| Your answers will immediately show me your understanding of depression, your point of view on depression medications and your diligence in depression treatment. 1. Can someone build up tolerance to SSRI antidepressants so that they stop working after a while? It’s seems to me that after been on Paxil for about 6-7 months (and really feeling the difference) I’ve stopped feeling that medicine is really works for me. Trivial suggestion from physiatrists I’ve seen is: Increase a Dose. What are your thoughts? 2. What should you look for in a doctor? How can you tell if he/she really understands my condition? 3. Isn't there a simple test to determine if a person has depression? With respect. M. Hello M! Thank you for visiting my site. Here are my thoughts about subjects you are asking: 1. As of my knowledge tolerance to SSRI antidepressants is very rare phenomenon. What looks like tolerance may develop because the SSRIs also have effects on the dopamine systems of the brain, and these effects can slow one down dramatically. When an SSRI seems not to be not working as well as it once did, it often can be helped to work once again by increasing dosage of the medicine. This is the easiest traditional option and your doctor doesn’t reinvent the weal advising you to do so. I went through that; most of the people I’m chatting with also have been given similar advice. However I have a different judgment about relationship between SSRI and human brain. After some 3-4 weeks from starting active SSRI treatment a depression patient starts feeling a relief, a brake through. It can be huge improvement, can be tiny change. Then, after some time (most of the cases) patient is changing an attitude, a perception of SSRI. What was considered yesterday as panacea, a magic pill doesn’t really fit to this role today. He wants more improvement, more relive, he wants quickly to regain that almost forgotten absolute healthy feeling of body and soul. And here lies the problem: SSRI can help you in your initial attempt to defeat your depression. It will never finish the job. Your depression is much more complicated matter than simple serotonin deficiency. So after you’ve gained back some healthy feelings and some confidence this is your job and your responsibility to make that job completed. A ‘go up’ with SSRI intake will give you nothing but frustration. It will produce only disbelief if anything could be done with your depression. And even more that that, there are a lot of evidence that with to much of SSRI could be as ineffective as too little. Based on all my experience and research my strong conviction is: combination of SSRIs and tricyclics will be most effective treatment for your depression. 2. If you are looking for a psycho pharmacologist to prescribe you medications to help control your depression there are no real necessity to go crazy looking, comparing, analyzing etc. Location suitability and convenient time should be only priorities. Only you, not your health care professional will analyze your condition. Only you will decide to what direction you should move treating your depression. My e-book, other holistic healthcare materials are tremendous help in that matter. If you are looking for real psychotherapy, for real specialist in that area your task is much more complicated. Looking back, sharing with you my experience I can only say: I haven’t found a single one what ever method I was using in my search. I’ve had seen 3 or 4 (lost my count in anger and frustration) from book of the best doctors in my state. Following my fiends advises was in a waiting list of 3 specialists from 6 weeks to 6 months. In every new occasion when I was asking him/her about their understanding of depression, their beliefs about the causes of depression and their philosophy of treatment I haven got an answer really up to my concept of this illness. There are many reasons for that: Doctor has busy schedule, Doctor is not up to your problems at this particular moment, Doctor is kind of old, so he is using cliché of depression treatment formatted 30-40 years ago etc. One major thing you should understand: no one but you will better know your sensations, you feelings, your problems. Finalizing my answer to your second question: use common sense in your search for depression specialist. Read every day as much as possible about depression. Combine together everything your have read with everything your doctor has said you and create your own approach to depression treatment. You will succeed, trust me. 3. Depression simple test. Unfortunately at this point and as of my knowledge there is not such test. There are no depression bacteria or virus we can identify, nor do we have any kind of blood or lab test to determine if a person has depression. Until we learn more, all we have to go on are an individual’s symptoms. Treating depression is all about treating the symptoms, rather than the underlying disease. I hope it will help. Regards, D. K. ____________________________________________________ Hello Dana! Just to let you know that I got your e-book and I liked what I read, just knowing the fact that it is possible to get over it. Have a question. The last thing I am up to now is going to the gym and start exercising. Do you have any suggestions how to get started? I know that numerous studies have found exercises work as effective as antidepressants. But theory is one thing, practically it is not easy to begin and even harder to keep going. Thanks. P. |
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This is not about Prozac My journey back to life or What is indeed True and What is False in Depression Treatment Nowadays by Dana Kutkayte |
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