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Three Cheers for SSRIs
By
Teri Borseti
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When Prozac first hit the market in 1988 people were frightened of it. TV talk show hosts like Phil Donahue dedicated entire episodes to the new antidepressant claiming the drug caused people to do crazy things like put their babies in the oven or try to commit suicide.
Once the negative exposure surrounding the Vista Lab drug died down people quickly learned that Prozac was good news. The SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) antidepressant was the biggest thing to happen in psychiatric pharmacology since the advent of antidepressants in the 1960’s that included drugs like Elavil and Anafranil.
Prozac’s function involves balancing levels of Serotonin in patient’s brains thereby improving moods for many. It didn’t take long before millions of Americans went on the drug, some with tremendous results. In the years that followed, other SSRI’s were developed including Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro and others, and have met with great success for many.
There is a reason why these pharmaceutical companies are doing so well selling these drugs. It’s because they work and today 11% of the population in the United States takes the drug regularly. The vast majority of patients taking Prozac agree that taking a chemical to improve their quality of life is worth it.
Depression, sleepiness or insomnia, unexplained aches and pains, fatigue, loss of interest in doing things a person used to love are all signs of a possible brain chemistry imbalance. Anyone with these symptoms would be remiss not to ask their doctor about antidepressants. In addition the drug can be prescribed for post partum depression and PMS.
Add a Comment42 Comments
Yes, someone has done the research on this.
Dave Short of Northern California looked at SSRI Stories and found that of the 189 completed murder-suicides, 55 of them were committed by a woman.
If you take into account that women are two and one-half times more likely to be on an antidepressant than men [in general] and also that women only commit 5% of all murder-suicides [see http://www.tcfv.org/tcfv-content/new-study-on-murder-suicide-cases/ from the Violence Policy Center], then in general woman should be committing 12 and one-half % of the completed murder suicides. On www.ssristories.com/index.php they are committing 29% of the completed murder-suicides.
So this shows that a person, either man or woman, [if a woman is twice as likely to commit a completed murde-suicide on an SSRI than they would apply to men also] is a little over twice as likely to commit a completed murder-suicide if they are on an antidepressant. This is statistically significant.
April 24, 2009 - 7:11amThis Comment
In that case I guess my specific question was "Have you done the research on this"? or are you just doing a copy/paste...
April 24, 2009 - 8:10amThis Comment
Wow.... sounds like a lot of bitching from people who tried Prozac and didn't get the desired results.
Maybe the E-Bay killer can just say he was on Prozac and all will be forgiven.... Has anyone actually done the research on this? I ask again... has anyone actually conducted their own statistical research or are we just Google-ing stats and repeating what we read off of Wikipedia... Is anyone here a licensed MD or Therapist?
I can say one thing... if my doctor handed me a piece of paper and said
"Here, take these, they'll make you feel better". I would most definitely do a lot of research before just swallowing a bunch of pills.
To those of you who did that and ended up with these terrible side-effects.... shame on you for being so naive. To those of you who know people who committed suicide... don't blame the drug, blame the person who was too weak minded to begin with to deal with their issues and tried to cover them up with pill instead. And to those of you who took anti depressants and got worse... maybe you should deal with the "real" issues in your life.. your bad marriage, your size 14 butt, your on-line porn addiction....
April 24, 2009 - 7:05amThis Comment
Impairing one's ability to metabolize serotonin so that serotonin levels will increase is exactly how antidepressants work, thus the title SSRI - selective sertonin reuptake inhibitor, and has for decades been known to produce mental retardation. Thank you for demonstrating that for us. But beyond that impairing serotonin metabolism has long been known to produce MANIA (which is what is making each of you feel like you are feeling better), impulsive murder & suicide, psychosis, disabling depression and anxiety, etc. And yes, before you ask that is according to peer reviewed journal articles - many done by the manufacturers of these drugs themselves.
April 24, 2009 - 8:35amThis Comment
I agree with both of the above comments. I have a brother who had a brilliant scientific career until a doctor put him on Prozac simply because he was worried about a life circumstance that he could have handled without the Prozac but was never able to handle after being put on the drug. He changed so dramatically overnite that I went looking for information on Prozac and found Peter Breggin's book Talking Back to Prozac,which explained the problem and documented large numbers of cases of violence, homicide, and bizarre behaviour related to Prozac use. MY brother lost his wife, his home, his career and all semblance of financial security shortly after being put on the Prozac. Due to the new privacy laws we were not able to discuss the problem with his doctor. Like most people on substances that alter their mental status, he thought he was doing well on the drug and did not want to discuss the obvious fact that it was disabling him.
I have since followed reports of violence, homicide and school shootings related to these drugs in the news, expecting that they would be removed from the market or severely restricted. Many of the people harmed by Prozac have had no history of significant mental illness; many had simple day to day concerns like anxiety about a school exam that would have been treated with simple couseling and reassurance 20 years ago. Instead they were given Prozac or an ssri and wound up dead. The ssri antidepressants resemble street drugs in that they make the user feel euphoric and stimulated at first, then proceed to destroy his or her life in all too many cases.
April 24, 2009 - 6:07amThis Comment
People who kill themselves or someone else would most likely have done it anyway. If Prozac is no different than a sugar pill how could it make people do such things?
April 24, 2009 - 5:51amFor me it balanced my chemicals and not the other way around.
This Comment
I did not say that it was like a sugar pill, I said the research (research completed by the drug manufacturers themselves) showed that antidepressants were of NO MORE BENEFIT THAN A SUGAR PILL. They produce no more benefits than if you were taking a sugar pill, but the LISTED side effects are as deadly as suicidal and homicidal ideation (obsession). These drugs are very strong stimulants (the opposite of a depressant is a stimulant, thus ANTI-depressant = stimulant) and as such can produce a temporary high. Just how long one is able to stay on the high depends on their own body makeup. Then the crash comes and I hear from all of you. Trust me, learn the truth BEFORE you reach that point. The people suffering these horrific effects were normal everyday people just like you with NO background of previous mental illness, violence or other problems. Some were prescribed these drugs for things like stomach pain, warts, insomnia, etc. yet are now dead or spending the rest of their lives in prison wondering how they could have done what they are told they did (you rarely have memory of it since you are not awake when you do whatever it is). Dr. Tracy
April 24, 2009 - 12:24pmThis Comment
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. All I know is that Prozac transformed me from a person crying in the fetal position to someone who has been about to take on the world. My work life, family life and outlook improved by 100%. When you're depressed enough that you don't care about living side effects and risks take a back seat.
April 24, 2009 - 5:48amThis Comment
"Depression, sleepiness or insomnia, unexplained aches and pains, fatigue, loss of interest" (along with high blood sugar, paralyzed diaphragm, sleep apnea, nightmares, tripping and falling repeatedly) are all things I never had until the doctor put me on antidepressants when my husband was ill because he was worried about my weight loss. Two suicide attempts later they finally realized the drugs were causing the problems. Then the withdrawal was even more horrific.
April 24, 2009 - 5:47amThis Comment
I have never read such nonsense... oh wait, I have... on Pharmaceutical websites!
Perhaps Teri Borseti can point me to the scientific papers that suggest depression is a result of a brain chemistry imbalance?
Seroxat Sufferers Author
April 24, 2009 - 4:34amhttp://fiddaman.blogspot.com
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