Posted by PaulB on June 23, 2001, at 5:19:10
In reply to Dr. Bob -- Can antidepressants cure permanently?, posted by mr on June 22, 2001, at 18:31:47
>
>
> Dr. Bob (and/or anyone else) --
>
> This is my first time on psychobabble. I have a question: How do antidepressants work? Do they rewire the brain? Do they create permanent changes? If I have Major Depression and take antidepressants for a long time, when I go off, will the depression return? If a/ds do cure, how long would I need to be on them to create a permanent change? And prevent relapse? Or would I need to be on antidepressants for life to stop recurrence?
>
> Can antidepressants cause depression?
>
> Can bipolar start in a person's thirties? Can it start from taking antidepressants? If you stop taking the antidepressants, will you continue to be manic forever without the use of mood stabilizers?
>
> Finally, can Hashimoto's Thyroiditis mimic symptoms of bipolar?
>
> -- MRMost conventional antidepressants work by increasing the available supply of a group of neurotransmitters called monoamines in the brain. Generally they can usually take between two-four weeks to start working although sometime longer and sometimes less in some people. Some believe the time-lag in response is due to the fact that a process called down-regulation has to occur-a decrease in the number of monoamine receptors in response to the increase in neurotransmitters. Others disagree in view of the fact that down-regulation occurs almost immediately.
The issue of whether an antidepressant will create permament changes depends on why you are taking it. If you have 'sunk into a' depression they may help you get back on track again although if you ahve always suffered from depression it may be that you might need to take the antidepressnat indefinately to compensate. Some experts say that after six months on an antidepressant, if it is still working there is much less chance of a relapse.
There are some people who do get worse on a particular antidepressant and will need to try another until they find one that suits them. This may be because the monoamines-mood-regulating neurotransmitters in our brian are interwined and receptors for them are often located on the same axon on the brain. Its all very complex but an increase in serotonin could cause a decrease in noradrenaline or vise-versa, for example.
Unlike unipolar-depression people with bipola-depression are much more likely to need continual therapy(mood-stabilisers) for their condition. Antidepresants are notorious for inducing a manic-episodse.
poster:PaulB
thread:67520
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010618/msgs/67568.html