Posted by lizzyg on May 9, 2002, at 11:40:41
In reply to Re: Hey folks: Look what I found re Depakote/GABA!!, posted by SLS on May 8, 2002, at 17:20:47
Many thanks for updating this table, Scott; it's looking really good and I've printed it as a crib sheet. Would it be possible to jump the alphabetical order and just fill in a few of the remaining blanks that pertain to the 'sexy' medications that are talked about on this board all the time? Nefazodone is an obvious culprit. All the European names look pretty much there, too, just a few random benzos that are different as far as I can make out.
I haven't been on this board much recently (depression seems to have lifted...), but you wrote an excellent piece a couple of weeks ago in the nature versus nurture debate and I wanted to query something with you. From what I (and various psychiatrists and psychotherapists) can tell, my depressive episodes are endogenous. You said:
"For some people, the biological system can begin to function abnormally in the absence of concurrent depressive pressure. A variety of genetic and environmental factors can play a role in the evolution of system dysfunction... ...Treatment with antidepressants alone are necessary and often sufficient... ...Indefinite treatment with antidepressants is often necessary, especially if recurrent episodes have occurred. Each successive collapse of the system produces an increasing deformity of the structure of the biological system, such that it becomes less amenable to repair and treatment-resistant."
But my own experience has been the exact opposite to your final two sentences - each successive episode has been easier to manage, and the time lapse between episodes has increased. The first time I experienced depression and anxiety I couldn't function at all (luckily I was at university so it didn't matter too much!). I didn't understand the symptoms (was the anxiety presaging psychosis/schizophrenia?), didn't know which treatments might work (and had to contend with uninformed doctors), and didn't have a sense of how long the episode would last (would I ever recover?). During successive attacks, I've experienced more treatments options, have learnt that the episodes are self-limiting, and have discovered lifestyle changes that act as prophylactics to a certain extent (for me, exercise is the best form of therapy; in fact, indolence seems to be a trigger factor for depression). I was lucky to have had well over six years between my last depression and the most recent earlier this year.
To your knowledge, is my pattern unusual, or are there any studies with similar findings? Historically, I've always dropped the ADs after four or five months, and been subsequently symptom free for anything from a year to six years. At the moment, I'm just using SAM-e and fish oils, so I guess it wouldn't be a great hardship to keep this going for longer... Any views?
Thanks for your input.
Lizzy
poster:lizzyg
thread:105245
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020503/msgs/105727.html