Deciding on Antidepressant Medicine

If you will be taking medicine for depression, talk to your doctor about:

Concerns you have about the medicine, such as how likely side effects are and whether addiction is possible.
All the medicines you are taking, including nonprescription medicines, herbs, and supplements. This information helps your doctor avoid giving you a medicine that may interact with other medicines you are taking.
Your general health, health problems you have, and your age. Your doctor may be able to prescribe medicine that helps both your depression and another health problem. If you are an older adult, you may need lower doses of medicine, and it may take longer for the medicine to work.
Whether you have used antidepressants before, and which ones worked and which did not.
How to work together with your doctor so you'll know how well the medicine is working.
Whether the antidepressant medicine will make any other health problems you have worse or harder to treat.

Credits

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry
Last Revised	January 12, 2011

By:

Healthwise Staff

Last Revised: January 12, 2011

Medical Review:

Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry

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