You don't come across as a whiner. It is a natural question. I haven't found a med that works and I don't have much hope that I will, but they do work for some people. It varies for people. I hate to be a downer, but that is my experience.

Medication works for the MAJORITY of patients. There is a very small percentage that are 'drug' resistant. Only your DOCTOR knows what is the best thing to try .... failing all, ... there are other options.

One third of people with depression do not respond to meds. I am one of those people. I've been doing this for 25 years. Sorry!

I will aso add that I tried ECT, hypnotherapy, and neurofeedback which did not work either although a lot of people do respond to ECT if you don't mind the memory loss.

TMS is another alternative.

Hmm...do meds actually work? I guess that depends, work for the patient or for the company that stands to profit from them? The ONLY time I actually noticed a med work was when I took Lamictal along with gabapentin. My anxiety went down and I started feeling better quickly.
I was off it for around 7 years and I tried it again but it made things 5x worse easily. Part of the reason if not the entire reason was the last time it was generic, generic Lamictal for some is like getting thrown a boat anchor instead of a life preserver. It's actually much, much worse than that for SOME people.
The most absolutely powerful antidepressant I ever took was SAM-established, nothing has even come close...although it seemed to lose its effectiveness after awhile (but what doesn't?).
If taking any meds, check with a proper pharmacist...the Dr will have more knowledge about when their BMW is going to be out of the shop than meds and or interactions.
And make sure you go to a real pharmacy...not some booth in a grocery store, there is a difference...trust me. Please don't be too upset that meds don't seem to help, if you can beat this hell without meds, your brain and body will thank you. Meds are not tested beyond 6 months, pharmaceutical companies hide the negative results and the people that stand to profit from them are the ones testing them...behind closed doors.
There is a growing body of evidence that meds don't do jack for depression, there would be more coverage on this but pharmaceuticals have very deep pockets and as much as money talks, it's good at making people keep quiet also.
A lot of meds are fluoride based, that's actually not that much of a good thing either. If you have a moment, check our the treatment section of this site. Look at all the antidepressant ratings, you will see lots of 60% success rate, 60% is about a D a best. Some might think hey, that's 6 out of 10 people getting helped, that's not too bad.
Wait a minute, what if we took the placebo effect out of the equation? Now, how high would the success rate be now? Drop that number in half minimum. So, at best there would be a 30% success rate...at best. 30% in any kind of academic test would be considered an epic fail. Out of that 30% there is also the possibility the person is starting to get better since maybe at this point, after trying 3 different meds and four months later, that depression might've started to lift on its own already.
Lately there has been lots of talk abut depression having something to do with inflammation and there's some truth to that. Inflammation can cause a lot of problems in the body and for some reason I do think I have read that AD'S possibly create inflammation!! Physical exercise, meditation along with proper nutrition and being in bed by 9 pm is possibly the strongest antidepressant there is.
Remember, those meds, just like any business, are there for one thing only...to make money for the shareholders.
If you are bored right now, check out the lawsuits that have been thrown against almost every single medication manufacturer, heck, just start with Pfizer...don't need to go much further than that, lawsuits to these people are chalked up to just being the cost of doing business.
Walk into a pharmacy and everything seems sterile and dead, walk into a good health food store and everything or at least some of the products seem alive.
Believe it or not, a number of pharmaceutical companies backed Hitler during his attempt of cleansing the earth, I believe Bayer was in there and a few others followed suit.

What does this really say? Corrupt/Dishonest/Misleading? Maybe it is and maybe it's not but it sure doesn't look too good does it?
Now, there are some people that genuinely feel helped by meds, and some quite possibly require them, I won't argue that one bit. But, if there is any way that you can get better be it through exercise, nutrition , meditation or just pushing yourself through it not unlike a bulldozer, then you are showing depression just what a bully it really is, please check out some online meditations on you tube and try to find the guided ones and make yourself comfortable and try to fully engage yourself in what the person is saying.
You might not gel with every meditation because some work better for others and some...are just crap unfortunately. I firmly believe that meditation is one of the sharpest weapons against depression and mental illness in general. It has been proven to actually change the brain and increase grey matter...serious stuff.
Incorrectly prescribed meds nearly took my life and since then I have many a times wished it did after all the damage it caused. I'm not recommending anyone stop their meds and I don't want to stop anyone from trying them but all I can say is when/if something goes wrong, just watch the pharmaceutical company, the Dr and the pharmacist cover their Butts. I have witnessed it first hand and the word that comes to mind is spineless.

I apologize if anyone is offended that truly gets helped by meds while I'm trying to give hope to those that have been let down from them as well. It's not you or your illness that's at fault, it basically comes down to business, and business is pretty good for big pharma.

Peace

"I want a new drug." -Huey Lewis and thr News

Physical exercise, endorphins, my drug of choice, works for me.

I've been on a ton. Prozac, Latuda and Lithium works for me at the moment. I was even able to reduce my Prozac this year because I was doing well.

I had ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) last year and I believe it helped as well. It's reserved for tough cases and those that don't responds well or at all to medicine.

I've heard about and am curious about the Electrical Stimulation treatments like the one I see advertised by Fisher Wallace. Haven't tried it but considering it, depending on if my new insurance next year will help pay for it.

