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| Antidepressants |  Antidepressants can improve the symptoms of depression, but they can also lead to serious side effects. You may not need one. A guide:
• If you are feeling "down" or "blue" — for instance, after stressful life event such as the death of a loved one, divorce or job loss — you may have mild depression. That's particularly likely if you are still can work and function and have no history of depression. Your symptoms may disappeare on their own, aided by family support, professional counseling, or psychotherapy — and without the need of an antidepressant.
• You are more likely to be a candidate for taking an antidepressant, if you can not work well, and your symptoms have lasted three weeks or longer. That is particularly true if there is no apparent reason for you to be in depression, or if you have had repeated episodes of depression.
You need to talk with your doctor or a mental health professional about antidepressants. Remember that individual respond to antidepressants quite differently. Some people may have several tries before one works.
The price differences between medicines can be unknown to your doctor. Try to avoid a free sample of an antidepressant which is proposed to you by doctor and which is the only one on hand in the office. It may not be useful for you.
There are three Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs as initial options to consider for depression:
• Generic fluoxetine at a dose of 10 mg or 20 mg taken once a day, at a cost of $32 to $37 a month.
• Generic citalopram at a dose of 20mg or 40mg once a day will cost you of $50 to $52 per month.
• Generic bupropion at a dose of 75mg to 100mg taken three times a day at a cost of $60 to $71 per month.
These medicines are generally less expensive than most other antidepressants, and are as efficient as any of them. If you can’t afford expensive drugs, discuss with you doctor other antidepressant that has the lowest out-of-pocket cost under your insurance plan.
Important facts:
• To minimize side effects you should talk with your doctor about beginning with a low dose. If the drug doesn't help within 8 to 12 weeks, talk with your doctor about taking a higher dose or switching to another antidepressant.
• Discuss with your doctor other mood, emotional or mental signs, such as anxiety or panic attacks. These are essential in deciding which antidepressant is useful for you.
• If you have taken an antidepressant before and it worked, you may want to stick with that one, or its generic equivalent.
• Tell your doctor whether the differences in side effects among the antidepressants are essential to you.
• If you often think about suicide in the first few weeks of taking an antidepressant, tell about this to your doctor.
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