 |
News
& Links
Depression, Drugs and
Interaction Dangers
Dr. Meschi Ph.D., ND, CNC
Laguna Hills, CA
December 2001
Complexity
and the roots of depression have always been a major and
complex health issue. Depression contains other health
issues such as behavioral, psychological, social, cultural,
religious and the spiritual aspects of ones life.
Because of the complexity aspects of depression, it should
always be treated with one and the “Whole Person” ideology
in mind.
The
depression epidemic has gotten worse since the September 11th
tragedy and all that followed. The stress of the tragedy
has put a lot of old wounds of mind back in the front seat,
dominating the daily activity in every aspect of everyone’s
life, not only in the United States, but also throughout the
world.
Dr.
Jane Mak, a Neurpsychologist and clinical psychologist has
stated that many of her past patients including children, have
been back for visits to seek resolution to their flared up old
wounds.
Today,
four out of every six Americans are having difficulty
concentrating on their jobs. Three out of 4 patients
take some form of supplements totally unsupervised. Many
take the supplements with or without their physician’s
knowledge and sometimes in combination with prescription
drug/s, presenting safety issues.
Despite
the various aches and pains, irritability, difficulty
concentrating, fatigue, digestive problems, anxiety, guilt and
much more, Depression is not a disease by medical
evidence. Depression is not more than a “trapped
inward feeling”, with no two people experiencing exactly the
same symptoms.
Depression
may have underlying factors such as Thyroid Disease,
Cardiovascular or Endocrine System problems, deficiency and or
imbalances of certain nutrients, digestion, food
sensitivities, artificial lighting, inactivity, numerous toxic
environment chemicals found in the household. Heavy
metal poisoning, adrenal, ovarian or testical problems, immune
deregulation, anemia, blood sugar fluctuations, prolonged
physical illness and many more symptoms can cause Depression.
True
“healing” cannot be achieved by simply “relieving” the
pain and symptoms. Studies have shown that if the cause
and effect relationship between depression and functional
decline is not understood properly, depression can become a
killer disease.
Contrary
to today’s only approach of treatment, stopping the pain, we
must hear the message (the symptom) and understand the message
(the symptom) that the body is trying to tell us. The
message is simple, something is wrong somewhere. I
recommend we stop shooting the messenger (pain) and start
being a good listener to our body’s warning signs. My
simple message to you, do not self-treat!
I
often see patients who have decided to self-prescribe
medications or supplements for various problems, depression
included. Not only do they mask the real problem, not
listening to their body and it’s symptoms, they run the risk
of having dangerous drug interactions. If you are
currently on any medication or supplements, please take the
time to read the following Drug/s Interaction Dangers.
It could save your life.
Food(s)
/ Supplement(s) / Drug(s) Interaction Dangers
Add-on
Interactions:
“Add-on”
interactions are the most common type and can be the most
dangerous even fatal. These occur between drugs that
have similar effects, either depressant + depressant or
stimulant + stimulant.
Depressants
include: alcohol, antianxiety agents, tranquilizers,
anticonvulsants, antihistamines, certain high blood pressure
drugs, muscle relaxants, narcotics and the popular pain
reliever propoxyphene (e.g., Darvon).
Stimulants
include: antidepressants (MAO inhibitor type drugs and
tricyclics family drugs), appetite suppressants, some asthma
drugs, caffeine, nasal decongestants, methylphenidate
(Ritalin) and pemoline (Cylert). You should always ask
you doctor and/or pharmacist about this type of interactions
before you take any medication.
Amine-containing
foods + MAO inhibitors:
MAO
inhibitors are used in some cases of clinical
depression. This can be a life threatening combination
that may result in a dangerous rise in blood pressure, with
severe headache, fever, visual disturbances, and confusion,
possibly followed by brain hemorrhage/stroke.
Caution:
Avoid amine-containing foods, even for several weeks after
stopping MAO-inhibitor type antidepressant drugs.
Amine-Containing
foods include: avocados, baked potatoes, bananas, bean pods,
beer, bologna, brought the beans, caviar, cheese, chicken
liver, canned figs, instant soup mixes, meat tenderizers,
nuts, pepperoni, pickled herring, raspberries, salami,
sauerkraut, summer sausage, sour cream, soy sauce, wines,
yogurt, yeast and other aged or fermented foods.
MAOI’s
include: isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil),
tranylcypromine (Parnate)
Tricyclics
include: amitriptyline (Elavil, Enddep), desipramine (Norpramin,
Pertofrane), imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil), nortriptyline (Aventryl,
Pamelor), Doxepin (Adapin).
Both
types of antidepressant drugs MAOIs and Tricyclics require
close monitoring to determine proper dosage. The drugs
must be taken for at least three weeks before mood
improves. And the side effects associated with these two
families (Gambini’s and Kapone’s) can be severe and
debilitating.
Trycyclics
can induce dry mouth, constipation, weight gain, blurred
vision, heart attacks, stroke, high or low blood pressure,
heart block, seizure, hallucinations, delusions, confusion,
disorientation, in coordination, tingling, abnormal
involuntary movements, anxiety, insomnia, nightmares,
dizziness, ocular pressure, rashes, bone marrow depression,
elevation or lowering of blood sugar, edema, hair loss and
more.
MAOI’s can
provoke the same side effects plus an increased risk of
hypertension and hepatitis.
|
