Manic Depression is Tearing Apart My Soul. Part I

April 5th, 2009 | Posted in Depression by Generic Prozac

When people discuss bi-polar disorder they refer to a condition known as manic depression. This is associated with unusual and quick switches from a good mood to a sour mood, when someone says “wow, they’re bi-polar”. It is just another in the many forms of depression. Manic depression is not the same as just being sad or upset for over something in particular. Everyone has occasional highs and lows in their moods. But people with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings. They can go from feeling very sad, despairing, helpless, worthless, and hopeless (depression) to feeling as if they are on top of the world, hyperactive, creative, and grandiose (mania). This disease is called bipolar disorder because the mood of a person with bipolar disorder can alternate between two completely opposite poles, euphoric happiness and extreme sadness. Manic depression is a much more serious condition. Another stage of depression is the diagnosis for bi-polar disorder.

Millions of people in the United States are diagnosed with Manic Depression every year. In general 17 million people battle depression each year in America. Genetic factors are the main cause of bipolar disorder genetics. Life experiences and psychological processes do not seem to have any aetiological effect. Bipolar disorder is often treated with anti-manic, and sometimes other, psychiatric drugs. Psychotherapy only has a role in helping to gain insight once there has been substantial recovery from acute symptoms. In serious cases in which there is a risk of harm to oneself or others involuntary commitment may be used; these cases generally involve severe manic episodes with dangerous behaviour or depressive episodes with suicidal ideation. There are widespread problems with social stigma, stereotypes and prejudice against individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

The symptoms of manic-depressive illness or bipolar disorder are classified according to either manic or depressive episodes. Manic depressive states are diagnosed as:

  •  Manic episode: A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with 3 or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, or for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, 4 additional symptoms must be present.
  •  Depressive episode: A depressive episode is diagnosed if 5 or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, or for a period of 2 weeks or longer.
  •  Mixed bipolar episode: In some people, however, symptoms of mania and depression can occur together in a mixed bipolar state. A person could have a very sad, hopeless mood, while feeling energized at the same time.

Unfortunately only about1/3 of those will be diagnosed and receive help. When the sufferer refuses aid, there can be no cure. Mental illness is a red stop sign for many Americans, they don’t want to deal with it. Being crazy isn’t something people want associated with themselves. Sometimes, severe episodes of mania or depression include symptoms of psychosis (or psychotic symptoms). Common psychotic symptoms are hallucinations (hearing, seeing, or otherwise sensing the presence of things not actually there) and delusions (false, strongly held beliefs not influenced by logical reasoning or explained by a person’s usual cultural concepts). Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder tend to reflect the extreme mood state at the time. For example, delusions of grandiosity, such as believing one is the President or has special powers or wealth, may occur during mania; delusions of guilt or worthlessness, such as believing that one is ruined and penniless or has committed some terrible crime, may appear during depression. People with bipolar disorder who have these symptoms are sometimes incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia, another severe mental illness.

It’s very complex when a disease impacts the brain. The deep mood swings of bipolar disorder may last for weeks or months, causing great disturbances in the lives of those affected, and those of family and friends, too. Today, a growing volume of research suggests that bipolar disorder occurs across a spectrum of symptoms, and that many people aren’t correctly diagnosed. Left untreated, bipolar disorder generally worsens, and the suicide rate is high among those with bipolar disorder. But with effective treatment, you can live an enjoyable and productive life despite bipolar disorder. It is hard to shake the stigma that comes with the diagnosis. But it’s not a sign of being less when this disease is diagnosed. You’re not crazy. This is a disease like any other. Unlike ordinary mood swings, bipolar disorder is much more intense and disruptive to everyday functioning, affecting energy, activity levels, judgment, and behavior.

During a manic episode, a person might impulsively quit a job, charge up huge amounts of debt, or feel rested after sleeping two hours. It can be treated. First it has to be identified. A depressive disorder is a syndrome (group of symptoms) that reflects a sad and/or irritable mood exceeding normal sadness or grief. More specifically, the sadness of depression is characterized by a greater intensity and duration and by more severe symptoms and functional disabilities than is normal.

