|
Log in
Donate To Depression Forums
Latest Forum Discussions
on: Sunday, 20 July 2008 10:20
on: Sunday, 20 July 2008 09:14
on: Sunday, 20 July 2008 08:38
on: Sunday, 20 July 2008 02:54
on: Saturday, 19 July 2008 20:16
Search
Member Testimonials
Thank You!! You will never know how much this forum has helped me over the past few weeks. I have gone from suicidal tendencies to being on top of the world. I've never felt better in my life!!!! And I'm not overstating that. If I had to choose between. ADs and DF, DF would win hands down.Thanks again! Jeff (-ISeeBluePeople)
HOPELINE 1-800-SUICIDE
Depression & Mental Health FAQs
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depressive illness during their lives. Seasonal affective disorder is major depression that appears in the fall or winter and goes away in spring, thought to be caused by lack of sunlight.
Postpartum depression occurs within four weeks of a women giving childbirth. Most new mothers suffer from some form of the �baby blues.� Postpartum depression, by contrast, is major depression, thought to be triggered by changes in hormonal flows associated with childbirth. Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression characterized by (at least two): Stupor, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. - mcmanweb.com
Psychotic depression is a rare form of depression characterized by delusions or hallucinations, such as believing you are someone you are not and hearing voices.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on
America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million
American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of
disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.
Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated
to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently
co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease,
cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status
and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides
in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11 th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is presently on track to becoming the world's second-most disabling disease (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Depression is responsible for some $87 billion a year in lost productivity in the US (a conservative estimate), and according to Bank One, is responsible for most lost work days in its employees after pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, one million people worldwide die by their own hand, most as a result of a mood disorder. Finally, the linkage between depression and a host of physical illnesses makes it arguably the world's greatest killer.
Research presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Canadian
Psychiatric Association shows a marked link between bipolar disorder
and migraines. The odds of migraine in persons with bipolar disorder were 40% higher than the general population. Data
obtained from 36,984 people aged 15 and over, who screened positive for
manic or depressive episodes with migraine, were compared against those
who screened positive for mania but who didn�t suffer from migraines. Amongst
males, 14.9% of those with manic episodes were also diagnosed with
migraines compared with 5.8% of the general population. Amongst
females, 34.7% had both migraines and bipolar disorder compared with
14.7% who only had migraines.unquote.gif While the research was
skewed towards persons who were already diagnosed with bipolar
disorders, what does it mean for people who suffer from migraines but
who may have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder?
Migraines and headaches aren�t fully understood but the manifestations are very real and debilitating for their sufferers: Throbbing pain Nausea Heightened sensitivity to light or sound Seeing dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, or blind spots Difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement
An estimated 2.1 million
American adolescents have experienced major depression within the last
year, according to a new comprehensive government study. Researchers
surveyed more than 67,000 young people ages 12 to 17 and found that one
in 12 had suffered from serious depression in the previous year.Nearly
13 percent of girls had struggled with depression, compared to less
than 5 percent of boys. Odds of depression increased with age -- just 4
percent of 12-year-olds experienced depression but that climbed to 11
percent for older teens.
Our DF Members
|
When one antidepressant doesn't work, another may
|
When one antidepressant doesn't work, another may
Wed Apr 23, 2008 3:13pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people suffering from depression
that doesn't respond to treatment with one type of antidepressant,
switching to a different type may be the best treatment, according to a
new report.
Relatively new antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, for
example, are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs.
In recent clinical trials, only about a third of depressed patients
achieved remission with SSRI treatment, the authors explain, but there
is little consensus among psychiatrists about the best treatment for
patients when an SSRI doesn't work. 
To look into this, Dr. George I. Papakostas from Harvard Medical
School, Boston, and his associates conducted an analysis of four
clinical trials that compared a switch to a second SSRI versus a
non-SSRI antidepressant for SSRI-resistant major depression.
The pooled data included 1496 patients who had not responded to
treatment with one SSRI and were subsequently randomly assigned to
treatment with another SSRI or a non-SSRI antidepressant.
Patients randomized to switch to a non-SSRI antidepressant were
slightly more likely to experience remission than patients who were
switched to a second SSRI, the researchers report in the medical
journal Biological Psychiatry.
However, the non-SSRI antidepressants were somewhat less well tolerated than the SSRIs.
The results indicate that current treatments for depression are
still less than ideal. "There continues to be a pressing need to
introduce new antidepressant medications," comments Dr. John Krystal,
the journal's editor.
SOURCE: Biological Psychiatry, April 1, 2008.
© Thomson Reuters 2008. __________________________________ Note from Forum Admin:
Not everyone with depression will respond to a particular
antidepressant medication, but there's a good chance that a second or
third choice will be effective, researchers have found.
Dr.
Frederic M. Quitkin and colleagues from Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New
York, examined remission rates when patients who did not get better on
one drug were switched to another, and then to a third if necessary.
The
study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, involved 171
patients treated with second-generation antidepressants and 420
patients treated with first-generation antidepressants.
Among
the group treated with a second-generation antidepressant, 93 percent
of those who stayed in the trial eventually achieved remission of their
depression.
Among patients treated with a first-generation antidepressant, the remission rate was 96 percent.
"Our
data suggest that correctly diagnosed depressed patients who receive 3
adequate trials of antidepressant medication have an approximately 90
percent chance of achieving a state of remission," the authors conclude.
However, the team notes that altogether 111 participants dropped out of the studies.
"We
could find no systematic analysis of why patients leave treatment," the
investigators say. "A major challenge is motivating depressed patients
to continue treatment."
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, June 2005.
|
|
 |
|
 |
Comments 
|
This Month In Pictures
Members Online
Medical News
Andertoon
A Potpourri of Mental Health Articles
Mental Health Parity News
Suicide Prevention Llifeline
Amazon Books
Our Soldiers & Veterans
edclogo
Depression & Mental Health FAQs 2
What is Clinical Depression? Clinical
depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavior. It can
change your eating habits, how you feel and think about things, your
ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical
depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness or a
condition that can be willed away. Clinically depressed people cannot
"pull themselves together" and get better. Depression can be
successfully treated by a mental health professional or certain health
care providers. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek
help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few
weeks.
Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health World Health Organization Finds Depression Often Goes Untreated By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept.
6, 2007 -- Depression has a greater impact on overall health than
arthritis, diabetes, angina, and asthma, but it all too often goes
unrecognized and untreated, a report from the World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests. more... Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health
For Additional Information About Depression Write To: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
For free brochures on depression and its treatment call: 1-800-421-4211. or visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
Link To Us
Please use the image below and the code provided to link back to us
|