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Antidepressants Prove Addictive to Some

KarasKaras Posts: 68
edited August 2006 in A Moving Train
this is about an article on the following page,

http://www.sabaidi.net/talk_about.htm


I think this is an interesting article. It definately rasises the question of whether or not we live in an over medicated world by bringing to light the downside to the easy answer; medication.

What is most dangerous about this is when Young Teenagers are given Paxil and other similar medication. Its just setting them off on a bumpy road.

I'll leave the quesion up for discussion though...

Are anti depressants such as paxil causing more harm than good ??
I scream in affirmation
of connecting dislocations
and exceeding limitations
by achieving levitation
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    spongersponger Posts: 3,160
    I don't know anything about Effexor, but Paxil is bad shit. Basically, those are the only two drugs that the article discusses. Prozac is briefly mentioned, but it is not described as causing a large number of complaints.

    It's a good idea to be aware of the potential side effects, but in no way should these drugs be written off entirely. People do benefit from them. Every drug has its side effects. It's up to the doctor to decide if the patient's quality of life will improve enough to justify the risks.
    reigning champion

    http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
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    AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,569
    Some doctors believe that prolonged use of medication significantly damages the brain. My ex-girlfriend took Paxil and when she quit she was no better off. It did her no good, she had panic attacks even with it. She's just mental and needs to realize that life sucks for everyone. Most of these problems I imagine are psychological and should be dealt with without medication.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
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    Heatherj43Heatherj43 Posts: 1,254
    It is my opinion that Paxil sux! I have been on Paxil and on other kinds of antidepressants. Paxil has these weird side effects. Not ALL anti-depressants are like that.
    I am on Remeron now and it is okay.
    Save room for dessert!
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    PaperPlatesPaperPlates Posts: 1,745
    The doctor said I'd be alright, but I still feel blue.
    Why go home

    www.myspace.com/jensvad
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    KarasKaras Posts: 68
    i imagine that long term use of these anti depressants has to do some damage...dependancy if nothing else. I have seriously considered taking some but have always shyed away from it...to afraid of the dependancy issues...

    I know some people on paxil, and seem alright, but I dont really spend enough time to see the whole picture...

    do you think most of these issues are chemical, and can only be solved by chemicals, or do you think the issues are personal problems ??

    For me i was going through a lot of personal stuff, that took me really deep, and fortunately had a rebirth...I also think that naturally I am inclined towards depression, which I have just worked hard at dealing with in a constructive way(writing, etc. ) and then pulling myself out of it...
    I scream in affirmation
    of connecting dislocations
    and exceeding limitations
    by achieving levitation
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    know1know1 Posts: 6,763
    We definitely live in an overmedicated world. I believe most people do not need most of the medicines they are taking - especially for depression/anxiety reasons.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
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    suffragettesuffragette Posts: 253
    Meds help initially. It's the maintenance that kills you. In many cases, when it comes to MH, the cure is worse that the disease in the long run. But unfortunately, most of us do not have the resources to take a year off to detox. I take the smallest dose possible. I've always been noncompliant.
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    O-ren IshiiO-ren Ishii Posts: 57
    This is an article full of opinion and little science. It takes weeks for these medications to achieve an appropriate level in the bloodstream to have any effects. The idea of developing symptoms within hours of stopping the meds is absurd, especially if the person is taking Paxil. It's dosed once daily, so why would someone suddenly develop all of these symptoms just because they know it's their last dose? They usually have 24 hours between doses.

    It's too bad that people who need lifelong medication are branded "addicted". Would you say that a person with high blood pressure is addicted to their meds or a diabetic is? Some people have mental illness that isn't cured by medication but it's managed so they can live their lives. Is that wrong?

    A single course of medication can "cure" depression in some people, and they never have problems again. But it's simply not that way with everyone.
    We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality. - Ayn Rand
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    SpartanacusSpartanacus Oviedo, FL Posts: 822
    know1 wrote:
    We definitely live in an overmedicated world. I believe most people do not need most of the medicines they are taking - especially for depression/anxiety reasons.
    Wow know1...I actually agree with part of what you said.

    Karas...what know1 meant to say is that we're all better off smoking a little of the whacky tobacky instead of popping anti-depressants and who knows what else for the rest of our lives. ;)

    See the "Rx, Meth, Coke" thread below if you haven't already...

    http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=208398
    19 Pearl Jam shows and still searching for Deep!
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    2021 (3) - Dana Point I, II & III; 2022 (3) - San Diego & Los Angeles I & II; 2025 - Southern U.S. Tour Please!
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    binauralsoundsbinauralsounds Posts: 1,357
    I was put on Paxil to wean myself off of xanax (been on it way too long, prescribed of course) and I took that dam bottle of paxil and threw it in the garbage. That shit is horrible!!!!!!
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    suffragettesuffragette Posts: 253
    O-ren Ishii wrote:
    This is an article full of opinion and little science. It takes weeks for these medications to achieve an appropriate level in the bloodstream to have any effects. The idea of developing symptoms within hours of stopping the meds is absurd, especially if the person is taking Paxil. It's dosed once daily, so why would someone suddenly develop all of these symptoms just because they know it's their last dose? They usually have 24 hours between doses.

