Posted by SLS on May 4, 2004, at 20:23:54
In reply to Re: Effexor added..success stories please! » SLS, posted by Sad Panda on May 4, 2004, at 15:38:49
Hi Panda.
:-)
> > > I actually agree that AD's are only a band aid.
> > I can guarantee you that you would scream differently if you had to walk a minute in my shoes.
> > My mind works fine. My brain is broken.> I'm not disputing that your brain is or isn't broken, just saying that AD's are bandaids & that's just the nature of drugs, they are either a cure, like antibiotics, or a bandaid, like morphine. If you think that there is something physically wrong with your brain, then you will likely be taking AD's forever.
I'm not sure I understand you here. I have been diagnosed as having bipolar depression. Are you telling me that I don't have anything physically wrong with my brain; that I might end up taking antidepressants forever simply because I believe that I need them although I really don't?
I think we may have a discrepancy in semantics. I would be disappointed to learn otherwise.
Perhaps we use the term 'bandaid' differently. When I have heard people use it in a manner similar to yours, they implied that the treatment being described was merely a temporary patch to manage outward symptoms rather than a means to treat the underlying pathology. Anxiety is often a symptom of depression. In this case, a benzodiazepine might target only this one symptom while an antidepressant targets the pathology. Perhaps, here, the benzodiazepine can be looked at as being a bandaid.
At this point, I would conclude that what you experience as depression is a phenomenon very different from mine. It would be appropriate to use two different words to describe them. Alas, we seem to use only one. As you describe yourself, it appears to me that you are stating that YOUR depression involves a psychogenic pathway that is essential for its evolution and perpetuation. MY depression involves a defect in neurological function for which the only essential components are biological. I have no issues otherwise. Fix my brain, and let me dance freely through life and experience the many joys of self-actualization. That's all. :-)
Here’s an analogy that just occurred to me.
Someone has the following symptoms:
hypertension
tachycardia
anorexia
shortness of breath
alopeciaDo you treat each symptom as you would the pain of cancer with morphine? You could treat the hypertension with Cozaar, the tachycardia with Inderal, the anorexia with cannabis, the shortness of breath with albuterol, and the alopecia with Rogaine. Are these 'bandaids' or 'cures' or something else? You could, instead, treat the underlying illness with propylthiouracil (PTU). You see, this person suffers from idiopathic hyperthyroidism. PTU inhibits the secretion of thyroid hormone. After starting this one medication, all of the symptoms resolve. However, the hyperthyroid state and symptom cluster return if the PTU is withdrawn. Is PTU a 'bandaid' or a 'cure' or something else?
> I know what's wrong with me, but before taking AD's I only had a vague idea at best.
I am unclear as to where you think I fit in. You seem to be very sure of where you fit in, but I don't think you can speak for everyone and say that antidepressants are merely temporary bandaids that allow them time to address the "true" psychological sources of their depression. I don’t know where you fit in, of course, but I am sure of where I do. I suffer from a brain disorder currently diagnosed as being bipolar depression.
Out of curiosity, what would you classify lithium as being when it is used to treat bipolar disorder? The term ‘bandaid’ just doesn’t work for me.
Sorry to be a pain in the butt, but semantics are important to me.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:342881
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040429/msgs/343380.html