So short anser - yes, they can work. It can take time and trial and error and there are alternatives. If you think you are treatment resistant, talk to your doc about electrical stimulation or ect.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. In particular, thank you, sweatingbullets, for the depth and breadth of your feedback, and the time you took to respond as extensively as you did. I very much appreciate it.

Over the years since I was 18, now 34, I've been on a number of AD's, just about all the SSRI's. I've found 3 that work, the problem for me is after a year or two they just stop being effective and I have to move onto the next drug. I'm going through my latest med change off of Zoloft, onto Lamictal and a higher dose of Wellbutrin. The pdoc said I should should see results in about a month at these higher doses. That is if this combination is going to work or not at all. Also taking Saphris an anti-psychotic that has mood-stabilizing qualities. Have you thought of adding psychotherapy to your regimen? I think that the statistics improve if you take both an AD and therapy.

SOME PEOPLE JUST DONT RESPOND 2 MEDS.
ESPECIALLY GENERIC ONES.
THERE R SO MANY GENERIC MEDS ON THE MARKET NOW DAYS.
U R NOT A WHINER.
U R BEING NORMAL WITH A GOOD QUESTION.
I HAVE A FRIEND WHO HAS TRIED EVERY MED ON THE MARKET AND NOTHING WORKS 4 HER.
GBU
DRENA
;-O

Thank you Pekelo, I put it as open as possible and tried to cover as much ground as possible. I for one am not a fan of big pharma one bit but I have my reasons and to me they are valid. Survivor is on the ball regarding generics, Koolman with the physical exercise. Having spent many of hours in the gym myself, there is very little that a good hard work out doesn't do regarding lifting oneself up.
If you aren't taking any meds right now, I urge you to give Sam-e a try! It is easily the most powerful natural or otherwise AD out there in my opinion. How strong? Well, I was in the pit of depression and I took 200mg one morning and about 5 hours later I was looking around ting to find something to do and that was AFTER a hard workout. It works on the methylation of our bodies and in a nutshell methylation is how fast the conversion of transfer of chemicals in our body such as glutathione etc. If you have slow methylation this stuff will pull you right out of hell in days...not weeks.
Get a good brand since there seems to be a bit of a difference in them and enteric coated is a must and also the good stuff is made in Italy. You take it on an empty stomach in the morning and it might cause some stomach upset but I didn't mind because it was so powerful it felt like someone took cement shoes off my feet. And some Italians know lots about cement shoes! Lol...just kidding.
If you take it you would want to supplement a good b complex at the same time since Sam-e seems to help your body burn that stuff up fast for some reason. Just imagine your body having all these conversions going on, that's what our bodies do is lots of converting of hormones and fats, proteins and carbs in a continuous cycle.
Unfortunately, sometimes the cycle is slow or sluggish and it needs a little help...and this stuff will teach your body a lesson (if it happens to need it)! It can raise anxiety a bit but that's where the exercise comes in, you should have no problem throwing weights around when this stuff is in your system...just don't overdo it. I had a severe reaction to bad advice and bad meds so I have to be careful taking something this powerful but if I can only have one regret, I would wish I never started meds again and just took this stuff. I'm not sure if I can mention a website on here but I have zero financial ties to anything I mention.
Check out iherb's website, look up Sam-e and a good seller is Dr's best, look up a few of those reviews on the product, those are actual reviews and maybe put a diaper on first because when you read all the positive reviews the diaper will come in handy! There are a lot of companies making it and in Europe it's the most prescribed natural supplement from what I've read.
Of course, it might not help one bit but once you see those reviews anyone would almost run out to a store and pick it up immediately. I'm no Dr and this is only my opinion so take it at that, sometimes people are genuinely helped by meds while others are not...we are all different and what helps one person could make another sick so this is not a case of one size fits all.
Make sure you aren't taking any meds and tell a Dr you are on it if they are planning to prescribe some but if it works like it should everything will be gold.
PS: if you have bipolar or possibly might have you might want to be careful since it can possibly make a person run a bit too high, just like an AD would. In my opinion, if something can make a person manic...you know it's got some power behind it so be a bit careful. I have had some hypo mania in the past and this stuff never caused one problem...except it kind of pooped out after awhile just like AD's can but if you keep your b vitamins up you should be okay. Also, this stuff is good for cleansing your liver, and joint pain, nothing better than that as a side effect!
Peace

If I can just add one more thing. I mentioned in my first reply about going to a real pharmacy and not a booth in a grocery store. I guess I really just meant a pharmacy you can trust, it could be a big pharmacy or even that one in a grocery store but you have to trust them...your life depends on it. Do they take the time to answer your questions fully and not rushed? That is a clear indicator of a decent pharmacy. ..that and the fact they check for interactions. That is actually the more important one...is it ever important!
Everyone here has contributed their opinions and with ddame mentioning therapist, thats gold for sure! The main point is everyone has their own strategies and modalities to get this under control, which shows just how different our bodies are. Buying clothes off the rack works but if you had the cash, custom made clothes would fit the best and luckily we kind of have that option as long as we keep an open mind.
All the best!

I have been taken Zoloft for over 4 years now. It has been the best one. I still get bouts of depression, but not so severe. I can get out of bed in the morning. Hope this helps.