Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a mental health illness that often coexists with depression, meaning that people may require treatment for these disorders at the same time. Treatments with medications can effectively reduce the symptoms of ADHD and depression, but it is not recommended that medication be the only form of treatment used. People with ADHD and depression should combine their medication treatment with psychotherapy to help sustain and improve their treatment outcomes.
Basics
Medications offer effective treatment options for both ADHD and depression. When ADHD and depression coexist together in a person, the treating professional might use one form of medication to treat the symptoms of either disorder or use different medications in tandem to treat the mental health disorders separately.
Considerations
When treatment professionals treat coexisting ADHD and depression with medication, they will often begin by treating the more severe mental health issue with medication and treating the other only with psychotherapy, notes Help4ADHD.org. Different medications can be used together to treat the symptoms of both disorders when they are both severe enough. Help4ADHD recommends that when antidepressants are used in combination with ADHD medications that extra precautions and followup care be taken, and psychiatrists or physicians closely supervise the person for side effects or drug interactions.
ADHD Types
Specific types of medications that are used to treat ADHD include stimulant medications and non-stimulant medications. Stimulant medications are often tried first. They come in short-acting or long-acting forms depending on the lifestyle needs of the individual. Common stimulant medications include Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta and Daytrana.
The only nonstimulant medication that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat ADHD is Strattera. This medication is often prescribed by doctors when stimulant medications do not prove to be effective or if the person has health risks that can be made worse by stimulant medications, such as certain heart conditions.
Types for Depression
Medications used to treat depression symptoms generally affect the levels of different neurotransmitters in a person's brain. The most commonly prescribed depression medications include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRI's, which increase the level of serotonin in the brain and generally result in fewer side effects. SSRI medications include Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Lexapro, reports The MayoClinic.com.
Tricyclic antidepressants are effective, but they may result in more side effects than newer SSRI medications and are not generally prescribed unless SSRIs have not been effective.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or MAOIs, are only used when all other depression medications are found to be not effective. MAOIs can have serious side effects if the person does not stick to the restricted diet that is required while taking these medications.
Combined
There are some antidepressants that are used to treat the presence of ADHD and depression together. Antidepressants that are used to treat both ADHD and depression together have an effect on a number of different neurotransmitters in the person's brain; both disorders are thought to be affected by specific neurotransmitters. These medications include antidepressants such as Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin targets the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine, notes HelpGuide.org.