Depressive signs and symptoms are characterized not only by negative thoughts, moods, and behaviors but also by specific changes in bodily functions (for example, crying spells, body aches, low energy or libido, as well as problems with eating, weight, or sleeping). The functional changes of clinical depressionare often called neurovegetative signs. This means that the nervous system changes in the brain cause many physical symptoms that result in diminished activity and participation.

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Treating Trichotillmania – The Most Effective Options

April 4th, 2009 | Posted in Stress by Generic Prozac

Trichotillmania is an impulse control disorder which causes people to pull out their hair and is commonly referred to as the hair pulling disorder. This includes the act of pulling out eyelashes, scalp hair and eyebrows. Signs that someone suffers from trichotillmania include bald spots on their heads, or eyelashes. Trichotillmania was formally accepted as a disorder in the late 1980’s. Trichotillmania treatment is done using either psychological therapy or certain types of drugs.

Currently Trichotillmania treatment options are not available in a wide variety due in most part to the fact that the condition has only recently been accepted. The purpose of treatment is to help patients stop pulling out hair. The most successful treatment available at this time is habit reversal training. The steps in this treatment are designed to help an individual suffering from trichotillmania to recognize the environmental conditions which frequently trigger an episode.

This in conjunction with counseling will allow them to effectively cope with the conditions in a less destructive manor. This form of treatment varies widely in success. This success rate is largely based on the patient’s own ability to actually use the methods suggested in real life situations. Habit reversal training is currently considered the most effective trichotillmania treatment.

Forms of trichotillmania treatment involve the use of certain types of antidepressant drugs. The most common drug used for trichotillmania treatment is Clomipramine which is a tricyclic antidepressant. A double-blind study which was performed to test the effects of Clomipramine for the purpose of trichotillmania treatment suggested that it showed signs of significantly improving the symptoms commonly associated with this condition. Some psychologists believe that Clomipramine may eventually be considered the most effective trichotillmania treatment.

Other trichotillmania treatments have involved the use of Fluoxetine or Prozac to treat trichotillmania. All tests so far done on the effectiveness of Prozac have suggested little to no usefulness. These drugs also suffer from the potential for significant side effects. The use of Prozac is generally not a highly accepted form of trichotillmania treatment.

For patients suffering from trichotillmania it is important to take steps to improve the condition. The first step should always be to consult with your doctor about the condition. Your doctor should be able to make recommendations for different treatment options. Most experts in the field consider that trichotillmania treatment is best handled using psychological treatment methods and not through the use of drugs. This has generally shown to be a very effective form of treatment for those who are willing to take the necessary steps to find the causes and solutions to the problem.

Though Clomipamine has shown some success in treating this disorder, there is not a significant amount of data to prove these claims. It also suffers from the potential for side effects as with any drug. Prozac is generally considered a poor treatment method and in some studies the use of such drugs has suggested it can actually increase the problem.
Discover how you can join over 432 trichotillomania ex-sufferers who have already ended their years of pulling hair disorder, and had completely stop pulling hair using an easy 3 step therapy treatment system.

Anti Anxiety Medications

April 4th, 2009 | Posted in Prozac by Generic Prozac

There are numerous anti anxiety medications and Prozac may be right for you. Prozac is a popular anti anxiety medication. There are so many that one will be right for you.

Don’t Worry If A Drug Has No Effect

It’s good to have many choices, because sometimes even certain medications may fail to work or have the desired effect. Don’t worry if this happens. All it means is that you need to try something else.

I like to make this point because I’ve been there myself. When you’re hurting and desperate for relief, and your medication fails to work, you can feel depressed and hopeless. I want to prevent that. You HAVE choices.

Prozac is an antidepressant and is prescribed more than any other antidepressant. It’s prescribed for panic disorder, depression OCD as well as other conditions.

