Antidepressant Use Doubles

A NEIGHBOR OF MINE IS BEING TREATED WITH DEPRESSION/BIPOLAR/PAIN MEDS FOR DEGENERATE DISC DISEASE — ALL BY A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN WHO IS NOT A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. MY NEIGHBOR IS TREATED WITH WHAT I CALL MEDICAL ROULETTE. SWITCH THE MEDS/UP THE DOSAGE — LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

HIS BEHAVIOR IS MORE ERRATIC EVERY DAY, BECOMING WORSE SINCE THE START OF THE MEDICATIONS IN FEB 2009.

HESUFFERED BRAIN DAMAGE WHEN AS A CHILD OF ABOUT 6 YEARS HE HAD AN EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURE, LEFT UNTREATED BY HIS VERY YOUNG MOTHER.

I WISH THERE WAS MONEY FOR ONE OF DR. AMEN’S BBRAIN SCANS AS I THINK THAT IS WHAT IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHAT IS BRAIN INJURY AND WHAT IS THE RESULT OF A SERIOUSLY TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SHARE MY SADNESS AND FRUSTRATION.

As always, Dr. Amen makes good point. But as he points out in his books, sometimes St. John’s wort is ill-advised, creating nasty side effects.

Everyone is talking about over-medicating and the undue influence of Big Pharma. But what I see as the target needing the most “reform” are physicians who prescribe medications without understanding their effect on the body and brain.

It’s ironic that many physicians both dismiss the incidence of ADHD and diminish possible negative side effects of anti-depressants. seeing them as somehow generally benign.

Yet if you have ADHD and take an SSRI alone, it can actually increase ADHD symptoms, including impulsivity and distractibility. Dr. Amen talks about this in his books, too. Perhaps more physicians should read these books!

Gina Pera, author
Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?
Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder
Psychology Book of the Year, 2008, ForeWord magazine

I’m a 48 year old male, always had high energy, last october my nephew which was my God son committed suicide, my only brother last year was diagnosed with glastoblyoma, not sure I got it right but brain cancer. He died february 28th, the last four winters have been extremely hard on me, felt depressed and overwhelmed, this last winter put me over the edge. I went to a pschotheropist, he diagnosed me bi-polar, I’m on 300mg of lamotrogine, still feel off in the mornings, what should I do? Does your brain scan tell whether my guy was right or wrong? Please get back to me as soon as you can.
Thanks,

Tim

Pharmaceuticals to treat a chemical disorder in the brain are often much maligned. I began not feeling quite right as a teenager and my search for a “cure” included many doctors, nutritionists, homeopaths, acupuncturists chiropractors and naturopaths.

On every form I would indicate that on the maternal side was severe depression and the paternal side included alcoholism and anxiety disorders. Not one professional suggested a neural reason for my low energy, muscle aches, low self esteem, or ADD-like symptoms. All of these continued to be more pronounced as I aged.

A therapist I went to see last year suggested dysthymia. I am so grateful for the Effexor I take now. I see a well-trained and empathetic psychiatrist who knows her meds.
I am a 48-year old new woman who wakes up every morning excited to greet the day.

I spent thousands on the natural way, and did learn to eat right, exercise and take supplements which I believe is a helpful base for any kind of drug program one is on.

I am reading Dr. Amen’s “Magnificent Mind At Any Age” and finding it very enlightening. He makes understanding the brain accessible to the lay person. I believe his methods are the future of brain-health in this country.

I am a 49 yr old female. Financially, have lost/car, Kaiser, and now in a real rut. Been taking Effexor 75mg 2xper day,Lisinporal,40mg as a result of loss, Concerta 18mg is gone, levothyroid, needless to say…I need direction.Any suggestions are welcomed.
Warmly,
KJ Mancini

I suggest you have deep therapy, I had cousolling for 20 years before i got the right therapist. I went to reconnection. so good i am smiling for real, no more fake ones and days in bed,email me anytime.

