You probably need to change your situation. Right meds, right situation .. works. Wrong one of either may prevent anything from working.

I don't footer about with my medication and change them as if they were socks. I talk to the experts to begin with.

If the Meds don't work, then there is some mental block keeping you depressed.

i think drugs are more likely to work if your depression is situational and less likely to work of if it is related to your biology/genes.

I have been on anti-depressants for many, many years. A whole host of them. For me, they were all the same. I did not find one to be better than another. BUT I know how I am without them, and that is a place I never want to visit. You said the right word I believe-Situational. It's like we are all looking for these magic, happy pills to change our lives. ( At least I was in the beginning)..But then you learn there's no such thing. Anti-depressants help you cope with whatever is going on in your life, but they don't change the situations. It is up to US to change the channel. NOT EASY, and not always possible, but we have to keep fighting-we have to sometimes come out of our comfort zone ( did I really say that)??!!,-nothing is harder for me than to do that.,to give us a push in the right direction.

Even if your depression is situational it can still lead to needing medication, at least for the short term. I still havwn't found anything that works and I have been doing this for 25 years. Have you considered ect?

Antidepressant number 6 finally worked for me ...Wellbutrin XL.
I had some success with a couple of others but they made me so tired i was worthless. I will probably be on it forever and Im OK with that because it allows me to have a life.

My brother is on a combo of drugs and it took him / his doc many years
to find the right cocktail . Dont give up .

Before responding, just know that everyone has VERY different experiences with medication. For me, it works, but I have to change to something new every couple of years. (I know some people who have a lot of success having been on the same medication for several years and I know others who gave up on medication and were able to cope through things like intensive therapy etc.)

That being said, sometimes living in an awful situation can make depression significantly worse. I'm not sure what problems you're dealing with specifically, but whatever you can do to improve your situation, do it.

Best of luck to you!

two decades and I am still not cured by far

I get very worried when people say 'cocktail of medications'. Sometimes less is more. If you feel your depression is situational you need to get a counsellor, and not rely too heavily on medication.

The reality is that medication is a good temporary solution but it's not a magic bullet that will make you live happily ever after. I learned that it's best to treat it like something that 'makes the pain endurable' rather than 'makes it all go away.' Make it endurable, and then get a counsellor so you can face some of the issues without falling apart, and get them resolved and cleared.

I only ever used one antidepressant at a time, and I found they often took a month or more to have any real effect. You couldn't even tell they were having an effect; you only could tell that things were worse a while ago...

So I would advise against chopping and changing too fast, and against having many different things all intereacting together. The studies have not been performed on all those drug interactions.

Pristiq worked the best for me, but then it started making me so sick I could no longer take it. I went off the meds for about a year, then my dad got really sick, and there's no cure for what he has, and we don't know how much longer he will be with us, so I hit bottom, been there off and on since, I realized last week that i had to get back on something, so I'm trying Cymbalta. hope it works

bridgie - I do go to therapy every week. I definitely didn't ask to be on this many medications. My doctor changed my medication a handful of times because I didn't think it was working and then she just kept adding to what I was on. I am not a fan of taking this many medications and have asked to decrease them, but my psychiatrist doesn't think it's a good idea because of how severely depressed I am due to issues I'm dealing with currently.

I take several medications too.

Blue, I know what you mean about psychiatrists. When I stopped taking the Pristique I didn't tell him because I felt ok and didn't feel like I needed anything. I knew he would be trying to put me on some other mess. I feel like what I did was right because I think they all wear off eventually. And I want something to be working when I really need it most. Anyway he got all mad and said I lied to him and he could not help me if I was going to lie to him.

although I am not happy about he number of meds I am on I do know I need them all .i also know there is no magic pill that ..will cure all of my problems you need to fight look for coping tools ......and use them ......I use exercise ..medatation ....making I get out of the house ..comming here to know that I am not alone ..to have the suport ..I need from people who can understand me ..understanding my limitations ....but also pushing ...my self ...into new waters ware I am not so comfortable ..untill I become comfortable ..............we also usualy have more than one problem ..and so getting the right diagnoses ..is very important ..seeing a phicatrist ..and telling them exactualy ware you and what is going on with you will help you get better treatment ......I am on a antiedepresants ....and antie angizity ..med ..because these are two diferant conditions ..and need diferant ...meds .....I also have a antydepresant that breaks up my thinking because I think in circles ....and this...leads to depreshion .or makes it a lot worse ....there is a sidefects ..I had to deside if it ...was ....better for me to take the pill ..or not that is that I have problems with my short turm memorie ...turns it is .....so ..I can be talking to some one ...and forget ..what I am saying but if I just ask them what I was talking about I can continue ......but this med has made a big diferance to me I also have a mood stabilizer ..also used for bipolar ...it is a antydepresant ..to .......but my doctor did not just give me all these pills and say take these ...he added them over time .....untill ..we got me this far ...and I have to fight each day ....to help my self and sometimes I don't do such a good job .....but I have a life worth living ..that I can get enjoyment from .....I never wanted to be here untill I turned 50 ....they still can't get me up all the way out of depreshion ........but I will take this life ....I don't trus a doctor who puts you on a bunch of meds untill they know what is going on with you ....I hope you find the right help ..I will keep you in my prayer ....take very good care of your self ...God bless

BlueYonder - there is no shame in taking a few different medications. Sometimes that's what's needed to get through a particularly rough patch, and then you can reduce the dosages (with the help of your doctor) when things improve.

There have been two or three times in my life when my depression and anxiety got significantly worse so I changed my medications, added on as many as I needed so I could function again, and after six months to a year, I found that it was relatively easy to go back to a minimal amount of medication.

I think I may have already said it, but listen to your body, and you'll know what you need. Everyone has different coping mechanisms, and the trick is finding what works for you.