Prozac works by making more serotonin available for the brain. It’s thought that serotonin plays a major part in depression and panic attacks, so if it’s not working properly, these problems can arise.

Panic disorder and anxiety responds well to treatment. Prozac has worked very well for patients in providing them with much relief from their ailments, so that they can function normally and happily.

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The Problem With Dual-Diagnosis in Addiction Treatment

April 3rd, 2009 | Posted in Prozac Information by Generic Prozac

Dual-diagnosis – diagnosing someone with both a substance abuse problem and a mental or emotional condition at the same time – is a growing trend in the field of addiction treatment. Alcoholics or drug addicts are treated for both their addiction and their other problems concurrently. However, many of those treated for dual-diagnosis may never get the help they need for either problem.

How can dual-diagnosis prevent successful treatment?

The major pitfall is the risk of labeling the person with a condition they don’t have. Just about every substance abuser displays symptoms of some disorder or other simply as a side effect of the addiction. Until they’re off the drugs and well on the road to recovery, it can be impossible to tell which symptoms are associated with the alcohol or drug addiction and which are not.

The effect is similar to that of any wrong diagnosis – when they’re treated for the wrong thing, the real problem they have continues, and may actually get worse.

A good example of the danger of incorrect diagnosis is a recent story about a woman who, while her family doctor was out of town, went to emergency reeling with irrational confusion, difficulty breathing, and heart palpitations. The doctors did blood tests and an EKG, and, finding nothing wrong, concluded that the problem was anxiety and prescribed Prozac.

Fortunately, the woman did not take the Prozac and the next day was able to see her own doctor. The problem turned out to be potassium deficiency – a condition which could have been fatal. Thanks to her family doctor’s correct diagnosis, the condition was easily resolved. Within a few hours of following his advice she was completely back to normal.

What would have happened had she accepted the ‘anxiety’ diagnosis and taken the Prozac?

- She would have had to cope with the possibly severe side effects of Prozac.

- She would be living with the stigma of being diagnosed as ‘mentally ill.’

- Since the diagnosis was incorrect, she might be desperately trying to figure out why she suddenly developed this ‘mental problem’ and would be assigning cause to situations in life that, in fact, were not really problems. This in itself can be extremely disruptive to a person’s life – she could suffer years of mental anguish trying to figure out what was wrong with her mind when, in fact, there was nothing wrong in the first place.

- She could have developed an addiction to or dependence on Prozac.

- Since her ‘mental problem’ did not resolve with the Prozac (how could it when it didn’t exist in the first place?), she may have been prescribed additional harmful drugs and had to cope with the side effects of those.

- Because she was driving herself crazy trying to figure out what was really wrong with her mind and never really finding an answer, she could have developed other emotional symptoms and been incorrectly labeled with yet another disorder.

- Last, but not least, she could have died from the undiagnosed and untreated potassium deficiency.

If she lived, her life could well have been ruined.

Had his happened to a drug addict who was already coping with sometimes severe physical, mental and emotional side effects from the drugs alone, what would their chances be of recovery? Pretty slim. The combination of the effects of drug addiction and the consequences of the incorrect diagnosis could really drive them around the bend.

Also, whatever started them on the road to drug addiction in the first place may never be found or addressed – which is pivotal in addressing addiction successfully – and if the person did manage to quit drinking or taking drugs, chances are they would revert.

If you or someone you care about is having a problem with alcohol or drug addiction, make sure they’re treated for that problem first. The treatment should be thorough – get them through withdrawal, put them on a nutrition and exercise program to get their body back in shape and enable them to get rid of more of the drugs in their system and, when they’re in better shape, dig into what caused the addiction in the first place so those issues can be addressed, and then develop a program for them to follow when they leave rehab. This is the sequence followed in a good addiction treatment center.

