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612551 tn?1450022175

Is there any new anti depression medication with rave reviews?

I am a senior and losses in family and age has given me long term grief and depression.  I tried Trazadone for about a year but didn't seem to get much help and I think it was making my sleeping problems worse.  I then went to Sertraline (Zoloft) and have been on a half dose for 9 days (25 mg) and will go to full dose of 50 mg on day 10. The side effects seem to add to my fatigue, which I already had due to grief/bereavement.  

I haven't given up on Sertraline as I'm yet to have a run at full dose.  But wonder if this is an old drug and the move to something more recent may be worth thinking about, discussing with my doctor.  I am now under the care of my family doctor, not a psychiatrist.  

Both my grief, and the symptoms of as well as side effects are just troubling, not dangerous in my mind.  But, I would like to get more enjoyment out of the life I have left (being a senior I am on the end-run for life).  It see in my bereavement group many suffer for years over the loss of a loved one, and perhaps never really get over it.  My reason for seeking help from drugs  is to help me sleep (that could reduce fatigue) and soften what I believe is depression.  My family history has no known problems with depression, and I have lived a long life absent any troubling depression.. of course there have been many disappointments, but not depression until now.

I suppose a depressing side effect of new patented medications is the cost, which may be so high that along can make one depressed.  The Sertraline is very affordable.
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612551 tn?1450022175
Thanks, I appreciate your concern and advice.  

I'll give it a bit more time, but believe I should be able to get along without it.  Others in my bereavement group have/do use medication and believe they are more settled, but bereavement goes on.  None have found a magic pill.

Suppose if all my mental problems are in fact mental/ruminating, not chemical, chemicals will not provide much relief. Or maybe the mind being as powerful as it is on our health it causes a chemical unbalance that the pills will help control and may be needed only temporarily.

My main therapy strategy is to increase my volunteer work to hellp others and to via that path to establish new friendships.  Loneliness is the main struggle, I think.  

I think I am not mentally ill, well not more than "normal" : )
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While it's possible depression and anxiety are caused by a mental "imbalance" in some people, nobody knows what chemicals are involved.  The ones targeted by drugs aren't the ones that cause the illness.  But you don't have the illness, you're having a rough time in life.  The difference is, anxiety and depression are there when there's no discernible reason for it to be there -- it just is.  
Avatar universal
There are newer medications, but I'd rethink your approach.  Everyone young and old feels grief when losing loved ones -- that's not depression, that's sadness.  If you've researched these meds, you'll find they're no picnic to be on and are very hard to stop taking -- they're not magic pills.  They are also harder to handle as you get older -- I'm also no spring chicken, but I've been suffering from anxiety for many many years and been on several meds for it.  I'd be more inclined if I were you, given you've had a long life without mental illness, to consult a psychologist or grief counselor and know that only time will fix this.  Again, I speak as someone who takes these meds and if you can stay away from them you're much better off.  When they're necessary, there's not much you can do, but I don't think, at least from what you say, that you're in that category.  Peace.
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