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on: Thursday, 28 August 2008 07:00
on: Thursday, 28 August 2008 04:12
on: Thursday, 28 August 2008 02:14
on: Thursday, 28 August 2008 01:52
on: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 23:57
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QUOTE (TFTexas @ Aug 8 2008, 03:10 AM) *
Hello...found these forums, and decided to take a leap of faith here. I have been in a battle with anxiety/depression for 11 years and am totally baffled and confused. The M.D.'s don't seem to "really" know whats going on, many don't seem to care...just toss prescription's at me and boot me out the door. Those around me, don't seem to understand what it is like to experience what it all feels like and it is great to find a place like this to interact with people who DO understand what it's really like.
Thank-you
(TFTexas)
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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.
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Surviving Your Antidepressants
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Surviving Your Antidepressants
The major advantage an SSRI has over its tricyclic counterpart is a much shorter rap sheet related to side effects, thus ensuring far greater compliance and eventual recovery, right?
Wrong. A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry has found that there are "no significant differences" in compliance between the SSRI Prozac and the TCA doxepin (Sinequan), this despite "marked differences in side effect profile."
But wait. How "markedly different" are these "marked differences," anyway? I recall the first time I dropped an antidepressant into my brain, and all I can think of is that movie Das Boot and the entombed U-boat crew riding out a depth-charge attack. Eventually, my psyche righted and stabilized, if you don't count the 30 pounds of ballast I took on and some minor malfunctioning in the bow torpedoes.
Needless to say, these unpleasantries tend to get swept under the carpet. A Brigham and Women's Hospital study recently uncovered major discrepancies between the number of drug complications their patients reported to doctors and the figures that eventually appeared on the medical charts. According to Tejal Gandhi MD, who led the study: "Physicians often take these types of reactions for granted in the course of medical therapy. However, it is important to realize that these events are not minor to patients ...''
One doctor has finally come clean on the issue. In the Feb 29, 2000 Washington Post, Robert Hedaya MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University, has written: "Sadly, some doctors do not appreciate, or may even dismiss, their patients' complaints about side effects ... This all-too-common response by physicians not only lacks compassion, it's also bad medicine. By dismissing antidepressants' side effects as something patients must learn to live with, doctors are forfeiting their patients' chances for full recovery."
Dr Hedaya found himself treating his patients for depression, only to discover their progress sabotaged by a whole new set of problems:
"They gained weight - sometimes so much that they resigned themselves to the sidelines of social life. Their sex drives deserted them - love relationships and marriages foundered amid sexual apathy and dysfunction. Most critically, they lacked the energy to keep up with their jobs and fully engage the everyday challenges of life. Over and over again, patients told me that although their depression was controlled, they could not fully enjoy life."
Dr Hedaya believes that we should not have to resign ourselves to half a life simply because of our medication. Now here's the catch - his prescription amounts to dietetic boot camp. It's all laid out in "The Antidepressant Survival Program: How to Beat the Side Effects and Enhance the Benefits of Your Medication (Crown Publishers)."
First, toss out that bagel and coffee in the morning, then bid a tender farewell to that Cherry Garcia ice cream. Now say hello to more protein, folates, unrefined foods, and omega-3 fats. Each meal of the day is based on roughly one third protein to two thirds carbohydrates (with fruit and vegetables counting as carbohydrates). A typical dinner might be four ounces of chicken or fish with brown rice and vegetables topped off by fruit and cheese. Breakfast might be based around an egg, and lunch tuna fish.
Call it homage to the pancreas, if you like, which is typically thrown out of whack by sugars and carbohydrates.
Sugar tends to give the body a quick energy rush followed by an inevitable crash, leaving one sluggish and at the mercy of an unrelenting series of compelling sugar cravings. The pancreas is so confused at this stage that it indiscriminately pumps insulin into the system, which brings on a vicious cycle of eating and overeating, with the pounds piling on and the energy dropping off.
Carbohydrates should be seen as slow-acting sugars. That bagel in the morning is going to be converted into sugar, which doesn't bode well for the rest of your day. Carbohydrate cravings can be as destructive as sugar cravings. True, there is real food value in many carbohydrates, but people taking antidepressants need to be on guard.
Protein, because it digests slowly, has a way of smoothing the system's highs and lows, and eventually reduces the destructive cravings that leave one feeling fat and sluggish. The ironclad rule here is to have protein with every carbohydrate. Thus, if you are reaching for an English muffin (whole wheat, of course) you should be topping it with tuna or peanut butter or cheese.
Alcohol and tobacco, needless to say, are taboo, and so is caffeine, which triggers the release of adrenaline and signals the liver to release sugar into the bloodstream. Caffeine also stays in the system for two days, which can disrupt sleep.
Tied into the diet is a common sense exercise regime.
Those who try the program may feel headachy and drowsy for the first two or three days, but Dr Hedaya claims an 80 percent success rate for those who stick with it, and that after four or five days, the dreaded sugar and carbohydrate cravings begin dropping off and energy starts returning.
If the program sounds excessively rigid and Spartan, it pays to bear in mind that we are not just fighting our depressions, we are also fighting our antidepressants. Robert Hedaya, it seems, is the first doctor to recognize this critical fact.
SOURCE:- McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web
SOURCE:- McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web
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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
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