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Antidepressant And Menopause – Medication For Menopause

April 3rd, 2009 | Posted in Depression by Generic Prozac

Menopause is an extremely difficult period in a woman’s life. How the woman deals with the bodily changes occurring in her system is up to her and the doctor she is working with. It is important to know all of your treatment options for the symptoms you may have during menopause. There are hot flashes, mood swings, depression, weight gain, loss of sexual appetite, and headaches. Menopause and Prozac seem to go hand in hand for those who experience menopause symptoms to the extreme.

First, let us look at what Prozac has been used to treat. Prozac was originally designed to help those who suffered from depression. During the study, for this pill it was also determined that those who were in menopause and treating depression with Prozac had less hot flashes. So now, we know that menopause and Prozac go well together. You can treat two symptoms of menopause if you decide you need Prozac. Keep in mind that there are natural methods to treating depression and hot flashes so you if you have doubts about taking a manufactured drug you might try these methods first.

Menopause and Prozac has a nice ring to it if you have found the natural methods are not helping you. Some women are more affected by depression, mood swings due to the hormone imbalance, and they need stronger acting medications. Another medication you may consider when in menopause is Zoloft for depression though it may not treat the hot flashes as Prozac does.

When it is your body you are dealing with it is important to be comfortable with the treatment you are seeking. You may have adverse reactions to one or the other drug listed above. Therefore, you might find that you are not treating hot flashes with Zoloft or you might find that Prozac works better for you. Speak with your doctor about the side effects you may have while taking this medication and keep in mind that if you are still seeking a natural way to treat depression the two will counteract the effects you are seeking and cause severe depression.

Menopause and Prozac tend to be to peas in a pod when you are looking to relieve yourself of menopause symptoms. It is important to understand what affects manufactured medications can have on your body before taking them as well as trying the natural method first if that would make treatment more comfortable for you. Menopause is a difficult time in your life and you should not have to suffer unduly.

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Headaches From Anti-Depressant Medications

March 20th, 2009 | Posted in Anti-Depressants by Generic Prozac

It isn’t uncommon to suffer from Zoloft or Prozac headache. These powerful medications cause chemical changes in the brain. These chemical changes are supposed to relieve your depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, like with any medication you can experience side effects. You should tell your doctor immediately if you are suffering from a Zoloft or Prozac headache.
Give It Some Time
The Zoloft or Prozac headache you are suffering from could just be temporary. It takes a while for the body to get used to the medication and for it to begin to successfully treat your anxiety or depression. However, if you are not noticing any improvements in your mental health in 4 to 6 weeks, but you are still get a Zoloft or Prozac headache from time to time, then your doctor needs to know. Even if there is a marked improvement in your mental health, it may be worth trying another medication rather than suffer from the headaches.
I suffer from anxiety and I have tried Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa, you name it. While I never suffered from a Zoloft or Prozac headache, the different medications were not all equal in their ability to treat my anxiety. In fact, with the exception of Lexapro, no anti-anxiety has been able to satisfactorily treat my condition. Usually these medications take a few weeks to kick in. Lexapro started relieving my anxiety within a half hour of first taking it. So, if you have a Zoloft or Prozac headache, ask your doctor to try another medication that can successfully relieve your depression or anxiety symptoms without giving you a headache.
Other Factors Contributing To Your Headaches
Now, your Zoloft or Prozac headache may not be caused by the medication alone. Other things do cause headaches. Tension headaches are caused by the muscles in your neck and head becoming cramped from months of tightening these muscles when under stress. If tension is partly the cause of your headaches, then you can’t just rely on the medication alone. You need to learn how to properly manage your stress. You may find that by doing so, your Zoloft or Prozac headache will go away.
One of the best ways to deal with stress and keep it from getter the better of you is to take deep breathing breaks. Whenever you feel stressed out, find a place to be alone, lie down on your back or sit in a chair and do deep breathing from your diaphragm for two minutes. This will restore your breathing which becomes shallow when you are anxious and also fill the brain with calming oxygen. Whether or not you have a Zoloft or Prozac headache, you should be doing deep breathing exercises on a daily basis to relieve your anxiety and depression.

