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Re: if a med worked the first 5 days then not so much?

Posted by bleauberry on December 22, 2008, at 16:55:04

In reply to if a med worked the first 5 days then not so much?, posted by Roslynn on December 21, 2008, at 19:39:51

It depends on what the drug is. Fast acting ones, such as the benzos or stimulants, can work in hours to a few days. Antidepressants take weeks to see improvement, if it is to happen, and then months to see even more improvements gradually take hold.

I cannot cite the exact studies because I didn't bookmark them, but at pubmed I saw at least 3 different studies that looked at this very topic. In general what they found was that when people had some sort of rapid response, whether it quickly faded or not, was highly indicative of a later response and remission. The lack of a rapid response was highly indicative of a poor response later and a poor prognosis for remission.

These studies pointed out that they did not guarantee a rapid response equals good later response, or that lack of rapid response equals poor later response, but rather the odds of one or the other are magnified greatly depending on the initial response, usually seen within the first week.

If you are handling the side effects ok, the best thing to do is to mark a date on your calendar about 2 months from now and just go about life as best you can until then. That date is your time to reflect and see where you are. Until then, just take the daily dose like a vitamin and go through your day. Do not expect changes to happen in ways you can notice day to day. They will probably creep up on you slowly to where you can see them really well looking backwards, but not so much while they are happening.

At least you know that statistically the odds are in your favor.


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Psycho-Babble Medication | Framed

poster:bleauberry thread:870165
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081214/msgs/870309.html