Posted by Tomatheus on July 27, 2012, at 22:26:12
In reply to Time For New PDoc?, posted by Meatwood_Flack on July 27, 2012, at 20:51:36
Meatwood_Flack,
If I were in your position, I think that I would be seeking a second opinion on your treatment right about now. If my psychiatrist or pnurse were to refer to trazodone as a tricyclic antidepressant, I too would be leery, and it would lead me to question whether or not my treatment provider is knowledgeable enough about psychopharmacology to make sound treatment decisions. I would also feel put off if my psychiatrist or pnurse were to say that my depressive symptoms probably aren't biological just because they haven't been responsive to prescribed medications. I do think that the extent to which depression is likely to be biological probably varies from one depressed individual to the next and that psychological and social factors oftentimes play a key role in the development of depressive disorders, but even if some of the medications used to treat depression do correct "chemical imbalances" in some individuals, I think it's hardly the case that the medications correct every biochemical abnormality that can contribute to depression. Sure, there are some things that are known about the biology of depression -- and what is known seems to indicate that there are other things going on in the brains and bodies of depressed individuals besides "imbalances" of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine -- but with there being so much that isn't known about the biology of depression, it amazes me that someone can suggest that one's depression probably isn't biological simply because it doesn't respond to today's medications. Having said what I've said, I do think that psychotherapy might be worth trying if you haven't already tried it. Generally speaking, a combination of medications and psychotherapy works better than either treatment strategy works by itself, and I think that the more treatment approaches you utilize, the greater your odds will be of beating your depression. But I also think that a person's odds of being successfully treated for depression probably depend on the knowledge and expertise of the treatment practitioners, and it sounds based on what you've written that knowledge and expertise may be things that your pnurse is lacking in.
Tomatheus
Dx: schizoaffective disorder
Treatments: Abilify, 6 supplements, & counseling
tomatheus.blogspot.com
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1022256
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120718/msgs/1022266.html