But Do Antidepressants Work?

The real question that needs to be answered for anyone who has depression is Do Antidepressants Work? More and more research is generally saying – NO, you would receive about as much benefit from a placebo (an inactive, fake, or “dummy” medication.) Recent research is shown below.

Do antidepressants work? A February 2008 Study says that antidepressant depression remedies work no better than placebo for most.

This study concluded that the widely prescribed antidepressant depression remedies Prozac, Paxil, and Effexor work no better than placebo for most patients who take them.

The research analysis included published and previously unpublished data submitted to the FDA by the manufacturers of the three drugs, as well as a fourth, Serzone, which is no longer sold in the U.S. The researchers concluded that when taken as a whole, the data showed that only a small group of the most severely depressed patients benefited from taking one of the antidepressants. This led them to conclude that most patients who take antidepressants probably shouldn’t be on them. (Kirsch I, et al. 2008.)

Do antidepressants work? A January 6, 2010 Study says that antidepressant advantage is only in most severely depressed. Jay C. Fournier of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the benefit of depression remedies  like antidepressant treatment verses placebo across a wide range of initial symptom severity in patients with depression, combining data from six large-scale, placebo-controlled randomized trials including 718 adult patients (Fournier, Jay C. et al. 2010). They measured the true drug effects; that is when did the antidepressant drugs have a true statistically significant advantage over sham treatment with a non-drug placebo. Here are their conclusions:

“What makes our findings surprising,” say the authors, “is the high level of depression symptom severity that appears to be required for clinically meaningful drug/placebo differences to emerge,” especially since the majority of patients receiving antidepressant depression remedies  appear to have depression below these levels.

Efforts should be made, the authors conclude, to clarify to clinicians and patients that whereas antidepressants can have a substantial effect for those with very severe depression, there is little evidence to suggest that they give much benefit for those with less severe depression.

Many clinicians and patients alike will dispute these findings claiming that pharmaceutical intervention has been successful for them. And certainly there are times and situations where that is exactly the correct strategy. But often drugs are used because it’s just the standard procedure and there is not awareness on the part of the clinician or the patient that other effective options do exist. These pages will describe those other options. Work with a trusted informed integrative doctor or close friend who will be your advocate in helping you down the road to overcoming depression without drugs.

References:

• Kirsch I, et al. “Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration.” PLoS Medicine Vol. 5, No. 2, e45. Published online: February 26, 2008.
• Fournier, Jay C. et al. Antidepressant Drug Effects and Depression Severity. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2010;303(1):47-53.

Permalink: http://www.naturalhealthadvisory.com/daily/depression-and-anxiety/but-do-antidepressants-work/

Tweet

2

 Email This Post

 Print This Post