Posted by Alexanderfromdenmark on August 18, 2009, at 6:16:54
In reply to Re: Meds preventing chronic remession? » Alexanderfromdenmark, posted by SLS on August 17, 2009, at 8:45:28
> > I was wondering about this. The moment you start the AD merry go around, it's difficult to know what's the effects and side effects of the meds and what is your depression and personality. And then a med might poop out or give you undesireable lasting effects or side effects. I know personally that I feel much worse off after having been on a couple of AD's and can't get back to my pre-med state. I'm in a bad place, but I'm not sure I wanna try anymore meds if they poop out in a few weeks, months or years anyway. Psychotherapy can't cut it either though. Just feel screwed. Wish I'd never gone down that route, feel souless.
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> These psychotropic drugs that we use are extremely powerful. I don't doubt that they can have long-lasting effects, even after discontinued. The other thing that one must consider in their deliberation over the cost of treatment is that mood disorders tend to worsen over time, even in the absence of drug treatment.
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> You are in a difficult position. You are convinced that drugs made you worse, yet there seem to be few alternatives but to seek treatment in order for your being able to build a rewarding life for yourself. Of course one alternative is to decline treatment. I don't see how it can hurt you too much to go without treatment for awhile and see where your system settles.
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> The subject line that you posted raises a great question. I believe that multiple exposures to the same drug can make one less responsive to it. However, I am not so sure about it producing refractoriness to other drugs (cross poop-out). One of my more brilliant doctors cautioned me a long time ago to stay as "clean" as possible and not take drugs unless they are in some way novel compared to those I had already tried. At some point, you begin to ask yourself what choice do you really have. Is it worth waiting your life away and remaining as drug-naive as possible, or do you attempt to treat a condition that keeps getting worse with the passage of time?
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> - ScottI believe they conducted something called the Star*D* study in the US funded by the goverment. I think they concluded that only 1/3 had a positive response to first line antidepressants and only 1/3 of these would not relapse again in the 1st or 2nd year. Maybe I didn't get it quite right, but it was a major study and one of the few that wasn't biased by pharma funding.
poster:Alexanderfromdenmark
thread:912554
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090818/msgs/912774.html