On Wed, 27 Oct 1999, Rikki McGinty wrote:
> It sounds to me like people tried one kind of antidepressants and then gave
> up? Just because Prozac doesn't work doesn't mean antidepressants don't work
> or always have horrid side effects. There are a big variety of anti-Ds and
> often you have to go through a bunch of them to find one that works.
>
> Many people really need that medication to function properly, or even to
> stay alive.
>
> rikki
People want to take a pill and make the problem go away, in general. The
miracles of modern medicine have spoiled both patients and doctors into
demanding and proscribing 'instant treatments'. Since everyone's
biochemistry is different, there isn't one pill for everyone, but Prozac
received enough advertising and was enough of a quantum leap in
psychoactive medication for depression that everyone knew about it. It was
touted as the better drug and to my impression, the 20th century
snake-oil. Everyone wanted it, and they got it. If they couldn't get it
from their doctor, they went to another one that would give it. But its
not entirely patient demand that is responsible for a mismatch of drug to
patient. Some doctors were as eager to prescribe the drug as patients were
to get it.
However, if it was not the right drug (or even dosage!) or the side
effects were not tolerable, I can very well see where a depressed patient
would think then that -all- drugs would be this way. One of depression's
key symptions is negative (possibly unrealistic) thinking. Also, most
anti-depressants that I have taken or heard about require a period of time
to build up in the system, and patients must adhere to the dosage schedule
and keep appointments for successful treatment... something else those in
the grips of depression find difficult to do without auxiliary support.
While many cases of depression can be traced back to physiological
imbalances, this is only the source... the catalyst. Many cases of
depression arise without anything being physically wrong with the patient
at all, and in these cases, drugs really won't help them. However, drugs
alone are not always the best solution for the patient. Drugs may
buoy you out from drowning, but if depression has become a 'way of life',
that pattern of thinking and behavior has to be adjusted as well, or as
soon as you take off the life jacket (drugs), you'll start to drown again.
This isn't the case with everyone, of course... I think a lot of it
depends on how long you've been depressed and how seriously you've been
depressed along with how predisposed you are to becoming depressed again.
It is generally accepted that women are more predisposed then men towards
depression, though certainly both may experience this debilitating
disease. Intelligence and stress also appear to be influencing factors.
Depression also runs in families. My maternal grandmother, my mother, my
sister, and myself have all experienced depression. For my grandmother and
myself, it is a constant state while it is episodic for my mother and
sister. The difference between my grandmother and myself is that I have
sought and obtained treatment. I had to go through three different drugs
and a double-handful of psychiatrists and counselors before I found the
right fit, and it was incredibly difficult to do that. If I hadn't had the
support of my family in keeping my dosage schedule and getting to my
appointments, I probably wouldn't be typing this. Unfortunately, a great
many victims of this disease do not have the support they need for
successful treatment.
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