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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Michaelho on August 30, 2011, at 14:48:03
I know the teenage brain is still growing. I took citalopram when I was 19. Although I find it hard to recall my time on the drugs, I don't remember doing much, and so I was robbing my brain of stimulation.
I have read on here of the effects antidepressants have on the brain and neurotransmitters. Could antidepressants affect the teenage, growing brain?
Posted by Michaelho on August 30, 2011, at 16:25:35
In reply to Do antidepressants affect a teenage brain?, posted by Michaelho on August 30, 2011, at 14:48:03
Apologies if the mind-dump is incoherent and poorly organised.
Posted by linkadge on August 30, 2011, at 20:30:37
In reply to Do antidepressants affect a teenage brain?, posted by Michaelho on August 30, 2011, at 14:48:03
Well, I am now 28. I tool citalopram when I was.....hmm 18-19 (two full years in total).
To answer your question....yes, I did think it affected my brain in both positive and negative ways.
It took me a little while to recover after coming off of it, but I feel that I am pretty normal now.
Linkadge
Posted by Michaelho on August 31, 2011, at 3:27:25
In reply to Re: Do antidepressants affect a teenage brain?, posted by linkadge on August 30, 2011, at 20:30:37
Would it interfere with normal brain growth though?
Posted by bleauberry on August 31, 2011, at 5:00:34
In reply to Do antidepressants affect a teenage brain?, posted by Michaelho on August 30, 2011, at 14:48:03
Antidepressants strongly effect and change brains of all ages, sometimes for the better but many times for the worse. I think the worst outcomes occur when a single neurotransmitter is targeted by the drug....for example SSRIs being the worst offenders. That's why I always try to think in terms of balanced approaches...;TCA+SSRI, MAOI, plants or other alternatives.
Simple logic should tell us introducing a foreign chemical substance into the brain is going to effect stuff no matter what the age. I would guess the younger the age the more of an issue it becomes.
From what my eyes have seen over the years, the brain of a person after med trials is not the same brain as before med trials and age didn't seem to have anything to do with it.
Remember when they first came out with the suicide warnings of antidepressants they were directed at children and teenagers. Now it has been expanded to include young adults. They know it also happens in older adults so I don't know why they leave that part out, except maybe it just sheds light on the shortcomings of the meds and that is not good for profit or political posturing.
In any case, the whole issue is a risk/benefit decision to be made by each patient. We all have our own journeys and ultimately it is our hands on the steering wheel not anyone else's.
Posted by Michaelho on August 31, 2011, at 8:23:26
In reply to Re: Do antidepressants affect a teenage brain?, posted by bleauberry on August 31, 2011, at 5:00:34
Thanks. I feel like a victim of the affect meds can have on someone.
Posted by linkadge on August 31, 2011, at 9:59:18
In reply to Re: Do antidepressants affect a teenage brain?, posted by Michaelho on August 31, 2011, at 8:23:26
it could affect brain growth......but.....so can depression.
Chronic depression shrinks the brain.
Linkadge
This is the end of the thread.
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