Patients who face an incurable depression for decades have had their symptoms disappear within hours of taking a low dosage of a highly addictive drug. Antidepressant drugs and behavioral therapies have been used to treat depression, but have failed to help people whom are resilient to the current treatment. The illegal party drug, ketamine, contains properties that can help alleviate depression and help people that have resilient characteristics. What worries many people to use ketamine as alternative method to help those who are not affected by the standard methods are how people currently abuse the drug. It creates a rising public health concern that there is an urgency to develop a more effective treatment that will delay the onset of depression …show more content…
Psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs are usually the most common method used together to treat depression. The most common antidepressant drugs that are used: Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), and Zoloft (sertraline) that have been used to treat serotonin, while Effexor (venlaxafine) and Remeron (mirtazapine) have been used to treat serotonin and norepinephrine. The antidepressant medications that are given are classified into different areas that affect different neurotransmitters in particular ways. Serotonin and norepinephrine are both used to ease depression by affecting neurotransmitters used to communicate between brain cells. The current treatments of psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs are failing to help people who have resilient characteristics that leave many patients lost and helpless. Current medications used to treat depression can take about two to six weeks after taking a therapeutic dose of the drug to see improvement, but many claim to feel better in few days. In those two to six weeks there can be many variables that can stray a person to show signs of improvement. The current drugs being used have been …show more content…
The rapid response of ketamine takes less time to see results then the current medication. Clark et all (2014) “provided a study that was conducted with a low dosage of ketamine made people experience dissociative effects after 30-40 min after administration, and the effects of the dissociative state were gone after 80 min. They found that this was because of the fast metabolism of the human body. After the dissociative effects declining, the depression signs had disappeared for 7 days. The results show that a person’s body reacts fast to the current low dosage and sustains the effects of the drug for a week” In animals studies conducted they used different models similar to the Forced Swim test on Mice showed that few models had fast responsive results and the effects of the drug last from 7 days (Forced Swim Test) to 21 days (Decreased Latency to feed in the Novelty suppressed feeding test). These findings showed that depressed actions were reduced through the actions of ketamine in rodent models. Both studies show rapid results that create an understanding that the drugs effect comes fast. The only down side that it leaves for many people to question what happens to the person during the time frame when the person is experiencing dissociative effects. People are worried about the people taking the infusion, will hurt them selves or hurt others when they are in the state of
This paper will have two sections: The first section will be a brief explanation on what is depression. In addition, what is the percentage of depress people in the United States. Furthermore, it will discuss in details several theories that are best suited to treat depression disorder. Moreover, the theories that will be briefly discussed are as follows: Cognitive Therapy (CT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). The second section will be a summary of a counseling session the learner had with a client and the treatment that was given to help alleviate and ceased the depression from reoccurring.
Treating depressive and bipolar disorders with antidepressants remains a popular option in clinical practice. Most clinicians choose the drug or class of drugs, usually selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRI's, that is most effective and best tolerated with fewer severe side effects. These drugs are beneficial because they specifically target serotonin-based areas of the brain without affecting other neurotransmitter systems. SSRI's largely replaced tricyclic antidepressants which work by blocking the absorption (reuptake) of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, thereby increasing the levels of these two neurotransmitters in the brain. Tricyclic antidepressants present severe side effects and thus are usually only used when other treatments have failed. If SSRI's or tricyclics are not effective Monoamine oxidase inhibitors may be prescribed. MAOI's, enhance tyramine to increase norepinephrine and serotonin. While taking MAOI's you must abstain from foods and alcohol that contain tyramine such as, yogurt, aged cheese, and substances such as cold medications. This is because a potential toxic reaction could occur. Additionally, other antidepressants may be utilized such as Wellbutrin (bupropion) an NDRI-
Jeremy Laurance’s article “Ketamine: a cure for depression?” published in The Independent in October 2012, sanctions the use of a drug of abuse called ketamine for the treatment of depression. The author supports this theory by stating a study completed by Robert Dunman, a professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine in Boston. The following paragraph will summarise the main points of the article and discuss the evidence used by the author.
Antidepressants are usually a type of drug called SSRIs. SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The most popular antidepressants such as Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro and Luvox are all SSRIs (Antidepressant Medications for Children and Adolescents). Many newer antidepressants are SSRIs due to less side effects and more safe for adults compared to other older generations of antidepressants. Children and teens on the other hand are not. In fact, the FDA put a black box warning on SSRIs which “is the most serious type of warning in prescription drug labeling” ( Antidepressant Medications for Children and Adolescents). There’s actually only one SSRI that can be prescribed for depressed children (who must be eight and older) which is Prozac and That hasn’t prevented SSRIs ...
Antidepressant are a form of pharmacotherapy treatment developed to treat the symptoms of major depression. Antidepressants are used for many other types of conditions including anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, dysthymia, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, and substance abuse, pain syndromes, gastrointestional disorders. Antidepressants usually require several weeks to notice significant effects. There are no antidepressants or any medication that is completely free of adverse effects. This article explains that the adverse effects of antidepressant can decrease compliance and slow down the rate of recovery. It is important for one to take note of potential side-effects before choosing the best antidepressant to suit their personalized needs. Statistics show that about 28 percent of patients sto...
