Noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant, or NaSSA’s as they are known, are a modern type of anti-depressant that is being used in some cases instead of the more traditional anti depressants such as Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) and Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI’s).
To the end user, the patient, there may not appear to be much difference between the three classes of drug. They are all anti-depressants, they are all taken daily over a long period of time, they have all had a bad press at some time or other and can all cause unpleasant side-effects. In fact the drugs work on different receptors, effecting the balance of different neurotransmitters in the brain. NaSSA’s work on adrenergic receptors which can help to increase levels of both Serotonin and norepinephrine, which is also known as noradrenaline.
So could this newer type of anti-depressant be for you? Well, it might be but it is hard to tell. Anti-depressants effect different people in different ways. Some people react very well to the older kinds, and others have to stop the same drug due to horrendous side effects. There are many many anti-depressants on the market and each individual patient will have their preferences. Clinical trials have shown, however, that the newer NaSSA’s seem to have a better side effect profile in terms of sexual dysfunction, which is something SSRI’s are almost synonymous with. So if you need an anti-depressant and medication induced sexual dysfunction has been a problem in the past then it might well be worth asking your doctor about NaSSA’s. I would add however that many people who experience side effects, including sexual dysfunction, when first embarking on a course of anti-depressants would do well to persevere while of course keeping in contact with their doctor. In my experience the worst side effects pass in the first few weeks. It’s not true for everyone though.
Other things to be aware of include the fact that newer drugs tend to be more expensive. This may effect you if you have medical insurance or if your country has a national health service that hesitates to provide expensive medication.
For details of how other drugs are used to treat anxiety, panic attacks and depression please go to the drugs page.
Medications are not necessary to treat psychological disorders.All it takes is some understanding and support.Thats all it took to cure me of depression
“Medications are not necessary to treat psychological disorders.”
That statement is both ignorant and insulting. I had all the understanding and support (and “natural” remedies and therapies) one could hope for, but it wasn’t until I found the right antidepressants that I gained any control over my lifelong and debilitating anxiety and depression.
Many psychiatric problems can be alleviated or cured by talk therapy but many others cannot. In my case all my tdoc’s sent me away saying that my attitude and meditation could not be improved on. And it is drugs that keep my brain on the rails. So you cannot say that your cure is what everyone else should pursue! Everyone is different which is what makes cure difficult.
“All it takes is some understanding and support”? You are VERY lucky then but I wonder what you are classing as “psychological disorders” to be able to make this sweeping statement. Are you prepared to go into detail, definitions please,I doubt your list would be long!
Psychological problems,by their very nature, can be debilitating and drug therapy has an important role to play for many people in that it can reduce the loss of control so often associated with many psychological illnesses and allows, at least, some respite from the anxiety, fear, panic or uncontrollable symptoms at the least, allowing sleep. Talk and support have a beneficial role, but professional therapists are best. Well meaning friends can sometimes exacerbate problems because they don’t understand the fundamental basic fact that someone with psychological problems or illness is unlikely to be able to assimilate and see a suggestion or comment in the way that a non-sufferer would. Thought and reasoning, rationality and even understanding are, by virtue of the mental state we are talking about, impaired, distorted or irrational.
Think of the common suggestion “Snap out of it” and realise how facile your generalisation was. As I said, you were lucky if that is all that you needed.
Almost 10yrs later …..how you feelin now vedo ?