Finding Antidepressants That Work

Although it might seem that treating depression is a simple job - take an antidepressant and you feel better, right? - it can often be a process of trial and error finding the right antidepressant for the individual. According to the Harvard Mental Health Letter, most adults will try two or more antidepressants before they find the one that works for them.

Only about half of adults respond to the first antidepressant they try, says the report, and only a third achieve remission. The next step that doctors generally take after the first drug trial fails is to either switch antidepressants or to add a second drug to augment the effect of the first. Until recently, however, there was no clear evidence as to which strategy was the best.

A study called The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D), which was the largest study of its type ever conducted, has attempted to answer this question. The STAR*D results indicate that either strategy is equally effective. They also shows that, even though it is a trial and error process, 70% of patients who don't give up looking for an answer eventually find a treatment that works.

The take away message? Even though tailoring the treatment plan to the patient is an imperfect process, you should not get discouraged and give up. The odds are in your favor that something will work.