Looks like I was right

[ellid]

And so was harpnfiddle. Anti-depressants don't seem to be the miracle drug they were promoted as except in the most severe cases.

Somehow I'm not surprised that this study came out of a country that is not the United States.....

Comments

[cat-de-vantiers.livejournal.com]

They published that article here in NZ too, on the front page of the paper. But my Aunt, who's a doctor, got to read the full version of the study. Apparently only about ten percent of patients being treated for depression were deemed "fit" to take part in the study, and even then the study only lasted six weeks - which is not nearly long enough for an anti-depressant to really begin having a significant effect - except in the most serious of cases, and even then, it's going to take a lot more than six weeks of medication for that to happen.

Like most scientific studies, I tend to take them with a grain of salt, unless it's possible to know that the conditions under which it's been done are such that the results are conclusively significant. In this case, I would wait until they've replicated the experiment by drawing on portions of populations from a number of areas, and elongating the time period in which the study was undertaken.

That being said, I would have to say that anti-depressants are definitely over prescribed in NZ, which I suspect is also the case in the US.

I was taken aback because seeing the article on the front page of the paper first thing in the morning, and then reading the article, it really hit home that I might actually have what would be considered "serious" depression....

After a year and a half on treatment, within five months off treatment I was depressed again. The dosage when I was being treated was also a little low - I felt better, but not well. I can only identify this now having been on anti-depressants for nearly two years, at a higher dose for the first year and a half - it took me about a year to really feel what I would consider to be "better" or "well", and another six months to be stable enough at that level of wellness to lower my dosage, and even now on the lower dose I am constantly monitoring for symptoms, and not exposing myself to too many triggers. But I am the most well I can remember being in over a decade, and that is something to celebrate every day, something well worth fighting for. :)

PS: I came across your LJ through the medieval embroidery LJ, and your post about having piccies of Italian renaissance patchwork - that was so cool to see actual real examples!!! Way way cool!

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're having a good experience - and Celexa did help me through a lousy time in my life. Thanks for pointing out that the study may be flawed, too! :)

And thanks for the compliments! *blush*

[psyfic.livejournal.com]

Yep. I saw something about that on alternet:
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/77800/

The first two para's pretty much say it all.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yup. And one of the sites I posted in my medical est. post too... the blog site...

And our friend T has had her problems with them as well.... less immediately dangerous with one of them, but it basically sent her on a spending spree (toooo 'happy') -- although really, binge spending is just another sign of unhappiness, as far as I'm concerned.

You're definitely on the right path.

[thickets.livejournal.com]

While this study may have some merit and I do think that psychiatric medication is very over prescribed (from personal experience also), I can't help but get nervous now when I read reports like this because I know the Church of Scientology views this as a "win" (and may even have a hand in funding the research, although in this case it's unlikely as it seems to have been run by academics and psychiatrists). Seeing as how their goal is the "global obliteration of psychiatry" (in that video they claim to be behind lots of "anti-psych" press in the year 2006).

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I don't think the Scientologists had anything to do with this; they're not popular at all in Europe, and are in fact banned in Germany as a cult. They'll probably use it, but given the amount of money the drug companies pour into marketing, I doubt it will do any good.

One thing that's driving me crazy are the Cymbalta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbalta) "depression hurts" television ads. Cymbalta is designed specifically for people who have diabetes coupled with diabetic neuropathy. It is NOT designed for the vast majority of depression patients, but because it's being marketed on TV and radio, guess what's happening???

[kellanine.livejournal.com]

I don't know...I have to say Cymbalta has sure done wonders for me, both for my depression and my fibromyalgia pain. Just because something was developed for a specific person doesn't mean it can't be very useful for certain people in off-label situations.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

That's excellent news - I've heard that fibromyalgia is horribly painful :(

Unfortunately, it's *very* hard to get Cymbalta approved by a lot of insurance companies; you would not believe how many hoops we have to go through to get it for our patients at the clinic, largely because the insurance companies don't like it being prescribed off-label. That includes private insurance as well as Medicare/Medicaid...

This country's insurance system is screwed up beyond belief. :(

[kellanine.livejournal.com]

You're definitely preaching to the choir on that one. I get really angry about the condition of our nation's health system after watching what my cousin has dealt with. But luckily I have not personally had any problems, either with getting Cymbalta covered or with any other aspect of my insurance. I was just trying to say, though, that it's done wonders for me. I have, quite literally, been depressed since birth. Cymbalta was prescribed to me for fibro, and I only noticed months later that suddenly I did not feel depressed anymore for the first time in my life. Pretty great side benefit. So, I am pretty skeptical about that study and about this general rather automatic feeling in our country that anti-depressants are necessarily over-prescribed.

[briony530.livejournal.com]

While I agree with you totally about the way these drugs are marketed, and the way doctors dispense them as a panacea, I have to say, the use of anti-depressents (in my case for anxiety disorder) has vastly improved my life.

Of course, I tried conventional therapy several times, and was finally perscribed by a psychaitrist who monitored me closely for several months before deciding my regular doctor could take over the prescribing. IMHO, THAT is the way to go about this, not just having a GP decide it "won't hurt to try" them.

No disprespect meant, ellid...I really value your opinion, especially the more I read your journal, but I feel like a part of me got to wake up and live when I was 36, and I'm glad for it! There are times when the use of such is beneficial, even in moderate cases.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Clearly they worked for you, and that's great news. My experience ultimately wasn't so good, but it might well have been the medication itself, and it helped me through a very bad time in my life.

Will you be at the Hrim Schola next weekend?

[briony530.livejournal.com]

I surely will...will you?

The only thing I have to say...

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

In my 10 years in the clinical Neuroscience department at BMS I never once saw a study that only ran 6 weeks.

Re: The only thing I have to say...

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Good point! Thanks! :D