Americans prefer drugs for depression: survey

[Islander]

Tue Jun 1, 2010

(Reuters) - Americans prefer drugs to talk therapy for depression, with nearly 80 percent taking a pill for the condition, Consumer Reports said on Tuesday.

The most popular class of drugs remain the so-called SSRIs such as Prozac, the group found. People found newer, pricier antidepressants less desirable because of side-effects.
Patients benefited just as much from therapy -- almost any kind of therapy, the consumer group found in its survey of 1,500 readers.
Those surveyed said they improved just as much after seven or more sessions of talk therapy as if they took drugs and it did not matter if the therapist was a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker.
Nearly 80 percent of people who had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety were prescribed antidepressants.
Patients were happiest with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, a class that includes Eli Lilly and Co's Prozac or its generic equivalent fluoxetine;, Pfizer Inc's Zoloft or sertraline, and Celexa or citalopram and Lexapro or escitalopram from Forest Laboratories Inc.

People complained of more side-effects from serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or SNRIs, a newer, often more expensive class of antidepressants, the survey found.
These include venlafaxine, made by Pfizer-owned Wyeth under the Effexor brand name and Lilly's duloxetine, sold as Cymbalta.
The survey found a range of side-effects, but the most common one -- loss of sexual interest or ability -- was less common than in past surveys, the consumer group said.

http://tinyurl.com/33h5xxs

[Reesacat]

This is so true-and the docs push the pills like candy in this area.
Good friend had lost her sister the week before she had routine doctor's visit. Doc asked how she was, and she told him had been rough week-her sister just died and they just got through funeral. She started to tear up and got offered Prozac. Startled, she asked "Aren't people allowed to grieve anymore?!"
And this was a good doc which makes it even more scary.

[Islander]

Exactly. Grief is normal, ferGodssake. You have a smart friend. If the drug pushers had their way, we'd all be on Soma, mesmerized by our giant TV screens.

I have a long-time friend who's a LCSW and a very good one. She was once a bit heavy but is now almost too thin, and has been for years. She keeps promoting her lowfat diet habits to me and offers frequent "hints" that this is the answer to weight loss. But last weekend she let it slip that I could use a low dose of Prozac, that it had kept her balanced and has been an effective appetite suppressant.

Since I've gone gluten-free I've been losing a pound a week, 8 lbs. to date. If I were to root out ALL the hidden gluten, I might lose more. No thank you on the Prozac.

[Katee]

. . . But last weekend she let it slip that I could use a low dose of Prozac, that it had kept her balanced and has been an effective appetite suppressant.

I tend to be somewhat anorexic, anyway. When i'm stressed i have no appetite. The only way i ever lost weight was to be anorexic, or be anorexic with the help of Prozac & Fastin (phentermine) to create my own form of Phen-fen. That has really messed with my metabolism & now losing weight is nearly impossible. Besides the fact that Prozac is fluoride-based & (in my opinion) a large part of majorly screwing with my health.

Yeah, the poisons helped me to lose weight & made it fairly easy. Sometimes i miss that. But the result was a lifetime of poor health & inability to lose weight. The Fastin was probably a large part of killing my adrenals, too because its action is:


Phentermine, in doses clinically used, works on the hypothalamus portion of the brain to release norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger that signals a fight-or-flight response, reducing hunger. Phentermine works outside the brain as well to release epinephrine or adrenaline causing fat cells to break down stored fat, but the principal basis of efficacy is hunger-reduction. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phentermine)

Not good for anyone. But we've become a society of quick fixes, "give me a pill," & most are not willing to look at the underlying causes of depression. Sometimes which, are NOT psychological. I had psychological issues with which i have handled in therapy. But the depression cleared up on its own when i began eating healthy.

[Katee]

Since I've gone gluten-free I've been losing a pound a week, 8 lbs. to date. If I were to root out ALL the hidden gluten, I might lose more. No thank you on the Prozac.

BTW, congratulations, good job, keep up the good work! :)

That is really something to celebrate! Have a celery stick.

(I was being self-absorbed when i wrote before.)

[Maurya]

My skeptical little brain immediately began to wonder if the patients who "prefer" the drugs are at least partially responding to the reality that drugs much more frequently are wholly or partially covered by one's medical insurance, whereas the "talk therapy" involves less coverage, higher co-payments, and other forms of financial stress. Stress of any sort could hardly be expected positively to enhance any treatment for depression. One wonders whether these very real economic circumstances were factored in (or factored out) with this study.

[Reesacat]

Good point Maurya! Another factor would be fear-it is hard to go to someone and open up (especially for men) and much easier to get pill and take in private.
I have had counseling several times to deal with now deceased mentally ill in-laws and it was one of the best things I have ever done. But the first appointment was scary-and I am a strong woman. Someone in fragile state may need more support for talk therapy.

[Reesacat]

Exactly. Grief is normal, ferGodssake. You have a smart friend. If the drug pushers had their way, we'd all be on Soma, mesmerized by our giant TV screens.

I have a long-time friend who's a LCSW and a very good one. She was once a bit heavy but is now almost too thin, and has been for years. She keeps promoting her lowfat diet habits to me and offers frequent "hints" that this is the answer to weight loss. But last weekend she let it slip that I could use a low dose of Prozac, that it had kept her balanced and has been an effective appetite suppressant.

Since I've gone gluten-free I've been losing a pound a week, 8 lbs. to date. If I were to root out ALL the hidden gluten, I might lose more. No thank you on the Prozac.
Way to go, Islander! When did you see a weight loss-after few weeks on gluten-free diet?

[Islander]

Way to go, Islander! When did you see a weight loss-after few weeks on gluten-free diet?

Almost immediately, but slower than I hoped. I keep discovering the "why" in hidden gluten. Instant coffee (just one cup a day, but still)...soy sauce (who knew?)...and sashimi. I love that mock crabmeat and turn it into seafood salad. It's loose in the seafood section, but there is also some frozen in packaged, so I picked one up today and read the ingredients. Sure enough: wheat! I asked the fish counter girl for the ingredients on the sashimi and once again, wheat. Dang!

I also had not been to the gym in the last month...got back from the wedding and immediately started Census work. Today was my first day back so perhaps that will speed up the weight loss. This is delightful...not even trying & still losing weight — doesn't get any better than that!

Maybe I'll write a book (how often has she said that?)

[Maurya]

This is a very small point, but soy sauce can be obtained (with some difficulty) if one looks for "Tamari soy sauce" rather than the usual "Shoyu style". Actual tamari originally was a byproduct of miso making; however now it is marketed under the tamari name, to indicate to the consumer that no wheat was used in the production. More expensive than regular soy sauce (natch!)

As to the sashimi, it depends entirely upon what is in it. The fake crabmeat you described is so delicious precisely because of all the fake, and awful ingredients. It is a processed food, after all. Sushi possibly includes almost any ingredient. Sashimi in its natural raw state is nothing except the raw fish itself, but of course everything has to be examined for gluten on a case by case basis. Tedious, isn't it?!

[Islander]

Maurya, it IS Tamari soy sauce, but it still contains wheat. I expect to go to Bangor in a few days, where there is a bigger natural foods store that has the wheat-free kind.

Sometimes I think I need to bring my reading glasses to the supermarket!

[Maurya]

Upon consulting with the contents of the fridge, I have found that currently I am using San-J brand wheat free soy sauce (no financial interest, honest). I seem to remember that Eden Foods also produces a wheat free tamari soy sauce, but would have to get out the magnifying glass in the store sometime to verify that factoid.

[Islander]

I remember San-J being mentioned on a gluten=free site.