Depression
Birth Control Hormones Linked to Depression
For fifty years doctors have been wondering whether hormonal contraception could affect mood. A new study from Denmark suggests that the answer is yes. The researchers reviewed all the records for one…
Can Psychological Depression Be Triggered By Inf…
Health professionals have long known that depression can be brought on by challenging life events such as the loss of a loved one, marital difficulties or job loss. Genes can play a role and neuroc…
Can Ketamine Jump Start Antidepressant Action?
When people are severely depressed they need immediate help. Sadly, most antidepressant medications take weeks to start working. That's why this reader's question is so very interesting. Q. You've wri…
Why Did Generic Remeron (Mirtazapine) Disappoint…
People who are seriously depressed depend upon their medication to get through challenging times. Without a reliable medication they can fall back into a dark depression. This reader shares the frustr…
Have You Had Problems with Generic Cymbalta (Dul…
Brand name drugs like Cymbalta have become unaffordable for many patients. That's why most people are dispensed generic Cymbalta (duloxetine). We have received complaints that some generic formulation…
Abilify Side effects: How Dangerous Are Antipsyc…
Mental illness has always represented a challenge to the medical community. TV commercials to the contrary, there is no silver bullet to cure anxiety, bipolar disease, major depression or schizophreni…
Will A Free Lunch Influence Your Doctor’s …
Ask most physicians whether a free lunch from a drug company would affect their prescribing patterns and the chances are pretty good that they would say no. Some would be highly insulted by the very i…
How to Fight Depression with a Simple Supplement
Depression is common, possibly the most common mental illness. According to the CDC, this potentially crippling condition affects almost 8 percent of Americans over 12 years of age (CDC, MMWR, Jan. 6,…
Pregnant Women Should Be Screened for Depression
The United States Preventive Services Task Force issues recommendations for screening for a variety of diseases and conditions based on the evidence from studies. Usually these public health messages …
Teens on Antidepressants Are More Prone to Aggre…
Questions have been raised in the past about the balance of benefits and risks of antidepressants for youngsters. In fact, a Swedish study published in 2015 showed that people between 15 and 24 were m…
Billion Dollar Drugs Are Dramatically Disappoint…
How effective is your medicine? This seemingly simple question is surprisingly complex. In many cases a pill's benefits are barely detectable. Before a drug can be approved by the Food and Drug Admini…
Antidepressants Linked to Violence: Rape, Robber…
Q. I am 30 years old and have been taking fluoxetine. I was prescribed this last year because I attempted to take my own life. I have noticed that my behavior, though no longer suicidal, is increasing…
Is Paxil (Paroxetine) Unsafe for Teens?
New research suggests that antidepressant medications may pose a serious problem for adolescents. A study from Sweden reveals a relationship between such drugs and violent crimes. More troublesome, a …
High Glycemic Index Diets Trigger Depression
What we eat has important effects on our physiology. Should you follow a low-carb or a low-fat diet? The controversy is ongoing. While many nutrition experts maintain firmly that all calories are equa…
Real World Results Differ from Drug Studies
People who are recruited to participate in studies of antidepressant medications may not represent typical depressed patients. According to a new study, subjects in clinical trials of antidepressants …
Mindfulness-Based Therapy Can Help Against Depre…
People with recurrent depression may benefit from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, according to a new study. The study took place in England and included 424 people with recurrent major depression…
Roseroot May Offer Relief for Depression
Roseroot, also known as Rhodiola rosea, has shown promise in a small study (57 subjects) of depressed individuals. Effectiveness They were randomly assigned to take either the herb, the antidepressant…
Laughing Gas May Lead to New Depression Treatmen…
Research on the anesthetic ketamine has shown that it can sometimes produce a quick but not long-lasting remission from otherwise intractable depression. Scientists at Washington University in St. Lou…
Finding Affordable Treatment for Depression Is a…
Q. I cannot tolerate oral antidepressant medications because of unacceptable side effects. My doctor has prescribed EMSAM, a skin patch, but it is very expensive. Does this medicine work for depressio…
Do Doctors, Nurses & Pharmacists Need Educa…
Modern medicine has shunned its past. There was a time when medical students, nursing students and pharmacy students were taught about herbal medicines. That's because many of the drugs they prescribe…
Stopping Cymbalta Suddenly Triggered Emotional R…
Q. Due to a change in my insurance, I wasn't able to refill my prescription for the depression drug Cymbalta. Saturday was my last dose and by Monday I felt like I was losing my mind. Today was the wo…
Club Drug (Ketamine) Produces Exciting Benefits …
Doctors are wrestling with the ethical and legal challenges of prescribing ketamine for severely depressed or suicidal patients. The drug may help some people, but doctors worry about the possibility …
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Helps …
Insomnia and depression often go hand in hand. Researchers have wondered whether it's a chicken or egg phenomenon. In other words, does depression trigger insomnia or do sleeping problems contribute t…
Regular Exercise Helps Prevent the Onset of Psyc…
There is ample evidence that exercise can be beneficial in treating mild to moderate depression. A new analysis of 30 long-term prospective trials of physical activity and depression found that in the…
Easing Depression without Drugs
Q. After taking various antidepressants for many years, I tried to stop. The first time I decreased the levels of medication over five weeks. I experienced many incapacitating withdrawal symptoms and …
Abilify Side Effects Can Be Scary!
