Antidepressants are supposed to help treat depression, right? In cases where nothing else has worked for a person to manage their depression, an antidepressant is considered a clinically effective treatment option. Millions of people are put on antidepressants and in the United States, it is estimated that one out of every five people or so …
I’m not sure when pharmaceutical companies started marketing that a “chemical imbalance” is the cause of depression. Either way, this is a great marketing ploy that really gets people to believe that if they are feeling “depressed,” it must be a result of a natural chemical imbalance. In reality, most people do not likely have …
There is a newer class of antidepressant drugs called Triple Reuptake Inhibitors (TRI’s or SNDRI drugs) being developed that target all major neurotransmitters involved in depression: serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The thought process behind the creation of this new class of triple reuptake inhibitors is that they will target all three major neurotransmitters that are thought …
Norepinephrine also sometimes referred to as “noradrenaline” works as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. It helps promote vigilant concentration and is different from dopamine in the fact that dopamine has a greater influence on cognition. When you become stressed, norepinephrine is secreted by the sympathetic nervous system which leads to an increased amount of heart …
Lexapro (Escitalopram) has emerged as one of the most popular antidepressant drugs in the United States. It works as an SSRI (selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and has approval to treat major depression in individuals over the age of 12. In addition to being utilized for depression, it is also prescribed for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It …
Wellbutrin (Bupropion) is a drug that is used for the treatment of depression as well as to help people quit smoking. It has become a very popular medication to treat depression because it is considered to have a minimal side effect profile compared to many other drugs. Wellbutrin is not associated with weight gain, a …
Most people that are depressed end up trying antidepressants. One major problem associated with these medications is that while they may alleviate depression, they can cause people to gain a significant amount of weight. Due to the weight gain associated with SSRIs, people are searching for alternatives so that they don’t become fat from taking …