Do antidepressants really work? The STAR-D study

[AlienBeing]

STAR-D stands for
Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression

Here's an interesting article: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...er-sums-it-all

If you want to see what the actual STAR-D report said:

http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/1/57.full.pdf (Actually, you might want to read this one first. The first one will make more sense if you do.)

I read this whole thing and noticed right from the start that they were excluding the intolerant to treatment subjects from the results. I wouldn't have lasted through round 1 due to an intolerance to citalopram. I have actually gone through most of the drugs listed in this protocol but didn't stay on many of them for 8 weeks as suggested, only 6 weeks--if I was tolerating them and more than half the time, I wasn't. I am now trying stage 4 with Parnate (tranylcypromine) The study reports a 13 percent remission from it after failure on all other levels but leaves out the intolerant again, although it reports that Parnate had a higher intolerance level than the combo alternative. (I can't try that due to intolerance to Venlafaxine.)

[mpang123]

I have been told by my psychiatrist that I can't take anymore antidepressant anymore due to resistance or have reverse reactions. I just take mood stabilizers now and they seem to be working fine.