# Old-Style Anti-Depressant vs. Fancy SNRI **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103 "2014-02-11T23:49:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103/41 "2014-02-20T16:47:37Z")
You have to drink until your depression is fully kräusened. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103/42 "2014-02-21T08:09:57Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > No cite other a pharmaceutical rep I talked to once. But it’s an opinion I’ll hold until I die (and it won’t be from legal drug use). Then don’t state it as a “fact”. And I’d rather die from “legal drug use” (unlikely) than die from a seizure. Hope you never have one. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103/43 "2014-02-21T08:21:42Z")
First: I’ve been playing with both hypnotics and anti-depressants for over 10 years. My impression of brain meds: hit or miss for each individual. If it works for you, then good for you and, especially, good for your doc. But NEVER take a med without google “drug name side effect contraindications”. There are some scary side-effects that apply to just about every one - learn to filter those and look out for things like “brain damage” and “death” (Triazalom (Halcion)) which I took without checking. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103/44 "2014-02-21T11:39:17Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > But NEVER take a med without google “drug name side effect contraindications”. There are some scary side-effects that apply to just about every one - learn to filter those and look out for things like “brain damage” and “death” (Triazalom (Halcion)) which I took without checking. Any half-decent doctor will go over the side effects with you, and will know if you’re taking other medications that could interfere with a new one. Every single medication in the world has side effects, and it just comes down to risk vs benefit in every individual case. The important thing is to inform yourself enough so that you can bring your concerns up to your doctor and have confidence that you’re making the right decision for your care. It’s a balance. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103/45 "2014-02-22T01:19:21Z")
The doc had prescribed the drug previously, and it works wonders. It never occurred to him to look at long-term side effects. This was before the info was in every doctor’s pocket. He was properly appalled when he finally realized what he had done. Doesn’t help me. ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103/46 "2014-02-22T01:28:09Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Disclaimer: not looking for DX, just informed (or uninformed) discussion. > > I’ve been taking Pristiq, a supposedly cutting-edge SNRI, for about eight months and it has been kinda bleh as far as making very much of a difference. I’ve been through seven SSRI and SNRI drugs over the last ten years and they’ve all been minimally helpful (especially Prozac and Zoloft). > > I have terrible insomnia and the doc prescribed Trazodone (Desyrel), an older anti-depressant that has a rep for aiding with sleep. I’ve been taking it for three weeks and feel REALLY good (depression much mitigated, sleeping well, etc). > > Is it possible that such an old anti-dep could work so much better than the latest and greatest SNRI/SSRIs? I know so much depends on one’s chemical make-up, but the new generation RXs are promoted as being the best. Maybe I just don’t have any serotonin in my brain . . . 😛 Over the years I have tried many of them with little effect, but the medical consensus is that this is because they are really not effective for mild to moderate depression. Just a waste of money. Most of the improvement seems to come from the belief that treatment is being given, not from the treatment itself. [http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/02/01/are-antidepressants-really-that-ineffective/](http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/02/01/are-antidepressants-really-that-ineffective/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-style-anti-depressant-vs-fancy-snri/681103.md?page=2)