Benefits of Medication

I only use FDA approved medications in treatment and will use genetic testing to target the most effective first-line of treatment in my practice. I will often use adjunct therapies such as SAMe, EMDR, vitamins, dietand psycho-therapy. As with anything in life, the benefits of medication have to be weighed against the side effects; and the patient must make the decision as to pursue a medication management program or not.

We have many new medications being developed each year, with fewer side effects and better efficacy. Medications such as the trycyclics, MAOIs, and the newer SSRIs, SNRIs, and A-Typical antidepressants work very well. The success rate of being treated with many of these medications for mental illness is quite high. It is often 70% effective even with the first antidepressant tried (based on clinical experience and common peer knowledge). Sometimes, people have some side effects initially that would be too bothersome to continue on the particular antidepressant. At that time, the medication is switched to another medication until the right one is found for any particular patient.

SSRI Antidepressants

It may be necessary for one to be treated with the antidepressants long-term. These illnesses are usually chronic in nature lasting many years and some research is showing us that these illnesses left untreated can be deleterious or destructive to the brain cells. Those who aren’t treated for depression actually have lower brain volumes than those who are due to their high number of circulating stress hormones (glucocorticoids). These substances cause cell damage and death, whereas, the antidepressant medications have a neuro-protectant effect preventing this cell death and damage, the SSRIs act as a catalyst and assist the body in neuro-genesis. This is also true in cases of anxiety. The overall immune system suffers thus making someone who is not being treated for depression more susceptible to other illnesses. These are just a few of the benefits of medication.

Medications – First-line Treatments

We have many very effective medications to treat the many types of depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, OCD, ADHD, and schizophrenia. Once a patient begins a medication, the symptoms resolve and they get back to their usual state of functioning. In cases of generalized anxiety disorder, often the best way to avoid a relapse is to stay on the medications for at least 12 months.

This is often the case with other disorders as well. Many of the psychotropic drugs need to reach a therapeutic level before any benefit is experienced. This is why staying with the prescribed dose and time frame is critical. This is an issue and many patients don’t take the prescribed dose, and never get the therapeutic benefits of the medicine, and the relapse that occurs is worse than the initial episode.