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I'm excited for there to be alternatives to SSRIs. I've never been diagnosed with depression, but my partner has and takes an SSRI. It certainly seemed to have

I'm excited for there to be alternatives to SSRIs. I've never been diagnosed with depression, but my partner has and takes an SSRI. It certainly seemed to have a generally positive affect (totally subjectively), and relatively few negative side affects. That being said, having to take it every day sucks, and when she runs out, having forgotten to get it refilled, the mood affects are pretty terrible for us both. Hopefully this branch of research will continue and develop into a more positive alternative.

stuxnet79 11y ago
I have panic disorder and Pregabalin has literally saved my life. Otherwise I was going the Ian Curtis route. So many thanks to the scientists who developed this drug.
toomuchtodo 11y ago
Also of note regarding SSRIs and pregnancy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/12/14/maternal-exposure-to-anti-depressant-ssris-linked-to-autism-in-children/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/1... > A new study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that using an antidepressant like Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft during the final two trimesters of pregnancy may be linked to a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder for the child, but researchers said the results should be interpreted with caution.
- goldenkey 11y ago
  Also of note regarding SSRIs and causing pregnancy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor#Sexual_dysfunction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_i... > SSRIs can cause various types of sexual dysfunction such as anorgasmia, erectile dysfunction, diminished libido, genital numbness, and sexual anhedonia (pleasureless orgasm). Sexual problems are common with SSRIs. Poor sexual function is also one of the most common reason people stop the medication. Very rarely, these effects persist after discontinuation of the medication.
- DanBC 11y ago
  Pretty irresponsible to mention "increased risk" without saying what that risk is, nor what the increase actually is. Especially when suicide is one of the leading causes of death of women during the perinatal period.
  - kafkaesq 11y ago
    Pretty irresponsible to mention "increased risk" without saying what that risk is, nor what the increase actually is. The article makes it perfectly clear what the risk is, how much the increase is, and with what factors it is associated; and what the researchers caveats were about their own findings. The poster you were slamming wasn't spreading FUD or hyperbolizing; he was just simplifying. It's pretty irresponsible (and obnoxious) of you to suggest otherwise.
    - DanBC 11y ago
      > The article makes it perfectly clear what the risk is, how much the increase is, Maybe I'm missing it, but from that article: what's the base rate, what's the rate if a woman takes SSRIs, and what's the increase? (And here rates are provided in X per 100,000)
      - kafkaesq 11y ago
        (And here rates are provided in X per 100,000) I'm not playing this game with you. Obviously, the information wouldn't expressed that way in the WP article. You may recall that they're a newspaper, not a scholarly journal. So you know perfectly well that it wouldn't have expressed the information in those terms. The article does mention exactly what the increase is. As to the base rate, the WP article doesn't use that exact term -- but they do give hard numbers for the sample sizes involved, and took care to point out that the smallness of the proportion of infants who developed autism (with or without taking SSRIs) was one of the factors that led the researchers to point out that their findings should be taken with caution. If you want more data and specifics, read the JAMA article. If you think the researchers themselves made some basic flaw in their statistical reasoning -- and, correspondingly, you'd like to bring their reputations and their future funding channels into question -- then the burden of proof lies on you to show it. And I'm sure JAMA Pediatrics would be very interested in getting an email from you. But if you're going to fault the WP article for not conveying every facet of detail from the research article, in as many digits of precision -- even though its overall presentation was basically fair, and on point to the level of detail that would be meaningful to its readers -- then you're basically playing head games.
MrBra 11y ago
May I ask what kind of SSRI?
- LesZedCB 11y ago
  Escitalopram (Lexapro branded)
- zo1 11y ago
  Initially misunderstood your question and went to look-up what SSRI stood for. If anyone wants to know: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_i...
ossreality 11y ago
Hey hey! You mean you're not happy about potentially life-long sexual side effects?! Talk about getting over depression only to find out that removing the SSRI did nothing to fix your gimped sex drive. Wooohoo.
bigbugbag 11y ago
I recently read that the theory behind serotonin reuptake inhibitors might actually be wrong and possibly cause more harm than good. The actual neurotransmitter mechanism behind depression would be dopamine. I'm sorry that I can't recall the source, but you should look into this.
- jacques_chester 11y ago
  It varies from patient to patient, the causes are varied, the drugs have powerful effects and conditions can overlap. This is why it's important to trust your care to a psychiatrist or allied mental health professional.
- meowface 11y ago
  There is no consensus on what the root causes of major depression are; there are probably many causes. Dopamine can definitely affect happiness, but giving a chronically depressed patient L-DOPA once per day generally won't treat their depression for very long. On that same note, people with ADHD are often missing dopamine in many parts of the brain, but ADHD isn't necessarily correlated strongly with depression. And quick dopamine-releasing drugs like amphetamine (Adderall/Dexedrine/Vyvanse), or dopamine reuptake inhibitors like methylphenidate (Ritalin/Concerta), tend not to be great treatments for depression, either. They can be a short term treatment by giving you a euphoric high the first few times you take them, or if you take big doses, but that's not a good long term treatment strategy.
  - MrBra 11y ago
    And then are better results achievable with SSRIs instead?
    - meowface 11y ago
      Compared to taking amphetamine? On average, yes, of course. SSRIs don't work very well for many people, but they do work well for many other people.

