Comments on: Does Prozac work for you?

By: Ellee

Ellee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:08:27 +0000

MITCH said (apologies, it was accidentally deleted with my spam comments”:

“I’ve suffered depression twice in my life, both were at times when prolonged stress meant I could no longer function normally. I was an emotional wreck. The second episode of depression was only alleviated by use of the drug Escilotopram. I won’t normally take tablets and tried ‘over the counter’ herbal remedies first. My GP prescribed it and although I was sceptical and frightened at first, I’m pleased to say that it was useful for a short period of time. I weened myself off it easily and am thankful that life is ‘normal’ once again.”

By: Detoxer

Detoxer — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:58:40 +0000

All of us have different DNA and different metabolisms. Some herbs and vitamins work better than others. The first thing that is needed is proper nutrition and a good physical exam. As the director of Novus Medical Detox, I often see patients who are on alcohol or opioids, central nervous system depressants, also taking antidepressants. When they detox they find they don’t need the antidepressants.

This is good news because a Swedish study showed that 52% of the 2006 suicides by women on antidepressants. Since antidepressants work no better than placebos and are less effective than exercise in dealing with depression.

There is a prescription drug epidemic and these are leaders in the list of terrible abuses.

Steve Hayes
http://novusdetox.com

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:27:09 +0000

My post is up now.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:10:23 +0000

I have been on seroxat for a number of years. It changed my life. I suffered with obsessive anxiety and nothing helped. I believe that it is a chemical inbalance that, in my case, needs correcting.

I think maybe I’ll write a post on this later on today. I don’t want to feel ashamed of a perceived weakness or failure.

By: Jennyta

Jennyta — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:57:58 +0000

I have had many clients suffering from mild to moderate depression who have been considerably helped by counselling. My counselling approach is integrative humanistic and I use Person Centred and Gestalt as appropriate to the individual client. It annoys me that the NHS generally focus only on CBT as other counselling approaches can be equally and often more helpful. CBT works well short-term but doesn’t address underlying issues, so when the client comes back 18 months later for more, he/she is counted as a new patient, which means that it appears that success criteria are being met and the NHS can tick their boxes.

By: jmb

jmb — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:23:34 +0000

Well it does seem to be a very thorough review but only of the clinical trials, not the actual patients. One also has to be very wary of the media write-up and look at the report itself and see how it was conducted.

Severe clinical depression cannot be cured by exercise or alternative forms of therapy, although no doubt they can help. These drugs are certainly very useful in keeping patients functioning in their daily lives. Don’t forget they are well studied in clinical trials for years before being released to the public.

By: Welshcakes Limoncello

Welshcakes Limoncello — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:21:17 +0000

I don’t know. I have a friend who has really been helped by Prozac and another whose life was almost destroyed by it. I took anti-depressants twice , the first time after my Dad died and they helped me. But the second time I got even more depressed. It is easy to judge this from the “wagon loaded with hay” as Blake wrote. If you are on the empty wagon, you will clutch at anything that might help you.

By: sally

sally — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:03:08 +0000

Like many i think the answer lies with exercise…I am sure i would have gone under many times if i did not exercise…infact i would go as far as saying walking saved my life……

By: Womble On Tour

Womble On Tour — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:38:28 +0000

I’ve had a few periods of depression and have tried anti-depressants two or three times. The first and worst was when I was at university, and I think the pills did help to lift me. But I ditched them as soon as I could because I hated the idea of becoming reliant on them. On another occasion the doctor prescribed sleeping tablets instead and they made me feel so unutterably awful I packed them in straight away.

I have to endorse the comments about exercise. I find it much, much easier to stay “up” if I’m physically active. I’m willing to bet that exercise does as much good as any tablet.

By: Cheezy

Cheezy — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:49:27 +0000

Doctors already ‘prescribe’ exercise and generally keeping fit – for basically every ailment you turn up and tell them about. But it’s not as easy to do as swallowing a pill, so a lot of people don’t – and won’t – bother.

My own experience of anti-depressants is very positive. I was on Aropax for about six months about a decade ago, and they had a very identifiable beneficial effect. I’d fallen into a morbid ‘hole’ and they helped me climb out. And when I felt I didn’t need them anymore, I weened myself off them fairly easily.

Every few days there’s a sensational health-based headline doing the rounds – ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ is merely this week’s model.