- This past week the CDC released some very shocking news
- antidepressants are now officially the most prescribed drugs on the market
today.
-
- And why is that news shocking? Let's take a look at the
facts:
-
- #1 In 2004 the FDA began to warn the public that they
were seeing an increase in suicides among youth with the use of antidepressant
medications.
-
- #2 In 2005 the official warning came from the FDA that
antidepressants double the rate of suicide for those under age 18. This
was a sweeping warning for any antidepressant ever introduced to the
market and any to ever be approved in the future. (This warning was
the next closest thing they could impose next to an outright ban of the
drugs.)
-
- #3 The FDA also warned all users of these drugs
at the same time that any abrupt change in dose of one of these drugs,
whether increasing or decreasing the drug, could produce suicide,
hostility or psychosis.
-
- #4 In December 2006 the warning for increased suicide
was extended by the FDA to anyone under the age of 25.
-
- #5 In August 2007 Dr. Thomas Insel, head of the National
Institute of Mental Health in speaking of new studies being conducted with
the use of Ketamine ("Special K" is the street name for this
sister drug to PCP - Angel Dust) in the treatment of depression said that
antidepressants produce the same effect as Ketamine. The only difference
noted was that Ketamine produced these effects instantly where antidepressants
take a few weeks to produce that effect. They were impressed that
Ketamine would rid a patient of depression immediately where the antidepressants
would take several weeks to do the same, yet when one is aware that Ketamine
and PCP are dissociative anesthetics, no one would expect the patient to
FEEL anything! [For two decades I have warned that these antidepressants
are much too similar in action to the hallucinogens PCP and LSD.]
-
- #6 The news came out in January 2008 that the
initial studies done on antidepressants demonstrated that these drugs are
of no more benefit than a placebo. Why was no one aware of that? Doctors
and patients were no aware of this because the very large majority of the
negative studies were never made public.
-
- #7 Although the benefit of antidepressants is non-existent,
these drugs have a very long list of serious and very deadly side effects.
-
- #8 The most popular antidepressant on the market, Effexor,
now has "homicidal ideation" (obsessive/ruminating thoughts
of killing and how to kill) listed as a side effect. The manufacturer had
this data for over a decade, yet they chose to not disclose that until
a few years ago. Before that warning was added: [I will mention just
a handful of cases of professionals who should have known.]
-
- Andrea Yates, a nurse, drowned her five children
while taking this drug. Then, while Andrea's case was in court a female
doctor in Illinois on the same drug, killed one son and severely injured
another. In Tennessee another female doctor also on Effexor slit her
7 year old son's throat and then her own. And then it really hit home for
Wyeth when one of their own employees, Cassandra Burgess, whose job it
was to take adverse reaction reports on Effexor was killed along with her
parents and daughter by her husband who was taking Effexor. He then took
his own life. So even though she heard the adverse reports daily on Effexor
she still missed the signs in her own husband (although they were there if
you knew what signs to look for) soon enough to save herself and her
family.
-
- The role of the FDA is to judge the risk to benefit of
medications. After seeing the studies demonstrating no more benefit than
a placebo, yet deadly enough to produce brutal homicides, why are these
drugs still on the market? And why on earth are they the most popular medications?!
And the biggest question of all . . . WHY IS IT OKAY IN AMERICA OR ANYWHERE
ELSE TO HAVE PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS THAT CAN PRODUCE HOMICIDAL TENDENCIES AS
A SIDE EFFECT ???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
- We now have medical studies showing that antidepressants:
-
- - are of no more benefit than a sugar pill
-
- - produce fatal birth defects from heart malformations
and PPH (Primary Pulminary Hypertension)
-
- - produce mania which includes: wild spending leading
to bankruptcy, sexual compulsions, pyromania leading to arson, another
form of mania leads to compulsions for alcohol
-
- - keep patients from forming or maintaining meaningful
romantic relationships and that marriage relationships of 40 + years suddenly
end with the numbness that comes from these drugs thus destroying many
families via divorce.
-
- - increase chances of breast cancer by 7 times
-
- - induce LSD flashbacks and LSD like reactions
-
- - produce amazingly high incidents of psychotic
breaks leading to an increase in Bipolar Disorder of over 4000% in one
decade!
-
- - double the level of cortisol with one dose (steroid
effect)
-
- - produce Diabetes, Alzheimer's, Autism, Fybromyalgia
- all of which have skyrocketed in the last two decades that these drugs
have become so widely used
-
- - produce pedophilia while we now have an epidemic of
female school teachers seducing male students
-
- - dramatically increase suicide
-
- - so strongly affect memory that "amnesia"
is listed as a "frequent" side effect leaving many patients with
severe memory loss and false memories leading them to falsely accuse others
of various abuses
-
- - produce serious weight gain leading to many additional
health problems
-
- - reports are that approximately one third of pregnant
women are now taking antidepressants as their baby's brains form in the
womb leaving us to ask what the end result might be
-
- All of this helps to answer the question everyone is
asking, "What on earth is happening to our world?!"
-
- And once again I ask the same question I have asked for
two decades now, "WHY are the antidepressants still on the market?"
-
- [For any scientific material backing up ANY of the
above statements please feel free to contact me.]
