Depression
In 2018, two young men were found dead in their respective bathrooms in Texas after using a concentrated powder form of tianeptine. Tianeptine is an antidepressant prescribed in Europe, Asia and South America. It’s banned in the US, but it’s found its way here. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…
In August 2021, Emilie Skoog lay on the couch in her parents’ living room, thinking that not a single thing in the world sparked joy. For weeks, the 25-year-old MIT graduate student had been unable to muster enough appetite to eat properly. Instead, she’d spend full days lying in bed,…
In the last week of September 2021, a group of more than 90 doctors and researchers published a call to action, cautioning against the liberal use of Tylenol (acetaminophen) during pregnancy. The studies suggested that exposure to the drug could increase the risk of a baby having neurodevelopmental, reproductive and…
A few years ago, framed by the skyline of Detroit, a group of about 15 children resettled as refugees from the Middle East and Africa leapt and twirled around, waving blue, pink and white streamers through the air. The captivating scene was powerfully symbolic. Each streamer held a negative thought,…
The incidence of depression and anxiety has surged among adults in the United States over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC survey suggested that from 2019 to 2020, symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression have tripled and quadrupled,…
✅ This article was reviewed and approved by George Grossberg, MD, member of our MedShadow Medical Advisory Board. As a teenager tackling depression, Breanna Hushaw was prescribed more than 15 different antidepressant medications, which “caused a ton of side effects.” Her doctor knew she was struggling and suggested Hushaw might…
The anesthetic ketamine is increasingly being used off-label for depression. The drug seems to work rapidly, but its long-term side effects are unknown. Two decades ago, ketamine was known as two things: an anesthetic used in pet surgery and a party drug nicknamed “special K” that was popular at raves….
Shortly after she was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, Sarah Lawrence was prescribed Otezla (apremilast). In less than two months after beginning the drug treatment, she says, she started experiencing suicidal ideation. “The thoughts were so intense and so different from my normal thought process, I knew something was horribly wrong.” …
Antidepressants present a counterintuitive challenge. The most popular ones have been dogged for decades by claims that they can increase the risk of suicide, particularly in children. This link is described most often for the class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. For every study that…
Americans spend more than $40 billion on vitamins and supplements each year, and increasingly coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is making its way onto their shopping lists. Devotees of the supplement say it can lower blood pressure, reduce migraines, improve symptoms of Parkinson’s and depression, ward off dementia, and even halt the…
Dry eye disease is irritating and painful. As an optometrist, I know there are many possible causes, but the medicines you take might be the culprit. Drugs are a common part of American life, 36% of people between the ages of 18-44 take between one and four medicines daily and…
Pot, marijuana, reefer — whatever you call it, cannabis is the hot, new cure (some say) for everything from PTSD to cancer. It’s quickly being legalized in countries worldwide and, so far, in 33 US states. Yet there are still major gaps in our knowledge and evidence about its medicinal…
My mother would often declare that I am as stubborn as the Minnesota winter is cold and that I do what I want rather than what I am told to do. But, in the same breath, she will admit that I have my father’s sense of academic adventure. If I…
The irony of antidepressants is that the side effects can cause symptoms similar to the depression they treat. Here is what to expect and how to handle it.
Abilify and Abilify MyCite are prescribed for bi-polar, depression, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia and more. For some it’s a life saver, but for others Abilify’s side effects can include diabetes, suicidal thoughts, sexual dysfunction and more. Read this 2-part series on the pros and cons of Abilify.
Microdosing psychedelics is a growing trend that involves ingesting very small sub-hallucinogenic amounts of substances like LSD or dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
As we age, most of us develop health issues. Along the way we may visit a specialist to handle each of these issues: for example, a cardiologist to treat hypertension and a gastroenterologist to treat acid reflux. However, it has become increasingly clear that in today’s era of specialization, you need a…
Sad news this week: Drugs causing suicide and the FDA’s shortcuts in approving the drugs. Read on: Gabapentin Suicide, overdose high especially among young people. Lyrica is worse than Neurontin. Gabapentinoids Tied to Suicidal Behavior and Unintentional Overdose MedPage Today, June 14, 2019 Ketamine Spravato, inhaled ketamine, had 3 patients…
Some Americans suffer from a depression that keeps them from feeling any pleasure, called anhedonia. Can virtual reality help them? Stat News reports on research testing this proposition. Many of us feel thrills and joy from flying down a ski slope, snorkeling in coral reefs, watching a football game or…
The FDA has issued another warning about the herbal supplement kratom, this time noting that unsafe levels of heavy metals have been found in 30 products in analyzed. The latest warning is not the first one on the heavy metals issue. Back in November, the FDA issued a similar warning….
