Medicinal treatment

People who suffer from depression are thought to have reduced amounts of the chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters in their brains. The most important neurotransmitters are:

• Serotonin
• Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine)
• Dopamine

When we treat depression with antidepressants, the amount of these neurotransmitters in the brain is increased. This means that the medication helps return your mood to normal.

The last 40 years has seen rapid progress of in the development of medications available for depression.
Many effective types of antidepressant have been developed over the years. If you take your medication as prescribed, you will improve your chances of recovering quicker.

Most people are treated by their GP
Today most people suffering from depression are treated with medicines by their family doctor.

In Australia, about 97% of depressive episodes are diagnosed and treated by general practitioners, with less than 5% of GPs referring patients to psychiatrists. The more modern medications have the following advantages:

• Are effective against depression
• Act after a relatively short period of time
• Generally have few or only brief side-effects
• Are not addictive
• Do not require you to give blood samples, etc.

It's important that a doctor always examines you if you have the symptoms of depression. This is just as important for young people as for the elderly. This examination should ideally be backed up with:

• A physical examination and blood tests.

The purpose of the examination is to enable your doctor to rule out the possibility of your depression being caused by a physical problem such as a thyroid problem.
It is essential to rule out this possibility because some medical conditions can be confused with depression. If this is the case, treatment with antidepressants will of course be inappropriate.

Follow the doctor's advice
The goal of the treatment of depression is to treat your symptoms and in the long term to prevent relapse. It is very important that you take your medicine as prescribed by your doctor. It is not a good idea to reduce the amount of medicine you take or not to take your medicine every day. You should also never discontinue your medication without talking to your doctor first.

Follow-up
Everyone who receives a prescription medication should be followed up by their prescribing doctor. At follow-up appointments your doctor can, among other things, provide:

• Detailed information about depression
• Information about the benefits and side-effects of your treatment

It is important to monitor any possible side effects and also your response to  the treatment. Usually, side effects of antidepressants are mild and transient. The beneficial effects of the medicines are often only seen after 4-6 weeks of treatment. In some cases the doctor may need to adjust your dose or the type of medicine you are on to achieve the optimal result for you. Your doctor may also choose to combine your antidepressant with a form of psychotherapy or other non-drug treatments.