Is it common to mix two anti-depressants together?

Question

She has been taking Wellbutrin for several years, things are rough right now, the doc suggested tweaking that with Prozac.

She is hesitant about doing this , and frankly I have never heard of anyone doing it.

The two medications are doctor prescribed.

Answer 1

I dont think Mixing two anti-depressents together would be the best idea and doctors are never supposed to suggest this if they think the depressents arnt working then they usually either up your dosage or percribe you stronger ones.
I would deffently get a second opinion from another doctor.

Answer 2

It's probably more common than we know. Some people who take antidepressants are "doctor shoppers" and get different prescriptions from different doctors. That can be dangerous.

Taking pills for depression is palliative, but It doesn't deal with the problem. You should look for a good psychiatrist who can get you into a support group. Depression is not something people can handle on their own, and it is often more complicated than a chemical imbalance in the brain.

It may cost you to get the treatment you need, but in the long run it will be a lot less costly than a never ending stream of medications.

It's interesting that even researchers admit they don't know why drugs like Prozac work, just that they do seem to help some people.

Good luck.

Answer 3

yes it is common to put two or more to together to get the results necessary to help with depression and some side affects that can be caused by depression. usually the extra anti depressants (or tweakers) as you called them are usually a lower dose of meds. i suffer from schizophrenia and some other problems so i actually take several other meds for schizophrenia that work for things other than shizophrenia. it can be very confusing to the mind if you are not trained in medicines. you need to take some control of your wifes illness and meds ,so please do not hesitate to ask her doctor questions. if you forget in the doctors office call the doctor when you get home and have the doctor call you back at the end of the day .in the meantime write down all the questions you have thought of and ask them when you talk to the doctor.

Answer 4

Quite common. I have been on a combination of two different antidepressants for about ten years now. There are two (actually three) different brain chemicals at work with depression and each of the antidepressants out there target only one of these chememicals. Because it is difficult to tell if a depressed person has low seratonin levels, or low dopamine levels, etc., a combination of antidepressants are usually given to combat whichever neurotransmitter is low. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Actually, it can be common and normal to use two types of antidepressants, but is done at the discretion of a qualified psychologist. I can't raise Serotonin directly as I am allergic to Prozac-like drugs. So I'm taking Tegretol, Effexor, and Trazadone. Trazadone indirectly works on Serotonin and Effexor works on Serotonin and Nor Epinephrine. And my mother is taking a combination of Prozac and Effexor. Sometimes it does take two types of medication to treat the depression. I would also recommend, though, that she see a qualified psychologist, who can be worth their weight it gold. Good luck to both of you.

Answer 6

yes it is but it needs to be speciafically prescribed by your doc depending on your needs. you may react to the meds depending on you. Dont try mixing pills yourself it can be fatal.

Answer 7

well, my grandmother's doing the same...it didn't harm her...
anyway, if the doctor says she ought to, he'll probably be right... i dunno if the chemicals between those two could make a weird reaction though, i'm not a doctor...(though i'd like to...)