Our brain is like an enormous telephone exchange where thousands of messages are sent to make us act think, feel and move. The neurotransmitters in the brain are chemical messengers and there are several which have been identified such as serotonin, endorphins and norepinephrine. Apparently ,depressed patients’ chemical messengers just do not function normally and there seems to be much less serotonin around which is so important in governing how we feel and our feeling of happiness and contentment with our lot. These are essential in helping us get through the day. Now the pharmaceutical companies have developed lots of meds for treating depression which act on the chemical messengers in the brain but the sad fact is that they have omitted to tell us a few home truths about these meds.
One concerns women who are taking Tamoxefin for cancer. If they take that medicine with the classic SSRIs , then there is more than twice the risk that their tumours will return over a two year period. These findings were presented by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The FDA is now about to issue another warning about this. Alternative meds for treating depression in these women will have to be found.
Another thing big pharma has forgotten to tell us is that serotonin which controls to a certain extent our mood , also controls our appetite, sleep patterns and mental alertness. So we are using SSRIS to correct serotonin but that will inevitably have repercussions for the other bodily functions I have mentioned above. Now we see why SSRIs can play havoc with our bodies. Meds for treating depression are certainly not to be taken lightly. Talk about taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut !
They have also forgotten to tell us that the success rates of these meds for treating depression is so modest that some people doubt whether it is worth their while even taking them. Figures now show that only about a third of the patients who take these depression meds will be completely cured. Compare that with a placebo which relieved depression symptoms in about 15% to 20% of patients !
More and more patients are turning to alternative treatments and trying to change their lifestyle as that invariably has a very important impact on depression. Looking after exercise, diet, sleep, getting enough sunshine which is so important for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and choosing a herbal remedy which will probably be more effective and certainly safer than many of the depression meds now on the market.
Want to learn the truth about meds for treating depression ? Robert Locke has written extensively on Mental Health for many years.
Article Source: Meds for Treating Depression – What The Pharmaceutical Companies Forgot To Tell Us
