Health
Depression Can Make Pain Worse
By Mark Walters
Nov 12, 2008 - 4:12:49 AM

There are some out there who would rather not take Prozac to avoid the potential complications that can arise from it. Suicidal thoughts, worsening signs of depression, and behavioral changes are among the many worries that can manifest whenever a person is taking an antidepressant. However, for many years, the medical community has been adamant in saying that not taking the right medication would make things worse in the long-term for the person involved.

Recent studies show that worsening signs of depression is just one of the potential problems that a person can encounter if they refuse to take their Prozac. A study has found that the brains of people with clinical depression tend to kick into overdrive when anticipating the onset of pain, hindering the body’s ability to handle signals of pain. Based on brain imaging technology, researchers also found that in the depressed, activity in other areas of the brain are reduced during a painful experience. Particularly affected are areas that handle the mind’s ability to modulate pain sensations. They believe that it might be indicative of extreme vigilance due to an impending threat, leading to a reduced ability to modulate the experience of pain.

Chronic pain and depression symptoms tend to overlap, and this was not refuted by the study. An estimated 75% of all depression patients experience recurring or chronic pain. Another 30 to 60% of those experienced chronic pain while experiencing increases in the intensity of their depression symptoms. There appeared to be some sort of neurobiological basis between the relationship of the two, but the researchers were unsure of what that connection might have been.

Compared with the test subjects who were not depressed those with the condition and were not taking Prozac or other medications showed an increase in activity in certain areas and a decrease in others. The right amygdala – a region that is tied to emotional responses – was noted as having increased activation.