For some. If it works for you, you’re lucky. Especially if it’s the first drug you tried.
For others, depression treatment means bouncing around between different drugs and drug classes until landing on something that works, and doesn’t make things worse. Some drugs do the opposite of what’s intended, depending on the person. Some take weeks before you know if it’s working or not. If not, and you have to stop taking it, you either go cold turkey risking bizarre withdrawal symptoms and worse mental issues, or its a slow taper of weeks or months to avoid those, during which you either feel dull and blah or, again experience worse symptoms.
There are a few things out there with much higher success rates, like ketamine therapy, MDMA therapy, and electroconvulsive therapy (which sounds scary, but it’s been and continues to be refined and modernized). Although these are known to work, they’re a lot more expensive if they’re even accessible, and patients (at least in my area) have to survive the drugs and talk therapy gauntlet first before they’re allowed to use them.
This is congruent with my own experiences, from which I could draw at least one of two conclusions: 1, the science isn’t done on these medicines. How often outside of psychiatry do you hear “We have to find the cocktail that works for you”? 2, the industry isn’t worthy of caring for patients because money comes before patient care. “This treatment will probably work but so that we can buy a ninth yacht we’ll make you buy all these others first.”
For some. If it works for you, you’re lucky. Especially if it’s the first drug you tried.
For others, depression treatment means bouncing around between different drugs and drug classes until landing on something that works, and doesn’t make things worse. Some drugs do the opposite of what’s intended, depending on the person. Some take weeks before you know if it’s working or not. If not, and you have to stop taking it, you either go cold turkey risking bizarre withdrawal symptoms and worse mental issues, or its a slow taper of weeks or months to avoid those, during which you either feel dull and blah or, again experience worse symptoms.
There are a few things out there with much higher success rates, like ketamine therapy, MDMA therapy, and electroconvulsive therapy (which sounds scary, but it’s been and continues to be refined and modernized). Although these are known to work, they’re a lot more expensive if they’re even accessible, and patients (at least in my area) have to survive the drugs and talk therapy gauntlet first before they’re allowed to use them.
tldr
This is congruent with my own experiences, from which I could draw at least one of two conclusions: 1, the science isn’t done on these medicines. How often outside of psychiatry do you hear “We have to find the cocktail that works for you”? 2, the industry isn’t worthy of caring for patients because money comes before patient care. “This treatment will probably work but so that we can buy a ninth yacht we’ll make you buy all these others first.”