Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Antidepressants( How they work?)

Antidepressant medications are used to help people who have depression. With the help of these drugs depression, most people can achieve significant restoration of depression. Antidepressants are not happy pills, and they are not a panacea. They are only prescription drugs, which come with risks as well as benefits, and should never be taken under medical supervision. They are, however, an option in the treatment of depression. Take medication for depression is not a sign of personal weakness, and there is good evidence that they help. HealthyPlace.com Radio Who should be your prescribing antidepressants? Listening RealOne Whether antidepressant medication is the best treatment option depends on how depression is the person, their history of the disease, age (psychological treatments are usually the first choice for children and adolescents), and their personal preferences. Most people do best with a combination of drugs for depression and therapy. For adults with severe depression, said a psychiatrist, Petros Markou, M.D., it is well established that antidepressants are more effective than any other treatment. If the depression is mild or moderate, psychotherapy may be sufficient in itself, but even in this case, short-term antidepressant drug treatment or therapy herbal can help people get to the point where they can engaging in therapy and exercise (which is also thought to assist in improving mood). "How do I get better? Well, certainly for me, in recent years, it was thanks to the anti-depressant drug therapy - especially at the beginning, because I think it is very difficult to get in all that positive thinking and increase your self-esteem and all the things you are supposed to do if your mood is so low that you can not even think of any. So to take anti-depressants, and most of they are very good, they do help to reverse the Mood and then work on other therapies, and working with other people who know how I feel, and all those things that I know to end make me feel better and that Black Dog derailed. " Leonie Manns, suffers from depression How to work antidepressants Most antidepressants are believed to work by slowing the removal of certain brain chemicals. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine). Neurotransmetteurs are necessary for the normal functioning of the brain and are involved in the control of mood and other responses and functions, such as diet, sleep, pain and thought. Antidepressants help people with depression by making these natural chemicals more available to the brain. By restoring the chemical balance in the brain, antidepressants help relieve the symptoms of depression. Announcements More specifically, antidepressants help reduce extreme sadness, hopelessness and lack of interest in life that are typical in people with depression. These drugs may also be used to treat other conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorders, PMS, chronic pain and eating disorders. Typically, antidepressants are taken for 4 to 6 months. In some cases, however, patients and their physicians may decide that antidepressants are necessary for a longer period. Types of antidepressants There are many different types of antidepressants, including: Inhibitors selective serotonin reuptake (SSRIs) Tricyclic Antidepressants (tricyclic) Other Like most drugs, antidepressants can cause side effects. People are not all these side effects. Adverse you depend on the medicine your doctor has chosen for you. Your doctor should tell you about your medication. SSRIs SSRIs are a group of antidepressants that includes drugs such as escitalopram (brand name: Lexapro) citalopram (brand name: Celexa), fluoxetine (brand name: Prozac), paroxetine (trade name: Paxil) and sertraline (brand name: Zoloft). Inhibitors of serotonin reuptake selective act on the neurotransmitter serotonin, while tricyclic antidepressants and MAO inhibitors act on two and another neurotransmitter serotonin, norepinephrine, and can also interact with other chemicals in the organization. Inhibitors of serotonin reuptake selective have fewer side effects than tricyclic antidepressants and MAO inhibitors, perhaps because inhibitors of serotonin reuptake selective act as a body chemical serotonin. Some side effects that may be caused by SSRIs dry mouth, nausea, nervousness, insomnia, headaches and sexual problems. Those who take fluoxetine could also have a feeling of being unable to sit still. Those who take paroxetine might feel tired. Those who took sertraline may have loose stools and diarrhea. Tricycliques The tricyclics were used for the treatment of depression for a long time. They act on both serotonin and another neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, and can also interact with other chemicals in the body. They include amitriptyline (brand name: Elavil), desipramine (brand name: Norpramin), imipramine (brand name: Tofranil) and nortriptyline (brand names: Aventyl, Pamelor). The side effects caused by these drugs are dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, difficulty urinating, worsening glaucoma, impaired