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Jul 23 2007, 12:55 PMEither way, I have read a lot of your posts and I think what you do (and have to say) is great. Thanks so much.DaveProps given to Bean, from Blue1991! (- Blue1991)
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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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Grapefruit and meds: A cocktail to avoid
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Many patients may take their medications with a glass of juice. However, since the accidental discovery of an interaction between the calcium channel blocker, felodipine, with grapefruit juice,1 it has now become evident that grapefruit juice has the potential to alter the plasma concentrations of many medications when they are taken by mouth. In some cases, this may result in undesirable clinical effects of medications.
Administration of grapefruit juice in humans results in a decrease in the level of CYP3A in the intestine,2 an important site for metabolism for many medications. This mechanism would account for the increase in levels of medications that are metabolized by CYP3A when concomitantly administered with grapefruit juice.
A list of medications that have been shown, in clinical studies, to have an interaction with grapefruit juice can be found in the table below. All of the medications, except for theophylline and itraconazole, are known to be substrates of CYP3A. When given with grapefruit juice in pharmacokinetic studies their availability increases. In most cases, the clinical consequence of the pharmacokinetic interaction has not been evaluated. However, for midazolam and triazolam, as well as for buspirone, impairment of CNS function was observed, and for the calcium channel blocker felodipine greater blood pressure lowering has been observed. In contrast to the increased levels of the other medications, the grapefruit juice interaction observed with theophylline and itraconazole was reduced plasma concentrations. The mechanism for this effect has not been determined.
Although the clinical consequence of the grapefruit juice interaction with most of the listed drugs has not been evaluated, increased plasma concentrations of many of these drugs could result in adverse outcomes. Examples include excessive lowering of blood pressure with the calcium channel blockers, rhabdomyolysis and the potential for renal impairment with the HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, and adverse pulmonary effects of amiodarone. Inconsistent use of grapefruit juice or variability in its effect on drug metabolism could result in variable and difficult to control plasma concentrations of other medications, where maintaining a certain plasma concentration may be especially important, such as for cyclosporine or for HIV protease inhibitors like saquinavir.
In light of the potential for serious adverse outcomes, patients taking medications with a potential for interaction with grapefruit juice should be advised to avoid drinking grapefruit juice. Possible interactions with whole grapefruit have not been evaluated but it would be assumed to have similar effects.
Drug Class (Therapeutic Uses) Medication Brand Names Antidepressant (depression) Sertraline Zoloft® Antihypertensive (high blood pressure) Felodipine Plendil® Nisoldipine Sular® Pranidipine Not available in the United States Antilipemic (lowers cholesterol) Atorvastatin Lipitorâ„¢ Lovastatin Mevacor® Simvastatin Zocor® Antimalarial (malaria infection) Artemether Paluther® Antiretroviral (HIV infection) Saquinavir Fortovaseâ„¢, Inviraseâ„¢ Anxiolytic (anxiety); Sedative (sleep) Diazepam Valium® Midazolam Versed® Triazolam Halcion® Buspirone BuSpar® Bronchodilator (asthma, bronchospam) Theophylline Theo-Dur®, Slo-bidâ„¢, others GI stimulant (stimulates GI motility) Cisapride Propulsid® Estrogen (birth control, hormone replacement therapy) Ethinyl estradiol Ortho-Novum, Loestrin®, femhrt®, others Immune suppressant (prevents organ rejection) Cyclosporine Neoral®, Sandimmune®, SangCyaâ„¢ Antifungal (fungal infection) Itraconazole Sporanox® Antiarryhthmic (heart rhythm) Amiodarone Cordarone®, Pacerone®
Note: Medication names are hyperlinked to references in pubmed
1. Bailey DG, Spence JD, Munoz C, Arnold JMO. Interaction of citrus juices with felodipine and nifedipine. Lancet 1991; 337:268-9.
2. Lown KS, Bailey DG, Fontana RJ, et al. Grapefruit juice increases felodipine oral availability in humans by decreasing intestinal CYP3A protein expression.
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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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