I can't find any antidepressants that work for me, after trying numerous ones. What is the matter with my body not responding to them? Is this normal and if so, what antidepressant is best for people like me who have no luck with them?

Most people get some benefit from SSRIs, a class of anti depressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Prozac was the first of its kind, followed by many other brands such as Paxil, Luvox, Zoloft and others. Because SSRIs tend to have mild side effects, doctors prescribe them first for depression. And if one doesn't work doctors are often quick to give you another. It is not uncommon for people to have tried many SSRIs.

However, if one SSRI doesn't work for you, the chances are that another will not either. And while it may be worth a shot, it could be that your system does not respond to this class of drugs. This is not an uncommon problem. You may need to draw from a different class of medications such as tricyclics (TCAs) or monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). These medications may be more effective for you but they tend to have more side effects. And even if these don't work there are many, many other classes of drugs to try. I doubt you have tried all the different classes, so you likely still have some options to explore medication wise. However, if you have tried all of these, there are still other more intensive options such as ECT or Deep Brain Stimulation as treatments of last resort. ECT is quite common and very effective.

Therapy however can also be quite effective for depression. Many types of therapy are quite helpful for depression and I would try these first as they involve no side effects and are non invasive.

Best of luck,
Dr. Williams