Do You Have Depression? Here's a New Scare!

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Do-You-Have-Depression-He-by-Martha-Rosenberg-110605-409.html

The discovery that many people with life problems or occasional bad moods would willingly dose themselves with antidepressants sailed pharma through the 2000s. A good chunk of pharma's $4.5 billion direct-to-consumer advertising has been devoted to convincing people they don't have problems with their job, the economy and their family, they have depression. Especially because depression can't be diagnosed from a blood test.

Unfortunately, three things dried up the depression gravy train for pharma. Blockbusters went off patent and generics took off, antidepressants were linked with gory and unpredictable violence, especially in young users and...they didn't even work, according to medical articles!



That's when pharma began debuting the concept of "treatment resistant depression." It wasn't that their drugs didn't work (or you didn't have depression in the first place), you had "treatment resistant depression." Your first expensive and dangerous drug needed to be coupled with more expensive and dangerous drugs because monotherapy, one drug alone, wasn't doing the trick!

You've got to admire pharma's audacity with this upsell strategy. Adding drugs to your treatment resistant depression triples its take, patients don't know which drug is working so they'll take all of them and the defective drugs are exonerated! (Because the problem is you.)

More at the link --

[ixion]

1. I learned to embrace my periods of depression without pharmaceuticals

It's do-able, it's just a bit more work, and you have to be willing to face the ugly side of yourself.

By way of disclaimer: I've never taken anything beyond antibiotics, pharma-wise.

[robdogbucky]

8. ixion, you are one brave, strong soul

Carry on, my friend and know that there are others that similarly take the bull by its horns without big pharma's help.

Lo and behold you will be the better person for continuing to do so.

I salute your courage in the face of pain.

Carry on




"...Does it feel that your life's become a catastrophe?
Oh, it has to be for you to grow, boy..."

Take the Long Way Home
Supertramp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nvT3_iSaHU&feature=related





rdb

[ixion]

20. thanks, robdogbucky...

appreciate the kind words. It's not easy sometimes, especially as you get older, but I really couldn't live with myself all jacked up on Thorazine or lithium or any of that.

Here's to those stubborn folks among us who tell Big Pharma to take a Long Walk on a Short Pier. :toast:

[MineralMan]

2. Yes, well...

My wife suffers from depression. When she takes the medications that have been finely-tuned over the 20 years I've known her, she's just fine. Without them, she cannot function a the level she is capable of. It's not as simple as you make it sound. Not at all. You don't need medication? Lucky you. Others do.

[robinlynne]

9. first of all depression IS diagnosable. What you write is an opinion not based on fact.

Depression is diagnosable; depression is treatable. Anti-depressants have saved many people's lives. Doctors do not diagnose depression, psychiatrists do. Psychologists can also diagnose but not prescribe. I imagine every psychiatrist prefers therapy over drugs when possible. both are generally prescribed together. I know, in the case of insurance companies, they have a tendency to prescribe more and give therapy less because of the cost. That has nothing to do with doctors. None of it has anything to do with doctors since doctors do not prescribe anti-depressants anyway. You lack facts on this matter.

[ejpoeta]

12. self delete

[MineralMan]

18. The original poster did not write this. It's just a copy and paste

from an open blog, opednews.com. The quality of articles on that site is extremely variable, and much of it is self-promotional, like this article. If you follow the links, you get to the truth about the material. This article is worthless, offers zero evidence of anything, and should be simply disregarded. It's unworthy of posting on DU.

[TheDebbieDee]

21. Uhm. Doctors, psychiatrists and otherwise, prescribe

anti-depressants all the time. I think that it's your facts that need checking........

[robinlynne]

10. I'm sorry mineral man. I meant to address the Op. not you. I agree with you.

[MineralMan]

13. No problem. I saw that right away. Thanks!

[TygrBright]

14. Thank you. Yes.

Depression is a disease. It comes in varying intensities and varying forms.

The physical process of depression is related to brain chemistry.

Many things trigger depressive episodes, which also vary in intensity and form, and the triggers vary from person to person.

All of this variety makes the diagnosis and treatment of depression extremely challenging.

There is no "cure" for depression: Nothing you can do will make the episodes stop happening for good.

There are many ways to alleviate the symptoms that come with a depressive episode. Some are non-pharmacological in nature. The non-pharmacological interventions include neurocognitive programming (CBT being a common form,) and physiological interventions such as light therapy, avoidance/consumption of foods, dietary supplements, etc., exercise to increase endorphin levels, etc. For some people, these interventions offer sufficient relief of the symptoms of a depressive episode. They may even suffice to stimulate the brain chemistry to rebalance, ending the current episode. They may also help avoid episode triggers. These are all very good interventions.

But they are not always enough.

