Submitted by tomrue on
Depression affects as many as 1 in 5 Americans in any given year.(*) If left untreated, it can be fatal. Treatment options include a wide array of counseling approaches and medications. Keep in mind that it can take several weeks for some many medications of this type to begin working. When discussing antidepressants with a therapist or doctor, do not hesititate to ask detailed questions about side-effects, and to talk about any concerns you may have once you begin. Many go away after a few weeks, and yet side effects are still the most common reason people stop taking antidepressants against their doctor's advice.
If, as a consumer/patient, you're uncomfortable talking freely with your doctor, consider another doctor!
I'll add to these links as I have time. If you find any that don't work, have any links of your own to add (hold the spam please), or if you have any general comments on this topic, feel free to comment below.
Diagnostic Instruments:
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Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) published by Pfizer Pharmaceutical for clinical use. See also PHQ-9 Becoming Popular Tool from Psychiatric Times, Vol. 40, No. 11 (June 3, 2005), p. 5.
Jay M. Pomerantz (2005). Screening for Depression in Primary Care, Behavioral Health Matters, Medscape article posted 09/07/2005; attributed to Drug Trend Benefits (requires free registration to log in).
L. Turner-Stokes, et al. (2005). The Depression Intensity Scale Circles (DISCs): a first evaluation of a simple assessment tool for depression in the context of brain injury, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 76:1273-1278.
US Preventive Services Task Force (2002). Screening for depression, Vol. 1, No. 2. Index page to the full online edition of The Internet Journal of Mental Health.
US Preventive Services Task Force (2005). Screening for suicide risk, Vol. 1, No. 2. Index page to the full online edition of The Internet Journal of Mental Health.
Treatment Guidelines:
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American Psychiatric Association (2000). Practice Guidance for the Treatment of Patients With Major Depressive Disorder, 2d Ed., 97 pp. Full text: cache PDF.
Articles:
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Stewart Page (1999) Two studies of gender and reporting differences with the Beck Depression Inventory, Current Research in Social Psychology, 4:5, June 17, 1999. Index page to the full online edition of Current Research In Social Psychology free.
Graham Martin (2005). Opinion: Suicide and gambling, Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health 4:1, May 2005. Index page to the full online journal free.
Ronald Pies & Donald Rogers (2005). The Recognition and Treatment of Depression: A Review for the Primary Care Clinician, Medscape CME/CE activity, released Sept. 30, (requires free registration to log in)
Brian Duncan & Daniel I. Rees (2005). Effect of Smoking on Depressive Symptomatology: A Reexamination of Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, 162(5):461-470.
Press release: Stuart N. Seidman (2001). Link Between Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction and Depression - Successful treatment of erectile dysfunction in depressed men can lead to marked improvement in depression, American Journal of Psychiatry, Oct. 2001, p. 1623. Note: The study was supported by Pfizer, Inc.
Two special issues of Primary care companion to the journal of clinical psychiatry (2002) on the relationship between depression and erectile dysfunction: Vol. 4, No. 3 & Vol. 5, No. 4. Index page to the full online edition free.
Popular Press:
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T. Saarto (2005). Antidepressants: 1st Choice for Nerve Pain, The Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, July 20, 2005. News release, Health Behavior News Service, via FoxNews.
Worldwide PDQ (2005). Workout can lighten heavy hearts: Exercise may equal medication in easing depression, experts say, Nov. 6, 2005.
Collections and Discussions:
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Topica area in Medscape: Depression (requires free registration to log in)
Topic area in Psycoloquy: mood
LiveJournal communities: and lots more.
Commercial Sites:
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Cymbalta Depression Hurts | Wellbutrin Libido Supportive |Prozac Disease Information | Zoloft Knowing More
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