Treatment Options When Your SSRI Antidepressant Is Not Working Well - Consumer Summary | AHRQ Effective Health Care Program

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Treatment Options When Your SSRI Antidepressant Is Not Working Well - Consumer Summary | AHRQ Effective Health Care Program

Consumer Summary – Jul. 24, 2013

Treatment Options When Your SSRI Antidepressant Is Not Working Well

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Table of Contents

• Is This Summary Right for Me?
• Understanding Your Condition
• Understanding Your Options
• Making a Decision
• Source

Is This Summary Right for Me?

This information is right for you if:

• Your doctor* said you have major depressive disorder, a kind of depression that lasts longer than 2 weeks.
• You have taken one of the following antidepressant medicines for at least 6 weeks^† and your depression is not getting better. These medicines are a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Please note that not all antidepressants are SSRIs.
  • Citalopram (Celexa^®)
  • Escitalopram (Lexapro^®)
  • Fluoxetine (Prozac^®, Prozac Weekly^®, Sarafem^®)
  • Fluvoxamine (Luvox^®, Luvox CR^®)
  • Paroxetine (Paxil^®, Paxil CR^®, Pexeva^®)
  • Sertraline (Zoloft^®)
• You want to know about other options to treat your depression to talk about with your doctor.
• And you are over age 18. This information is from research on adults.

* In this summary, the term “doctor” refers to the health care professionals who may take care of you, including your primary care physician, psychiatrist, therapist, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.
^† SSRIs can take up to 6 weeks to start working.