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Re: TREATMENT RESISTANT DEPRESSION » sweetmarie

Posted by JahL on July 29, 2001, at 6:40:06

In reply to TREATMENT RESISTANT DEPRESSION - INFO NEEDED, posted by sweetmarie on July 29, 2001, at 4:18:21


> The aspect of the article which I am seeking to dispute is the assertion that a certain percentage of sufferers can not be helped AT ALL by medications - "As many as 30% of those affected fail to respond to either drugs or ... electro-convulsive therapy". The article ends by pointing out that the Vagus Nerve Stimulator is effective for 40% of those who try it, which leaves "...about 10 - 15% of patients with depression who respond to absolutely nothing."

Hi.

We've spoken about this before. I've been classed an 'unhelpable case' by about 6 English pdocs now (& 1 American).

I've heard the 10-15% figure bandied around before. However before (English) pdocs start talking about 'treatment-resistance' they ought to define what constitutes 'treatment'. All the pdocs up to, but not including my present one, have been happy to brand me 'treatment-resistant' based upon non-response to SSRIs, TCAs & MAOIs. Well by my reckoning that would render 30-50% of depressives 'resistant' (ie lack of *remission*).

Fact is only APs & AEDs have helped at all so far & up until a month ago I was forced to order these over the Net.

Then you've got stimulants (which I had to fly to the US to get a trial of) & (more controversially) opioids. Of course there is no way UK pdocs will even consider either of these. But it's beyond me how pdocs can class you as T.R. w/o offering the full range of viable treatments.

Given our limited understanding of the brain it wouldn't surprise me if there existed a hard-core of 'Untreatables', but like y'self I don't like to be defeatist in my attitude. And I especially don't appreciate defeatism in pdocs, who seem particularly susceptible to it.

J.


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