A terrible ailment that many people experience is depression. When depression develops into TRD or treatment resistant depression, a difficult issue becomes even more challenging. How can patients with this condition be helped, and how can depression turn into TRD?
Depression vs. TRD
What are TRD and depression, respectively? How is this defined by medical professionals? While there isn’t certain agreement on the subject, the majority of psychiatric professionals believe depressed symptoms to be a sign of this condition when a patient:
- Have not responded to two different oral antidepressants from different classes.
- Has tried four different treatments with no or little relief from depressive symptoms.
Although this is a clinical viewpoint, patients who believe they may have this may want to consider the following questions:
- Do you feel as if your treatment has resulted in positive change or relief of symptoms?
- Has your treatment created some change, but do you still feel weighed down by your depression?
- Are you experiencing too many side effects from your oral antidepressants?
Why does TRD occur in patients? There could be a variety of factors at play. Factors triggering TRD can include age, sex and health. For instance, TRD is more common in women and older people.
Sadly, there may also be a lot of unknowable forces at play. It may take some time before doctors identify the underlying cause of TRD and similar problems because research into the causes of depression, in general, is still continuing.
Diagnosing TRD
Currently, there is no clear-cut method for diagnosing TRD. Before receiving a TRD diagnosis, patients often go through many therapy rounds.. It is an intricate illness with numerous primary and secondary triggers. Before addressing drug management, a patient’s primary care physician or psychiatrist may consult with them to ascertain the effectiveness of an oral antidepressant. Additionally, the doctor might advise taking a second oral antidepressant.
Then, a psychiatrist could suggest additional or other types of therapy. A psychiatrist may determine that a patient has TRD if they have been trying these interventions for a number of months with little change.
Treatment Options for TRD
What choices are available if you have TRD? Patients may lose hope because the word itself suggests that the condition is resistant to therapy. However, there are a variety of interventions that can benefit patients with this illness, such as somatic therapy and supplements to pill antidepressants like Spravato.
Somatic Therapies
TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, is one such choice. This treatment focuses on the nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls mood. A different choice is ECT, or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which aims to alter the chemistry of the brain.
Spravato
Treatment-resistant depression is being treated with the esketamine nasal spray Spravato. In addition to an oral antidepressant, this medicine is administered to help patients who are suffering from depression. This prescription drug has also been demonstrated to have positive effects on people with major depressive disorders, making it an effective choice for many patients who experience depressive symptoms.
Do not be afraid if you think you might be suffering from this condition. There are choices available to you. Contact your doctor right now to start looking into your spravato treatment and other TRD treatment options. You can successfully cure TRD and get relief from even the most tenacious symptoms with the correct support and therapy.
