Posted by SLS on July 22, 2005, at 8:42:12
In reply to Re: About my post..and Suicide..., posted by linkadge on July 22, 2005, at 6:30:53
> I am not against effective treatments. But I would have like to known 5 years ago, that dispite medication, my depression would return full force, and that I might be left with seemingly permanant side effects of the drugs.
I like to have known 18 years ago that the removal of the only drugs that ever brought me to remission would eventually lead to resistance to that same treatment. I would have demanded that my doctor not try substituting other treatments. Unfortunately, my doctor was too smart for his own (my own) good, and thought he had the brain all figured out. He crossed me over to the then brand new Prozac, which didn't work. He insisted, however, that the terrain of my brain had changed, and that I didn't need the potency of the original drug combination to respond to. He was a smart man, he just made dumb decisions. Alas, here I am.
> Then I might have chosen other routes, such as SJW which, although had weaker initial AD effects compared to pharmacudicals may have placed a kinder long term burden on the CNS.
"may" have placed? I don't think anyone knows enough about either SJW or the brain to be able to say such a thing. This idea has an appeal to some because they view "natural" is "gentler". There might be some data to support your claim, but I don't know of any, especially when concentrated extracts are used. Hemlock is natural. Skin exudations of South American tree frogs are natural. It has been found to be a nociceptive 200 time stronger than morphine. It can and kill pain and the patient both if not used properly. "Natural" is not always safer or less of a "burden" on the body.
> I would have chosen other routes, and I think that knowing then what I know now, would have put me in a more mentally healthy position today.
This is quite possible. It is difficult to know for sure. Were you being treated properly for the pathology you actually have or have you been misdiagnosed and mistreated? Did you ever need psychotropics in the first place? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to have been doing pretty well without medication.
> For many reasons, I would not recommend these drugs to others. Unfortunatley that was most evident to me when I discontinued.
I think each of us has our own bias based upon our personal experience with antidepressant medication. Again, though, I have been around clinical settings for reasons other than my own treatment, and have seen many people experience almost magical changes in their affect and function, despite having been chronically depressed for years.
I think one of the major problems with the perceived effectiveness of these drugs is that many people for whom a psychogenic depression presents are being treated biologically at the exclusion of psychotherapy. A depressive thought-style that preceded the depression will not resolve once a medication is given. This leads to disappointment and perhaps even a condemnation of pharmacopsychiatry. From the other angle, there are some people who had no psychopathology prior to the onset of their biological depression. Depression influences negatively perceptions and thought-styles. If not treated promptly these biological pressures damage one's psychology. When the medication resolves the biology, there is a damaged psychology to attend to. If it is not, a relapse of psychobiological depression is more likely, and a disappointment in the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy with antidepressants ensues. Recovery from depression (and other mental illnesses) requires a multimodal approach. An illness of the brain affects the health of the mind. An illness of the mind influences the health of the brain. Both mind and body should be attended to for maximal therapeutic benefit.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:530123
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050718/msgs/531469.html