And relying ONLY on non-pharmacological interventions, when you suffer from serious and persisent depressive episodes, puts you at high risk for suicide.

Identifying an effective pharmacological treatment regimen for an individual with depression is challenging and can be very frustrating. Because there are so many variables that affect individual response to a specific medication, it can take years to identify which medication(s) are effective in what dosage schedules. And because many things influence brain chemistry over the course of a lifetime, a medication regimen is rarely permanently effective. Bearing children, aging, major life traumas, and other changes can combine to make a regimen lose effectiveness.

I'm not defending Big Pharma. They are greedy, exploitive assholes who don't give a rat's ass how appropriately their most profitable product is prescribed, as long as it's prescribed a whole lot. Nevertheless, their products, when appropriately prescribed, taken, and monitored, save lives. Many lives. They not only save lives, they enrich lives, make productive, comfortable lives possible. They alleviate a level of misery that many can't imagine, and never experience other than at a transitory level.

Screw Big Pharma and the horses they rode in on. But don't trash their useful accomplishments and products along with their vile, exploitive, parasitical management.

passionately,
Bright

[The Wielding Truth]

3. I've been worrying about those, on the brink of destitution, getting

violent for lack of help. With states cutting most of their assistance programs people will feel like they have nowhere to turn and nothing to lose. It is getting very ugly out there.

Republicans are such fools. They will sell their neighbor out without realizing they might go mad and get violent with them.

[ejpoeta]

11. I was never violent, but I remember one time when I didn't have insurance but I was really bad

I went to the doctor. I was bad enough where they made me sit in the office. They didn't send me to the hospital, but they did end up sending me home after I assured them I wouldn't hurt myself. If I had insurance I am confident they would have sent me to the hospital. And I knew it at the time. I was pretty bad then too. The time I did end up in the hospital, I DID have insurance. And I was in for 10 days... coincidentally the exact amount of time the insurance would cover. wow. how odd.

[Lucian]

4. When I wasn't depressed...

on antidepressants, I felt like I didn't live up to my intellectual threshold. I felt as though I was just some happy idiot floating by in life.

I'd rather be depressed and smart than happy and idiotic.

[zoechen]

5. For what it's worth....

I take paroxetine hcl 20mg for anxiety.

This is a generic for paxil 20 mg.

It's done wonders for me. My doctor had me try a couple of different meds but she always got me off the previous first. I started out on paxil and wound up back on it.

Just one mans experience.

[ejpoeta]

6. I have suffered with depression most of my life. Debilitating depression.

I have had periods where I could be fine without it. But then it snowballs. In 1994 I became despondent and almost killed myself and ended up in the hospital. The medicine helped me come back. Eventually I didn't need them anymore. But there have been periods where I did. Currently I have found I seem to be bipolar and have gone on meds for that. I seem to have started to stabilize. I am not just sad or just not trying hard enough. It was being told that the first time that made me spiral into such a bad place that I almost ended up dead. So please be careful with that stuff. I understand why you do that and say that. But it can be dangerous. For some that may be the case.... but for many it is not.

[Brickbat]

7. While there is definitely a hinky side to Big Pharma, I was helped immensely by prescription

medication when I came down with moderate depression. And as someone who had an excellent job; a kind, supportive, employed spouse; an awesome toddler; a house; no childhood traumas or issues; no current traumas or issues; and as someone who is comfortable talking about herself and knows the "dark side" of herself just fine, I felt medication made the most sense for me. And it did.

[Deep13]

15. What a load of earthy-crunchy horseshit.

Not one shred of evidence cited for the outrageous claims being made.

[MineralMan]

16. The author of this is a cartoonist, not a scientist or any sort

of medical professional. It is worth absolutely nothing in terms of its factual nature or its insight into anything.

Opednews.com is an open blog. Stuff posted there is of variable quality and is written by people of variable knowledge. It is not a reliable source for any medical information, and the author of this piece has zero qualifications for writing medical articles.

Unrecced for amateurish opinionating, based on intuition, not evidence-based research.

Surely we can can do better than this on DU.

[foxfeet]

19. Well said!

+1

[movie_girl99]

17. I agree they can be way overperscribed

I got sober 8 months ago and became very suicidal because I just didnt know how to live life without numbing myself with drugs and alcohol. I am on a few medications now and see my psychiatrist monthly for med checks. I am also in AA which has helped me tremendously more than months in therapy. my life is infinitely better now and i hope that one day I wont have to take meds but if I have to I'll accept it as long as i feel they are helping me and my quality of life. Just my two cents :)

[Left coast liberal]

22. God, I hate them...

[robinlynne]

24. You probably do not need them then.

[dionysus]

23. woo

[Dappleganger]

25. Well that's nice, but some of us really do have chemical depression.

I am one of those who cannot function as a mother if not taking them on a regular basis.