Hi, I'm 25 y/o and I've been issues with attention, motivation, mental energy, learning, memory and problem solving for as long as I can remember which has always been negatively affecting my ability to work/find work and get decent grades. I was never an academic person and I didn't get good marks in high school so I had to give up higher education and my life became much harder after high school since I had to find a job. TL;DR
I went to the the doctor about my mental struggles and he told me I was "depressed" which was the cause of all of my cognitive problems(which I didn't/still don't believe) and put me on 10mg Escitalopram. Although Lexapro/Escitalopram has helped with my frequent low mood, it worsened my memory and made me even more demotivated and not care about anything in life.
So I then made an appointment with an psychiatrist and she told me that I have a generalised anxiety disorder and depression which is what's causing my cognitive issues(which I don't believe either). She initially said that I should try a higher dose of Escitalopram but then she changed her mind and told me I should try Cymbalta. She eventually bumped me up to 120mg and I've been on 120mg for over 3 months now. To my surprise, Cymbalta has increased my motivation, attention and mental energy but it also made me anti-social and harder laugh, smile, empathise and socialise with people. I still feel like there's room for improvement. Should I consider switching to other antidepressants? Which antidepressants are considered to have the most 'nootropic' effect?
I've been using this website to figure out which antidepressant I should try next: http://www.drugs.com...depression.html but my doctor told me that I shouldn't rely on which drugs has more positive reviews since every drug affects people differently.
My current depression/brain fog stack is Cymbalta 120mg, Souvenaid, Coffee, ALCAR, Alpha GPC, Magnesium L-Threonate, Fish oil, occasional High-strength Krill oil, Phosphatidylserine, Longvida curcumin and Beetroot juice. Thus far, I'm feeling the most cognitive benefit from Cymbalta, Coffee and Souvenaid/Uridine. I feel like my memory recall has improved since I've started taking Uridine.
From the limited research I've done, I'm considering trying Centrophenoxine, Lions Mane, Bacopa, Myo-Inositol, Sulbutiamine, Cerebrolysin, Memantine as well as other antidepressants such as NSI-189 or Wellbutrin. But I'm still in the middle of researching about them to figure out if they're safe, worth experimenting with and appropriate for my condition.
Edited by Heinsbeans, 03 February 2016 - 04:17 PM.