Customer Reviews

The Antidepressant Survival Program: How to Beat the Side Effects and Enhance the Benefits of Your Medication

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I can't say enough about how helpful this program has been for me. I'm on Zoloft, and since I've been using Dr. Hedaya's program I feel great, I've got tons of energy, I've got NO side effects, and my psychopharmacologist is talking about lowering my dosage! I have several friends who are also on antidepressants, and are dealing with some of the more common side effects, and I've given this book to each of them. If you're willing to make some changes in the way you live your life (watch things like sugar, alcohol, caffeine intake), it is possible to live depression-free and side effect-free. I urge you to try it.

After 3 years on anti depressants I had come to accept and live with the side effects of my medication. At times wondering if life without medication would be better, enduring the depression seemed my only option. My surprise in finding this book and the valuable lifestyle changes have made a substantial impact on my life in the past 3 weeks! I'm living life with more energy and enthusiasm and will follow Dr. Hedaya's program and incorporate his guidance into my daily life. Easy and interesting reading, but mostly,very effective! A must read!

When I was diagnosed with depression, my doctor, along with a perscription for an antidepressant and the names of some good therapist, gave me a handful of common sense booklets on the importance of diet, exercise, and relaxation.

The "Survival Program" is a long drawn out rewrite of this same information with repeated urgings to give the book to your doctor to read. If my doctor and/or therapist didn't have this common sense knowledge - I would find another doctor. Urging you to educate your doctor with this dated information is ludicrous.

The book takes you through "role playing" exercises on how you are to get your doctor to buy in to reading this book (which of course you have purchased for him), complete with "you said they said" quotations. Did the authors really want to add to the stress of being depressed by leading their readers to believe that this information is so new, so radical, so profound that they are going to have to be coached on how to get a physician to follow this program?

After reading through the book and not finding anything new to combat the side effects of the antidepressants we hit the ever popular information on prescribing additional drugs to treat the symptoms.

I found this book insulting to my intelligence and one of the most blatent examples of self-promotion presented as a self help book that I have read.

Save your money and treat yourself to something that can really help cheer you up like a good novel or funny movie.

Recently, I was browsing through the Internet checking out literature on depression and couldn't believe that I came across Dr. Robert Hedaya for he was at one time my psychopharmacologist, pscyhotherapist...he was my salvation. And, I have only one regret: not staying with him longer in therapy. Nonetheless, I am therefore responding because I was upset by some of the comments by readers. I assure you that this man does not lack compassion -- his commitment to one is not easily or readily noticeable until you find that one day he has somehow strengthened you, he has provided you with the tools necessary to pick yourself up and to carry on ... he works with the mind and body ... I have heard countless stories of his compassion and I am one of the survivors who owes tribute to his knowledge and his commitment to the process. I remember feeling better when I would walk out of his office... I still remember his words to this day... Dr.Hedaya, if you are reading this, I thank you.... S.M.W. (p.s. - I made it to California!)

Well, I dropped in here tonight to find out how to list Dr. Hedaya's book at the mental health website where I am webmaster. So, I will leave a review! I had been thinking the last few days which book I wanted to recommend as Number One in getting better from depression as well as other mental health dysfunctions. Actually I have what is called bipolar2 which runs in my family. I bought Dr. Hedaya's book about a month after it first came out in early 2000. Since I live in the Washington, DC area, where he practices and teaches, I had met him briefly and had heard good things about him in our mental health community. His book gathered together for me information I had been trying to gather from dozens of other sources. I took it in to my primary care doctor (who was recommended to me by my psychiatrist) and told him these are the principles I would like to follow to stay more stable and build up my general health as well. This book has done more for me than all the others on mental health that I have read over several years. I have loaned it out to friends and professionals. It will soon be the Number One recommendation on my mh self-help site. In essence it is about creating a comprehensive health promoting lifestyle, and anyone with or without mental illness cannot be harmed and can find much benefit from it. He also deals very effectively with the importance of having specific tests for other medical factors that can contribute to mental illness, such as low thyroid in my case. These factors have been, and sad to say continue to be, neglected by some psychiatrists and other physicians. This book is a winner. It is also very user-friendly in content. I am very grateful to Dr. Hedaya for making this information available to us to follow in our own homes and for us to discuss with our own medical and mental health professionals.

Dr. Hedaya's book should be able to help most of the depressed people out there. His holistic approach is important, especially his advice to get aerobic exercise daily. Again, if the AVERAGE moderately depressed person follows this program, they should see significant improvement, along with taking an antidepressant, of course. But not everyone will benefit, as you have read from some of the other reviews. Even taking an antidepressant, exercising, eating right, taking supplements and having a "spiritual" connection (religion, meditation, etc.) will not be enough for some people (up to 30% of those depressed). This is because there are other problems besides serotonin deficiency in depression. Anxiety may be worsened by antidepressants, and many mood disorders may be caused by a Histamine imbalance (in fact, two-thirds of Schizophrenics have a Histamine imbalance). If you still have anxiety after taking an antidepressant, lower the dose! (and try Buspar, then Ativan). And get your histamine level checked by an Endocrinologist. Another good book about self-help with mental illness is The Failures of American Medicine.

This book deserves a 5 because despite whatever imperfections, it has made a significant improvement in my life. It has been 8 months since I bought it and I have waited this long so as to be reasonably sure I can attribute the change to the changes inspired by the book. I am a male 45 and have taken different anti-depressants off and on for 2 1/2 years prior to this book. They did not work for me but neither did not taking them. I have stayed with the book's recommendation for diet and excercise (90%) and it has made enough of a difference that I am no longer seeking other help.

I hope this review will convince someone who might not, to try it. Thank you Dr Hedaya

I am writing this review after having both read his book and previously seen Dr. Hedaya as a patient.
First, at the risk of appear too cynical, I was given the 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.)

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)

Dr Hedaya has some very positive things to say, and all of his recommendations make sense to me, and confirmed some of my suspicions about side effects and nutritional deficiencies. I've successfully gotten myself off caffeine, and I have cut down on the refined carbohydrates. (I consider this a major feat, since our office seems to be fueled on caffeine and candy). But boy, cutting out refined carbohydrates is NOT an easy thing to do. And it can be hard to stick with. It was good to see that I am doing the right things with exercise. I know I have always felt best when I am in good physical condition- good to see play and creativity getting some good ink, too.
I was especially interested in the biochemistry/nutrition deficiencies, and, of course, the information about sexual side effects, and how to combat them.

The book is outlined very well with sections for the layperson and doctors. I have done very well with the eating program and immediately saw a result as far as my hypoglycemia went (antidepressants worsened it to the point of passing out!). I haven't done any of the testing yet, but I did buy a copy of the book and gave it to my psychiatrist to read (nothing like giving your doctor homework) so we can decide together which tests to do. I already was on a steady exercise program, so that was easy. The best part of this book is that it really makes the workings of the antidepressants and the effects on the body very clear. This, in turn, explains so many of the side effects.