Hi
I was put on effexor 4 years ago by my medical doctor when I was diagonsised with endometrial cancer, went through chemo/radiation. Stayed on the effexor until I had side effects about 2 years total. then switched to Lexapro and gained 17 lbs then weaned off that. About 10 weeks later I had a panic atttack, I couldn’t eat or sleep and was crying all the time., I went to a psycharist he told me I had anxiety not depression and wanted to treat me with a very low dose of Ativan. 1/2 mg 2x per day and 1 1/2 mg at bedtime. My husband and my medical dr were nervous about the Ativan and talked me back into the Effexor. Well here I am 1 year later and weaned myself off of the 75 mgs I was taking with out a lot of direction from my Pyscharist.He wanted me to tkae the Atian to keep my anxiety under control. Which I did and I still am doing. Other then go to 37.5 for 3 weeks then ever other day for a week then stop. That was a horrrible experience for me. All the weaning off side effects you can imagine.Now its bee 12 weeks, I take lots of supplements and Omega 3 4000 in the am and 3000 in the afternoon. I had hip surgury 6 weeks ago, so I could drive or teach the fitness classes that I have been doing for over 20 years. My husband and I just took our youngest to college, so I am sad.I have an empty house, I not exercising and I just had major surgury. I really don’t think I am depressed but, my husband thinks I should consider going back on an antidepressent again, which I am totally against. Especially after my experience coming off effexor. I would like some advise or to speak to someone about some suggestions as to what to do. I am going to a psycologist weekly to talk things out and learn hoew to work on my anxiety.Please help me.

Very interesting point about the rise in antidepressant use. Could it be that we are over diagnosing depression or is it really the case that more people are experiencing problems these days?
I have read Dr. Amen’s book and agree with him that depression and anxiety are complex problems, which like cancer have a multitude of mechanisms and sub-mechanisms. In this respect I regard the medical profession’s approach to mood disorders today as on a par to where it was with infectious disease over a century ago. i.e. understanding very little about its root causes and treatment. (I also wonder if there aren’t unknown environmental problems which contribute to it’s prevalence in the west nowadays.)
However I’m confident that this situation will change in time and believe that evidence based interventions such as CBT, MBCT, forth generation anti-depressants such as Agomelantine and genetics research will progressively crack the problem.
For reference I suffered from depression in the early to mid 1980’s and found all types of talking therapy ineffective. However after 3 ½ years the depression went into spontaneous remission (Possibly taking up serious running contributed to this improvement.) It remained that way until 2006 when it returned following a bereavement. In this case treatment with anti-depressants (whilst not perfect) was the single most helpful intervention I tried. I also had no side effects at all. (Please note that I am aware of all the arguments regarding their effectiveness v. placebo and the commercial pressures pharmaceutical companies are under.)
As a final point I also tried various “alternative therapies” such as fish oil supplementation, numerous supplements, dietary interventions and talking therapies without any perceivable benefit.

Just wanted to share my experience with the term “anti-depressant” to fix all. When I was 27, I had a grand mal seizure unexpectedly. The routine tests of MRI, EEG, and blood all came back normal. Initially, I was prescribed tregretol and would totally forget simple things like heating up my coffee in the microwave and then forget about it. The neurologists switch me to Dilantin and I broke out in hives. Next, Depakote 750 / day. I would be tired and sleep like 8-9 hours a day and told this medication creates disorder in the spine for having children. As a result, I develop relationships on the aspect of never having a child. As I turned 43 and never had another grand mal, I started questioning why I was on the medication. Told the quality of life aspects and fears of the worst of not being able to drive if I weaned off and had a seizure. Well, my neurologist retired and my new one helped me wean off. I remain seizure free, med free and turned 46 last March. I think the retired Neurologist was more worried about a malpractice liability then what was right for me in my case. I look back and which I woke up earlier in questioning doctors in general. I am currently considering the prospects of adoption or fostering for the maternal instinct that yearns inside me. I discovered Dr. Amen last year during a vacation in Calistoga which I was flipping the channels and saw one of his talks. I have already read four of his books and find them most insightful. I have even shared them with one of my best friends, John, who turns out to have a sister from his adoption that works at the Amen Fairfield Clinic. It is truly a small world! It would be interesting to run one of the brain scans that Dr. Amen Clinic processes to truly see how much damage the meds have created over the prolong use of depakote. However, my current medical plan will not cover the observation. What is comforting to know is the brain is an amazing muscle. As Dr. Amen says, “what’s good for the heart is good for the brain.” Now, I have side effects of too much energy rather than tired and fatigue.. My memory has improved. I currently deal with difficulty sleeping and sensitive to caffeine. My only hope is that the damage is reversible!

