Led by Functional Medicine expert and pioneer Dr. James Greenblatt, this illuminating webinar will explore evidence-based nutritional augmentation strategies to improve antidepressant effectiveness and reduce side effects. Dr. Greenblatt will examine key nutrient deficiencies for those suffering medication side effects, as well as the role nutrients play in sustaining optimal neurobiologic function. Evidence-based recommendations for assessment and targeted nutritional supplementation treatment will be discussed, providing attendees with bench-to-bedside knowledge they can implement immediately with patients to lessen side effects from and optimize the benefits of antidepressant medications.
Antidepressants are a pillar of mainstream psychiatry and the go-to therapeutic model for depression. Along with psychotherapy, antidepressants are both prioritized in mainstream treatment models, and often touted as one-size-fits-all depression “solutions.”
However, many mental health providers and patients are too familiar with the drawbacks of this symptom-drug treatment model. Medications are not always magic bullets, and there are stark limitations to “one size fits all” antidepressant model of care. Add to that, antidepressants can often lead to unwanted and debilitating side effects.
Up to 2/3 of patients taking antidepressants either respond only partially or don’t respond at all. Equally as serious, studies have consistently documented that a significant percentage of patients taking antidepressants suffer from side effects ranging from weight gain, metabolic dysfunction, emotional numbing, agitation, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, suicidal ideations/behaviors.
How can we ask patients already struggling with depression to shoulder the added burden of side effects from antidepressants? With limited treatment options, this is the choice facing countless patients and the clinicians who work with them.
With impressive consistency, clinicians who use Functional Medicine approaches have observed that many patients on antidepressants have nutritional imbalances and/or deficiencies affecting medication efficacy and contributing to medication side effects. They tend to have deficiencies in one or more essential nutrients—typically, nutrients critical for brain function, neurotransmission cascades, and/or neurotransmitter synthesis. Assessing nutrients levels with basic lab tests, and correcting deficiencies of these nutrients through personalized supplementation protocols, is simple, accessible, and highly effective.
