If the depression treatment does not seem to be working, check the specific genes

DEPRESSION TREATMENT

Many treatments are available for depression. Medical and psychological (psychotherapy) is more effective for depressive people. But in few cases, the primary care physician may prescribe medicines for relieving symptoms of depression. But many people need to see a physician who specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders (psychiatrist). Lot of people with depression also having benefit from seeing a psychologist or other counselor of mental disorders. The most effective cure for depression is a combination of medicines and psychotherapy. If you suffer from severe depression, a physician, loved one or guardian may be necessary to guide your care until you are well enough to take part in making decision . You can use a hospital stay, or you may need to follow a program of outpatient treatment until symptoms improve.

MEDICATION

Several antidepressant drugs are available to treat depression. There are several different kind of  antidepressants. Antidepressants are usually categorized according to how they affect the naturally occurring chemicals in the brain to change mood.

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)     :     Many phsicians begin treatment of depression by prescribing an SSRI. These drugs are  more safer and produce fewer adverse effects generally annoying than other types of antidepressants. SSRIs are fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro). The more common adverse effects such as decreased sexual desire and delay in orgasm. Some other adverse effects go away as  body can adjusts to the medicines. These may include digestive disturbances, nervousness, restlessness, headache and insomnia.
• Inhibitors of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake  (SNRIs)   :   These drugs include duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor) and desvenlafaxine (Pristiq). Adverse effects are similar to those produce by SSRIs. At high doses of these drugs may cause excessive sweating and dizziness. Duloxetine should not tae in liver diseases
• Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs) :  Bupropion (Wellbutrin) fall into this category. And  its one of some anti-depressants, does not cause sexual adverse effects. In high doses, bupropion can increase the risk of seizures.
• Atypical antidepressants. These drugs are called atypical because they do not fit exactly into a category of antidepressants. These include trazodone (Desyrel) and mirtazapine (Remeron). Both antidepressants are tranquilizers and usually taken in the evening time. In few cases, one of these medicines added with other antidepressants to help you ssdate.
• Tricyclic antidepressants :  These  type of antidepressants are using for years and are generally  effective as a new drugs. But because they tend to be more serious adverse effects, tricyclic antidepressants are not generally available unless you've tried SSRIs first without improving depression. Adverse effects may include hypotension, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary retention, tachycardia and confusion. Older drugs are subject to memory problems, confusion and can cause hallucinations. Tricyclic antidepressants are also can  cause weight gain.
• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)  : Such as tranylcypromine (Parnate) and phenelzine (Nardil) - are usually prescribed as a final resort when other drugs are not working. That's because MAOIs may have serious adverse effects. They need a strict diet because of dangerous (even fatal) interactions with certain foods such as cheese, pickles and wine and some medications such as decongestants. Selegiline (Emsam) is a new MAOI you can stick to your skin as a patch rather than swallowing it. It can cause some Adverse effects than other MAOIs.
• Strategies for other drugs   :  Your doctor can suggest other medicines for treatment of depression. In which  included stimulants, drugs and mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, or antipsychotics. In few cases, your doctor can recommend combining two or more antidepressants or some other medicines for better efficiency. This strategy is called  augmentation.

Everyone is different, so finding the right medicines or drugs you may take some trial and error. This needs patience, because some drugs need eight or more weeks to take full effect and adverse effects such as relieving the body adapts. If you have troublesome adverse effects, so you should not stop taking an antidepressant without discussing to your doctor. Few antidepressants may cause withdrawal symptoms if you do not control the dose slowly, and the sudden stop can cause a immediate  depression worsening . Should not give up until you find an depression medicines or drugs that is right for you , you're likely to find one that works and does not have intolerable adverse effects.

If the  depression treatment does not seem to be working, your physician can recommend a blood test to check the specific genes that affect the body for anti-depressants. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) genotyping test is an example of such a review. These genetic tests can help predict how well your body can or can not handle (metabolism) of treatment. This can help to identify which antidepressant could be a good choice. These  type of genetic tests are not widely available, so that only one choice for people who have access to the physicians, which offers them.

Psychotherapy

Counseling ( psychological ) is another way to treating depression. Psychotherapy is a general term for a method of treating depression by talking to your health and related issues with a mental disorder provider. Psychotherapy is also called as therapy, speech therapy, counseling or psychosocial therapy. Through these speech sessions to learn more about the etiologies of depression so they can understand better. You can learn to identify and make healthy changes in bad behavior or thoughts, exploration of relationship and experiences, find  out better methods to face  and sort out the problems and setting of realistic goals for your life. Psychotherapy may help to restore a sense of joyness and control of your life and help to relieve the symptoms of depression and despair and anger. You can also help to adapt in a crisis or difficulties.

There are several different types of psychotherapy , are effective antidepressants. Cognitive-behavioral therapy , is a most commonly used treatments. This type of therapy helps to identify negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy, positive thoughts. It is based on the idea that your thoughts ,its not in other people or situations ,determine how you can feel or behave with others. Even if the situation could not change that you want, you can change your way of thinking and behaving in a positive manner. The interpersonal therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy, are some other forms of counseling and is commonly used for depression treatment .

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

In Electo Convulsive Therapy, electrical currents pass through the brain. This procedure seems to influence the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. So many people are reluctant to ECT and their adverse effects, usually provides immediate relief from severe depression, even when other treatments do not work. It is unclear how this treatment therapy can subsides the signs and symptoms of depression. The most common adverse effect is confusion, which may last from several minutes to  hours. Few people also have loss of memory. ECT is generally used for people who do not improve with medicines and for people they are at high risk of attempting suicide. ECT  could be an option if you suffer from severe depression during pregnancy and can not take your regular medications. It can also be an effective treatment for older people suffering from severe depression and can not take antidepressants for better health reasons.


Other treatments for depression
If the standard treatment of depression was not effective, your psychiatrist may be asked if you could benefit from a less commonly used, such as :

• Vagus nerve stimulation : This option of  treatment uses electrical impulses with a surgically implanted pulse generator for affecting mood centers in the brain. This could be  an option if you have a chronic treatment resistant depression.
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation : In this treatment, strong magnetic fields are used to modify brain activity. A large size of electromagnetic  wire is put against the scalp near the forehead to produce an electric current in your brain.