I am quite fascinated by generalized control mechanisms and the role they play in the nervous system. I am also quite curious about the relationship between different generalized control mechanisms. The concept of mood and depression in particular have always interested me. I have always wondered what actually causes depression. Why can some people be in a perfectly good mood one day and then less than a week later start exhibiting the signs of clinical depression? I have always been curious about the role that experience and chemical imbalances play in depression and other mood disorders. I donUt totally understand how chemical depression can originate as the result of severe outside stressors in a personUs life. How can this stress go from simply stress in the experiences and environment of a person to a chemical imbalance? I have also wondered why certain people are more susceptible to depression than others. I am curious about whether genetics play a role in depression and whether certain people are more susceptible to depression because of the environment they live in or because of pharmacological reasons and genes. Throughout our class this year, I have wondered about the role that the I-function plays in depression. I find it interesting that it is possible to wake up one morning and be in a nasty mood even if I want to be in a good mood and my I-function is thinking RhappyS thoughts. Through my research for this paper I wanted to find out more about the different kinds of depression and exactly what goes on chemically in the brain when a person is depressed. I also wanted to do a little research on how depression can be treated. I wanted to try and determine how and when the line of simp...
Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to “cope,” pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed.
Although drugs are used in an illegal aspect for the most part, there are accounts of medical research to prove the positive effects on some patients with long-term diseas...
Drug in the American Society is a book written by Eric Goode. This book, as the title indicates, is about drugs in the American Society. It is especially about the misuse of most drugs, licit or illicit, such us alcohol, marijuana and more. The author wrote this book to give an explanation of the use of different drugs. He wrote a first edition and decided to write this second edition due to critic and also as he mentioned in the preface “there are several reason for these changes. First, the reality of the drug scene has changed substantially in the past dozen or so years. Second much more information has been accumulated about drug use. And third, I’m not the same person I was in 1972.”(vii). The main idea of this book is to inform readers about drugs and their reality. In the book, Goode argued that the effect of a drug is dependent on the societal context in which it is taken. Thus, in one society a particular drug may be a depressant, and in another it may be a stimulant.
Fluvoxamine, a common serotonin reuptake medication, has a discontinuation rate of 70% (Ferguson, 2001). Other common antidepressant medications like fluoxetine or setraline have discontinuation rates of 45% and 40%, respectively (Ferguson, 2001). These unfortunate figures leave a person susceptible to irritating withdrawal symptoms. Many patients may experience anxiety, sleep disturbances, and flulike symptoms days after stopping their medication. These symptoms are especially apparent when a patient abruptly ends their prescription without tapering or when there is poor adherence. With such complications that accompany antidepressant medication use and our understanding that there are imbalances occurring in the brain, is there an alternative or supplemental treatment that can be
Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).
There are several theories that attempt to explain why people abuse and become addicted to drugs. As each theory has developed, parallel models for treating and recovering from addiction have also evolved. Pharmacology plays a large role in many of them, and as the use of drugs to treat addiction has become such common practice it is necessary for any clinician who works with addicts to have an understanding of psychopharmacology. This essay will discuss the academic model of psychopharmacology as it applies within the disease and behavioral/environmental models of drug abuse, addiction, and treatment.
Throughout life, we each experience the anxiety of the unknown and the inevitable stress of our responsibilities combined with our limited supply of time. New technology, a strong economy, and increased competitiveness for jobs in the work force seem to usher in increased stress and anxiety. Although many dismiss this as a natural part of life, the health arena asserts the detrimental side effects of continual stress upon one’s body. In fact, "experts attribute almost 60 percent of doctor visits to stress-related ailments, including high blood pressure, arthritis, and cancer (http://www.doctorcass.com/html/kava_book.html)." In the past, the only mainstream options for treating excessively harmful stress and anxiety were prescription drugs, such as Valium, Xanax, Librium, Diazepam, and Elavil (http://www.herbsnow.com/anxiety.htm), which often result in addiction and unwanted sedation. Due to the increasing need for stress relief and the adversely detrimental effects of the prescription drugs available, there is a need for alternatives to psychiatric medications. According to Lehmann, Klieser, Klimke, Krach, and Spatz (1989, p. 258), the success of benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety prescription drugs) is being continually questioned, "especially because of the problem of addiction, and other side effects". Seeing this need, the herbal supplements market, including the Internet market, has overwhelmed consumers with possible better and safer solutions to fill the void left by psychiatric anti-anxiety medications. Among these relatively new alternatives, Kava-Kava has been pronounced as "the next blockbuster herbal remedy (http://www.betterlivingusa.com/kavapaper.htm)" by its advertisers. However, in order to affirm Kava-Kava as both a sa...
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.