tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post3401049353346574738..comments2024-03-28T09:59:51.779-05:00Comments on Family Dysfunction and Mental Health Blog: SSRI TalesDavid M. Allen M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06280912088483192599noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-70153546410913408582014-01-26T07:36:41.639-06:002014-01-26T07:36:41.639-06:00I have taken SSRI ( Seroxat ) chemical name is Par...I have taken SSRI ( Seroxat ) chemical name is Paroxetine for about 2 to 3 years and now I am very well without it. If anyone need help how to get off it I will help you for free. Just contact me nouk_cjb_net@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-20112914563531474052012-11-29T12:46:27.689-06:002012-11-29T12:46:27.689-06:00Yes, you are right. Please the paragraph about pa...Yes, you are right. Please the paragraph about paxil near the end of the post. I was not implying that the drug company made up this data to demonize their product; they were clearly hiding it until the drug was no longer a big profit center for them.<br /><br />A lot of drugs of all sorts, not just psych meds, can cause birth defects in a baby if the mother takes them during pregnancy. ALL meds should be avoided, especially during the first trimester, if at all possible. <br /><br />Since doing experiments on humans to see if a given drug causes birth defects would be unethical, for a lot of meds, the answer is "we just don't know," so err on the side of caution.David M. Allen M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280912088483192599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-16629820971426168492012-11-29T08:27:55.621-06:002012-11-29T08:27:55.621-06:00I've already read some reliable studies about ...I've already read some reliable studies about this subject and it shows that some of the SSRIs has really caused birth defects to some babies after their mothers has been taking anti-depressant drugs during her pregnancy.<br />Some of those affected parties even filed a <a href="http://www.rotlaw.com/ssri-birth-defects-lawsuits/" rel="nofollow">birth defect lawsuit</a> to get compensated from the damages that they have suffered. I think this is more than just a tale.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03950350375278393101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-34117605304474215312010-09-29T20:04:29.005-05:002010-09-29T20:04:29.005-05:00Hi AA,
Thanks for your comment.
I did a litera...Hi AA,<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. <br /><br />I did a literature search on Fava, whose first name is actually Giovanni. In a review article of his in 2003 he explored the possibility later discussed by Whitaker, but said in the conclusion of the article (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 64(2):123-33, 2003 Feb) "At present we have no sound data to support the view that antidepressant drugs may worsen the course of depression, and, if they do, whether the problem is generalized or very limited....There is only a high degree of suspicion if we examine various clinical phenomena reported in the literature."<br /><br />In the body of the article he discusses some of the same diagnostic issues (dysthymia vs. major depression) and methodological problems with current studies that I discuss in this post and in some previous posts.<br /><br />He also says in the conclusion that with severe major depression, "There are no feasible alternatives to treating major depressive episodes with antidepressant drugs..."David M. Allen M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280912088483192599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-11158503190964991832010-09-29T06:02:48.275-05:002010-09-29T06:02:48.275-05:00Dr. Allen,
Have you seen the articles by Gustava ...Dr. Allen,<br /><br />Have you seen the articles by Gustava (sp?) Fava who suggests that long term treatment of antidepressant drugs worsen the outcome of depression?<br /><br />It sounds like he is suggesting that just being on ADs long term can do what Robert Whitaker has suggested.<br /><br />Thanks!<br /><br />AAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-26994504212709114242010-09-18T15:50:29.413-05:002010-09-18T15:50:29.413-05:00Hi Sara,
Thanks for your comment. It's good ...Hi Sara,<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. It's good to hear from you again.<br /><br />You just said the magic words: "They are almost all reliant not just on their SSRI but a whole host of other drugs -- benzos, hypnotics, antipyschotics." <br /><br />At least some of the damage to people that you are seeing is from people who are on what we call polypharmacy, often with no good rationale. One post on an anti-SSRI website I looked at mentioned that the person posting had also been put an Adderall - an amphetamine. Speed kills!<br /><br />I believe from my clinical experience that the damage of which you speak, and it is certainly real, is usually not caused by the proper prescribing of SSRI's but from improper prescribing of multiple meds. My residents and I have to get new patients off of these horrible stews of medication all the time.<br /><br />I go into detail about the misdiagnoses that these people get labeled with in my new book, and the misuse of antipsychotics and amphetamines as well.David M. Allen M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280912088483192599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-15211526843118565202010-09-18T14:33:24.082-05:002010-09-18T14:33:24.082-05:00Dr. Allen, I have corresponded with you before on ...Dr. Allen, I have corresponded with you before on the issue of Robert Whitaker and the thesis he carefully presents in his book and you admitted then you hadn't read it and from the way you are summarizing what you call his "assertion" here it's quite clear you still haven't read it. His argument has more to do with long term outcomes of people taking medications vs. people who don't and he presents a great deal of evidence in the form of published studies as well as case examples. I think the person doing the "asserting" here is yourself, not Robert Whitaker. <br /><br />You clearly believe strongly in the clinical experience you have had with SSRI antidepressants. It's true I really don't know how to explain it because all the people I know who have been on SSRIs long term are either doing poorly or like delicate time bombs waiting to implode either physically or mentally. They are almost all reliant not just on their SSRI but a whole host of other drugs -- benzos, hypnotics, antipyschotics. It's scary that these people are walking around, driving cars, trying to hold jobs. They are very fragile, yet also kind of zombie like. I am greatly saddened because I don't think many of them deserved to have their lives impacted in this way.Sarahttp://www.ssristories.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-42703830361143622182010-09-01T11:17:32.257-05:002010-09-01T11:17:32.257-05:00Rossa - I was talking about SSRI's in this par...Rossa - I was talking about SSRI's in this particular post, and I was talking about long term clinical experience as well as the few and usually inadequate long term double blind studies.<br /><br />The situation with anti-psychotics is more complicated, but people stop taking them for all kinds of reasons besides lack of effectiveness. Also, sometimes symptoms break through because of non-compliance, substance abuse, or family discord. Psychiatrists these days don't spend enough time with patients to find out about these extraneous factors, and jump to the false conclusion that the medication is no longer working. So they change it - often again and again and again. Bad psychiatry!<br /><br />Clinically, we see a lot of patients with severe schizophrenia who have been stable on the same meds for decades. The downside of that is that those are the patients who often develop tardive dyskinesia.David M. Allen M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280912088483192599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3125132926699584358.post-84126992600524568062010-09-01T03:31:04.501-05:002010-09-01T03:31:04.501-05:00You may be technically correct that there is not a...You may be technically correct that there is not a shred of evidence (I'm assuming you are referring to double blind studies), but who is actually doing these long run studies? Isn't this part of the problem? Loads of short term studies, no long term studies? According to studies, people stay on their antipsychotics an average of 18 month before switching or dropping. That would imply that their short term experience with these drugs is not a good one. I don't know of any studies that are interested in the outcomes of people on psych meds long term. <br /><br />But NO, there is not a shred of clinical or experimental evidence to back up Robert Whitaker’s assertion that patients who get better with the meds in the short run are made worse by them in the long runAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06700295858497275586noreply@blogger.com