Abilify (aripiprazole) has been one of the most successful drugs in the pharmacy. At one time, this medication had sales of over $5,000,000,000 annually. That turned it into one of the best selling dr…
Old Drug Has New Tricks Against Depression
When someone is severely depressed, immediate action is essential. That's because without help or hope, a suicidal person may do himself irreversible harm. The trouble is that most antidepressant trea…
Quick Relief from Depression
An old drug is stimulating a great deal of excitement within the psychiatric community. Ketamine was introduced in the 1970s as an anesthetic. Although it was effective, it had certain drawbacks. The …
Antidepressant Withdrawal Feels Like Circles of …
Doctors have been prescribing tranquilizers and anti-anxiety agents for centuries. Antidepressants are more recent. They weren't discovered until the 1950s. When a doctor prescribes anxiolytics or ant…
Will Fish Oil Fight Postpartum Depression?
Psychiatrists in Canada have found that low levels of omega 3 fats are linked to a higher risk for postpartum depression. Levels of this critical nutrient drop in the mother during pregnancy while fet…
Exercise to Combat Depression
Depression complicates many chronic diseases, making them more difficult to manage and resulting in worse outcomes. But being sick can also make people depressed. A new study from Duke University Medi…
Telephone Therapy Good Against Depression
Psychotherapy can be an effective strategy for combating depression, but many people don't have access to a therapist. A new study suggests that telephone counseling can be just as effective as face-t…
Is Ketamine a Solution for Severe Depression?
Q. I participated in two clinical trials of ketamine for depression. The infusion was not pleasant, but a few hours later my depression was mysteriously lifted. It was as though someone carefully clea…
Exercise to Fight Depression
Chronic illness such as diabetes or heart disease often goes hand-in-hand with depression. What's more, depression makes the outcomes of such chronic conditions worse. Now a new analysis shows that ex…
Can St. John’s Wort Beat the Blues?
Q. This time of year, when the weather is bad and there isn't much sunlight, I get really down in the dumps. I have found that St. John's wort can help me out of my funk and it doesn't ruin my sex lif…
Dealing with Post-Holiday Depression
The holiday parties are over and far-flung family members have returned to their own homes. The presents have been put away and thank-you notes written. Reality is about to set in. Many of us have gai…
Questions about Antidepressant Effectiveness
Antidepressant medications have been controversial for decades. When first introduced, drugs like Prozac were heralded as a major breakthrough in the treatment of depression. More recently, though, ca…
As Moods Sour, Med Use Soars
Americans take an amazing number of medications in an attempt to ease their anxiety or relieve their depression. According to our calculations, more than 280 million prescriptions are dispensed annual…
Coffee Drinkers Less Depressed
Women who drink a lot of coffee are slightly less susceptible to depression. That's the conclusion from the Nurses' Health Study, which included more than 50,000 women for longer than two decades. The…
Novel Way to Treat Depression
Major depression can be very hard to treat. Antidepressant medication can take several weeks to kick in, and not everyone responds favorably to current drugs. An anesthetic called ketamine that has be…