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| Topic | Is Depression a state of mind/weakness or legitimate mental disorder? |
| BlameAnesthesia 06/05/18 4:11:03 AM #139: | The internet can be a breeding ground for an echo chamber of bad experiences. Antidepressants get a bad reputation because a variety of reasons can impede proper treatment. Some primary care physicians are not knowledgeable about the disease process and prescribe something like an SSRI without letting a patient know it can take 6+ weeks to even take effect. I've met patients who think it's like a benzodiazepine where a single pill is supposed to mellow them out. This isn't how it works, but I'm not surprised they think the pills do nothing. Also, it's difficult to predict who will receive side effects because there are a variety of liver enzymes involved in the metabolism and everyone is a little different. The field of genetics is advancing rapidly and there are already tests that can determine who will likely benefit from which SSRI, but these are expensive and not covered by insurance so there isn't much use of them in the clinical world at this time. So unfortunately there is a bit of trial and error in titrating the right dose that works for a patient while also minimizing side effects. This requires a good therapeutic alliance between physician and patient and this isn't always the case. --- ... Copied to Clipboard! |
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