Posted on 06/09/2010 9:01:24 PM PDT by neverdem
Depression is a chemical imbalance, most people think. Researchers, drug manufacturers, and even the Food and Drug Administration assert that antidepressants work by “normalizing” levels of brain neurotransmitters—chemical messengers such as serotonin. And yet hard science supporting this idea is quite poor, says Irving Kirsch, professor of psychology at the University of Hull in the U.K. An expert on the placebo effect, Kirsch has unearthed evidence that antidepressants do not correct brain chemistry gone awry. More important, the drugs are not much more effective against depression than are sugar pills, he says. To support these controversial claims, Kirsch conducted a meta-analysis, digging up data from unpublished clinical trials. When all the evidence is weighed together, Prozac, Paxil, and other such popular pills seem to be at best weakly effective against depression—an argument Kirsch presses in his new book, The Emperor’s New Drugs. Some other research backs up his claims. A study published this winter in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that psychoactive drugs are no better than placebos for people suffering from mild to moderate depression.
Where did the idea of depression as a chemical imbalance come from? The initial two drugs, imipramine and iproniazid, that were discovered and promoted as effective antidepressants both seemed to increase the amount of serotonin in the brain. It was discovered afterward that one of them seemed to block the reabsorption of serotonin, leaving it to linger longer at cell receptors, and the other blocked the destruction of the serotonin neurotransmitters in the synapses in the brain.
Then there was an observational finding that a drug called reserpine produced depression. Reserpine decreased the available serotonin, so...
(Excerpt) Read more at discovermagazine.com ...
My brother also advised me to drink more water when I was having back pain. He reminded me that disks contain a lot of water, and that when we are dehydrated, they are less able to cushion our spines. I've found it somewhat helpful.
The Xanax could have very well saved your life. The fog was more likely from Serotonin Syndrome unless you were given a very high dosage of Xanax like about 2 mg and even then? Xanax doesn't work quite like Valium. It's a lot smoother. 2MG except for usage in cases like this is not a good dose and can cause more problems long term than it helps. The same 2Mg spread out in four dosages in 24 hours can do wonders though :>} Been there and taking it 16 years in that manner. :>}
You got an ER doctor who did the right thing for you and likely saved your life with the Xanax. It is the class of counter acting drug for treating Serotonin Syndrome. But the doctor should have told you point blank what happened.
Serotonin Syndrome can cause cardiac arrhythmia it is one of many of the warning signs which include hallucinations. I've seen it at it's worse. It nearly killed my wife. Her hallucination included her thinking she was Tess {Della Reese} on Touched by an Angel. And my wife is as white as white can be LOL.
Sad to say doctors ignored the obvious cause and assumed it was accute psychosis and upped the Zoloft. They also wanted her sent to a mental institution. They even argued with me after I presented them with an article on it their own Pharmacology Professor wrote. Doctors are for the most part ignorant of the potential dangers of antidepressants. The patient and patients family need to be warned of this possible serious and potentially possible adverse reaction.
In some cases, serotonin syndrome can be caused by taking just one drug that increases serotonin levels, but it occurs most often when you combine certain medications. For example, serotonin syndrome may occur if you take an antidepressant along with a migraine medication.
BTW OTC Cold medications like Nyquil mixed with SSRI's can do the same thing.
Excellent and glad to hear about your success. I believe that we can fight our own depression and that it is symptomatic of chronic stress. Much of it brought about by our own thoughts/reactions.
True and ditto.
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