Medicines that are given for depression are known as antidepressants. Almost all of them are prescription drugs. Norpinephrine and serotonin are the chemical messengers in your brain that get increased by the use of antidepressants. Antidepressants are often misunderstood as tranquilizers, uppers and addictives.

Selection of Antidepressants:

Doctors select antidepressants for their depressive patients on the basis of the following points. These are not comprehensive considerations, other factors are also considered by doctors when suggesting antidepressants to their patients.

• If the patient is taking other medicines, the doctor considers how an antidepressant will work with those other medicines.
  
  
• The selection of an antidepressant greatly depends upon the patient’s health. If a certain depression medicine has a side effect that can worsen the health problem you are already suffering from, the doctor will disregard the antidepressant under consideration and move on to the other one.

• If a person was depressed before and a certain type of depression medicine worked well for him/her, odds are pretty bright that the doctor will suggest the continuation of the antidepressant.
  
  
• Affordability is also a factor that doctors consider when suggesting antidepressants to their patients. If a patient can afford a good antidepressant that is expensive, doctors highly recommend it to them.

• Doctors also consider the fact that antidepressants cause side effects and they prescribe the antidepressant that shall causes less side effects to the patient.

Side Effects of Antidepressants:

All antidepressants have some side effects. However, not all people taking these drugs get them. Most side effects occur in the initial days or weeks of therapy and they fade away after a little while.

Potential side effects of antidepressants are:

• Weight gain
• Blurred vision
• Sexual dysfunction (inability to ejaculate or to have an orgasm)
• Anxiety
• Feeling of weakness
• Vomiting
• Bladder problems
• Nausea
• Diarrhea

• Tremor
• Constipation
• Insomnia
• Dry mouth
• Dizziness when standing up
• Muscle twitching
• Hand tremors
• Excessive tiredness
• Increased sleepiness
• Increased heart rate