Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturers

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), popularly known as anti depressants are the new generation antidepressant drugs, though they have been now in use for about twenty years. These are prescription drugs meaning they can not be purchased without being prescribed by a qualified doctor. This is because they affect the health of the patient in significant ways. They are not mild non prescription drugs that are easily available with chemists. This underlines the far reaching effects of anti depressants and the need of using them appropriately to get all their benefits. There are certain facts about anti depressants which can lead to a better understanding about these drugs.

• Anti depressants require about 3 to 6 weeks to show any effect. Thus, they should be given time and should not be discontinued if one doesn’t see any changes for a while.
• Often the first drug have to be supplemented with second drug even if they are consumed properly for about 4-6 weeks. Only 40 percent of patients show improvement with first drug. So, if doctor prescribes a second drug, the patient should not get disheartened as this is a usual situation for 60 percent patients.
• If the patient feels good and the depression disappears in 2-3 months, then it is clear that the right drug has been administered.
• Anti depressants have certain side effects like reduced sexual desire in both men and women, excessive perspiration, constipation, weight gain etc.
• The side effects start showing right at the beginning of the treatment, long before any positive effect of the drug appears. However, these side effects are temporary and disappear as soon as the medication is stopped.
• As the side effects appear before the positive effects of the anti depressants, many patients stop the treatment due to the discomfort caused by the side effects. This tendency hampers the treatment of depression.
• In its natural course, the depression wave disappears after a few months and then again returns which is known as recurrent depression. If the patient properly takes medicine, and feels good- say, in about a month- he stops taking the drug. However, he might still be within the natural course of the depression when the depression can return. Thus, the treatment should continue for about a year.
• Sometimes, depression is caused by events happening in one's life, such as divorce, loss of beloved, dismissal from a job, etc. Here, disappearance of the cause might result in disappearance of depression and there is no recurrence either.
• Many argue that if depression disappears with its cause then what's the use of taking drugs? However, there are many diseases like Pneumonia which also passes without antibiotics in some patients, but for others, it may be fatal. When the suffering and distress caused by depression can be prevented by anti depressant drugs then what's the harm in taking them?
• If anti depressants or anti-anxiety drugs are taken with alcohol, they may produce adverse results.
• The exact recommended dosage should be taken. A half dose or skipped doses make the treatment ineffective.
• Whenever treatment has to be stopped, it must be done gradually. This enables monitoring of changes and in the event of recurrence of depression, the treatment can be again started immediately.