PSYCHIATRIC INFORMATION

As reported by CBS 11 News, a mother has started a crusade against antidepressants after being prescribed Zoloft after her son’s birth.  After taking the drug she recalled:

“As I walked past the stairs, I could see on the corner of my eyes what looked like me standing on the stairs holding him and then tossing him the rest of the way down to the bottom of the stairs.”

Funny enough, her life returned to normal once she stopped taking Zoloft.

Antidepressants for teenagers and children have become a controversial topic thanks to all the evidence that is surfacing linking the side effects of these drugs to suicides and violent behavior. For years many groups have been calling for the investigation of the side effects from drugs like Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. Particularly when they are prescribed to children and young adults. This year the US FDA and several other governments have determined that antidepressants are causing the deaths of many children. Some have banned the drugs outright while others have required to place a strong warning label on these drugs.

I just found this press release about a man who after taking Zoloft for only a short time killed himself unexpectedly. Below are some clips about his suicide and how it related to recent warnings that antidepressants cause suicide.

Russell Johnson, a 54-year-old Nebraska native who spent much of his life in O’Neill, survived cancer surgery two years ago and was talking about retiring, maybe moving to South Dakota.

And then one summer day, without warning, he left the job he’d had for 28 years, went home for lunch and shot himself, according to family members.

Vancouver (OPENPRESS) September 5, 2005 — The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a psychiatric watchdog group, said Tom Cruise’s remarks on NBC’s Today Show recently represent a growing public awareness about the national crisis of children and adults being prescribed damaging mind-altering drugs.

Brian Beaumont, President of the British Columbia chapter of CCHR said, “The Today Show interview was a warning that people need to be beware of psychiatry and its purported research rather than accepting at face value concepts such as a chemical imbalance in the brain causing their problems, which can deny them real help.”

Yet another person commits violent murder after being prescribed antidepressants. This time it was the drug Effexor.

Authorities said Mulumba Kazigo broke into his fathers residence, repeatedly beat him with a bat and then cut his father’s throat with a knife while he slept Wednesday morning.

According to Healthwise, a nonprofit organization, the Effexor’s side effects can include hostility, worsening depression and suicidal thoughts. There have been reports throughout the nation of people who allegedly committed violent crimes while on antidepressants, including a Maryland teen who poisoned his best friend and is serving a life sentence.

The Psychiatric News is reporting that since the FDA has ordered drug companies to place a strong black box warnings on anti-depressants there has been nearly a 20% drop in the number of prescriptions for these drugs. The black box warning is over the drastic increase in the amount of people who kill themselves after taking these drugs. It seems that a big side effect of antidepressants like Paxil, Effexor, Prozac, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Zoloft and Remeron is an increase of up to 700% in the number of people who kill themselves. I think drugs that cause people to commit suicide should never be prescribed. So a 20% drop is just a good start.

Antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft have been the big topic in the news lately. It seems that much of the scientific evidence showing the link between suicide and antidepressants has been being kept secret by the big drug companies like Glaxo Smith Kline, Eli Lilly and Pfizer.

I guess I could see why… Who wants to tell their customers: “Not only do our drugs make you fat and kill your sex drive, but they also make you want to kill yourself”!

I’m glad to see more sensible advice being given in the media when it comes to taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. Many people are so quick to turn to these powerful mind altering drugs like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. Because the pharmaceutical companies have spent billions of dollars on marketing to doctors and publicity campaigns to the public - it is a common misconception that these drugs are needed to “cure” anxiety and depression. Even many doctors are falsely convinced that there are “chemical imbalances” causing these problems. After all, you hear about it in the media all the time… right? The facts are: psychiatry and the big drug companies have yet to even produce scientific evidence proving that the chemical imbalances even exist! So exactly what are these drugs (and all their side effects) needed for?

While browsing the news today, I learned of a new side effect from psychiatric drugs like antidepressants (Prozac, Zoloft & Paxil), Zyprexa, Risperdal and other drugs prescribed for psychiatric reasons. That side effect is weight gain. Apparently, in some cases, drastic weight gain (to the tune of over 100 pounds). Yesterday, the New York Times has pointed this out in an article about some drugs causing weight gain.

While this is a minor side effect when compared to death, suicide and psychosis - I nonetheless thought I should point this out.