Depression Treatment

Some of the side effects of SSRI antidepressants include: Side Effects to Cardiovascular System Hemorrhage, hypertension, angina pectoris, arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, hypotension, migraine, myocardial infarction, postural hypotension, syncope, tachycardia, vascular headache, atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, cerebral embolism, cerebral ischemia, cerebrovascular accident, extrasystoles, heart arrest, heart block, pallor, peripheral vascular disorder, phlebitis, shock, thrombophlebitis, thrombosis, vasospasm,…

The first antidepressants produced were actually formulated from antihistamines. That should be a big clue that there is a real association between the two problems. These antidepressants are the tricyclic antidepressants, such as Tofranil (Imipramine), Norpramin, Anafranil, Elavil, Pamelor, Sinequan, and Surmontil. Tricyclic antidepressants are potent antihistamines and this may actually explain why they are…

Neuropsychologist Paul Marshall says that unless a person’s allergies are treated, depression will remain. He also states that allergies are often overlooked by psychotherapists as a cause of depression. This does not surprise me as psychotherapists are not physicians and would not have the medical training to alert them to allergies as a cause of…

Depression has also been linked to folate deficiency. Researchers from Tufts University studied 3,000 ethnically diverse subjects ranging in age from fifteen to 39 with no depression to chronic symptoms. Blood tests showed that depressed individuals had folate serum concentrations lower than those with no depression. The lead researcher, Martha Morris, Ph.D. concluded, “Folate supplementation…

On the subject of neurological and general medical conditions, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual acknowledges that both “may cause personality changes.” The text goes on to reference “physical examination findings, laboratory findings, and patterns of prevalence and onset,” which would imply that the psychiatrist or other doctor making the diagnosis actually does perform physical exams…

The DSM codes used by doctors and insurance agencies to identify psychiatric disorders are not the only numbers in the book. The DSM also lists codes for general medical conditions that can cause the same symptoms as well as codes for medication-induced disorders. (APA, 2000, p. 409) The fact that both general medical conditions and…