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Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect? (PROZAC, OTHER SSRIs VIRTUALLY WORTHLESS)
CBS 60 Minutes ^ | Tonight | Lesley Stahl

Posted on 02/19/2012 6:07:06 PM PST by MindBender26

(CBS News) Do antidepressants work? Since the introduction of Prozac in the 1980s, prescriptions for antidepressants have soared 400 percent, with 17 million Americans currently taking some form of the drug. But how much good is the medication itself doing? "The difference between the effect of a placebo and the effect of an antidepressant is minimal for most people," says Harvard scientist Irving Kirsch. Will Kirsch's research, and the work of others, change the $11.3 billion antidepressant industry? Lesley Stahl investigates.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: depression; medication; medicine; mentalhealth; prozac; ssris; welbutrin
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To: MindBender26

Good ole Sativa has been known for putting a Cheshire Cat Grin on a many a folk since before recorded history.


61 posted on 02/19/2012 8:22:43 PM PST by rawcatslyentist (BO Stinks! So does Mitts magic underwear!)
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To: ConorMacNessa

I have taken an anti depressant for years now. (2005?) Several times I’ve stopped taking it, thinking I didn’t need it anymore, not wanting to need it anymore, but every time I had to go back on it. I really felt the loss of it when I didn’t take it! I take Nefazodone, it’s an old medication but works for me.


62 posted on 02/19/2012 8:23:06 PM PST by Shimmer1 (No matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up.)
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To: MindBender26

SeeBS. Wouldn't trust them to tell me the time much less about drugs. They are well known to make crap up to fit their political agenda.

63 posted on 02/19/2012 8:23:16 PM PST by CodeToad (NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!)
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To: netmilsmom

92% of all statistics are made up on the spot. I think this article was made up on the spot.


64 posted on 02/19/2012 8:25:21 PM PST by Shimmer1 (No matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up.)
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To: MindBender26

We don’t know enough to muck with brain chemistry.


65 posted on 02/19/2012 8:28:54 PM PST by GOPJ (GAS WAS $1.85 per gallon on the day Obama was Inaugurated! - - freeper Gaffer)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The vested purpose of medicine is population control.


66 posted on 02/19/2012 8:39:48 PM PST by Domestic Church (AMDG ...)
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To: MindBender26
That 14% needed it. Being depressed and having clinical depression is 2 different things. One is temp. the other doesn't go away without medication.

With depression what works on one person, doesn't work on another...at times the doctor has to try several different ones to find the one that works....Years back I was on 3 different one's before we found the one that worked with me.....clinical depression has many symptoms, not just "I am feeling really down today". If you haven't been in that deep hole, don't be too quick to judge....

67 posted on 02/19/2012 8:40:06 PM PST by goat granny
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To: Domestic Church
The vested purpose of medicine is population control.

The vested purpose of GOVERNMENT-RUN medicine is population control.

68 posted on 02/19/2012 8:41:52 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (Government is the religion of the fascists.)
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To: Williams

The Field of reasearch into Medical Marijuana is just beginning.


69 posted on 02/19/2012 8:52:44 PM PST by LtKerst (Lt Kerst)
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To: MindBender26

The MSM does not have a good record when it comes to interpreting science stats so I would take anything they report on the subject with a grain of salt.


70 posted on 02/19/2012 8:58:52 PM PST by lastchance ("Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis" St. Augustine)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Thanks for clarifying!


71 posted on 02/19/2012 9:05:52 PM PST by Domestic Church (AMDG ...)
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To: MindBender26

I can’t remember the name of it, but my neurologist gave me 5mg tabs of some antidepressant to treat migraine. He said to try 1 or 2, so I started with 2. Wow, I felt like a total zombie all day. He said later that the therapeutic dose for depression is something like 100mg. I cannot believe that anyone could function at that level. In a very short time I gained 10 pounds and said no more of that stuff. He switched me to something else that works much, much better without side effects.


72 posted on 02/19/2012 9:12:30 PM PST by aruanan
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To: MindBender26; Williams
But they work better than placebos in only 14% of cases. In other words, 86% got better because they thought pills were working!

86% percent got better on sugar pills!


You're making an error. If 86% taking a drug experience effects not significantly different from that of a placebo, it doesn't mean that what they experienced was caused by the placebo effect, just that it wasn't significantly different from that. Most drugs have a wide range of effectiveness given a sufficiently large population.
73 posted on 02/19/2012 9:19:10 PM PST by aruanan
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To: goat granny

I agree. I suffered from a symptom-based depression after the death of a loved one. I knew something wasn’t right, but that I wasn’t sick.

I decided not to go through my doctor, but got a referral from a friend to see a therapist. We discussed the possibility of medication, but once I got through the first messy block of grieving, I improved and there was a better direction for me than medication.

I think the big problem is that medication isn’t always prescribed in concert with therapy and sometimes without any type of quality diagnosis with a psychologist or psychiatrist.


74 posted on 02/19/2012 9:31:47 PM PST by PrincessB (Drill Baby Drill.)
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To: MindBender26

IMHO, the number one treatment for depression is exercise.


75 posted on 02/19/2012 9:33:19 PM PST by WackySam (Obama got Osama just like Nixon landed on the moon.)
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To: MindBender26

I don’t know about depression, but they work wonders with anxiety. I can vouch from personal experience. My sister was having severe irrational anxiety attacks and wouldn’t leave her house. Her husband had to practically kidnap her to get her to evacuate for Hurricane Katrina. Then she wouldn’t get out of the car when they reached their destination. She was a basket case for no apparent reason. She started taking Prozac and you wouldn’t know it’s the same person. She’s happy, enjoying life, and she and her husband take frequent trips. But depression may be another story.


76 posted on 02/19/2012 9:36:31 PM PST by murron (Proud Mom of a Marine Vet)
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To: PrincessB
I am glad you found out the right road to take...a good therapist can give directions and if medication is needed a visit to a psychiatrist is needed.

I went to my doctor first to rule out anything physical. He then sent me to a great psychiatrist (I was lucky, some are not so good). It was a long road back but as long as I was on medication, he saw me once a month. That went on for 3 years....back in the 70's when you never heard of depression...

My husband of 33 years passed on 20 years ago and I understand how grief can take its toll, but it does pass, not quickly but softens after a while. I think grief is something we have to go through there is no short cuts and for me medication for that was not the answer. You just take it one day at a time... We sound like 2 lucky people that found the right road for ourselves...:O)

77 posted on 02/19/2012 9:52:13 PM PST by goat granny
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To: jessduntno
A few of the comments seem to be coming from idiots that think they are medical genius don't they.. Wonder if they finished high school... Or what they majored in in college if they graduated from high school.....being a jackass I think....:O)

The problem with being a *know it all* is they remain ignorant at best or just plain dumb at worse...

78 posted on 02/19/2012 10:05:11 PM PST by goat granny
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To: MindBender26

Sybil, we recently learned, was a hoax concocted by a psychologist.


79 posted on 02/19/2012 10:08:50 PM PST by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: MindBender26

If you can overcome sadness and melancholy with drugs or talk therapy, good for you.

If you can’t, bad for you, but don’t blame yourself.

All you need is love. That’s all.


80 posted on 02/19/2012 10:18:00 PM PST by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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