3 ms·

Despite the the title itself not being news, there is an insight in this (short) article and it IS worth actually reading IMHO. https://archive.ph/vmmFi https:

Despite the the title itself not being news, there is an insight in this (short) article and it IS worth actually reading IMHO. https://archive.ph/vmmFi https://archive.ph/vmmFi I wonder if anyone is doing a study into the particulars on the three groups to try and find common characteristics to guide future prescription? The cynic in me assumes not as that would reduce demand so why would a manufacturer fund such a study? But perhaps I am over cynical. Speculating wildly for a moment, think that misdiagnosis is one likely reason. Maybe anti-depressants work on depression (the disease), but do not work on (say) CPD (where depression is just a symptom). Of course actually correctly diagnosing people will be time consuming and expensive. And I personally am not convinced we actually have a good grip on what diseases exist in mental health but that is another whole discussion...

notRobot 4y ago
> And I personally am not convinced we actually have a good grip on what diseases exist in mental health but that is another whole discussion... If possible, can you go into it a bit more and/or link some further reading?
Tangurena2 4y ago
Part of the reason for the disparity is that people's genetics can drastically influence what effect particular drugs have. Switching drugs is a pain as one is supposed to taper off the old one, then switch to the new one and wait 4-12 weeks for the new one to take effect. If one drug works "good enough" then you're unlikely to want to even try a different one. I finally took a DNA test last year after reading about it (a "pharmacodynamics" one that your doctor has to order). Reading the results showed that all of the antidepressants that I had tried in the past were ones that I either had a gene to metabolize too fast or another gene that said they'd be ineffective for me.

notRobot 4y ago

> And I personally am not convinced we actually have a good grip on what diseases exist in mental health but that is another whole discussion... If possible, can you go into it a bit more and/or link some further reading?

Tangurena2 4y ago

Part of the reason for the disparity is that people's genetics can drastically influence what effect particular drugs have. Switching drugs is a pain as one is supposed to taper off the old one, then switch to the new one and wait 4-12 weeks for the new one to take effect. If one drug works "good enough" then you're unlikely to want to even try a different one. I finally took a DNA test last year after reading about it (a "pharmacodynamics" one that your doctor has to order). Reading the results showed that all of the antidepressants that I had tried in the past were ones that I either had a gene to metabolize too fast or another gene that said they'd be ineffective for me.