ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATIONS -
Formula 111
Everybody feels a little down now and then, and sadness is a perfectly normal, healthy reaction to certain stressful situations.
But sometimes the sadness can get blown out of proportion and become what’s known as major depression, a long-lasting, destructive force in a person’s life.
Major depression occurs when the sad feelings last longer or are stronger than the situation warrants, or when such feelings appear for no apparent reason. The depression may begin as a reaction to an unhappy situation such as a chronic physical illness, the death of a loved one, divorce or the loss of a job. But eventually it takes on a life of its own, lingering long after the original problem has disappeared. Surprisingly common in the United States, major depression afflicts some 19 million adults. It affects both genders, but women are more likely to suffer from depression than men. And, although it can strike at any age, major depression most often appears in the late twenties.
The Signs of Major Depression
To be diagnosed with major depression, you have to have at least five of the following symptoms (including #1or #2), for a period of at least two weeks:
- Depressed mood almost every day and most of the day
- Decreased interest or pleasure in almost all daily activities, almost every day
- Significant weight gain or loss that is not the result of dieting, and a decrease in appetite almost every day
- Insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too much) almost every day
- A drop in physical activity or abnormal restlessness almost every day
- Loss of energy or fatigue almost every day
- Excessive inappropriate guilt or feelings of worthlessness almost every day
- Decreased ability to concentrate, think or make decisions almost every day
- Recurrent suicidal thoughts or plans, recurrent thoughts of death, or suicide attempt.
To be a true case of major depression, these symptoms must not be due to another illness or the loss of a loved one.
Routinely used to control depression, most antidepressants work by slowing the removal of certain brain chemicals – such as serotonin and norepinephrine – which help control mood.
The antidepressant medications include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) such as phenelzine (Nardil), and (used less frequently) tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine (Tofranil). Psychostimulants such as dextroamphetamine and newer antidepressants such as bupropion (Wellbutrin) are also sometimes used.
Nutrients Depleted
Many of the medicines routinely prescribed for depression can rob the body of coenzyme Q10 (a nutrient vital to heart health), melatonin, riboflavin and other important substances.
Symptoms of Nutrient Depletion
What happens when you run short of these vital substances is impossible to predict. Here are just a few of the recognized signs and symptoms of deficiency:
- Coenzyme Q10 – A shortage of coenzyme Q10 has been linked to heart problems.
- Riboflavin – fatigue, cracks around the nose and mouth, slow wound healing, oily and crusty skin
(While there are no known symptoms for melatonin deficiency, it does play a prominent role in regulating sleep, so a shortfall may be linked to insomnia.)
Formula
Being depressed is burdensome enough. Why add to the problem by allowing your drugs to deplete you of vital substances that can weaken your heart, weaken your immune system, damage your skin, interfere with your sleep and leave you feeling fatigued? Formula 111 is specially designed to combat the nutrient deficiency problems triggered by common anti-depressants. It includes SAMe, a natural substance manufactured from the amino acid methionine that helps the body produce some of the brain chemicals that control mood. A number of studies have found that SAMe is about as effective as many of the popular antidepressants. With SAMe, plus riboflavin, coenzyme Q10, riboflavin, melatonin and SAMe, Formula 111 is the ideal way to fight back against antidepressant-induced nutrient thievery.
