Posted by utopizen on October 9, 2003, at 18:59:25
In reply to Thought-provoking concept, posted by Harvester of Eyes on October 9, 2003, at 13:49:29
> This raises the question: Is depression a constellation of diseases, or a constellation of symptoms so varied that even taking four or five medications is often insufficient?
.>Depression is depression. It could be spurred on by other medical conditions, and has been proven to increase the likelihood of physical illnesses when left untreated.
Maybe, let's say, someone's narcoleptic, so they're tired all the time. It takes 7 years, on average, for someone to be diagnosed for this condition. Because doctors tend to assume everything must somehow relate to depression, they hear the word "tired" or "insomnia" and throw out a "depression" diagnosis (it's also a self-fulfilling prophecy for the doc, since untreated sleeping disorders WILL lead to depression eventually).
So maybe some on this board have something else. But combining depression meds with behavioral therapy is a good idea for someone who's not working out w/ depression, I'd be suspicious to a doc who didn't refer a patient out to also see a therapist before contemplating something like Oxycotin for depression.
If someone's on 4 or 5 meds, they should have at least tried combining these meds with therapy, since irrational thought is obviously, as we all know, the underlying reason why we have mental illnesses. I have just social anxiety disorder and ADD.
poster:utopizen
thread:267329
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031004/msgs/267454.html