Does anyone know of any over-the-counter antidepressants?
January 13, 2010 by admin
Filed under Alternative Medicine
Mrs. D asked:
I used to take Effexor but I’ve since lost my insurance. I got a new insurance that doesn’t cover effexor so I’m just wondering if anybody knows of any good over-the-counter or all natural remedies for minimizing or eliminating depression. All opinions and tips greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I used to take Effexor but I’ve since lost my insurance. I got a new insurance that doesn’t cover effexor so I’m just wondering if anybody knows of any good over-the-counter or all natural remedies for minimizing or eliminating depression. All opinions and tips greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Chocolate, excercise. Other than that, if you live in the US, I find it hard to believe antidepressants are sold over the counter.
The only one that might be of help, but doesn’t need to be prescribed, is St. John’s wort, which is a herbal supplement.
I’ll include a link for you to follow to learn more.
Best of luck.
I have tried St. Johns Wort, and it does have some similar action to antidepressants and is pretty cheap. I also have taken Dong Quai, which works quite well. St. Johns makes you a little fuzzy headed and Dong Quai makes you pretty peppy. Try them both and see which one you like best. Best luck. If the depression is really serious, drive over the border to Mexico and get it way cheaper.
There are two natural antidepressants I know of which should be helpful to you. They’re generally safe and should not have any side effects. I don’t know if you can get them in a store, but you can get them online. Check the links below. Perhaps you may favour one over the other.
I had severe depression and no insurance so I brought a mortar brick into my apartment, and stepped up and down on it for 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes after work. I went up to 10 minutes and in a couple weeks I felt better. Also, I took an Essential Fatty Acid that I got from a health store. It worked wonders - but it did take a couple weeks, just like the exercise. That was about 17 years ago. I have learned how to take care and haven’t had problems with depression since. Maybe check out the link. Hope this helps.
Sunshine. And St John’s Wort. There also a lot of homeopathic remedies on the shelf. And they’re cheap, usually cheaper than a co-payment.
You can get a herbal anti-depressant which is probably better than prescribed ones. They work and they dont have any side effects.
Sometimes depression can be attributed to specific things going on in the body to a combination of things going on in the body.
The head is not cut off from the gut or digestive system and oxygen flow from head to toe is also important.
This web site contains 30 testimonials on depression. Listen carefully to these people. All are different in age, sex, race, and different parts of the world.
What they all have in common is that that are human beings who’s human bodies have the ability to do what your pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know about.
If your analytical, let me know, my mind is like an encyclopedia and I know where the science is to back this up.
Tryptophan, St. Johns Wort, and Vitamin B’s.
After stopping prescription anti-depressants due to unwanted side effects, I have had very good results with taking an over the counter supplement called 5 HTP. I take 50 mg every other day and that dosage works for me. I have tried St. Johns Wort in the past but it didn’t provide me with long lasting relief from depression. However, I’m sure it works for many others out there, so I’m not discouraging you from giving it a try.
I also recommend taking a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and Omega 3’s. Also very important, an exercise program that works for you!
Best of luck!
There are many good ideas listed here, however you need to be careful when dealing with depression. I have found (I am a Naturopathic Doctor) that St. John’s Work does not work with a lot of people and I have not had the greatest success with it. I feel that the best thing to do is to address why the depression is there (get to the root cause). It may be attributed to diet, lack of exercise or abnomalities in your neurotransmitters (such as seratonin). 5-HTP is a great product because it is a precursor to seratonin (your feel good hormone) and melatonin (hormone that makes you sleep) but you need to be taking at least 100 mg a day, which is the therapeutic dosagage discovered by many research studies. Also, fish oil is very effective because the DHA is omega 3’s get incorporated into the phospholipid membranes in your brain tissue. You can also take other supplements that can help with proper DNA transcription and translation. If you are not getting a sufficient amount of certain molecules or nutrients in your diet, there is a possibility that genetic abnormalities can arise, such as a dysregulation of your neurotransmitters (which is usually the case in depression). Stress is another huge component of depression….you need to learn how to effectively cope with and handle stress because its always going to be there. Look into some registered Naturopathic Doctors in your area that would be able to help you figure out some of the possible treatments that may be effective in your case - remember what works for some people may not work for you and its important when working with depression that a doctor takes your whole case and knows your history etc. and can follow you during treatment! Good luck!
The research on St Johns Wort done in Europe showed some positive results but all the clinical sudies in teh US have shown it to be neffective. Three supplements that have a lot of clinical resarch evidence to show they work are fish oil (omega 3), folic acid (basically a B vitamin) and inositol.
The link below will explain how to use them and describes the medical evidence so you can make an informed choice.
Good luck - depression sucks.