worth a try for you. Depression in many cases is simply a nutritional imbalance, and this product addresses the cause and heals the mind. There is nothing "wrong" with your mind, it just needs some support to be the best that it can be and to allow you to live a happy peaceful life.

Louise

Answer 7

Dont worry about it. Its trial and error to find the right drug and the correct dose. I take amytriptaline and for 3 months they did nothing - my dose was increased to 100mg per day and like you I worried about it. However, I started to feel better on the increased dose and as my GP said to me 'If I lacked Iron I would have no problem taking Iron tablets - look on antidepressants as iron tablets for the brain'. Once you top up the chemical in the brain and it stabilises you should be able to reduce the dose. Just concentrate on getting better for now . I wish you well - and hope you recover quickly xx

Answer 8

Many people think being 'depressed' is something you can snap out of, the term is used very loosely, by a lot of people.
If you are diagnosed with depression, it is actually a chemical inbalance happening in your brain, that needs to be corrected.
Just because your doctor has upped your dose, doesn't mean that something is 'wrong with your mind' it just means that a little more tweaking needs to be done to get it balanced.
Good luck, I'm sure it will work out in the end. x

Answer 9

How long have you been on these anti-depressants? Only it can be normal practice to start you off on a low dose and work towards a dose that suits you.

Answer 10

Its quite normal to increase your dose of anti depressants as people usually start off with a lower dose then increase to a higher one its not that your getting worse