thinking and fatigue. These antidepressants may also affect a person in blood pressure and heart rate. Other antidepressants Other antidepressants exist that have different ways of working that SSRIs and tricylics. Commonly used are venlafaxine, nefazadone, bupropion, mirtazapine and trazodone. Less frequently used are potent inhibitors of monoamine oxidase (MAOIs). Some of the most common side effects in people taking venlafaxine (trade name: Effexor) include nausea and loss of appetite, anxiety and nervousness, headaches, insomnia and fatigue. Dry mouth, constipation, weight loss, sexual problems, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and high cholesterol may also occur. Néfazodone (brand name: Serzone) may give headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea, constipation, dry mouth and fatigue. Bupropion (brand name: Wellbutrin) can cause restlessness, insomnia, headache and nausea. Mirtazapine (brand name: Remeron) can cause sedation, increased appetite, weight gain, dizziness, dry mouth and constipation. Some of the most common side effects of trazodone (brand name: Desyrel) are sedation, dry mouth and nausea. MAOI antidepressants like phenelzine (brand name: Nardil), tranylcypromine (brand name: Parnate) common cause weakness, dizziness, headaches and tremors. Interactions antidepressants Antidepressants may affect other medications you are taking Antidepressants can affect many other drugs. If you are going to take an antidepressant, ask your doctor about all other medicines you are taking, including the free sale of herbal medicines and health products (such as St. John's Wort). Ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of your medicines can cause problems when combined with an antidepressant. When taken together, certain drugs can cause serious problems. Taking an antidepressant MAOI at the same time as all other antidepressants or some OTC medicines for colds and flu can cause a dangerous reaction. Your doctor will tell you what foods and alcoholic beverages you should avoid while you are taking an MAOI. You should not take an MAOI unless you understand clearly what medicines and foods to avoid. If you take an MAOI and your doctor wants you to start taking any of the other antidepressants, he or she must have stopped taking MAOIs for some time before starting the new medicine. This gives time MAOI clearly out of your body. Another risk is antidepressant serotonin syndrome, a drug reaction resulting from the excessive stimulation of the receptors of serotonin. This can happen when an antidepressant is taken, either with another antidepressant, and with certain other recreational drugs (see below), or more rarely, even if one antidepressant considered in isolation. Symptoms include hyperactivity, mental confusion, agitation, tremors, sweating, fever, lack of coordination, seizure, and diarrhea. To minimize the risk of serotonin syndrome, there must be a "wash" period of at least two weeks after the passage of an antidepressant medication to another. Drugs that may induce serotonin syndrome when taken with antidepressants (not a complete list) Ecstasy Cocaine At lithium St John's Wort (Hypericum) - herbal antidepressant Diethylproprion-amphetamine Dextrométhorphane found in many cough suppressants Buspar (buspirone) - for anxiety Selgene, Eldepryl (selegiline) - for Parkinson's Disease Anti-epileptic - Tegretol, Carbium, Teril (carbamazepine) - Pain pethidine, Fortral (Pentazocine), Tramal (tramadol), fentanyl Suppressor of appetite-phentermine and fenfluramine Tryptophan, an amino acid Antidepressants which is best for me? HealthyPlace.com Radio Effectiveness of anti-Depressants (Dr. Samuel Barondes, author of Better than Prozac: Creating the Next Generation of Psychiatric Drugs) Listening with Windows Media Player Because neurotransmitters involved in the control of mood are also involved in other processes, such as sleeping, eating and pain medications that affect neurotransmitters can be used not only to treat depression. Headaches, eating disorders, bed-wetting, and other problems are now being treated with antidepressants. All antidepressants are effective, but some work better for certain types of depression. For example, people who are depressed and agitated do better when they take an antidepressant drug that relieves also disappoint. People who are depressed and withdrawn may most benefit from antidepressant medication, which has a stimulating effect. Antidepressants are not a miracle cure While antidepressants help people feel better, they can not solve problems in people's lives. Some mental health professionals worry that people who could benefit from psychotherapy rely instead on antidepressants for a "quick fix." Others stress that the drugs work gradually and do not produce instant happiness. The best approach is often a combination of counseling and medical treatment, but the most appropriate treatment for a patient depends on many factors. The decision on how to deal with depression or other conditions that could respond to antidepressants should be done carefully and will be different for different people.

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