    It's too bad that people who need lifelong medication are branded "addicted". Would you say that a person with high blood pressure is addicted to their meds or a diabetic is? Some people have mental illness that isn't cured by medication but it's managed so they can live their lives. Is that wrong?

    A single course of medication can "cure" depression in some people, and they never have problems again. But it's simply not that way with everyone.


    I agree. But people with mental illness are often treated as guinea pigs for meds, whereas those with "real" (sarcasm intended) illnesses are not.

    We now have a generation of mi consumers shaking away because of the wonder drugs Haldol and Thorazine. How do we know those who took Prozac (me included) will not develop something like that in the future?

    MI drugs are often used for the wrong reasons and prescribed by family doctors, not psychiatrists. For that reason, people are taking drugs that they shouldn't be taking. Remember how Prozac was prescribed for shyness?
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    KarasKaras Posts: 68
    thats crazy man...The whole idea of weening yourself off of perscription drugs is serious, but kind of funny...

    I mean no disrespect...It just makes me happy to have found, and been content with, alternative natural methods, like Spartanacus says...

    Although, I must admit, it made the situation worse many times, and put me on border line of my sanity for a while in College...It brought me to zero, which i attribute for allowing me to have a "rebirth"...in the long run I know it was the best thing for me...

    I dont think its for everyone...
    I scream in affirmation
    of connecting dislocations
    and exceeding limitations
    by achieving levitation
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    binauralsoundsbinauralsounds Posts: 1,357
    Karas wrote:
    thats crazy man...The whole idea of weening yourself off of perscription drugs is serious, but kind of funny...

    I mean no disrespect...It just makes me happy to have found, and been content with, alternative natural methods, like Spartanacus says...

    Although, I must admit, it made the situation worse many times, and put me on border line of my sanity for a while in College...It brought me to zero, which i attribute for allowing me to have a "rebirth"...in the long run I know it was the best thing for me...

    I dont think its for everyone...

    I have to ween myself off of xanax because I take xanax for attacks stemming from exposure to nerve gas in the 1st gulf war. not kind of funny at all!
    I'm seeking other ways other than meds.
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    KarasKaras Posts: 68
    I'm sorry man...like I said, i mean no disrespect.

    I didn'r really mean ha ha funny, as much as an ironic sense of funny, in that prescription drugs are meant to help, but to have to wean off them alludes to the fact that they are causing you harm...
    I scream in affirmation
    of connecting dislocations
    and exceeding limitations
    by achieving levitation
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    binauralsoundsbinauralsounds Posts: 1,357
    Karas wrote:
    I'm sorry man...like I said, i mean no disrespect.

    I didn'r really mean ha ha funny, as much as an ironic sense of funny, in that prescription drugs are meant to help, but to have to wean off them alludes to the fact that they are causing you harm...

    no prob. I get what your'e sayin now! Yeah, prety messed up. They said it's better to slowly get off the xanax so i won't have withdrawls and that paxil would help with anxiety attacks. YEAH RIGHT! Dam that. I pitched em!
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    Heatherj43Heatherj43 Posts: 1,254
    binauralsounds wrote:
    no prob. I get what your'e sayin now! Yeah, prety messed up. They said it's better to slowly get off the xanax so i won't have withdrawls and that paxil would help with anxiety attacks. YEAH RIGHT! Dam that. I pitched em!
    I'm licensed in my state to do substance abuse counseling. Along the way, I learned that only alcohol and benzodiazapenes, which is xanax, can cause death while withdrawing. Heroin may feel like you are going to die, but the two I named can kill you if stopped abruptly.
    Paxil is horrible! I wish doctors would realize that. There are many other drugs that are fine that can help with withdrawing that don't have side effects.

    I want to comment here too about addiction to anti-depressants. I have yet to hear of anyone getting "addicted" to anti-depressants.
    They don't have any properties that are addictive and there is not a high you get from them to make someone abuse them.
    Many people NEED these types of medications. I do think docs put people on them for too long of a time, but if given on a short term basis to people with depression, while conjointly doing therapy, in abut 6-9 months there is improvement.
    I get very annoyed with articles like this one. As someone pointed out, the article is an opinion. Facts do not support the claims. Also, even if a drug has side effects, one must weigh the consequences of what the mental illness is doing to their life as opposed to the side effects.
    Save room for dessert!
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    binauralsoundsbinauralsounds Posts: 1,357
    Heatherj43 wrote:
    I'm licensed in my state to do substance abuse counseling. Along the way, I learned that only alcohol and benzodiazapenes, which is xanax, can cause death while withdrawing. Heroin may feel like you are going to die, but the two I named can kill you if stopped abruptly.
    Paxil is horrible! I wish doctors would realize that. There are many other drugs that are fine that can help with withdrawing that don't have side effects.

