Depression and brain injury
Does anyone know how effective antidepressants are when depression is caused by brain injury - even minor brain injury? After years of taking differing kinds of medication for depression, it just seems that even when maxxed out on two different medications that medication does not work nearly as well as I suspect it ought. Mindfulness, relaxation, and a consistently timed sleep schedule help somewhat.
@FoolsSelf Unfortunately, 7 Cups is the wrong place to seek expert medical advice. If you search the Internet you can easily find information about antidepressants, and for advice it's important to consult a doctor who specializes in the appropriate area. There are psychiatrists who specialize in the effects of brain injury.
Research generally shows shows that antidepressants don't work very well, or don't work at all. For example, when I searched the Internet I found this research paper, Efficacy of antidepressants in adults, which looks at a commonly-used class of antidepressants known as "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors" (SSRIs), and which concludes:
The…review data suggest that [SSRIs] do not have a clinically meaningful advantage…, which is consistent with other recent …analyses.
Antidepressants are often used to treat depression following traumatic brain injury, but the evidence for using them is not strong. This article, Pharmacological interventions for traumatic brain injury, notes that although the majority of studies suggest that SSRIs are helpful, "most data originates from nonrandomized trials", meaning that the evidence is scientifically weak.
If you're considering stopping medication, it is often said to be important to taper the dose very gradually under medical supervision, especially if you have been taking the medication for years, because the medication is thought to cause changes in brain chemistry that take a long time to recover from.
If you would ever like to chat about your situation, feel free to message me.
Charlie
