Posted by rett on January 19, 2008, at 1:35:44
In reply to Re: resetting brain neurotransmittors? » rett, posted by Racer on January 18, 2008, at 23:34:49
> Way back, when I took my first AD, the pdoc said that taking an antidepressant early in one's first episode of depression was thought to reset (ie: correct) the brain's chemistry, and thus reduce the risk of another episode down the road. That was the thinking at that time, although I'm not sure if it's still on anyone's radar these days.
>
> Nowadays, there are a lot of doctors saying, "stay on 'em indefinitely." That's relatively new thinking: maybe ten to fifteen years ago I started hearing it. Before that, I heard anything from six months to two years.
i wish *my doctor* said that! (to stay on indefinitely)... though he didnt really care if i took them or not as long as i didnt bother him..!> That said, for those of us who have had multiple episodes of depression, over a long term, it's probably true that we need to stay on meds prophylactically. If you get treatment early in your first episode, or you've had only one or two episodes, you may want to consider longer term treatment to prevent relapse, but you probably won't need it.
hmm, you see the thing was i was never DEPRESSED per say, i had an eating disorder... and i *still had* the eating disorder on the damn thing, so i couldnt really say if i ever had relapsed or anything... the only time i was ever depressed was sort of depression rebound from coming off antidepressants.. but anyhoo. what i am saying is resetting your neurotransmittors (not in order to prevent depression but to control mental functions of memory, the capacity to visualise things, and interpretting things around you, etc. i dont mean you cant do these things because you are depressed but because the neurotransmittor pathways are changed from antidepressants and once the antidepressant is taken away there is sort of like a "short circuit"..for example, when i was having withdrawals the first time (i didnt realise it was withdrawals because my doc said there was none) my friend was talking to me once and said "you cant hear me can you?" and i couldnt i couldnt process what she was saying, or what was going on around me, that all cleared up when i went back on it again, but the second time i came off it got past that stage and i didnt find my way back...
man, i wish my doc told me to stay on that stuff the rest of my life..
> That's based only one what I've experienced and heard from doctors, though. I am not a doctor, and I do not play one on TV.
i seem to find other people that have experience of antidepressants more useful than most docs that just spew the pharmaceutical marketing.. ;-)
poster:rett
thread:807533
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080114/msgs/807554.html