Antidepressants

There are several types of antidepressants one of which you may be prescribed. While all the antidepressants are equally effective, one may suit you better than another. This is a brief guide to antidepressant medication.

Two of the chemical messengers in the brain are called serotonin (sometimes called 5-HT) and noradrenaline. Both are important in the areas of the brain that control or regulate mood and thinking. It is known that these two chemical messengers are not as effective or active as normal in the brain of someone who is depressed.

Antidepressants increase the amount of these chemical messengers, helping to correct the lack of action of the messengers and improving mood.

Tricyclic antidepressant
Tricyclics take two or more weeks to work and you may have to keep taking the drug for 6 months to 5 years depending on how many episodes of depression you have had. Tricyclics have not been found to be addictive and they are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. They include (brand names in italics):

  • Amitryptyline - Trypitizol, Lentizol
  • Clomipramine - Anafranil
  • Dothiepin or dosulepin - Prothiaden
  • Doxepin - Sinequan
  • Imipramine - Tofranil
  • Lofepramine - Gamanil
  • Nortriptyline - Allegron, Aventyl
  • Trimipramine - Surmontil

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI’s)
SSRI’s are used to treat low mood and depression as well as a series of other illnesses including anxiety, bulimia nervosa, panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These include (brand name in italics):

  • Citalopram - Cipramil
  • Escitalopram 
  • Fluoxetine - Prozac
  • Fluvoxamine - Faverin 
  • Paroxetine - Seroxat 
  • Sertraline - Lustral 

The SSRI’s are now one of the most commonly prescribed types of antidepressants. All of these drugs seem to be equally effective at the right dose but have different side-effects from each other. Generally, SSRI’s have less side-effects than the older drugs.

Mono-amine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
MAOI’s are used to treat symptoms of anxiety and a number of other symptoms as well as treating low mood and depression. MAOIs are not addictive. Most notable about MAOIs is that you must watch your diet. Some foods are not agreeable with these drugs:

  • Isocarboxaid - Marplan
  • Phenelzine - Nardil
  • Moclobemide - Manerix
  • Tranylcypromine - Parnate

Other antidepressants

  • Mianserin - Bolvidon
  • Mirtazapine - Zispin
  • Nefazodone
  • Reboxetine - Edronax
  • Venlafaxine - Efaxor/Efexor-XL
  • Flupenthixol - Fluanxol
  • Tryptophan - Optimax

National Advice Service Factsheets

The information in this section is taken from the NAS factsheet, which you can download in pdf format and print for individual use.

Antidepressants factsheet