4-6 weeks to see effect

[willywonk88]

When it is said that the medication takes 4-6 weeks to take effect , does that mean all together or on the "correct" dose ?
Common sense tells me it has to be the correct dose but that is not explicitly said anywhere .
I was on a low dose and it did not help for 4 weeks and my dosage was increased . I guess I am now waiting for another month or more ?

[AJ]

Most antidepressants ( if that's the drugs you are referring to) can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to reach full effect, but you should start to see improvement in the first couple of weeks. If not then a dose increase or a change in medication might be in order, depending on the drug and the circumstances. If a dose is increased after four weeks, and no improvement with the increase in dose is seen in the next couple of weeks, it's probably time to consider a change to a different drug. If some improvement is seen, but not enough to make a significant difference as is, then a further increase or an add on therapy or a change in drug could be in order.

However, knowing the particular circumstances such as age, class of drugs used, dosages, other health conditions and medication being used needs to all be considered. I would recommend you talk to your pharmacist.

[uni]

Hello Willywonk88, and welcome to the forum. That's a great question. I think AJ explained things very nicely. All I have to add is that if there's one thing I've learned about trying new meds, it's that it tries your patience! But time does pass and then you'll know whether this med is worth staying on or not.

[willywonk88]

Thanks for clear explanation guys . I am on Cipralex 20mg for 6 days now . Supposed to be max dose although some people take more . No side effects . I am not sure but maybe I feel some very mild effect for a few hours after I take a pill but nothing significant . Still waiting . Kind of not optimistic since expecting more significant effect by now . I'll give it a month though .

[AJ]

Keep us posted willywonk88.

[paul m]

Hello Willywonk88 and welcome to the forum. All meds take differing amounts of time to have an effect on us. Cipralex is one of the faster working meds, but even it usually takes 4-8 weeks to take full effect, It can be frustrating to take a med and have to wait a mth or more to feel the effect. .

Please feel free to ask more questions, answer other people's questions and/or use the forum to vent out some of life's frustrations. Take Care. paul m

[willywonk88]

I am now on 20mg Cipralex for more than 2 weeks now . To recap , was on 10mg for 4 weeks and now 20mg for 2 weeks .

Still not feeling anything . I think it is making me a little sleepy and tired . I've been exercising very heavily for more than 6 months but now last week I just don't feel like moving much .

I'm not sure what I am going to do now . I guess I will see my clinic next weekend and see what the doc says .

Before this I was on Remeron for 4 days but I didn't like that I was waking up in the morning with bags under my eyes , i looked terrible , so i switched to Cipralex . I thought I was feeling Cipralex working for 1 or two days after I started . Now I am wondering if it was the combination of Remeron and Cipralex together in my system ? Maybe was just placebo effect . There were handful of days after that where I also thought was working but never lasted more than 24 hours .

[willywonk88]

Update . Walkin clinic wants me to wait another 2 to 4 weeks and send me to psychiatrist . My experience is that psychs don't really want to take suggestions .
If i want to do a combo i might have to just go to another clinic and gwt another prescriprion

What do you guys think about adding the remeron I have left to the cipralex . Do I need to lower the cipralex dose or is 20 mg OK ?

[AJ]

Willywonk88 I would recommend talking to your pharmacist, and your doctor. I know, some docs need to be 'encouraged' to use a collaborative approach.