[jkmcf]

PSA: The first thing to realize is that psychiatrists, and regular practitioners, have no clue what will work for you.

In my case, it took 8+ years of trying, giving up, and trying again. E.g., Prozac didn't affect me at all, but the doctor never suggested increasing the initial dose. Paxil didn't work, Lexapro kinda worked, and now on the maximum dose of Effexor.

The biggest difference makers were the doctors perfectly willing to help me find a solution. Keep trying to find one like this, and don't give up.

[tinymollusk]

This applies to everything in life. Just because an expert tells you it'll work, doesn't mean it will. Balance the possible negative effects against the possible gains, and once you have learned how it affects yourself, make your own decision.

(Unless trying something creates a condition that cannot be reverted, e.g. death)

[markroseman]

Close enough to accurate. The better ones can apply useful heuristics (symptom matching, family response, etc.) as well as more sophisticated management of dose, side effects, etc. to converge on the solution much faster, but at this point, there's definitely still trial and error involved.

[mnw21cam]

Yeah, with me it took a few tries as well. My doctor tried me on a few, before giving up and referring me to a specialist, who basically said that none of the doses I had been given so far were very high, so why don't we just increase the one you are on now. It worked.