I saw a segment on The Today Show this morning about the millions of antidepressants prescribed. Questions arose as to whether or not this is an indication of Americans wanting a quick fix or are doctors over-prescribing the medications. This opens a pandora’s box of issues ranging from who should treat depression to the state […]
Are Generic Medicines Just as Good?
I’ve always been a firm believer that brand didn’t matter much and you should save your money by passing up the $6 Advil for the $2 Ibuprofen. When I was in medical school and residency, we learned generic names for drugs so as not to give too much credit to the drug manufacturer and recognize […]
How Long Until Antidepressants Work?
We in psychiatry have always said it took 3-4 weeks for an antidepressant to show a clinical effect. Those who showed improvement in the first 2 weeks were thought to be having a placebo effect. In the past 2 years, there have studies that have shown that patients can have a “real” response to antidpressants […]
Depression Treatment | How Long Do I Take Medication?
Of course, the short answer to this is it depends on your needs and your individual situation. But in general, according to epidemiological studies, once a person has one episode of depression, they have a 50-60% chance of having a second episode at some point in their life.. That second episode may be months to […]