Prozac and the New Antidepressants (Revised Edition): What You Need Know Abt Prozac Zoloft Paxil Luvox Wellbutrineffexor Serzone Vest

This "little" book (it can be read in a few hours yet consulted as a comprehensive reference tool) is the one own if you must limit yourself to one (and given the abundance of material in print and on-line, it may be wise to have just one reliable resource). It provides user-friendly yet responsible information about all of the SSRI's (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil) as well as the drugs that preceded them (tricyclics, benzodiazapines) and the more recent antidepressants (Effexor, Remeron, Celexa). Appleton looks at many promising drugs awaiting approval as well as the vast number of touted herbal remedies. The author has no agenda. He provides balanced information about the percentage of consumers who are likely to be helped and to what degree. He also suggests 2 and 3-step drug programs for individuals who are "treatment-resistant." Best of all, the author combines appreciation for the medical efficacy of certain drugs with healthy skepticism and an experienced professional's common-sense.

Dr. Appleton has never taken any money from a drug company and so he is able to write a completely honest book. He understands what depression is and how it can harm your life and he offers a realistic and TRUSTWORTHY view of the drugs. Anyone considering taking an antidepressant or caring for a depressed friend or relative should consider this book required reading. It's written so clearly, while grounded in careful research, that it is easy to understand and makes the decision to use a drug (or try a different one) simple and less fearful. I have bought many copies for friends who agree.

This is the most reader-friendly, reliable, balanced overview of the field of pyschoactive drugs that I've been able to lay my hands on. Having been overwhelmed by the technical and profuse language of the PDR and Merck Manuals, and having been misled by the many popular books that tout Prozac and its many descendents as surefire "happy" pills, it's refreshing and reassuring to find a book this clear and discriminating. Use it as a reference book as well as an introductory text to the entire field (it can be read in several hours). Those who require the "placebo" effect of an unqualified endorsement of these drugs may wish to avoid the book. On the other hand, those who have discovered that Prozac is not necessarily any more effective than tryciclics or who have experienced negative reactions from an SSRI, will certainly appreciate this author's warnings and disclaimers along with the encouraging but candid claims about how much a drug might actually contribute to well-being. Let the drug companies provide the hype; Appleton simply provides clear and accurate information (his is one of the few books, for example, to point out the dangers of combining Ultram with an antidepressant).

The book is not very long but offers just the right amount of information and makes for easy reading without all the technical jargon. It gives a very informative background on the various new antidepressants and is a must read for those already on antidepressants who are curious or have concerns about what they are currently taking. What I liked most were the comparisons of the various kinds of new antidepressants as well as the side effects known to each.

As a support person for a clinically depressed person, this book provides a wealth of up-to-date information that assists in guiding the reader through the maze, and often complicated world, of psychopharmacology. What makes this book so useful is Dr. Appleton's combination of the review of research with his own clinical judgment. In addition, the book is one of the few that I have found that reviews psychopharmacological drugs with options for other treatments if drugs (which don't help apporximately twenty percent of patients who take them) don't work. The book is easy to read with both technical information and "translations" for the lay person.