Practical Practitioner

Anti-Depressants Don’t Work in 50% of Population

DECEMBER 09, 2007 – Nearly 50 to 70 % of complaints by patients today are Depression & Anxiety. Anti-Depressants are disseminated like water. Ironically, antidepressants don’t work in 50% of the population.

Why is this, you may ask?

Even the most popular antidepressants on the market work on only about half of the people who try them. Though the medicines have been life saviors for some patients, as many as 50% of those who are clinically depressed aren’t helped by any existing drug, according to Datamonitor PLC, a London market-analysis company. Moreover, all antidepressants can cause troubling side effects – for example, 37% of patients on antidepressants experience sexual dysfunction.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates about 19 million Americans – 1 in 10 adults – suffer from depression at some point each year. About half of them, eight million people used antidepressants last year, according to Datamonitor.

In our culture today, the “feel good” mentality prevails. We want to feel good when we want to. The truth of the matter is that not all depressive episodes are in your head. Many emotional disorders are related to neuro-chemical or hormonal imbalances.

Why is it that many women present with depression & anxiety during the pre-menopause years (35 – 50)? As the ovaries fail to ovulate every month as they did in their 20’s, women become deficient in Progesterone. This would be expected since Progesterone is a natural anti-depressant, natural anti-anxiety, & natural sleeping medication? Wouldn’t it be safer for women to take some natural bio-identical Progesterone rather than Anti-Depressants, Anti-Anxieties, & Sleeping Medications?

As far as men go, low testosterone levels can also lead to depression. Men with normal testosterone levels have lower incidence of depression, heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure, prostate cancer, & more.

In our drug oriented society, instead of looking at the cause for depression & anxiety, it is much easier to handout a prescription for anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications, & sleeping pills. When they don’t work, patients are told it’s all in their head.

There are a number of things that can send the body out of balance including external stress, bad diet, toxic substances, heredity, & bio-chemical make-up. What I am proposing here is natural hormonal balance, exercise, nutritional balance, stress management, & counseling sessions with a therapist. You would be surprised at how far hormonal balance & good quality nutritional supplements will go.

Pamela Egan, FNP-C, CDE is a board certified Adult & Family Nurse Practitioner, Certified Diabetes Educator & Clinical Specialist in Mental Health. She practices in Women’s Health with Kathy Posey, MD & can be reached at 985-867-1700 or www.pamelaegan.com.

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