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Eating Disorders and the Most Common Antidepressant

March 9th, 2009 | Posted in Anti-Depressants by Generic Prozac

Prozac is the most common prescribed medication for eating disorders. There are many opinions about the treatment of eating disorders with Prozac. Some people say that Prozac was useful for them to fight their eating disorders. But many people report it didn’t make any difference in how they felt and even created more health problems than they had before taking it.
Why is it that some people get benefits from this medication and some do not? And should Prozac really be a first line medication for eating disorders?
First, let’s look at the reasons why Prozac as an eating disorder treatment could be effective.
Prozac is an antidepressant. And since up to half of eating disorders sufferers have an additional psychological disorder such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder, Prozac can help a sufferer by treating these disorders. Also, Prozac is designed to restore and maintain healthy levels of a brain chemical called serotonin, which controls mood, feelings and appetite. So, by controlling mood, feelings and appetite Prozac makes a sufferer feel better and more in control.
So what is the other side to the use of this drug? Not all people who have an eating disorder suffer from depression or have other emotional problems. So, if people take Prozac just to restore and maintain their serotonin level in their brain they develop resistance to the drug and need a higher and higher dose of Prozac as time goes by. Then if they stop the medication or decrease the dose they simply slip back to their old eating habits straight away and can also suffer debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

The question arises: how can we make the use of this medication more effective for more people?

Most conventional health care professionals believe that the most effective approach is an integrated treatment strategy: one that uses a combination of Prozac treatment with active counseling to treat an eating disorder. But any counseling treatment should include active self-help, self-education and family therapy.
The problem is many people although on Prozac, fail to control their eating disorder while on their own after returning from the therapist or the clinic, so slip backwards.
People should not think that they can simply walk into a doctor’s office and be given a pill and that is the end of it; where suddenly the eating disorder disappears overnight.
This is a sure fire remedy for failure.
If you have been prescribed a pill (like Prozac); you should immediately seek out more education and psychological help regarding your disorder. You have to develop good strategies of self-control, self-evaluation and self-presentation. Without mastering all of these strategies you will always slip back to old eating habits despite the help of Prozac.
Self-help and self-education are important as they teach the sufferer to act while on their own at home, as the eating disorder lives with you at home and not in the doctor’s office.
I suggest you start your self-education and self-help by reading books. One of the best books about eating disorder management and treatment is at www.orderdiscountprozac.com/News
To conclude, it is fair to say that Prozac can be very helpful for some eating disorder sufferers, especially for those who combine it with an active behavioral treatment. But there are many others who will not benefit from it at all: due to individual specifics, wrong consumption or other reasons. So learning more about the disorder and seeking other ways to improve yourself could be the right way to win against your eating disorder.

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Prozac and Menopause – Is it Wise

February 24th, 2009 | Posted in Prozac Information by Generic Prozac

To deal with the side effects of menopause, some women find the following helpful; taking to exercising, avoiding beverages as well as foods with caffeine in them, and also steering clear of alcohol and spicy food, which should help them avoid hot flashes. However, if those do not alleviate the symptoms for you, it may be time to talk to your doctor for a medication to help.

Prozac is one such medicine. When used for menopause is known to relieve hot flashes. This has especially been found true in women that also have breast cancer, or who may be at risk of contracting the disease. However, Prozac for menopause may benefit all women with hot flashes problems.

An antidepressant like Prozac for menopause has been known to alleviate the sudden temperature changes experienced by women having menopause, and this is why many doctors prescribe Prozac for this condition, though more data is required on the subject of treating menopause with Prozac. Because many women may be somewhat reluctant to use estrogen to treat their hot flashes, Prozac provides an excellent alternative.

