Are there any over the counter anti-depressants?

Question

Are there any over the counter anti-depressants?

Answer 1

Some people have good results with St. John's Wort, though results of studies have been variable.  If a person tries that, though, they should still consult a doctor if they are taking any other medication, because it's processed by the liver too and can have interactions with other things.

There's nothing OTC in terms of SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, etc.) or the other common antidepressants that doctors prescribe--there's no non-prescription version of any of those.

Answer 2

I don't think I would recommend St. Johns wort. Here is a list of drug interactions that I got off Facts and Comparisons a professional pharmacy database:

Drug Interaction Facts



Potentially severe or life-threatening interaction; occurrence has been suspected, established or probable in well controlled studies. Contraindicated drug combinations may also have this number.  

    

Contraceptives, Oral (Contraceptives, Hormonal) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Cyclosporine with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Amprenavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Atazanavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Darunavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Indinavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Nelfinavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Ritonavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Saquinavir (Protease Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Rasagiline with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Tacrolimus with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)





  

Interaction may cause deterioration in a patient's clinical status; occurrence suspected, established or probable in well controlled studies.  

    

Anisindione (Anticoagulants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Dicumarol (Anticoagulants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Warfarin (Anticoagulants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Alprazolam (Benzodiazepines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Clonazepam (Benzodiazepines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Diazepam (Benzodiazepines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Midazolam (Benzodiazepines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Quazepam (Benzodiazepines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Triazolam (Benzodiazepines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Digoxin with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Atorvastatin (HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Lovastatin (HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Simvastatin (HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Irinotecan with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Lapatinib with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Maraviroc with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Omeprazole (Proton Pump Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Citalopram (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Duloxetine (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Fluoxetine (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Fluvoxamine (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Nefazodone (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Paroxetine (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Sertraline (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Venlafaxine (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Verapamil with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Voriconazole with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)





Interaction may cause moderate-to-major effects; data are very limited.  

    

Imatinib with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Methadone with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Delavirdine (NNRT Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Efavirenz (NNRT Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Nevirapine (NNRT Inhibitors) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Aminophylline (Theophyllines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Oxtriphylline (Theophyllines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Theophylline (Theophyllines) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Amitriptyline (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Amoxapine (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Clomipramine (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Desipramine (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Doxepin (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Imipramine (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Nortriptyline (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Protriptyline (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Trimipramine (Tricyclic Antidepressants) with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)





Interaction may cause minor-to-major effects; occurrence is unlikely or there is not good evidence of an altered clinical effect.  

    

Fexofenadine with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)

Ibuprofen (NSAIDs) with  St. John's wort (St. Johns Wort)

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Carbamazepine



Herbal Interaction Facts



The interaction has potentially severe clinical consequences to the patient and concurrent use should be avoided.  

  

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Amiodarone

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Amprenavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Atazanavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Atorvastatin

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Contraceptives, Oral

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Cyclosporine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Darunavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Dasatinib

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Delavirdine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Digoxin

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Efavirenz

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Erlotinib

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Fluoxetine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Fluvoxamine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Imatinib

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Indinavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Irinotecan

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Lapatinib

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Lovastatin

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Maraviroc

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Methadone

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Methylphenidate

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Nefazodone

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Nelfinavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Nevirapine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Omeprazole

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Paroxetine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Propofol

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Rasagiline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Ritonavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Saquinavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Sertraline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Sevoflurane

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Simvastatin

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Sirolimus

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Sunitinib

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Tacrolimus

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Temsirolimus

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Tipranavir

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Venlafaxine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Voriconazole

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Warfarin

Tyramine-Containing Foods with  St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort)





The interaction may have clinical consequences to the patient but can usually be avoided by appropriate monitoring or dosage adjustment.  

  

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Alprazolam

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Aminophylline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Amitriptyline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Amoxapine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Carbamazepine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Clomipramine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Clonazepam

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Desipramine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Diazepam

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Doxepin

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Fexofenadine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Imipramine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Midazolam

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Nifedipine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Nortriptyline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Oxtriphylline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Protriptyline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Quazepam

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Theophylline

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Triazolam

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Trimipramine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Verapamil





Available data are insufficient to warrant a specific precaution; the interaction is unlikely to result in clinical consequences to the patient or there is no interaction.  

  

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Cimetidine

St. John's Wort (St. Johns Wort) with  Ibuprofen



Here are the drug interactions for melatonin from the same database:



Drug Interaction Facts





Interaction may cause deterioration in a patient's clinical status; occurrence suspected, established or probable in well controlled studies.  

  

Nifedipine with  Melatonin





Interaction may cause minor-to-major effects; occurrence is unlikely or there is not good evidence of an altered clinical effect.  

  

Melatonin with  Caffeine

Melatonin with  Fluvoxamine



Herbal Interaction Facts





The interaction has potentially severe clinical consequences to the patient and concurrent use sh

Answer 3

For a long time i tried to control my anxiety and depression through keeping it inside, and taking "Melatonin" daily, however this does not work for very long, but can rid some symptoms, otherwise i would recommend going to a place that has a good background and certified therapists. If you insurance doesn't cover it, Circles of Care is local everywhere, and accepts just about every insurance.

Answer 4

Don't forget, both St John's Wort and melatonin have a list of side effects, as well as drug interactions- St John's wort interacts will birth control pills and can make them ineffective. You should see a physician so he or she can diagnose you properly and to figure out with you the best medication for your lifestyle.