Can the lights be combined with antidepressant medication?
Patients who have received partial benefit from antidepressants often begin light therapy without changing drug dose. If there is quick improvement, it is then sometimes possible to withdraw the drugs (or reduce drug dose) under clinical supervision, while maintaining improved mood and energy. Some patients find a combination of light and drug treatment to be most effective. Some antidepressant drugs (as well as lithium, St. Johns Wort, and melatonin), however, are known or suspected to be “photosensitizers”, i.e., they may interact with the effect of light in the retina of the eyes. Users of antidepressant or other drugs should therefore check with their physician or ophthalmologist (eye specialist) before commencing light treatment.