According to certain studies, women that have taken prozac for menopause have reported back that it helped in decreasing the frequency as well as severity of their hot flashes by as much as half, while women in the placebo group only had thirty-six percent decrease in the symptoms. This shows that Prozac for menopause is effective though it has yet to be ascertained how Prozac helps in alleviating the symptoms.

More research is being conducted on the topic of the relationship between prozac and menopause relief. Speak with your doctor if you feel this could benefit you.

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Prozac Causing Insomnia?

February 10th, 2009 | Posted in Prozac by Generic Prozac

In the era of late eighties to early-nineties, Prozac was prominent as the novel wonder medicine, said to be paranormal cure for depression which was condescended by a large number of people all around the world. Prozac was after brought into disrepute when buzz spread all around that it may incite suicidal tendency if taken in regular users. Now a day’s, Prozac is trying a big come back for most of the unlikely spaces of law enforcement.

Web news reported in last June detailed that as per the recent plan of UK to manage sex offenders are feeding them using Prozac medicine until they become calm as lambs or are harassed to commit suicide. It used to be seemed as if British government is overwhelmed with Prozac medicine especially its calming effects, so campaign to manage this divisive drug to locked up people along with other sex criminals. By doing this, they were looking forward to docile the beastly character of the prisoners as well as shackles with their libidos so that they can not hand over any more dreadful crimes.

The plan was called for 100 prisoners commencing in 9 different prisons to serve up as the first, recipient of Prozac in British system. British authorities said that if the plan worked then they will ensue to administer Prozac to at least 10% of the total prison population as to see if it really works and calms them down.

This plan was to a certain extent a unique way to come within reach of the problem related to sex offenders. You may say that it is like a castration on anybody’s psychological as well as emotional level. You may possibly also say that this approach is not decently principled taking into consideration that it is practically the same as to drugging any human being be it a prisoners into capitulation, if not done with serenity. In addition to it there is moreover a large controversial history related to this considered drug.

Prozac was in the lead amongst the American public in the year 1988 in addition to that it was regarded as an instantaneous smash hit all around. Millions of people flocked as if a fish market to drugstores in need to buy this new drug, which apparently laid a healing hand on the raw nerve of Americans regarding depression it was not only limited to America but also in the rest parts of all over the world, it turn out to be unruffled in ingesting Prozac.

After all these steps and such a bang off in market suddenly a turning point came when some private scientific studies showed that this medicine is causing genetic changes if taken in large amount and longer periods. The side effect of this Prozac was known to have fatal familial insomnia disease.

In year 1990 Prozac it came up to severe attack twigging from accusation that Prozac lead to insomnia. This fact was not too much forcefully proven into court. But at the same time it tarnished the image of Prozac.
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Can Prozac Cure Lazy Eye?

January 28th, 2009 | Posted in Depression by Generic Prozac

According to new research prozac, the popular antidepressant, might also be effective in the treatment of “lazy eye”or amblyopia, especially in adults. Prozac can rejuvenate nerve cells linked to vision in the brains of adults.

Amblyopia or lazy eye is reduced vision in one eye as a result of sustained period of visual neglect in childhood. One eye appears to be weaker than other eye as it was not used enough in early childhood. New research has found that fluoxetene, the antidepressant marketed as prozac, has been found effective in correcting eyesight’s of rats whose vision was impaired in early development and it could well do the same for humans.

In early childhood, the neuronal connections are very plastic, but as the critical period closes this flexibility is greatly reduced. Prozac reopens the critical period of plasticity in the visual cortex, and lateral geniculate body parts of the brain. Prozac helps in returning neurons in the adult brain to a more “plastic” state normally seen in youth. This helps the visual perception system to develop its proper connections between the eye and the brain. This can promote improved visual functions in older individuals. The only concern that the researchers revealed are the side effects of long term use of prozac. Furthermore maximum vision improvement was achieved when vision therapy was also administered along with prozac. The side effects of prozac include severe anxiety, glaucoma and visual filed defects. Further long term research needs to be done to determine the risks/benefits of such a treatment.

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