Posted by blueberry on March 27, 2006, at 18:44:20
In reply to Waiting..., posted by SLS on March 25, 2006, at 20:37:41
Scott,
A new governmental study has just been completed. It was 6 years long by the National Institute of Mental Health. In it they found that the best results for achieving total remission, not just partial improvement, were by pursuing full 12 week trials. Not the usual 4 to 8 week trials. Some patients had been depressed for 14 years.
They started with an ssri. If after 12 weeks there was not remission, then patients either switched to wellbutrin, or had wellbutrin or buspirone added to their ssri, for another 12 weeks. Total remission rates were about 47% at this point.
There are two more legs to the study that haven't been published yet. They are for further medication changes of the patients who were still not in remission.
The moral of the story of this 6 year study though is that the best results come from 12 week trials before changing course. But of course, I'm sure they didn't have a ton of patients as difficult to treat as you or me. :-)
poster:blueberry
thread:624635
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060322/msgs/625261.html