A Fast-Acting Antidepressant You Should Know About
Imagine feeling like you’ve been walking through molasses every day with your energy gone, your motivation blunted, and your thoughts weighed down by an invisible fog. You've tried antidepressants before, but they took weeks to work or didn’t help at all. Now, your Houston psychiatrist mentions a newer option: Auvelity.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I’m often asked, “What is Auvelity, and how is it different from other antidepressants?” This article is a strategic, clear-eyed breakdown of how Auvelity works, why it matters, and what you need to know before starting it. 


A Patient’s Story
Let’s start with Rebecca (anonymized). A 42-year-old accountant and mother of two, Rebecca came to my office after trying four different antidepressants over seven years. Each helped marginally, but she still felt disconnected, irritable, and emotionally flat. When I suggested Auvelity, she was skeptical. “I don’t want to start over again,” she told me.


Within one week of beginning treatment, she felt an emotional lift, and a noticeable shift in clarity and motivation. Over the next month, she told me, “I finally feel like me again.”


Rebecca’s story is not unique. For patients with treatment-resistant or partially responsive depression, Auvelity offers something new: speed, innovation, and a dual-mechanism that we haven’t seen in oral antidepressants before.


What Is Auvelity?
Auvelity is an FDA-approved medication for major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. It combines dextromethorphan and bupropion—a pairing that creates a fast-acting and novel antidepressant approach.


How It Works

1. Dextromethorphan: You might recognize this from over-the-counter cough medicines, but at higher doses, it acts on the NMDA receptor, a part of the brain involved in mood regulation, learning, and plasticity. This mechanism is similar to ketamine but without the dissociation or sedation.
2. Bupropion: A well-known antidepressant in its own right (marketed as Wellbutrin), bupropion works by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine. In Auvelity, it also serves to slow the breakdown of dextromethorphan, allowing it to remain active in the brain longer.
   
   
   

Together, this duo offers both rapid and sustained relief from depressive symptoms, often noticeable within one week.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I’ve found this to be especially helpful for patients who feel like time is not a luxury they can afford when battling depression.


Why It Matters
Traditional antidepressants like SSRIs and SNRIs often take 4–8 weeks to become effective. For someone in a depressive episode, this delay can feel like an eternity—and increases the risk of hopelessness, disability, and even hospitalization.


Auvelity’s faster onset means that we can potentially intervene earlier, restoring energy, mood, and motivation when it matters most.

In clinical trials:

• Patients on Auvelity reported significant symptom reduction within one week.
• The effect continued to improve over six weeks.
• It was well-tolerated, with a relatively low discontinuation rate due to side effects.
  
  
  

This is not a “magic pill,” but it is a breakthrough and as Your Houston Psychiatrist, my goal is always to align patients with tools that match both urgency and long-term stability.


Who Is a Good Candidate?

You might benefit from Auvelity if:

• You’ve tried other antidepressants with limited success.
• You’re looking for a faster-acting option.
• You do not have a seizure disorder or current substance misuse.
• You’re willing to explore a treatment that works differently than what’s come before.
  
  
  

It’s also important to review your current medications, as Auvelity has some interactions, particularly with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and certain drugs that affect liver enzymes.


A comprehensive medication review and psychiatric assessment with Your Houston Psychiatrist can determine if this is the right choice for you.


Potential Side Effects
Every medication has risks, and Auvelity is no exception. The most common side effects reported include:

• Dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Increased blood pressure
• Insomnia
• Anxiety or jitteriness

​Some patients may also experience hallucinations or dissociation, though these effects are rare and dose-dependent.


Because it contains bupropion, Auvelity carries a seizure risk, especially in patients with a history of eating disorders or alcohol withdrawal. That’s why screening is so important.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I never prescribe Auvelity without evaluating your full medical history, family history, and current medications. Precision matters.


What About Abuse Risk?
Patients often ask, “If dextromethorphan is in cough medicine, can Auvelity be addictive?”
The answer: Not in the way it’s formulated.


At over-the-counter doses, dextromethorphan can be misused, especially in adolescents. But in Auvelity, it’s dosed precisely and buffered with bupropion to enhance antidepressant effects without triggering reward pathways linked to addiction.


A Final Thought
Depression doesn’t always look like sadness. Sometimes it looks like flatness, fatigue, or forgetting what joy felt like. If you’ve tried traditional medications and are still struggling, you’re not broken.  You may just need a different approach.


