Because i need it... any recommendations for antidepressants?
I am currently taking low dose of moclobemide, an MAOI antidepressant which works on the dopamine system. For me it seems to work quite well: it has a sort "natural" balanced feel, ie, I feel myself when taking it, only a bit happier.
Whereas other antidepressants that I have tried such as amitriptyline (a TCA antidepressant) boost mood, but in a way that does not feel so natural, and feels more like a drug. But this is likely an individual thing, and each person will respond differently to antidepressants.
So if the first one you try does not seem to suit, then you may want to try another. There several different classes of antidepressant, including SSRIs (like Prozac), TCAs (like amitriptyline), SNRIs (like Wellbutrin), etc.
But moclobemide is one of the safer antidepressants: in
one study, moclobemide was shown to have one of the lowest incidences of sexual dysfunction, a side effect common with antidepressants.
Table 1 of the study shows SSRIs and SNRIs come out as the drugs most frequently associated with sexual dysfunction, with rates of sexual dysfunction up to 70%. By comparison, TCAs are at 30% and MAOIs at 40%. But moclobemide had a low rate of just 3.9%.
If you want a good natural antidepressant, consider Spanish saffron. One
systematic review found this to be as effective as standard pharmaceutical drugs.
I often use saffron as an antidepressant, taking a dose of around 100 mg (of the saffron stamens) twice daily. The mood boost it gives kicks in within an hour or two.