Minimal Side Effects Mental Health Meds?

DO 👏 NOT 👏 TAKE 👏 SYMBALTA!!! It caused me to have auditory hallucinations and become uncontrollably emotional. I'm on venlafaxine, it's an MAOI, but it's worked well for me for the past few years so it's worth looking into

Clomipramine has worked well for me so far. The only side effect I've noticed is getting head rushes when I stand too quickly, sometimes i have to stand there and wait until my vision clears? It's a really minor side effect for me though. I'm also considering looking into genetic testing if I can afford it, that might be the way to go.

It seems to be genetic for me, both my brother and I struggle with sensitivity and side effects. Zoloft works for both us. It probably is different for each person so you just have to keep trying. Always start at the smallest dose possible, and take it for two weeks or so to see if side effects get to a bearable point. Once you get there you have to wait 4-6 weeks to see if it helps. It really sucks and I gave up trying for a bit, only to do zoloft on the first try and it worked for me. Also for me I had emotional breakdowns when taking a normal starting dose, and my psychiatrist said that actually can be a sign that it works, but it’s too strong. But when I was too drowsy after taking lexapro for two weeks we decided to stop it.

I'm also very prone to side effects. For me dozepine, lamotrigine, gabapentin, and nortriptyline.

Before doing genetic testing I had tried about 7 different medications to find one that was effective - Zoloft for me - and even then once I hit another depressive episode the only thing that brought back the effectiveness of the medication was therapy,, this all to say that genetic testing was definitely most effective for my situation

Gonna be honest, meds are different for everyone. You should consider a DNA test that you can ask for from your psychiatrist or doctor to find out what meds would work for you.

Lexapro so far has been the most beneficial with next to no seriously detrimental aide effects. Decreased libido, but that’s not a big deal to me lol

I think buspar is worth a try even though it didn't help me that much. It's really easy to get off of and my only symptom was car sickness. It did help my anxiety somewhat but I have to drive a lot so the carsickness was a dealbreaker for me.

I had a genetic test (which can be a great option because it shows how your genes might interact with the drug, so which ones might have worse side effects, etc.) and took a recommended SNRI antidepressant for 6 months, but it didn’t help and going on it and coming off of it were hard. A few months ago, I started with a new psychiatrist, and she recommended I try lamotrigine. It’s a mood stabilizer, but it’s effective to treat regular depression as well. The titration process is really slow to allow your body to grow accustomed to it and avoid some side effects, so it takes a little longer to work than some, but I have experienced literally zero side effects, which has been fantastic. I’m starting to feel like myself again.

I am very sensitive to meds too I end up having bad side effects or rare ones so I hate trying new meds of any kind even outside of mental meds

I take mirtazapine (about 5 years now) buspirone for anxiety 4 times daily and bupropion once in the morning. All three work pretty great for me.

zoloft has always treated me well!

Have you looked into genetic testing?