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THE THERAPIST PSYCHOLOGIST BOOK STORE
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The Antidepressant Survival Guide: The Clinically Proven Program to Enhance the Benefits and Beat the Side Effects of Your Medication By Robert J. Hedaya ( Three Rivers Press )
Release Date: 2001-02-13
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $12.95
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Product Description
"Now patients can have the best of both worlds -- freedom from depression and freedom from side effects. Dr. Robert Hedaya offers a wealth of wisdom drawn from years of clinical experience, research, and teaching. This book is a much-needed lantern in the darkness."
-- Norman Rosenthal, M.D., author of St. John's Wort: The Herbal Way to Feeling Good
* Restore the vital vitamins, minerals, and hormones necessary to maintain good health.
* Optimize your body's metabolic system.
* Restore your ability to experience pleasure in life.
An estimated twenty-five million Americans take antidepressants to combat depression, but most continue to cope with a host of debilitating side effects that equal, and sometimes outweigh, the medication's obvious benefits. Many doctors consider side effects such as weight gain, lethargy, and sexual dysfunction to be necessary evils. Finally, there is a doctor who refuses to trade a patient's total well-being for the treatment of depression.
Clinical psychiatrist Robert J. Hedaya, M.D., has developed a comprehensive mind-body program to restore lost vitality and sex drive and control weight. A Washington Post bestseller in hardcover, his book offers a proven program of nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and hormone supplementation that not only lessens the side effects of antidepressants but enhances their benefits as well. Now everyone can benefit from the prescription that has worked wonders for his own patients.
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The Antidepressant Solution: A Step-by-Step Guide to Safely Overcoming Antidepressant Withdrawal, Dependence, and "Addiction"
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Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives
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The Anti-Depressant Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, and Luvox
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The New Antidepressants and Antianxieties
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Understanding Biological Psychiatry
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 Save Your Money and See Another Psychiatrist and/or Order Another Book ( bgabes )
I am writing this review after having both read his book and previously seen Dr. Hedaya as a patient.
Dr. Hedeya's "Whole Psychiatry" approach is basically a blend of psychiatry, Endocrinology, and alternative forms of medicine with little empirical evidence to support (ie functional medicine, orthomolecular medicine, etc.).
At the risk of appear too cynical, my impression was that impression that Dr. Hedaya's Clinic is more of a business than a medical practice. For example, his fees are grossly in excess of what other, similarly credentialed (ie psychopharmacologists) charge. Furthermore, some of his credentials are dubious- for example, Dr. Hedaya advertises himself as a member of the Endocrine Society; this is NOT SYNONYMOUS with being a Board-Certified Endocrinologist (ie you're better off seeing someone trained as a Board certified endocrinologist for a hormonal work-up; Dr. Hedaya even refers you to an endocrinologists if any of your endocrine lab tests are abberant.) Dr. Hedeya's "Whole Psychiatry" is basically a blend of psychiatry, Endocrinology, and alternative forms of medicine with little empirical evidence to support (ie functional medicine, orthomolecular medicine, etc.).
Secondly, there was an occasion where I was suffering from suicidal ideations and needed so speak with Dr. Hedaya (my therapist prodded me to keep calling until I got in direct contact with him). Unfortunately these ideations occurred on a weekday he didn't "work," and was inaccessible for several days. Several days later, after several attempts to call the office and speak with him, I finally was able to contact him, and was then charged hundreds for the "consultation."
Also, his office is inefficient. There were a couple of occasions in which Dr. Hedaya would order a lab test, forget to give me the prescription, and then it would take several calls to finally have the prescription sent to the right place. Also, for some reason Dr. Hedaya writes his prescriptions without refills, and there were occasions where the next available appointment wasn't until after the prescriptions ran out, and again it took several calls just to get the prescriptions filled.
Finally, some of the diet, exercise, and spiritual suggestions in the book are helpful; but the second half of the book is all about how to get your psychiatrist to perform workups that should more appropriately be performed by Endocrinologists. If I were to do it all over again, here are some general suggestions:
Dr. Hedaya's "Whole" approach to psychiatry encompasses some aspects of Endocrinology and other aspects of medicine with little or no empirical data to support (ie functional medicine, orthomolecular medicine, etc.) Stick to mainstream medicine and save yourself an excruciatingly expensive experience.
1) Avoid seeing Dr. Hedaya
2) Find someone equally as qualified as Dr. Hedaya (ie another psychopharmacologist) who charges more reasonable rates and is more accessible. I found a psychopharmacologist who was an AOA member (med school honors society), and charged $80 for 1/2 appointments and nothing for periodic calls, which were returned within a couple of hours at the most.
3) Have a Board-Certified Endocrinologist order, perform, and interpret your lab tests (ie to test for endocrine causes of psychopathology). In fact, I found one in my insurance's network and all I had to pay was a copay.
3) Dr. Hedaya will order literally thousands (ie $10k) at a time of grossly marked up lab tests which have little empirical evidence to support them (ie functional medicine, orthomolecular medicine, etc. lab tests) and aren't covered by insurance. Avoid paying this outrageous amount, and stick to the lab tests your endocrinologist orders (some of which may be the same as Dr. Hedaya's but are actually covered by insurance), and you'll have to pay little if anything.
4) Exercise regularly, find a spiritual outlet, and adhere to the "Zone Diet" (basically the other components of the book)
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a cautionary tale ( ragistan )
I read this book soon after I started seeing Dr Hedaya for depression. There are some useful nuggets in the book about the benefits of good nutrition, regular exercise, and meditation. However, after following Hedaya's treatment plan to the letter for almost two years - including a regime of up to 30 supplements a day and various diets - and spending over $40,000 on appointments - he charges $400 per 50-minute appointment - and expensive lab tests, I got no results. His so-called integrative holistic approach ('whole psychiatry'), which is supposed to reduce a patient's dependence on medications, had me increasing the number of medications I was on, including an anti-convulsant. His claim to be able to restore a patient's vital biological factors and hormonal balance through nutritional supplements and special diets has not been supported by the available scientific evidence. If you do read the book, I recommend getting a second opinion before acting on its recommendations.
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 finally!
Finally an integrated approach to long-term management of depression. This book bridges the gap between traditional and "alternative" approaches to depression. If you are an intelligent, educated person coping with a serious mood disorder, this is the ideal guide. This approach maximizes the benefits of diet, exercise, and vitamins; while acknowledging that SSRI medication is still a critical part of treatment for many. The author has impressive qualifications and backs up his advice with solid research references. The best popular work on the management of depression that I have read since my diagnosis over a decade ago.
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Hardly covers the cause of depression
Like all we need is another book justifying why people need to stay on these dangerous psychotic drugs. Well educated and informed people know already that imbalances in brain chemistry are due to imbalances in the chemistry of the body. Start educating people about outstanding nutrition and "miraculously" the chemistry of the brain changes and improves as well.
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 Mediocre/Dubious
One glaring omission is that he fails to mention that SSRIs can cause permanent sexual side effects even after discontinuance. Long overlooked by the medical community. Do google search for details.
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Addiction
