Deplin (Folate) used to boost antidepressants

[Sheila]

This is an outrageous, cynical move on the part of Big Pharma. Not only are they turning vitamins and supplements into prescription drugs, but they are claiming that the vitamins and supplements make the toxic meds work, when, in fact, the vitamins and supplements are protecting the body somewhat *from* the toxic meds!


Wall Street Journal
by Melinda Beck
3 Jan 12

Could a vitamin make antidepressants work better?

That's the tantalizing premise behind Deplin, a prescription form of the B-vitamin folate. Although it has been on the market since 2006, Deplin is generating growing buzz at psychiatric conferences and among clinicians and patients, particularly those who haven't responded to antidepressants or did for a while only to have their depression return.

"Many of the patients I put on Deplin come back and say, 'Wow, my medication is working again' or 'Hey, doc, this medicine never worked this well before,' " says psychiatrist Thor Bergersen, who practices in Needham, Mass., and New York City.

It's long been known that folate—found naturally in green, leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts and some fruits—is important for cell growth and brain function. How and why is now becoming clearer. Recent research has found that the body converts folate (and folic acid, the synthetic version) into an active form called L-methylfolate, which is needed to produce serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, three neurotransmitters that are critical in regulating mood.
….

…more than 20 million prescriptions for antidepressants [are written] every month in the U.S….

The biggest gripe with Deplin is the cost: One month's supply of Deplin, either at 7.5 milligrams or 15 milligrams, can cost as much as $98 and not all insurers cover it….

Pamlab officials say they hope eventually to win FDA approval for Deplin as a prescription drug…..


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...522166664.html

[Samsara]

Sheila wrote: This is an outrageous, cynical move on the part of Big Pharma. Not only are they turning vitamins and supplements into prescription drugs, but they are claiming that the vitamins and supplements make the toxic meds work, when, in fact, the vitamins and supplements are protecting the body somewhat *from* the toxic meds!

I absolutely agree with you Sheila 100%. This is yet another deliberate deceitful marketing strategy which not only involves proffiting from a new product (Deplin) but also maintains the market for their AD products. So, they now will make money from TWO products which they claim are complementing/enhancing each other. What a sick joke! Even more shocking is that our government agencies such as the FDA and Health Canada are allowing Pharma companies to get away with these blatant lies. We all know that the government is not out to protect us but rather, is at the root of the corrupted system. Anyway, that's a whole other topic.

The drugs strip out bodies of essential vitamins and minerals and there is no way that vitamins boost the effectiveness of AD.

Here's an example of what I experienced:

Within the first week of staring Doxepin (TCA) I developed severe arthritis in ALL finger joints. It was really bad and I wasn't old enough at that time to consider this NEW symptom to be an age related deterioration. I KNEW that Doxepin was responsible for this. I did some research into vitamins since, I wasn't willing to take any drugs to treat the arthiritis. Long story short, I decided to try B-complex vitamins because I couldn't live with the pain and disability that was being created and no word of a lie, within 24 hours the arthritis pain started to subside. Within 3 days it completely went away so I continued taking the B supplements. However, I wanted to ensure that it was not a cooincidence, so I stopped taking it and sure enough, within a few days ......the severe arthritis pain returned. So, I reintroduced B-complex and the pain subsided.

Due to my extremely skeptical nature (lol) I NEEDED to replicate this experiment 5 times in order to ENSURE I was making accurate observations. Long story short, there is no doubt that Doxepin was robbing my system of critical B vitamins. About 3 years later, while researching something different, I accidently came upon a few papers that discussed how some AD can deplete certain B vitamins.

The B vitamins helped to rid me of a really bad side-effect of my AD however, my AD did not work any better when taking B vitamins than when I didn't take such. With that said, there is no doubt that Folate and B-vitamins do positvely affect the nervous system and brain.

As we both know, there is the placebo effect that could occuring as well however, seems as if the psychiatrists are failing to take this into consideration in their report.

I don't have prescription drug coverage, despite living in Canada so it makes no sense for me to pay the prescription price when I can buy folate far more inexpensively at a drug store. IMHO, it's yet another example of how the pharma companies are willing to exploit the insurance industry. Those who have insurance drug coverage will opt for Deplin since, it will likely cost them less than purchasing folate over the counter, at a drug store. Of course, I'm speaking about health care and extended health insurance coverage in Canada. I'm not sure how things work in the US or elsewhere.

Also, many businesses will charge higher rates IF their customer/client have insurance coverage. This is true for Dentists, automotive repair, any claims made through property insurance etc. If a client/customer/patients doesn't have insurance then the rate is lower. It's all a big racket from the top right down to small businesses but we, ALL pay in the end one way or another.

Samsara

[Barbara]

Samsara, very interesting to read about the dramatic improvement from the B vitamins. It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the antidepressants were depleting your system.

[Samsara]

Samsara, very interesting to read about the dramatic improvement from the B vitamins. It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the antidepressants were depleting your system.

Thanks Barbara. "Dramatic" and "depletion" are the key words for sure.

Samsara