Depression after surgery

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172306/

This is not exactly groundbreaking stuff. They do perform better than placebos. But it's close enough to make you go "hmmm"

Anyway I never said dont take meds. I took them myself. For a few years.

Kirsch's work is fatally flawed, in my opinion. In addition to his beef with the FDA, which I believe clouds his objectivity, he's only looking at data "mild and moderate depression." Severe and chronic depression is another beast entirely, and I don't believe the author considers that at all.

Do you really believe that a psychiatrist would say that meds provide very little help? When you are done with that poll, try asking primary care docs if they dont believe in the germ theory of disease.

" Do you really believe that a psychiatrist would say that meds provide very little help"

Did i say that? When you have to put words in my mouth... that's not too good.

And again it's attack time on me. Do you guys coordinate this? Seems like it. This thread is over a week old and suddenly it's very active.

Jlevy's comment bumped it to the top, if you sort by "most recent activity." That's where I saw it.

Nobody told me to attack anybody. I just have a personal interest in standing up for evidence-based medical treatment, particularly when mental illness is involved.

Mental illness is illness. Just like physical illness is illness. You wouldn't dare tell someone with a physical illness to forgo medical treatment and take up exercise and meditation. Exercise, meditation, etc have their place in stress-reduction, which in turn contributes to mental and physical health. But it is not a cure or replacement for science, medicine and research... it only complements these things.

Depression meds only do so much, true. In my case, they do SO much that I am able to function like a human being when I take them, and make everyone's lives miserable (including my own) when I don't. Yes some studies show they are no better than placebos. But other studies show otherwise. Thank goodness I listened to the other studies, or I would be dead now. Please don't demean and belittle people who choose science and medicine over crystals and imaginary sky-daddies.

Audrey

I'm sorry but where did I belittle or demean anybody?

I certainly respect your viewpoint as a fellow sufferer of depression. But this is my opinion... if you're treatment solely depends on the inhibition of serotonin re-uptake then you're chances of successful recovery (and it's not really recovery, more like survival) are definitely diminished.

In in other words, it's not like other sicknesses where you can simply take a pill and you're cured.

So on one hand, yes to think this is not a medical issue is absolutely ignorant. But on the other hand, to believe that that this disease can simply be cured with medication is almost justly as ignorant.

Again, this is just my opinion.

The newest research says antidepressants DO work-- a study of over 500 trials comparing antidepressants to placebo, or two antidepressants against each other says so.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/21/the-drugs-do -work-antidepressants-are-effective-study-shows

You can have whatever "humble opinion" you want, but it directly contradicts science and shames those with mental illness.

Im not shaming anyone. I was treated for depression. I had RNY.

this is from the link you provided.

New treatments are badly needed, the experts say. Most of the drugs in the study are known as SSRIs, which are thought to work by increasing levels of a chemical messenger called serotonin in the brain, but nobody knows for certain. "We don't have any very precise treatments for depression at this point in time,"