Coping with somatic comorbidities: striving for complete recovery

Depression is increasingly being recognized as a common comorbid disorder in patients with severe and chronic medical conditions. However, patients with depression and anxiety frequently present with somatic complaints such as aches and pains, headache, and chronic fatigue. This leads to underrecognition and undertreatment of the psychiatric disorder in an attempt to identify the medical cause of the somatic complaint. Reports are demonstrating the efficacy of antidepressants in treating disorders other than depression and anxiety. Tricyclic antidepressants have shown their usefulness in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, and headache. Controlled studies of several selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to be efficacious in relieving the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and fibromyalgia. Pilot studies have also been conducted with the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, migraine, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and stroke. The results encourage further controlled studies.