-
-
- Ann Blake-Tracy, PhD, Executive Director, International Coalition
for Drug Awareness www.drugawareness.org & www.ssristories.org Author
of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare & the
audio, Help! I Can't Get Off My Antidepressant!!! (800-280-0730)
-
- Phone: 801-209-1800 E-mail: <mailto:atracyphd1@aol.com>atracyphd1@aol.com
________________________________________
-
- Warnings from the FDA Mandated Medication Guide on Antidepressants:
-
- · thoughts about suicide or dying · attempts
to commit suicide · new or worse depression · new or worse
anxiety · feeling very agitated or restless · panic attacks
· trouble sleeping (insomnia) · new or worse irritability
· acting aggressive, being angry, or violent · acting on
dangerous impulses · an extreme increase in activity and talking
(mania) · other unusual changes in behavior or mood · Never
stop an antidepressant medicine without first talking to a healthcare provider.
Stopping an antidepressant medicine suddenly can cause other symptoms.
_____________________________________
-
- From the CNN article below we read: "The use of
antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs -- those that affect brain
chemistry -- has skyrocketed over the last decade."
-
- "According to a government study [by the CDC], antidepressants
have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. They're
prescribed more than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
asthma, or headaches. "
-
- http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/09/antidepressants/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
-
- CDC: Antidepressants: Most prescribed drugs in US
-
- Antidepressants such as Paxil, Prozac and Lexapro are
among America's most-prescribed drugs.
-
-
- By Elizabeth Cohen CNN
-
- Story Highlights CDC: Antidepressants most-prescribed
drugs in the U.S. Of 2.4 billion prescriptions in 2005, 118 million were
for antidepressants Expert: 25 percent of adults will have a major depressive
episode at some point
-
- ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Dr. Ronald Dworkin tells the
story of a woman who didn't like the way her husband was handling the family
finances. She wanted to start keeping the books herself but didn't want
to insult her husband.
-
- The doctor suggested she try an antidepressant to make
herself feel better.
-
- She got the antidepressant, and she did feel better,
said Dr. Dworkin, a Maryland anesthesiologist and senior fellow at Washington's
Hudson Institute, who told the story in his book "Artificial Unhappiness:
The Dark Side of the New Happy Class." But in the meantime, Dworkin
says, the woman's husband led the family into financial ruin.
-
-
- "Doctors are now medicating unhappiness," said
Dworkin. "Too many people take drugs when they really need to be making
changes in their lives."
-
- DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS
-
- Could you be depressed? Not everyone who is depressed
experiences every symptom. Some people experience a few symptoms, some
many.
-
- * Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood
Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed,
including sex Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions Insomnia, early-morning
awakening, or oversleeping Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and
weight gain Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts Restlessness,
irritability
-
- Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment,
such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain
-
- Source: National Institute of Mental Health
-
- For Dworkin, the proof is in the statistics. According
to a government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed
drugs in the United States. They're prescribed more than drugs to treat
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches. _CNN's Elizabeth
Cohen discusses the CDC study on antidepressants
-
-
- http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/09/antidepressants/index.html?eref=rss_topstories#cnnSTCVideo
-
-
- In its study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention looked at 2.4 billion drugs prescribed in visits to doctors
and hospitals in 2005. Of those, 118 million were for antidepressants.
-
- High blood pressure drugs were the next most-common with
113 million prescriptions.
-
- The use of antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs
-- those that affect brain chemistry -- has skyrocketed over the last decade.
-
- Adult use of antidepressants almost tripled between the
periods 1988-1994 and 1999-2000.
-
- Between 1995 and 2002, the most recent year for which
statistics are available, the use of these drugs rose 48 percent, the CDC
reported. Many psychiatrists see this statistic as good news -- a sign
that finally Americans feel comfortable asking for help with psychiatric
problems.
-
-
- "Depression is a major public health issue,"
said Dr. Kelly Posner, an assistant professor at Columbia University College
of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. "The fact that people
are getting the treatments they need is encouraging."
-
-
- She added that 25 percent of adults will have a major
depressive episode sometime in their life, as will 8 percent of adolescents.
"Those are remarkably high numbers," Posner said.
-
-
- While Posner says genuine _depression_is driving the
prescription numbers
-
-
- http://topics.cnn.com/topics/depression
-
-
- Dr. Robert Goodman, an internist in
-
- New York City, says the real force behind skyrocketing
antidepressant prescription rates is pharmaceutical marketing to doctors
and to consumers. "You put those two together and you get a lot of
prescriptions for antidepressants," he said.
-
-
- He questions whether all those prescriptions are necessary.
"It's hard to believe that number of people are depressed, or that
antidepressants are the answer," he said.
-
-
- Goodman is the founder of a group called "No Free
Lunch," a group that encourages doctors to reject gifts from pharmaceutical
companies. He added that patients sometimes see ads for antidepressants
on television and ask doctors for the drugs -- and that studies show these
requests work.
-
-
- In a study published two years ago in the Journal of
the American Medical Association, actors pretending to be patients went
to doctors in the San Francisco area and said they were depressed.
-
-
- The "patients" who asked for an antidepressant
were significantly more likely to get a prescription for one than patients
who didn't ask for an antidepressant.
-
- "Patients' requests have a profound effect on physician
prescribing in major depression and adjustment disorders," concluded
the study's authors. But Posner's concern is about under-prescribing, not
over-prescribing.
-
- "Fifty percent of African-Americans who have depression
don't seek treatment for it," she said. "Not enough people are
getting the treatment they need."
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