I used to ask myself, practically every day during my illness; is this it? What if I never get better? Does it get any better?
Sounds pessimistic, but my history of recurring hospital admissions and medications that were ineffective, coupled with suicide attempts and unrelenting depression, didn’t illustrate a positive picture. At separate hospital admissions, I [...]
Archive for the ‘medications’ Category
12 Nov
Is This As Good As Life Gets?
30 Oct
Depersonalization Disorder: A Feeling of Being ‘Outside’ Your Body
What causes depersonalization disorder? How is it treated?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
Depersonalization — a feeling of unreality or of being “outside” your body — can be a syndrome or a symptom of another mental disorder. It’s often associated with anxiety and stress.
When you feel anxious or stressed out, you may breathe [...]
15 Aug
FDA Approves Saphris to Treat Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
FDA, August 14, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Saphris tablets (asenapine) to treat adults with schizophrenia, a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, and to treat bipolar I disorder in adults, a serious psychiatric disorder that causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function.
“Mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar [...]
5 Feb
Asperger’s Syndrome In Adults
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2009) — Asperger’s syndrome does not only occur in children and adolescents, but is also diagnosed in adults. Mandy Roy from the Hannover University Medical School and her colleagues explain the clinical picture in the new edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.
The causes of Asperger’s syndrome have not yet been fully clarified, although [...]
29 Jan
Medications and the Elderly
Common Medication Associated With Cognitive Decline In Elderly
ScienceDaily (Jan. 28, 2009) — A study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that the use of certain medications in elderly populations may be associated with cognitive decline. The study examined the effects of exposure to anticholinergic medications, a type of drug used to treat [...]
19 Jan
Tinnitus causes: Could my antidepressant be the culprit?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) can be caused by many medications, including antidepressants such as Zoloft. If your antidepressant causes tinnitus, switching to another medication may alleviate the problem.
Because there are many potential tinnitus causes — including aging, allergies, aspirin, certain infections, and certain autoimmune, neurological and psychiatric disorders — [...]
12 Dec
Just WALK Right In
Written by: ME
Medical Form:
Marital Status? How many years married? Exposure to hazardous materials? Blood transfusions?
Family history:
Stroke, tuberculosis, liver problems, heart attack, asthma, colon cancer, high blood pressure, nervous breakdown, diabetes, arthritis, alcoholism, kidney disease, migraine headaches
List of medications
Previous x-rays including: EKG, MRI, CAT scan. Where have you travelled in the past 2 years?
Drink: Alcohol? Coffee/Tea? Tobacco: [...]
9 Dec
Dry mouth in older adults: Causes and treatments
Mayo Clinic geriatrician Paul Takahashi, M.D:
Dry mouth is common in older adults. Mouth dryness may have many causes. As you get older, your salivary glands may secrete less saliva. Thirst and your perception of thirst also can change with aging. Thirst receptors in your brain become less responsive to your body’s need for fluids. [...]
8 Dec
Brain-boosting drugs: Why not?, experts say
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) – December 08, 2008 – Healthy people are increasingly turning to brain-enhancing drugs like Ritalin to boost their performance in school or at work, researchers said on Monday.
And while some expressed alarm over the trend, others embraced the idea, provided the drugs are proven safe.
”In the United States, stimulant medications are [...]
5 Dec
Genes Determine Whether Sugar Pills Work
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2008) — It is a well-known fact in drug trials that individuals can respond just as well to placebos, sugar pills, as to the active drug. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain why only certain people get better from placebos. A team of researchers from Uppsala University and Gothenburg [...]
5 Dec
Aggressive drug marketing may endanger people
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wednesday, December 3, 2008 – Quicker drug approvals and sophisticated marketing campaigns may be putting more patients at risk of dangerous side-effects but the same techniques might be put to use to protect them, a researcher argued on Tuesday.
New U.S. Food and Drug Administration procedures have [...]
20 Nov
Depression linked to poorer diabetes control
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – November 19, 2008 – Depression may make it harder for people with diabetes to keep their blood sugar levels in check, researchers have found.
In a study of more than 11,000 U.S. veterans with type 2 diabetes, the investigators found that over a decade, those diagnosed with depression consistently had a [...]
12 Sep
Bipolar Disorder: Depression Symptoms
The dramatic mood swings of bipolar disorder do not follow a set pattern. Depression does not always follow mania. A person may experience the same mood state several times — for weeks, months, even years at a time before experiencing a change in mood. Also, the severity of mood phases can differ from person to person.
The [...]
30 Aug
Americans Show Little Tolerance For Mental Illness Despite Growing Belief In Genetic Cause
(ScienceDaily) - Aug. 29, 2008 — A new study by University of Pennsylvania sociology professor Jason Schnittker shows that, while more Americans believe that mental illness has genetic causes, the nation is no more tolerant of the mentally ill than it was 10 years ago.
The study published online in the journal Social Science and Medicine uses [...]
25 Aug
EMDR Therapy
Online source: www.webmd.com
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a fairly new type of psychotherapy. It’s growing in popularity, particularly for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD often occurs after experiences such as military combat, physical assault, rape, or car accidents.
Although research continues, EMDR remains controversial among some healthcare professionals.
At [...]
3 Jul
GROUNDBREAKING DEPRESSION RESEARCH BEING TESTED IN REAL-WORLD SETTING
(ScienceDaily) – June 12, 2008 — UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatry researchers have taken what they learned from their groundbreaking research on treating depression and are applying it to real-world clinical settings.
The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study was the largest ever on the treatment of major depressive disorder and is considered a [...]
1 Jun
ELECTROSHOCK: Electroconvulsive Therapy Without Cognitive Side Effects
ScienceDaily – May 27, 2008 — Scientists report that a new form of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is just as effective as older forms in treating depression but without any of the cognitive side effects found in the older forms. In the NIMH-sponsored study, Dr. Harold Sackeim and colleagues from Columbia University randomly assigned 90 depressed [...]
27 May
IS BIPOLAR DISORDER OVERDIAGNOSED?
Science Daily – May 6, 2008 — A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reports that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview–the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).
The study concludes that while recent reports [...]
7 Nov
Abilify Approved for Adolescents with Schizophrenia
Sanctioned for adults in 2002
By Scott Roberts
TUESDAY, Nov. 6, 2007 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Bristol-Myers Squibb antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole) for adolescents aged 13 to 17 diagnosed with schizophrenia, the company said Tuesday.
The FDA first approved the drug to treat schizophrenia in adults in November 2002. More [...]
27 Oct
Prescription Label Warnings Small
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
BOSTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) — Most prescription drug labels highlight the pharmacy’s name or logo rather than medication instructions, a U.S. study found.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found 89 percent of the labels listed the pharmacy name first and instructions fifth.
The study looked at labels for four drugs from chain, [...]
21 Oct
PTSD: Dirty Little Secrets
I wrote in earlier posts of my childhood sexual abuse; very much a ‘dirty little secret’.
Recollecting my past, namely at around eight years old, my friends and I would be playing in our yard and the predator next door would be sitting on his balcony. I felt frightened for them and me, and wanted so [...]
13 Oct
Have You Ever Wondered?
WHERE YOU WOULD BE IF IT WEREN’T FOR DEPRESSION?
I’m borrowing this question from a member of “Mental Earth Community”; a forum I belong to.
My answer: I have wondered and thought about that many, many times over the years. This illness catapulted me into a life of depressive despair, loneliness, hospitalizations; loss of so many things, [...]
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