wonder drugs

[threeplusfire]

Do antidepressants increase the possibility of suicide in teenagers and children?

There are not words to express how angry articles like these make me. The fact that doctors blithely prescribe medicines like this without even having a fucking clue about what the dosage should be for a kid, that drug companies can conceal negative trials, that they lie and obfuscate, that someone fucking made me take these drugs when I was sixteen and I nearly died and maybe it really wasn't all my fault?

"Because the studies also found that Paxil was no more effective than a placebo in treating young people's depression, the regulators recommended that doctors write no new Paxil prescriptions for patients under 18. Experts say that the suicide risk is highest in the first few weeks young patients are on the drug."

It makes my hands shake, just thinking about those horrible weeks, and the screaming match I had with my mother when I refused to take any more medication. It's paticularily chilling in light of my life now, and all these things I am so lucky to have and to have experienced. It could have never happened at all.

Comments

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

Paxil nearly killed a good friend of mine, after triggering a manic upswing (and they have unipolar depression). I hate the fucking pharmaceutical industry.

[a311renegade.livejournal.com]

I'm on paxil now. It took about 4 weeks to kick in without too many side effects this time. It has helped me from being uber-depressed, but it doesn't do much for the anxiety. I don't look forward to weening myself off of it.

[amp23.livejournal.com]

after watching my brother turn into a monster at the dawning of the Prozac age, and an admission by my doctor that treating mental illness was a trial and error process, i became totally disillusioned with the pharmaceutical industry.

learning later on what was being done with Ritalin and other dangerous psychoactives after hardly any testing and no real diagnosis criteria beyond the word of "professionals" just cemented my hate for drug companies and the doctors that act as their overpriced vending machines.

it is only the very small margin of serious illness that sees any overall benefit from dangerous experimentation with untried treatments. the vast majority of mental illness, in my opinion, would be "cured" by correcting the diet of the afflicted, adding supplements for those whose bodies still produce chemical imbalances even when on corrective nutrition.

the correlation between certain types of intake (calorie rich, nutrient poor foods) and the symptoms of mental illness has a mountain of physical evidence that grows by the year as "problem child" schools show the 180 degree difference in personality proper diet can have.

the main problem is getting people on the diets they need would bankrupt the fast food industry, and they aren't gonna watch their profits dry up without a fight

[veux.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I really hate the way they prescribed anti-depressants for me when I probably didn't need them. I'm so sick of the way the psychiatric community treats minors. Blah.

[kleverkira.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I was on Risperdal for a while and it made my body think it was pregnant. I skipped periods, gained weight, and started lactating. It just compounded the depression/anxiety. And then when I was in the psych hospital and TOLD them what was going on, they UPPED my dosage. I just wanted to die.

[rawumber.livejournal.com]

[snuggles]

Paxil and I were a horrible, horrible match. Some drugs make problems so much larger. Some drugs aren't researched properly in certain situations.

But some drugs save lives.