Side effects of antidepressants are grossly underrecognized by psychiatrists

A study just published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry brings to light the extent to which the side effects of common antidepressant medications are not recognized or reported by psychiatrists. The authors state:

"Despite the clinical importance of detecting side effects, few studies have examined the adequacy of their detection and documentation by clinicians."

The authors set out to compare the side effects recorded in the charts of three hundred depressed outpatients undergoing treatment with their own report on a side effects checklist. These were rated according to frequency and the degree of trouble they caused. Their data described a stunning difference:

"The mean number of side effects reported by the patients on the TSES (Toronto Side Effects Scale) was 20 times higher than the number recorded by the psychiatrists."

Their conclusion is disturbing:

"Psychiatrists may not be aware of most side effects experienced by psychiatric outpatients receiving ongoing pharmacologic treatment for depression."

Friends, consider the functional medicine approach that objectively evaluates the underlying causal physiology of depression and applies evidence-based interventions on an individual basis that are free of side effects.