I am wondering if my body is not letting medications take affect?

Everyone has different physical and mental responses to various drugs. For some it doesn't matter if it's a sugar pill or something real, it works. For others it doesn't matter what they take, it "doesn't" work. That's often mental. Depression can REALLY aggravate that tendency. When brain chemicals get messed up, the perception of things change. The drugs may be working physically, but your depression is blocking your brain from allowing you to feel better.

I think you really do need to treat your depression, but it may take awhile, a several different meds, to find the medicine that works on your particular chemical problem. If you have a history of drug dependency or illegal drug use, (or your mother did!) then that's going to also complicate matters.

There are some things you can do to HELP with a chemical imbalance. You can't fix it without medication, but you can give the medication a better chance of working.

First, get some sunshine. Get at least an hour of direct sunshine a day. Tanning booths are better than nothing, but there's no substitute for sunshine. We are only now discovering just how many body processes are influenced by sunshine and it's interaction with our skin and eyes.

You need to sweat some of the messed up chemicals out of your body. Find a hobby that includes physical activity or competition if you like that. Join a gym, take up bicycling, hiking or horseback riding. Run stairs until you work up a good sweat every day. Find something that builds your body. You don't have to train for a marathon if you don't want to, just concentrate on sweating some of those toxins out of your system. There are some chemicals that ONLY go out through your pores and many of those are tied in with depression.

Learn a new skill. Take a class. Read a book about how to paint or draw or do embroidery or repair small engines or cook or make soap or do woodworking. Take up mountain climbing or flying or horseback riding. Encourage your brain to develop a new interest (this will be easier once you start sweating out some of those toxins - you'll be amazed how much more alert you're going to feel!)

Volunteer somewhere. This can also help with depression. Find something happy to do - horseback therapy clinics often need help. So do groups that train companion animals for handicapped people. Offer to help at a soup kitchen or help an elderly person by cleaning house or running errands for them. Babysit for a single mother so she can take a class or have a break.

Be VERY picky about the sort of people you hang around with and the kinds of music, movies, programs, books and so on you are exposed to. You need HAPPY stuff right not. Nothing depressing, nothing moody, nothing irritating. Find people who laugh, sing, and are happy. Enjoy their company - even if you'd rather hide in a dark closet.

Make sure you're eating a balance diet that includes extra red meat for the natural vit. B and iron content. Your ancestors ate meat, and with the stress brought on by depression, the nutrients in meat are going to be very important for you. And if you can, eat it rare or medium rare to get the most benefit.

I can vouch for how these things can help you manage depression in addition to your medication. Give them a go - start with sunshine and exercise and good food and build up from there. You'll find you're feeling better in just a few days and within a few months you'll not recognize yourself.