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How do antidepressants help relieve depression?
Answered by:
Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Typically, antidepressants are taken for 4 to 6 months. In some cases, however, patients and their doctors may decide that antidepressants are needed for a longer time.
Generally, about two-thirds of depressed people will respond to any given antidepressant. People who do not respond to the first anti-depressant they have taken have an excellent chance of responding to another.
However, because some of these neurotransmitters (like norepinephrine) are contained in neural pathways in other parts of the brain and nervous system, some antidepressants can have side effects (like changes in blood pressure and saliva production). Also, because the pathways involved in major depressive disorder are in the lower brain and brain stem, antidepressants may interfere with other functions, like appetite, sleep and sexual function.
Dr. Padder is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is currently medical director of two mental health clinics in Columbia, Maryland, and a consulting psychiatrist at Howard County General Hopsital, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins Medicine. Write to Dr. Padder at tanveerpadder@gmail.com.
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