    I want to comment here too about addiction to anti-depressants. I have yet to hear of anyone getting "addicted" to anti-depressants.
    They don't have any properties that are addictive and there is not a high you get from them to make someone abuse them.
    Many people NEED these types of medications. I do think docs put people on them for too long of a time, but if given on a short term basis to people with depression, while conjointly doing therapy, in abut 6-9 months there is improvement.
    I get very annoyed with articles like this one. As someone pointed out, the article is an opinion. Facts do not support the claims. Also, even if a drug has side effects, one must weigh the consequences of what the mental illness is doing to their life as opposed to the side effects.

    Thank you for your input!!
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    Heatherj43Heatherj43 Posts: 1,254
    Karas wrote:
    I'm sorry man...like I said, i mean no disrespect.

    I didn'r really mean ha ha funny, as much as an ironic sense of funny, in that prescription drugs are meant to help, but to have to wean off them alludes to the fact that they are causing you harm...
    Many people NEED these medications. While they may have side effects, the good outweoghs the bad and they save many people's lives.
    The side effects are less harmful than suicide.
    Save room for dessert!
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    AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,569
    My mother was diagnosed Manic Depressive a long time ago. They put her on drugs and then more drugs to combat her addiction to the first drugs. She kept taking more than she was supposed to and the doctor would just increase her perscription. She was highly energetic while on the drugs, eventually she torqued out too much and a disk exploded in her back and now she is disabled. She is on even more drugs now to fight the pain in her back. She has always been an extremist, screaming a lot and crying, getting very emotional and violent. Except... when she wasn't taking the drugs....
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
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    shirazshiraz Posts: 528
    O-ren Ishii wrote:
    This is an article full of opinion and little science. It takes weeks for these medications to achieve an appropriate level in the bloodstream to have any effects. The idea of developing symptoms within hours of stopping the meds is absurd, especially if the person is taking Paxil. It's dosed once daily, so why would someone suddenly develop all of these symptoms just because they know it's their last dose? They usually have 24 hours between doses.

    It's too bad that people who need lifelong medication are branded "addicted". Would you say that a person with high blood pressure is addicted to their meds or a diabetic is? Some people have mental illness that isn't cured by medication but it's managed so they can live their lives. Is that wrong?

    A single course of medication can "cure" depression in some people, and they never have problems again. But it's simply not that way with everyone.

    You just took the words out of my mouth.
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    O-ren IshiiO-ren Ishii Posts: 57
    suffragette wrote:
    We now have a generation of mi consumers shaking away because of the wonder drugs Haldol and Thorazine. How do we know those who took Prozac (me included) will not develop something like that in the future?

    There are never guarantees. That's the nature of medicine. It's a matter of weighing the potential risks with the impact that one's mental illness is having on his/her life. That's ultimately a decision between patient and physician.
    MI drugs are often used for the wrong reasons and prescribed by family doctors, not psychiatrists. For that reason, people are taking drugs that they shouldn't be taking. Remember how Prozac was prescribed for shyness?

    I could not agree more. I don't think that anyone but psychiatrists should be able to prescribe psychotropics, but this is unrealistic given the crappy coverage that most people have for mental health care. Perhaps I would go so far as to say that only psychiatrists should be able to start patients on the meds. Once they're set, then PCPs can maintain them.
    shiraz wrote:
    You just took the words out of my mouth.

    Hey, thanks!
    We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality. - Ayn Rand
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    shirazshiraz Posts: 528
    suffragette wrote:
    I agree. But people with mental illness are often treated as guinea pigs for meds, whereas those with "real" (sarcasm intended) illnesses are not.

    We now have a generation of mi consumers shaking away because of the wonder drugs Haldol and Thorazine. How do we know those who took Prozac (me included) will not develop something like that in the future?

    1. Don't know about the US, but in Israel most of Neuro-psychological drugs including Prozac can be given only via neurologist/psychologist/psychiatrist, hence the treatment is in both behavioral & medicinal level. That decision mainly resolved out of the "addiction factor" of these drugs.

    2. Like any other drug, Neuro-psychological drugs are being extremely investigated, examined & tested on model-animals & humans (healthy and "sick") before being marketting to the public. However, so far there hasn't been enough info about long-term-use effects of these drugs, as well as other "regular" chronic-used drugs .

