Posted by jono_in_adelaide on September 24, 2012, at 19:41:46
In reply to Re: Do antidepressants do more Harm than good ?, posted by linkadge on September 24, 2012, at 18:52:31
I think there are a few rules/guidelines that might help the more rational use of antidepressants as well
1. Is the illness severe enough to warrent drug therapy (is it a deep depression, or it is just "the blues"
2. Is it the type of depression where drugs will work. If the patient is depressed because their marriage is on the rocks, they hate their job and they are up to their neck in debt, a script for Zoloft is unlikely to help them.
3. Is it a reactive depression or an endrogenous depression? One symptom cluster tends to respond to drugs that hit seretonin, the other to drugs that hit noradrenalin. if the depression is especialy deep or resistant to treatment, a combination of 2 drugs might be required to hit both neurotransmitters.
4. Take the drug for the right length of time..... 50% of people stop taking the drug within 4 weeks 9which suggests they shouldnt have been prescribed AD's in the first place. For a first depressive episode, six months is reasonable, for a second episode, 1-2 years is reasonable, for a third episode, you might consider life long treatment provided side effects arnt problematic.
5. Are drugs all the patient needs, CBT and other types of psychotherapy are extremely important in helping the patient learn coping skills, especialy in the reactive/neurotic type depressions
poster:jono_in_adelaide
thread:1026435
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120922/msgs/1026560.html