The New York Times reports on nutritional psychiatrists who advise people to eat as little processed foods, meat and dairy products as possible in order to ease anxiety and mild depression. Is it possible that how you feel turns on what you eat? For your mental health, nutritional psychiatrists recommend you…
The FDA has approved the first drug ever specifically for postpartum depression, Zulresso (brexanolone). Zulresso is given intravenously. Because of concerns such as sudden loss of consciousness and extreme sedation after administration, the approval of the drug was given with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). This means that…
By Kim Witczak WoodyMatters On February 12, a joint meeting of the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee endorsed Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ — a division of Johnson & Johnson — experimental nasal spray for depression despite a mixed bag of clinical trial results. The…
An FDA advisory committee overwhelmingly voted in favor of approving esketamine, which is related to the party drug ketamine, as a treatment-resistant depression drug. The vote was 14 yes, two no, one abstention that there was evidence of effectiveness for esketamine, which is a nasal spray. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division…
With many people suffering from depression not responding to antidepressants despite trying several, there is a critical need for therapies that can treat what is known as treatment-resistant depression. Although it might sound unusual, a medication derived from what is best known as a party drug might just be what…
Antidepressants have a lot of side effects. Avoid them by using these non-drug options.
If you suffer from depression and anxiety, exercise that gets your heart pumping several times a week may help to ease symptoms, according to new research. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 11 studies covering 455 patients. The participants engaged in moderate aerobic exercise an average of 45 minutes, three times…
The Mediterranean diet has been highly touted for helping to improve physical health, and a new study indicates that it may also help to curb the risk of developing depression. Researchers conducted a review of 41 studies that examined the connection between diet and depression risk. Four of them, which…
Middle-aged men and women who exercise regularly and are physically fit have a lower risk of depression and cardiovascular death, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data from a prospective study and examined 17,989 Medicare-eligible men and women who were around the age of 50. After assessing the association of…
An estimated 37% of adults use medications where depression is a potential side effect, according to a new study. Researchers looked at 26,192 adults who participated in a national survey between 2005-2014. Results, published in JAMA, indicated that more than one-third (37.2%) of adults use medications that have depression as…
Untreated and inadequately controlled depression is a big problem. In 2016, 16.2 million American adults experienced at least one major depressive episode, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Approximately 37% did not receive any kind of professional treatment –- no counseling, no antidepressants, no mental health evaluation. That’s…
Resistance exercise training (RET) may significantly curb depressive symptoms, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Though previous reviews have shown that exercise provides physical health benefits, the new study attempted to determine whether exercise — specifically resistance training — could combat or prevent mental health problems. Researchers looked…
Taking magnesium is safe for depression and has efficacy comparable to prescription SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressants. Researchers at Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont examined 126 adults who were experiencing mild to moderate depression. The study team found that participants who received 248 milligrams of…
Bob, a 30-year-old real estate agent, had been suffering from insomnia for 6 months before he came to see me. His problem, he told me, was falling asleep. Once he finally got to sleep, he was down for the count, but before that, he would stare at the ceiling for…
You may not have even thought about it, but some drugs may actually cause you to have depression as a side effect. Depression can be a complex disorder with many causes, but depressive feelings can also result as a side effect of medication. For most medications, the risk is small,…
The FDA has fast-tracked for potential approval a derivative of the party drug ketamine for major depression. The drug, esketamine, is being developed by Janssen Pharmaceutical as a nasal spray. One of the reasons esketamine has been generating a lot of excitement is that research has shown the therapeutic effects…
One of the psychedelic compounds found in so-called “magic mushrooms” may help ease depression in people who have failed on other treatments. A new study, published in Lancet Psychiatry, found that people with depression who were given psilocybin, which occurs naturally in certain kinds of mushrooms, twice 7 days apart,…
The anesthetic ketamine, used in both humans and animals, is perhaps best known as an illegal party drug due to its hallucinogenic effects. However, a growing body of research indicates that the drug may have a powerful new medical use: as a fast-acting antidepressant without the side effects seen in…
A systematic review published in The Journal of the American Medical Association looked at all randomized controlled trials of cannabis or cannabinoids to treat medical conditions. They found 79 trials involving more than 6,400 participants. Medical marijuana prevented nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy (47% of those using it versus…
High doses of powerful narcotic painkillers, such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, appear to be linked to a higher risk of depression in patients, according to research published in the journal Pain. Although the study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect, people who used higher doses of narcotic painkillers to manage their pain were…
“Over the past two decades, the use of antidepressants has skyrocketed. One in 10 Americans now takes an antidepressant medication;” wrote Roni Caryn Rabin in a New York Times article that appeared on August 12, 2013, titled, “The Glut of Antidepressants. “Among women in their 40s and 50s, the figure…
Anti-anxiety and bi-polar meds can be hard to handle, but also can be an important part of living healthfully. Here is how Elaina manages.
Are depression or violent actions side effects of statins? via: MPR (Monthly Prescribing Reference.
