Have You Taken Your Paxil Today?

This little button made me laugh when I saw it. I think another good one would be "Be Glad I Took My Paxil Today!"

What do you think?

Generic Paxil CR Coming Soon

Americans taking Paxil CR extended release (paroxetine) may soon have one more option when it comes to buying their prescriptions. According to United Press International, the US Food and Drug Administration tentatively approved a generic version of Paxil CR extended release tablets on May 31, 2007. The drug becomes eligible for final FDA approval on June 29, 2007, when GlaxoSmithKline's patent expires.

The generic drug-manufacturer Mylan is set to make the generic version of Paxil, which will go by the name paroxetine extended-release tablets. Paroxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescribed to treat depression, dysthymia, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. One of its most popular off-label uses is as a treatment for premature ejaculation.

For more info on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, including their pharmacology and medical uses, read this.

Lexapro-Is it really better than Celexa?

CL Psych has a new post discussing the differences and similarities between Lexapro (escitalopram) and Celexa (citalopram). Both drugs are SSRI's manufactured by Forest Labs, and both have made lots of money. When Forest Labs' patent for Celexa was running out, they started selling Lexapro. For the record, Lexapro is a "cleaner" version of Celexa, with only a very small molecular difference. Even so, Forest labs claims Lexapro is far superior to its predecessor.

Considering generic Celexa is far cheaper than either of the name brands, I thought it was worth asking the question: In your personal experience, is Lexapro better than Celexa?

Proposed law would help new moms fight post-partum depression

Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin has proposed a new bill which would require health care providers screen for the post-partum depression. The bill, titled "Mom’s Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression Act," would also increase funding for research on postpartum depression, a mood disorder affecting 10 to 20 percent of new mothers.

A recent Chicago Daily Herald article about the bill tells the story of Chicago resident Stephanie Vodopic who suffered a bout of post-partum depression after her last child:

Stephanie Vodopic of Chicago gave birth to a healthy boy a year ago and blamed herself for feelings of melancholy.

“I felt postpartum depression isn’t supposed to happen to people like me with a loving husband, in-laws and parents,” she said.

“It started slowly, then it just snowballed. I felt suicidal.”

After treatment, Vodopic is feeling “100 percent better,” as is Silha.

“Without treatment, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here today,” Silha said. “I don’t want another woman to go through the same misery I did.”

For help with depression connected with pregnancy, call the National Women’s Health Information Center at (800) 994-9662.

Researchers find genes responsible for bipolar disorder

In a newly-released study by the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers found the genetic roots of bipolar disorder (manic depression), paving the way for new, better kinds of treatments in the future. The study, reported about in the UK's daily Telegraph, states that researchers were able to isolate the:

"... biochemical processes thought to play a role in bipolar disorder. Understanding the effects which variations of these genes have on the workings of brain cells could lead to explanations of how they contribute to the condition and how it might be better prevented or treated. "Treatments that target just a few of these genes or the proteins they make could yield substantial benefits for patients. Lithium is still the primary treatment for bipolar disorder, but DGKH is a promising target for new treatments that might be more effective and better tolerated," [researcher] Dr McMahon said."

56 percent of people taking Zoloft (sertraline) experience remission from depression

I just finished reading a well-designed study by some researchers at Indiana University and the University of Heidelberg in Germany which evaluated the effectiveness of the SSRI antidepressant Zoloft (sertraline) for the treatment of depression.

What they found - After 12 weeks of treatment, they found that over 56 percent of patients taking Zoloft experienced remission from their depression. However, 87 percent of patients felt some symptom improvement.

How they judged symptom improvement - They judged severity of depression using two widely used psychological scales: the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9) and the Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI). In their study, if a patient scored a PHQ-9 score of 5 or below they were considered "in remission."

How they did their study - They studied patients in "routine clinical practice"-that is, ordinary people who visited their doctors who sought help for depression. In all, 563 office-based physicians reported on the treatement of 1878 patients. Each patient recieved a dosage of 50 - 200 mg/day of Zoloft.

People who generally did better with Zoloft - They used regression analysis to find predictors of success with Zoloft, and found some interesting tidbits. If patients had any of the following, they fared better than other types of people:

• higher functional impairment


• depression-related work disability


• non-chronic depression


• no previous antidepressant medication


• absence of comorbid physical disease


• sought help from a doctor who wasn't a psychiatrist

Side effects of Zoloft - Side effects were reported by 91 patients (4.8% of total sample). The most common side effects were:

• nausea (0.5%)


• diarrhea (0.5%)


• abdominal pain (0.2%)


• abdominal discomfort (0.2%)


• restlessness (0.6%)


• sleeping problems (0.5%)


• headache, tremor, or dizziness (0.8%)


• sexual problems (0.1%)

According to the researchers, "almost two-thirds of patients (64%)" experienced their side effects during the first week of treatment only.

What this study means - Zoloft seems to be a highly effective antidepressant, especially for people whose depression is relatively new, who haven't taken antidepressants before, and who don't have other physical ailments. If you've just started taking Zoloft and are feeling side effects, wait a week or two and see if they go away on their own.

Are you depressed? Quiz yourself with 7 online depression tests

If you're not sure if you're depressed, test yourself with one of these online depression quizzes:

1. PsychCentral.com Goldberg depression screening test


2. iVillage.com depression screening test (developed by National Mental health Association)


3. About.com oneline depression test


4. WebMD.com quiz to rate your risk for depression


5. Oprah.com depression quiz (by Liz Brody)


6. About.com post-partum depression screening test


7. Depression self-test for caregivers (developed by the American Cancer Society)

Everyone gets sad and blue sometimes. Feeling sadness is a natural reaction to tragic or unfortunate circumstances we all find ourselves in.

But chronic depression that lasts months or years, that keeps us at home instead of out with friends, that makes us sleep for more hours than we're awake, and that makes normally pleasurable activities unpleasurable or boring - that's another thing altogether. That kind of sadness might be clinical depression.

These tests can't diagnose you; only a doctor can do that. But if that's what you're feeling, you should talk to your doctor about what's been going on in your life.