Posted by JohnL on February 16, 2001, at 4:32:48
In reply to WHY ARE PEOPLE RECOMMENDING ZYPREXA?, posted by zarathustra on February 14, 2001, at 16:01:27
> I have noticed from the responses to my posting that most think I should try Zyprexa.
> I was under the impression that I suffer from depression: Why would I consider a mood stabiliser or anti-psychotic?
>
> Does my posting suggest symptoms of these?
>
> Also, what exactly is anhedonia and anergy(anergic)
>
> Andrew.Hi Andrew,
You ask a good question. Why try antipsychotics or mood stabilizers for depression? Here's my thinking on that.Depression is often linked to a brain chemical imbalance, of which there are at least 10 general categories of different types of chemical imbalances. Antidepressants only address 3 of those 10 chemical imbalances. For example, if a doctor only uses antidepressants to treat depression patients, that doctor is assuming that all depressions are caused by low serotonin and/or norepinephrine. That just isn't so. The brain is way more complicated than that. There are many chemistries involved in depression, many of which have absolutely nothing at all to do with serotonin. And thus the disappointing results with antidepressants sometimes.
I do not look at drugs as antidepressants, antipsychotics, or whatever. Instead, I look at them as different types of brain chemical manipulators. Each different category of drugs targets different chemistries. For example, I look at SSRI antidepressants as serotonin enhancers. Tricyclics are serotonin and norepinephrine enhancers. Depakote is a chemical stabilizer. Lithium is an electrical stabilizer. Antipsychotics are dopamine manipulators (among other things). And such. This is an overly broad and overly simple way to look at it, but it does however allow one to categorize different causes of depression and match a particular medication to that cause.
Setting my views and opinions aside for a moment, it is worth mentioning that clinical studies are rich in evidence supporting the use of antipsychotics and mood stabilizers for treating depression. This is especially true when antidepressants alone have not provided desired results. It's simply a matter of targeting the real underlying root chemical cause of the depression. Antidepressants only target 1/3 of the possible causes.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:53933
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010212/msgs/54132.html