Archives for Question – Answer
Depression and Anxiety
Posted By Kelly On Saturday, July 17th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Prozac, Serzone, Wellbutrin, Zoloft
Question. I have been taking 0.1 mg of Synthroid and 200 mg Serzone daily for a little over six months. This seems to have improved my depression and anxiety significantly, however I feel heavily sedated all the time. My physician believes my current dosage of Synthroid is appropriate. If I reduce the Serzone, I feel my depression and anxiety returning. If I were your patient, would you change my antidepressant ... Read More
Augmenting Depression
Posted By Kelly On Tuesday, May 11th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Paxil, Serzone, Wellbutrin, Zoloft
Question. I am veteran of SSRI poop-out. After more than four successful years on Zoloft, it stopped working. When tyrosine was added, it was effective for another nine months. My doctor and I then tried various strategies that didn't work, usually because of my hypersensitivity to side effects. Wellbutrin made me jittery even at low doses and caused insomnia. Desipramine made me so jumpy, dumb and uncomfortable that I couldn't ... Read More
Ambien and Depression
Posted By Kelly On Saturday, May 8th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Luvox
Question. I take Luvox 150 mg per day for chronic depression and obsessive anger problems. My psychiatrist is concerned about my sleep habits, which have basically been the same all my life; I cannot sleep at night, I only sleep soundly in the mid-morning hours. He prescribed Ambien to be taken at bedtime and it put me to sleep right away. I was delighted with that result, however, for two ... Read More
Male Depression
Posted By Kelly On Wednesday, May 5th 2010 under: Question - Answer
Question. I am attempting to research the area of male depression. Through my experience of working with clients and my current reading it, would seem clear that men do not express their depression along the lines of the symptoms presented in the DSM-IV. It appears to be particularly "feminine" symptomology or a societal expectation of feminine expression. I wish to explore how men tend to act out their emotions or ... Read More
Suicide Attempt
Posted By Kelly On Saturday, April 17th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Effexor, Elavil, Pamelor, Prozac, Remeron, Zoloft
Question. Last month I attempted suicide. I still feel that my family would be better off without me, that there is no future for me, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm utterly exhausted. There is no more fight within me. I am currently on Zoloft and Valium. I have taken Prozac, Elavil, Pamelor and Doxipan. I am also in outpatient counseling, which helps ... Read More
Debating Prozac for a Child
Posted By Kelly On Wednesday, April 14th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Prozac
Question. After having exhausted many other avenues of treatment for my 6-year-old son, I feel confident that Prozac could change his life for the better. My son has endured a lot in his short life, from the domestic abuse and alcoholism of my husband to moving twice. He was evaluated by two different psychiatrists, who found him to be a mad/sad child and they also said he was genetically loaded ... Read More
Homeopathic Treatment for Depression
Posted By Kelly On Saturday, April 3rd 2010 under: Question - Answer
Question. Have there been any studies or support in the treatment of depression with homeopathic remedies?
Answer. There is a good deal of interest in the use of herbal remedies for the treatment of depression, as well as in the use of naturally-occurring precursors (building blocks) of various brain chemicals, called amino acids. The most persuasive literature on herbal treatments involves the use of St. John's Wort (hypericum perforatum); this is ... Read More
Is 5-HTP Safe?
Posted By Kelly On Sunday, March 28th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Luvox, Prozac, Zoloft
Question. Prime Time Live recently aired a story on treatment of depression, obesity and insomnia with 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). Is 5-HTP effective and safe?
Answer. Well, the media are often ahead of the scientists on these things, but I must say I am very skeptical about the 5-HTP story (although I did not see the Prime Time piece). By the way, 5-HTP is the precursor chemical for serotonin, which as you probably ... Read More
Depression and the medically ill
Posted By Kelly On Friday, March 26th 2010 under: Question - Answer
Question. Are you aware of any fairly recent articles or publications dealing with the evaluation and treatment of depression in the medically ill, the terminally ill, the dying, the hospice patient, etc.? I would appreciate any information you might have available.
Answer. There are numerous articles and studies on evaluating and treating depression in the medically ill. You may be interested in seeing the entire October, 1994 issue of Psychiatric Annals, ... Read More
Prozac and Alcohol’s Effects
Posted By Kelly On Wednesday, March 24th 2010 under: Question - Answer Tags: Prozac
Question. I suffer from depression and have been on Prozac for a number of years now. It seems that after I have a few drinks, I notice a marked increase in my depression and irritability the next day. Could alcohol ingested in small amounts as this be causing a real chemical change in my brain, or am I just imagining this?
Answer. I know of at least one study showing no ... Read More