Posted by SLS on June 13, 2010, at 10:24:59
In reply to Re: Do AD's Help Prevent Future Depression?, posted by linkadge on June 13, 2010, at 7:49:11
> Unfortunately, there is no current way to really tell. Sure doctors will have you believe that the meds are what is keeping a patient well, but...
>
> The only way you could tell is by doing a placebo crossover where some patients come off the active drug. The only problem here is that the ones who come off might know on account of discontinuation effects.I understand what you are saying. I don't know if any such prospective investigations have been conducted over the course of multiple years. I don't recall coming across any. There are a few that demonstrate the superiority of continuation treatment over shorter periods.
Life-charting can be helpful to establish the pattern of one's illness and determine changes in its course in association with treatment. The NIMH publishes case histories to demonstrate this. Still, this is not a placebo controlled blinded trial. I guess it is really a large collection of anecdotes, but I believe it has clinical value.
- ScottThe measure of achievement lies not in how high the mountain,
but in how hard the climb.The measure of success lies only in how high one feels he must
climb to get there.
poster:SLS
thread:950522
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100604/msgs/950886.html