Stingray: Conservative Christian News and Commentary
Posted on 03/23/2006 11:59:16 AM PST by DallasMike
There is good news today for those who suffer from depression: The largest study ever done on treating depression has found that patients who didn't get well with the first medicine they tried had a good chance of succeeding the second time around.
The study found little difference among the five drugs tested: Celexa, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Effexor and Buspar -- and wasn't designed to compare them. All proved similarly effective and relatively safe. The clear message, doctors said, was that antidepressants should be given a 6-to-12-week chance to work and that if one doesn't help, another should be tried.
"It's important not to give up if the first treatment doesn't work fully," or causes side effects, said one study leader, Dr. John Rush of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Two reports from the study were published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
About 15 million Americans each year suffer depression, which so often recurs that doctors sometimes talk of it as an emotional cancer that is put "in remission" rather than cured.
"We're talking about a very real public health challenge," Insel said. "This is the leading cause of disability in Americans ages 15 to 44," not just a case of "the blues," he said.
Stingray: Conservative Christian News and Commentary
Does being 'cured' mean a lifetime of taking experimental drugs? Not in my book!
Just as I saw this thread I was hearing a report on my local TV news about this same study. But, it took a grimmer view, emphasizing that only about half of depressed patients are ever helped by medication.
This interested me because I have long had the opinion that these meds are wildly over hyped. When they work...great. But the marketing message is all over the media "Remember...depression is a treatable illness." They neglect to mention that you can spend a lot of money and receive no benefit at all.
I found an article about this study, which was released today, over on CNN. They also put a strong positive spin on it. But here is the paragraph that stood out to me:
This is good news by itself, but the bigger picture is even more encouraging, doctors say. When viewed with earlier results, the new findings mean that roughly half of people who suffer from depression can get over it -- not just improve their symptoms -- with adequate medication.
Personally, I am not all that encouraged to read that more than one medication must be tried before even half of patients are relieved of symptoms. A lot of running around happens for patients, a lot of meds are tried, a lot of hopes are disappointed, and a lot of money goes into the pockets of the depression industry while half of patients are discovering that they are not being helped. Again, meds are great when they work. But people should have realistic expectations.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/03/23/treating.depression.ap/index.html
bttt
I can attest to that - at least if it's mild depression. About 10 years ago I finally decided to ask my GP about it, and she prescribed Zoloft. I took it for six months. I felt great, however I always new I didn't want to be on anything permanently. Stopped taking it after six months, and I can tell you that it definitely changed something in my chemistry permanently.
I still get depressed mildly every now and then, but I know how to get myself out of it alot quicker than I used to.
Just a personal anecdote from a lurker. : )
I had a pretty substantial struggle with depressive episodes for a good part of my life and went through the mill with drugs and talk.
There was one occasion when I was completely convinced that one of the drugs dramaticly relieved the depression. Other times, it was trying one and then another. Of course, Paxil is among those that I tried and it is scary stuff, IMO. These drugs definitely do something to your head although, in my experience, it is usually not relieve depression.
The rest of the story: I seemed to age out of it. My life, even now, is not filled with tangerine trees and marmalade skies. But I muddle through and rarely now conceptualize my dreary days as "depression."
If you are depressed, can't functional socially because you are to nervous etc.
DRINK BEER !
Actually, I think you put it better than I did. "Aging out of it" may be a large part of it.
And not dealing with peer pressure anymore, realizing I may be a little different, and maybe that's okay after all. I spent a large part of my 20's and 30's thinking there was something wrong with me and that brought on alot of the depression.
Acceptance of yourself is a large part of the equation, I think. Of course as long as you're a functioning part of society and not a mass-murderer or anything. ;)
Works for me!
It is not grim for those patients who were helped.
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