Posted by ed_uk on December 19, 2004, at 13:38:05
In reply to Re: antidepressant afterglow, posted by Le Grande Fromage on December 19, 2004, at 12:34:01
>It seems strangely anomylous that antidepressants are prescribed in standard doses, when each person has a unique physiology and will have an optimum response to a different dose.
>It's almost as if mere convenience of distribution has overcome the patients' best interest.You are so right. SSRIs were advertised as being easier to use than TCAs because treatment could be initiated with the 'standard dose' eg. 20mg, however unsuitable this dose may be for an individual patient.
>Their popularity is more a result of marketing and perception than neuroscience.
Among the general public in the UK (where prescription drugs cannot be advertised to the public) a lot of people seem to think that Prozac was the first antidepressant.
>If you spend months on an SSRI which doesn't work, your doc is less responsible because he's just current medical practice. If he prescribes you a MAOI and you suffer a hypertensive crisis, suddenly he's implicated.
Avoiding legal action has become a major factor when making prescribing decisions.
Ed.
poster:ed_uk
thread:429199
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041217/msgs/431681.html