    3. I think eventually, the person who considers to take the drug has to have some responsibility for his decisions.
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    suffragettesuffragette Posts: 253
    I definitely agree with the idea of personal responsibility, but a lot of mh consumers have been forced into institutions and given drugs. They initially had no choice. Many I have encountered who went thru that really have no clue about personal responsibility because they're still angry over that initial event. It is a truly life-altering one and it puts the individual into a very passive position, which "the system" only encourages. Still, some get past their anger and take small steps toward recovery, which itself involves tons of personal responsibility.
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    KarasKaras Posts: 68
    Heatherj43 wrote:
    I want to comment here too about addiction to anti-depressants. I have yet to hear of anyone getting "addicted" to anti-depressants.
    They don't have any properties that are addictive and there is not a high you get from them to make someone abuse them.
    Many people NEED these types of medications. I do think docs put people on them for too long of a time, but if given on a short term basis to people with depression, while conjointly doing therapy, in abut 6-9 months there is improvement.

    Do you think there is a lack of focus on the therapy portion of the road to recovery ??

    I have a cousin who is 15 and she has been put on paxil, and she has gone to therapy, but I dont think she wants to get "better" ...she's 15...shes unhappy. wants to stay that way..I've been there myself.. But if a person truly wants to get better I feel like the therapy portion is really tackling the problem...Though I understand that medication definatley helps...
    I scream in affirmation
    of connecting dislocations
    and exceeding limitations
    by achieving levitation
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    shirazshiraz Posts: 528
    suffragette wrote:
    I definitely agree with the idea of personal responsibility, but a lot of mh consumers have been forced into institutions and given drugs. They initially had no choice. Many I have encountered who went thru that really have no clue about personal responsibility because they're still angry over that initial event. It is a truly life-altering one and it puts the individual into a very passive position, which "the system" only encourages. Still, some get past their anger and take small steps toward recovery, which itself involves tons of personal responsibility.

    Is it that easy to have someone forced into an institution/take drugs? I mean, you sound as if it almost the first choice for someone with some mental problem, and I really hope this is not the case in the US.

    Either way, you got to remember for some patients there really is no other initial choice, but that doesn't mean they lost their self-responsibility from this stage and further on - anger or no anger (sorry, but from my point of view it sounds like an excuse or an attempt to blame only the others for their current situation).
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    PaperPlatesPaperPlates Posts: 1,745
    they have a pill for everything these days. But can they fix stupid?
    Why go home

    www.myspace.com/jensvad
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    shirazshiraz Posts: 528
    Karas wrote:
    Do you think there is a lack of focus on the therapy portion of the road to recovery ??

    I have a cousin who is 15 and she has been put on paxil, and she has gone to therapy, but I dont think she wants to get "better" ...she's 15...shes unhappy. wants to stay that way..I've been there myself.. But if a person truly wants to get better I feel like the therapy portion is really tackling the problem...Though I understand that medication definatley helps...

    Wait a minute, SSRI drugs are given that easily for patients under 18 years old in the US?!? Please tell me only a specialist is allowed to prescribe it as a part of a behavioral therapy...
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    Heatherj43Heatherj43 Posts: 1,254
    Karas wrote:
    Do you think there is a lack of focus on the therapy portion of the road to recovery ??

    I have a cousin who is 15 and she has been put on paxil, and she has gone to therapy, but I dont think she wants to get "better" ...she's 15...shes unhappy. wants to stay that way..I've been there myself.. But if a person truly wants to get better I feel like the therapy portion is really tackling the problem...Though I understand that medication definatley helps...
    Yes I do think the therapy part is too often overlooked. I also have big problems with regular physicians prescribing psychtropic meds. They don't insist on conjoint therapy with it and also keep patients on the drugs too long. Many psychiatrist do that to though.
    It is my opinion that mental health care worldwide is poor. In theory it should be better than it is. The information and proper way to treat is pretty well known but the money isn't available to execute the proper care.
    I am hoping that time and demand will force it to improve.
    Save room for dessert!
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    Heatherj43Heatherj43 Posts: 1,254
    shiraz wrote:
    Wait a minute, SSRI drugs are given that easily for patients under 18 years old in the US?!? Please tell me only a specialist is allowed to prescribe it as a part of a behavioral therapy...
    Family doctors will prescribe these drugs too. Mostly because health insurances usually won't pay enough to see a psychiatrist.
    Save room for dessert!
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    shirazshiraz Posts: 528
    Heatherj43 wrote:
    Family doctors will prescribe these drugs too. Mostly because health insurances usually won't pay enough to see a psychiatrist.

    :( :( :(

    This is SO wrong.
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