How to cure depression?

[Darkstar]

festive1 revived the thread, not me...

catrice.ailget revived the thread.

[Aractus]

Oops sorry my mistake. It still wasn't I that revived it.

[JohnDG]

Smoke a jay, it's hard to be depressed when your very high.

[Waratah]

What ever you do DO NOT listen to Daniel.

Nice. There's a petition against Effexor you know - that's just the start of its controversy, and I've known a lot of people who have used the drug. Is it helpful? Yes it is in the short term (up to 9 months or so). GP's may be qualified to prescribe antidepressants, but mental ilness is not their area of expertise and they are unable to adequately assess its effectiveness for their patients - this is not an insult against GP's, in fact more than one GP I know agrees with me on this. In my view, patients should be referred to a psychiatrist. I would support legislation that made this mandatory for all long-term antidepressant prescriptions, that way everyone benefits - GP's have less burdens on them, patients will receive better care - and most importantly - their psychiatrist visits would be either bulk-billed (free) or charged in the way GP visits usually are. My friend has been on antidepressants for 15 years, I don't think he's ever seen a psychiatrist in his life. All he sees is a psychologist about twice a year and his GP every time he needs his prescription renewed. How that helps is totally beyond me. I'm the one who sees the effects of his medication - not his GP who sees him once every few months for 5-10 minutes.

As far as I am concerned I think you are full of shit because you came across as a know it all and you when you know shit.. Can you show us the papers where Effexor is shown to be "addictive". Can you also show the papers showing the ineffectiveness of Effexor after 9 months. Not bullshit petition thank you. How long have you known your friend for( the one who has been on anti-depressents)?

[Aractus]

[LastPoet]

Derp, a thread of testimonials is now considered a paper?

[Aractus]

[Waratah]

[Aractus]

Full of shit, I was right. DO NOT take advice from Daniel about medical conditions or medicines.

I don't provide medical advice. My advice to people on antidepressant medication for the treatment of depression is to go to a psychiatrist and let them assess the effectiveness of the medication and take over the treatment. Ask your GP for a referral. Going to a GP is like going to a mechanic when your car has an auto electrical problem.

You yourself are chiefly responsible for your own medical care, GP's can only do so much.

I didn't say that it is only effective for a specific amount of time. I said that's as long as I think GP's should be allowed to prescribe powerful mind-altering drugs like antidepressants for before being passed on to someone more qualified to treat mental disorders.

You just make it up as you go. This is what you said(My bold)

"Nice. There's a petition against Effexor you know - that's just the start of its controversy, and I've known a lot of people who have used the drug. Is it helpful? Yes it is in the short term (up to 9 months or so)"

Again, stop taking everything I write out of context. 9 months is around as long as I believe a GP should be able to prescribe antidepressants for because they are not psychiatrists. There are numerous different causes of depression, none of which is "cured" with antidepressants.

I have never seen any evidence that antidepressants are positive for the patient in the long term. Ever.

My friend was already overweight when he was moved onto Effexor (from his previous medication). In the time since he's been on Effexor he has stacked on the weight like nothing else; weight gain is a known side-effect of the drug. There is nothing positive about being morbidly obese; and there's no possibility that he can loose the weight while on the drug. When he was still in Canberra he used to swim laps in the pool twice a week, and he still gained weight.

By the way the drug also has other side effect on him that I'm not prepared to talk about online.

The drug does him absolutely no good. And I would have been fully prepared to tell this to his psychiatrist, if he had one. As he's never seen a psychiatrist in his life (to my knowledge) the only person ultimately responsible for his medical care is his GP. He's been on antidepressants for 15 years or so, like a GP has any idea if it helps him or not - his friends, myself and his other friends, have a much better idea of whether they help him. And they don't.

The drug prevents him from experiencing happiness, so it's impossible for him to be cured from depression while still on it. And that is an incontrovertible fact.

If I was suffering depression, I would tell my GP I don't want to go on antidepressants and to either try something else or refer me to a psychiatrist. Simple.

Did you ever go to university? The type of papers that you need to supply are not found in newspapers.

Ever heard of doctor shopping?
Ever heard of prescription drug abuse?
Ever heard of prescription drug dependence?

[Waratah]