Posted by Peter S. on May 5, 2000, at 1:46:54
In reply to Re: Shorter Trials with ADs, posted by DC on May 4, 2000, at 15:33:22
> I agree with Peter. I took Nardil for three years and it was very effective, but it didn't start to work until about 6wks, and I didn't get maximum improvement until maybe three months later. (At first I didn't notice much of anything). IT DEPENDS ON WHAT MEDICINE YOU ARE TAKING! Be careful about the advice you are giving here. --Dwight
I would just like to add that I truly understand the frustration that people feel about spending months and sometimes years trying to identify the appropriate anti-depressant and in the meantime dealing with incredible feelings of desperation and hopelessness. I myself have spent the last four years in a desperate quest for the right med and failed many trials of practically all the meds on the market.
It would have been wonderful to have some way to identify the right drug within a week or so by some simple comparison test. Looking back on it it is very difficult to say whether I could tell within a week what felt like the "right" medication. I know the side effects for some of the meds were really nasty; but the traditional advice is to "start low and go slow" and sometimes the side effects would ease after time. I would stop a drug because of the side effects or because it had no clinical effect or even would make me feel worse. The side effects of Nardil were bearable and that is the only reason I stuck with it this long.
If Dr. Jensen has success with his technique, more power to him, however my main objections would be:
a) It seems that there is a huge amount of individual variation in response to meds, including time of onset. If you respond immediately to a med then great, but how do you know you are not one of those who respond after 3 weeks?b)From everything I've read noone really knows how or why these drugs work, or especially why there is a lag time between first taking the drug and it's therapeutic effect. From what I gather, all the theories about down regulation of receptors is purely speculative. It is possible that the good Doctor Jensen knows something that nobody else does, but where and how did he come up with this information?
Anyway JohnL: if it works for you that's great and I appreciate your sharing your experience with us. However, I believe that people need to be aware that Dr. Jensen's ideas are very controversial and that they do not agree with most current, accepted psychiatric knowledge.
Peter S
poster:Peter S.
thread:31785
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000429/msgs/32363.html