Any comments about Chantix?

Holy shit what have I done?? serotonin is produced in the stomach!?!? shouldn’t THAT be pointed out to a person who is depressed and going to have a gastric bypass??? or does disconnecting 90% of the stomach NOT affect its serotonin production?

Regarding depression. I was diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder in the 80’s and took many many antidepressants etc. Plus over 60 ECT treatments. Nothing had any lasting help. In 2004 I was introduced to Truehope found at truehop.com and started on their vitamin and mineral supplement Empowerplus. It has worked wonders for me. I have only been in hospital for 1 week since 2004. Before I was in and out of hospital for a total of 10years out of 24years. I do wonder what the ECT treatments did to my brain. I am doing brain training for dummies and reading Dr. Amen’s books.

I have been depress all my life never enjoy any moment, for my family a I am shame and not accepted at all never had any kind of day with out it, I always watch different meetings and documentaries when I saw your show I would like to get brain scan the last time I wrote I did not get any answer hope you can respond this times Thanks.

I found out that my depressive behavior was linked to chronic Lyme Disease Unfortunately, it took over a decade before I found a doctor skilled enough to put all my symptoms together to make an accurate diagnosis. Obviously, depression can be only a symptom of something much larger.

5HTP is a precursor to seratonin and really has helped my irritable bowel syndrome and depression/anxiety. You can buy it at a health store. Don’t take it if you’re on antidepressants, however.

Kathie

Hi Robert, I am a physician and a friend of Dr. Amen, I was just perusing his website as there is always some exciting news. I have referrred many complicated addiction patients to Dr. Amen for Spect imaging which has proven extremely valuable. I treat many patients with food addiction. Before you jump into gastric bypass, you should undergo extensive hormonal testing and consider that the problem is not your stomach, gatric bypass is another American symptom treatment. The cause of your over eating may well be in your “pleasure, hunger” center, the nucleus accumbens[NA]. The NA resides in the midddle of your brain and runs on dopamine, not serotonin. PET brain studies have revealed that eating produces a, temporary, three fold increase in release of dopamine to receptors in our pleasure center. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute of Drug Addiction has proven that overweight people often have only half the normal dopammine activity in their pleeasure center, they eat for dopamine. I have successfully treated hundreds of obese patients who were attempting to get “higher” to normal, not fat, with food. God meant for us to enjoy eating, food is a dopaminergic drug that is readily available without breaking the law, maybe the scale. The patients I have treated by optimizing their brain chemistry, hormones and toxin removal, normally lose 70 pounds in less than 3-4 months without trying. Patients with this brain profile often get diagnosed as refractory depression because they have failed treatment with multiple serotonergic anti-depressants, unfortunately, their doctors fail to even consider dopamine deficiency. Dr. Amen and I have discussed this tragic tunnel vision over dinner. Often dismissed as lazy, motivation is derived from dopamine activity, dopamine deficient patients don’t have normal motivation. These patients often suffer more depression when placed on serotoninergic medication like Paxil, Lexapro etc., because, serotonin inhibits release of dopamine from brain cell storage units, this makes a dopamine deprived pleasure/hunger center more underactive, the patient is barely motivated to get out of bedand brush their teeth, let alone, go to work. Good dopamine receptivity, ability of dopamine to activate receptors, requires optimization of Thyroid, Testosterone [both sexes], growth hormone and removal of neurotoxins such as Candida mycotoxins, mold toxins, heavy metal toxicity etc. Overweight patients carry more toxic load because neurotoxins are fatty and store in fat. Overweight men typically suffer low testosterone, high estrogen, ratio because the normal conversion of testosterone to estrogen is excessive [much occurs in fat tissue] Regarding the serotonin/gut connection, Candida yeast proliferation of the GI tract is becoming more common in Americans and is secondary to antibiotic distortion of the normal gut bacteria-yeast ratio. Bacterial and yeast that should not be in the gut, produce inflamatory chemicals that cause damage to the mucosal lining of the small intestine enterochromaffin cells disrupting serotonin production. Over 90 percent of the serotonin utilized in the brain comes from the enterochromaffin cells in the small intestine. Please, do not rush into a mechanical prodedure [surgery] for a problem that is biochemical in causation.