stuxnet79 11y ago

I have panic disorder and Pregabalin has literally saved my life. Otherwise I was going the Ian Curtis route. So many thanks to the scientists who developed this drug.

toomuchtodo 11y ago

Also of note regarding SSRIs and pregnancy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/12/14/maternal-exposure-to-anti-depressant-ssris-linked-to-autism-in-children/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/1... > A new study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that using an antidepressant like Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft during the final two trimesters of pregnancy may be linked to a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder for the child, but researchers said the results should be interpreted with caution.

goldenkey 11y ago
Also of note regarding SSRIs and causing pregnancy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor#Sexual_dysfunction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_i... > SSRIs can cause various types of sexual dysfunction such as anorgasmia, erectile dysfunction, diminished libido, genital numbness, and sexual anhedonia (pleasureless orgasm). Sexual problems are common with SSRIs. Poor sexual function is also one of the most common reason people stop the medication. Very rarely, these effects persist after discontinuation of the medication.
DanBC 11y ago
Pretty irresponsible to mention "increased risk" without saying what that risk is, nor what the increase actually is. Especially when suicide is one of the leading causes of death of women during the perinatal period.
- kafkaesq 11y ago
  Pretty irresponsible to mention "increased risk" without saying what that risk is, nor what the increase actually is. The article makes it perfectly clear what the risk is, how much the increase is, and with what factors it is associated; and what the researchers caveats were about their own findings. The poster you were slamming wasn't spreading FUD or hyperbolizing; he was just simplifying. It's pretty irresponsible (and obnoxious) of you to suggest otherwise.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    > The article makes it perfectly clear what the risk is, how much the increase is, Maybe I'm missing it, but from that article: what's the base rate, what's the rate if a woman takes SSRIs, and what's the increase? (And here rates are provided in X per 100,000)
    - kafkaesq 11y ago
      (And here rates are provided in X per 100,000) I'm not playing this game with you. Obviously, the information wouldn't expressed that way in the WP article. You may recall that they're a newspaper, not a scholarly journal. So you know perfectly well that it wouldn't have expressed the information in those terms. The article does mention exactly what the increase is. As to the base rate, the WP article doesn't use that exact term -- but they do give hard numbers for the sample sizes involved, and took care to point out that the smallness of the proportion of infants who developed autism (with or without taking SSRIs) was one of the factors that led the researchers to point out that their findings should be taken with caution. If you want more data and specifics, read the JAMA article. If you think the researchers themselves made some basic flaw in their statistical reasoning -- and, correspondingly, you'd like to bring their reputations and their future funding channels into question -- then the burden of proof lies on you to show it. And I'm sure JAMA Pediatrics would be very interested in getting an email from you. But if you're going to fault the WP article for not conveying every facet of detail from the research article, in as many digits of precision -- even though its overall presentation was basically fair, and on point to the level of detail that would be meaningful to its readers -- then you're basically playing head games.

MrBra 11y ago

May I ask what kind of SSRI?

LesZedCB 11y ago
Escitalopram (Lexapro branded)
zo1 11y ago
Initially misunderstood your question and went to look-up what SSRI stood for. If anyone wants to know: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_i...

ossreality 11y ago

Hey hey! You mean you're not happy about potentially life-long sexual side effects?! Talk about getting over depression only to find out that removing the SSRI did nothing to fix your gimped sex drive. Wooohoo.

bigbugbag 11y ago

I recently read that the theory behind serotonin reuptake inhibitors might actually be wrong and possibly cause more harm than good. The actual neurotransmitter mechanism behind depression would be dopamine. I'm sorry that I can't recall the source, but you should look into this.

jacques_chester 11y ago
It varies from patient to patient, the causes are varied, the drugs have powerful effects and conditions can overlap. This is why it's important to trust your care to a psychiatrist or allied mental health professional.
meowface 11y ago
There is no consensus on what the root causes of major depression are; there are probably many causes. Dopamine can definitely affect happiness, but giving a chronically depressed patient L-DOPA once per day generally won't treat their depression for very long. On that same note, people with ADHD are often missing dopamine in many parts of the brain, but ADHD isn't necessarily correlated strongly with depression. And quick dopamine-releasing drugs like amphetamine (Adderall/Dexedrine/Vyvanse), or dopamine reuptake inhibitors like methylphenidate (Ritalin/Concerta), tend not to be great treatments for depression, either. They can be a short term treatment by giving you a euphoric high the first few times you take them, or if you take big doses, but that's not a good long term treatment strategy.
- MrBra 11y ago
  And then are better results achievable with SSRIs instead?
  - meowface 11y ago
    Compared to taking amphetamine? On average, yes, of course. SSRIs don't work very well for many people, but they do work well for many other people.