Auvelity isn’t for everyone, but for the right patient, it can be life-changing. I’ve seen patients reconnect with their families, resume careers, and restore their sense of purpose.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I consider it part of my job to cut through the confusion and give you real, evidence-based options.


Don’t settle for feeling 50% better.


Request your appointment online today.

It starts small. You walk into the kitchen to make coffee, but by the time the machine finishes brewing, you've responded to three texts, started reorganizing the junk drawer, and completely forgotten your mug. Later, you find it in the microwave. You have no idea how it got there.


If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and you may have asked yourself the question, “Do I have ADHD?”


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I often work with individuals who’ve spent years compensating for symptoms they didn’t know were part of a larger picture. Many are high-achievers, professionals, or students who have become masters at adapting. But even the best systems can collapse under the weight of untreated symptoms.


What ADHD Really Looks Like:
​ADHD—Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder—is often misunderstood. It’s not just “being hyper” or “getting distracted.” In fact, many adults with ADHD are not outwardly impulsive or overly energetic. They’re quietly struggling with mental traffic jams, unfinished tasks, and an invisible exhaustion that comes from constantly trying to stay on track.
Let’s break it down.


Common Symptoms of Adult ADHD:

• Inattention: You miss details, forget deadlines, or lose focus mid-task—even on things you care about.
• Disorganization: Your space, your calendar, your thoughts—everything feels scattered.
• Procrastination: Not from laziness, but from feeling overwhelmed about where or how to start.
• Time blindness: You underestimate how long things take or hyperfocus on tasks until hours pass unnoticed.
• Forgetfulness: You routinely lose your phone, keys, or train of thought mid-sentence.
• Emotional impulsivity: You may be quick to react, interrupt, or feel easily frustrated.
• Restlessness: This can be physical (tapping, shifting) or mental (never being able to “turn off”).
  
  
  

These are not occasional flukes. They happen frequently and interfere with your life at work, at home, or in relationships.


A Patient’s Story:
Take Sarah (anonymized name), a 38-year-old marketing executive in Houston. She came into my office after a colleague jokingly called her the “Queen of Chaos.” She laughed it off—until she realized how much her missed meetings, forgotten texts, and last-minute deadlines were stressing her out. Despite being talented and driven, she constantly felt like she was underperforming.


After a comprehensive evaluation, Sarah was diagnosed with ADHD. With a combination of tailored therapy, medication, and skill-building, she finally felt like she wasn’t running a marathon with her shoes untied.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I want people to know that ADHD doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your brain works differently—and you can learn how to work with it.


Why ADHD Is Often Missed in Adults - Many adults never realize they have ADHD because:

• They did well in school—or were told they were just lazy or “not living up to their potential.”
• They’ve built elaborate coping strategies—such as over-scheduling, working late, or relying on caffeine.
• They were misdiagnosed—with depression, anxiety, or a personality disorder.
  
  
  

The truth is, ADHD often hides in plain sight. If left untreated, it can lead to burnout, strained relationships, low self-esteem, and even substance use.


Self-Reflection: Could It Be ADHD?  Ask yourself:

• Do I frequently feel overwhelmed by routine tasks?
• Do I find it hard to sit still or relax—even when I’m tired?
• Do I interrupt or finish people’s sentences because I’m afraid I’ll forget what I want to say?
• Do I constantly feel like I’m behind, no matter how hard I try?
  
  
  

If you answered “yes” to several of these, it may be time for a professional evaluation.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I’ve seen firsthand how clarity and a proper diagnosis can change lives. People stop blaming themselves and start understanding their brains.


Our ADHD assessment may include:

1. Clinical interview: We discuss your history, symptoms, and patterns.
2. Validated screening tools: These structured forms and the QB test give insight into symptom frequency and severity.
3. Rule-outs: We consider other possibilities, like anxiety, trauma, or sleep disorders.
4. Medication: We develop a treatment plan that fits your lifestyle and values.
   
   
   

This isn’t a rushed 15-minute appointment. It’s a collaborative process. The goal is to give you tools—not just labels.


A Final Word:
ADHD isn’t a moral failing. It’s a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect anyone—executives, artists, students, parents. Left unchecked, it can create real problems. But with the right tools, insight, and support, it can become a manageable—and even empowering—part of your identity.


If you’ve been wondering whether ADHD could be behind your daily struggles, don’t ignore that instinct. Insight is the first step toward change.


As Your Houston Psychiatrist, I’m here to help you figure out what’s really going on—and how to move forward with clarity and confidence.


Request your appointment online today.