Question: What are the side effects of medicines used to treat depression?
Both Cipramil and Efexor are excellent medications for the treatment of depression, but they come from different classes of drugs, and so have different side effects. If you find that the medication you are taking is helping and has minimal side effects, then follow the old saying of ‘When you are on a good thing, stick to it’. If you are having problems with your medication then discuss the matter with your GP, who may decide to change the dose or try a different medication.
Cipramil is in a class of antidepressants known as SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). The dosage can vary from 10 mg to 60 mg once a day. It should be used with caution in pregnancy, breast feeding and children, heart disease, mania and liver disease. Otherwise it is a very safe drug, but when you decide to stop the drug, you should reduce the dose slowly—do not stop suddenly.
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, tiredness, dry mouth, and impotence, but these usually wear off as the medication is continued, so a trial lasting at least two weeks is the minimum. Unusual side effects include sweating, loss of appetite, tremor, agitation, watery nose, and a low libido.
Introduced in 1998 as a further advance within an excellent class of drugs that are very effective in treating depression. It is claimed to have a faster effect and fewer side effects than other SSRI antidepressants. Efexor was introduced in 1997 for the management of more difficult cases of depression. Dosage varies from 37.5 mg to 75 mg twice a day, but the dose must be increased slowly. It must be used with caution in pregnancy, breast feeding and children, epilepsy, other psychiatric conditions, liver, high blood pressure, and kidney diseases. Once again, you should not stop the medication suddenly, but reduce the dose slowly.
Common side effects include dizziness, sleeplessness, nervousness, nausea, diarrhea, and a dry mouth. Unusual side effects are tiredness, vomiting, excess sweating, impotence, and high blood pressure.
Please remember that all antidepressants are slow to work, and it may be two or three weeks before any improvement in mood is felt.

Question: I have depression, and it is taking years to clear up. What is this illness, what can be done for them, and what is the long term prognosis?
There are many different types of depression. Some forms are a reaction to stresses in your life such as loss of a job or a death in the family, while others are caused by biochemical imbalances in the brain that occur for no apparent reason. Sometimes it can last for just a few weeks, while in others it may recur, or persist for years. Psychiatrists will attempt to determine the type of depression that is affecting you before starting any treatment, but this is often very difficult, as there are no blood or other tests that can help the doctor, and s/he must depend on his/her clinical skills.
Once the diagnosis is made, the correct treatment will be started. This will usually involve the use of one or more medications, counseling, psychotherapy, and occasionally shock treatment.
There are some cases that can be cured, but others may only have their depression controlled. There are many diseases that cannot be cured, but are effectively controlled, and good examples would be diabetes and high blood pressure, where medication must be used life long.
Provided the patient is prepared to carefully follow a doctor’s advice, the majority of cases of depression can be cured or controlled, so that the patient can lead a normal life with minimal side effects from the treatment. Only in cases where there is poor compliance with treatment, poor family support or other adverse factors does the patient face a life of continued depression and risk suicide.