I am a college student, and I'm 26, so I don't have health insurance, even through my parents anymore. I signed up for a study for a new anti-depressant supplement being developed by Astra-Zeneca. It's a free way to get anti-depressants, medical check-ups, and therapy for 16 weeks.

I had my first appointment today, and I found out they pretty much assign you an anti-depressant randomly to take along with their test medication (or a placebo). I'm at a point where anything is better than nothing, but the medicine I do best on (Wellbutrin) isn't even included in the grab-bag. One is even Zoloft, which had about zero effect on me as a young teenager. Effexor is also included, which made one of my formerly 89-pound friends gain about 30 lb. very quickly.

Part of me doesn't even want to get treatment. When I'm depressed, I can focus very hard on a goal. It's how I got straight A's last semester, and it's how I've lost significant amounts of weight before. If I'm happy, I hate my fat less, and I tend to take a more casual attitude toward my health. I know that's not a great long-term solution, to ignore my mental health, but it's always a consideration.

I guess I was wondering if anyone else had participated in a study like this, and what your experience was like? Or, what medicines have you been on that helped or hurt you weight-wise, or motivation-wise?

im on effexcor but i cant say anything for the weight gain..according to the doctor they havent even ruled out effexcor as causing weight gain in people as a side effect...ive been on severeal depressents..imipromene, welbutrin,celexa,rispiridol etc..To be honest, ive done the welbutrin and all these other ones, and the only one that has actually worked was the effexcor.

Hi monstermash, I have never participated in such studies. I don't think they have drug studies/trials where I live. But the free therapy part sounds awfully good since it usually costs a lot of money.

About the medications that have hurt me the most was lithium and seroquel. Both meds made me put on a significant amount of weight in a short span of time. Both didn't help me too much and even if it did help, the side effects were too difficult to put up with, in my case, the weight gain. I used to get late night munchies on seroquel, though it did help me fall asleep at night, it just made me eat a lot. Lithium changed my metabolisme I think. I don't remember eating that much but somehow I put on weight. I am not sure exactly why. But, both drugs made me significantly more depressed because both made me put on weight. I guess for me, putting on weight is a BIG thing. I know sometimes people can put up with the side effects for the sake of their own mental health, but these ones were screwing up my mental health because of the weight gain. I guess different people have different reactions and tolerance.

What helped me was Lamictal, a mood stabilizer, it's weight neutral and so far it has helped me in terms of my mood swings. I suddenly realised that all this might not be applicable to you. You might be going through depression and not bipolar disorder. I think bipolar disorder requires a whole different set of medications. Oh dear, i'm sorry. I didn't check first with you. I am on one anti depressant though called Valdoxan. I think it's relatively new. It's supposed to also help with social anxiety or general anxiety which I am currently going through. So far it has helped, not as much as I had hoped, but it's helping a bit. Instead of moping around too much at home, I can go out more often, I'm still afraid but I still make myself go out. In that sense, I think Valdoxan has helped me.

Wish you all the best monstermash. Hope this helps.

Esha--Yes, I have major depressive disorder, not bipolar, but several of my relatives (including my stepmom whom I live with) have bipolar, so I found your story interesting anyway! Thanks so much for sharing with me.

I haven't heard of Valdoxan, I wonder if that's another name for something I have heard of or something new.

Hi monstermash,

I don't have specific advice about antidepressants, but your story about not being able to get antidepressants reminded me of some programs that might help. I'm listing some links below for programs that are meant to help people afford the prescription medication they need. Not sure if it will help, but it could be worth a try!

Partnership for Prescription Assistance:
pparx. org

Needy Meds:
needymeds. org

I hope this helps

laueliz,

Thanks for the tip. Sometimes when I'm depressed I forget that help exists. My mom and stepmom always say they know when I'm coming out of a bad spot when I start asking for help. I'll look up these resources after my study to see if I can stay mentally healthy for a while.

Hi Monstermash,

I had a boyfriend in college on effexor and he complained of eating during the night (like, half jars of peanut butter), whereas I was on Seroquel and I seriously did most of my eating at night. (It sucked I gained alot of weight, but it did help alot)

Sometimes you have to pick the lesser of the two evils. You can be on an anti-depressant- feel better, and be aware of possible weight gain and try to combat it. Or you can choose to work on your weight- maybe loosing weight will lift your spirits. But there are alot of thin depressed people out there too. Pick your battles. Not everyone reacts the same.

On a side note- my daughter's nick name is "Monster Mash"... We've been calling her that since before she was born!

LR