The widely‐used antidepressants (fluoxetine, sertraline, and paroxetine) known as selective serotonin‐reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be helpful for CFS/ME subjects who experience significant chronic neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, anxiety/depression and other mood disorders.
Prozac (fluoxetine) and Wellbutrin (bupropion) are examples of “energizing” antidepressants; whereas Paxil (paroxetine) and Celexa (citalopram) tend to be more sedating.
Antidepressants that don't make you tired
Newer classes of antidepressants come with lesser side effects. Antidepressants that are known to be best for energy include Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Wellbutrin (bupropion). Wellbutrin is a fairly new type of antidepressant.
Central Nervous System Stimulants
Examples include modafinil (Provigil), armodafinil (Nuvigil), methamphetamine (Desoxyn), methylphenidate (Ritalin, Metadate), and amphetamine salts (Adderall).
Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Lexapro, are just a few brands of serotonin that we prescribe for those who suffer from depression, and/or anxiety disorder. There is evidence that these drugs can also improve premenopausal symptoms, even a role in the treatment of obesity and parkinson's disease.
Drug Therapies
Antidepressants often prescribed for chronic fatigue include: Tricyclics: amitriptyline (Elavil), desipramine (Norpramin), notriptyline (Pamelor) Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft)
SSRIs are the most widely prescribed type of antidepressants. They're usually preferred over other antidepressants, as they cause fewer side effects.
While antidepressants work on the mood-affecting neurotransmitters, they also have some effect on other chemicals in the brain like histamine and acetylcholine. The changes in these neurotransmitters might make the body weak and make you feel fatigued throughout the day.
SSRIs are considered first-choice medications for treating depression. These medications are believed to work by raising the amount of serotonin — a hormone that helps regulate mood — in the brain.
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
Norepinephrine helps boost your energy levels and focus. So SNRIs can help stabilize your mood and make you feel more energized. The most common SNRIs prescribed to treat anxiety are venlafaxine extended-release (Effexor XR) and duloxetine (Cymbalta).
This is because antidepressants can increase your energy and motivation levels, which may be very low while you are depressed. Early in your treatment, you may experience more energy and motivation before your feelings of depression have started to lift. This might mean you have enough energy act on suicidal urges.
Conclusions. Significant reductions in physical and metal fatigue for ME/CFS and Long-COVID patients were seen after 6 weeks of treatment. As there has been little progress in providing fatigue relief for the millions of ME/CFS and Long COVID patients, anhydrous enol oxaloacetate may bridge this important medical need.
Bupropion (Wellbutrin), an atypical antidepressant, works by altering the brain chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine. In addition to being the only antidepressant consistently associated with weight loss, it's also associated with fewer rates of sexual side effects and sexual dysfunction than SSRIs and SNRIs.
SSRIs are usually the first choice medicine for depression because they generally have fewer side effects than most other types of antidepressant.
Some common side effects of escitalopram (Lexapro) include nausea, trouble sleeping, and drowsiness.
This medicine may cause some people to become drowsy, have trouble with thinking or controlling body movements. Make sure you know how you react to escitalopram before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are not alert or well-coordinated.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
This class includes sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine and fluvoxamine. SSRIs are: the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in Australia. often a doctor's first choice for most types of depression.
Practice changer. When you initiate antidepressant therapy for patients who have not been treated for depression previously, select either sertraline or escitalopram. A large meta-analysis found these medications to be superior to other “new-generation” antidepressants. A: Meta-analysis of 117 high-quality studies.
The IQWiG concluded that graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) should be recommended in the treatment for mild and moderate ME/CFS based on two CBT and two GET studies.
The original “happy pill” was fluoxetine, more commonly known as Prozac. This medication, approved for use in 1987, was the first drug of its kind to be prescribed and marketed on a large scale. The use of this medication is very common, especially for the treatment of depression, but it is not without its risks.
Ritalin in the brain
Ritalin works by increasing the amount of dopamine released in the striatum, a key region in the brain related to motivation, action and cognition.