The Truth About Antidepressants

[shaws]

I have watched this link by Dr Oz (4 parts - each part is about 4 mins).

It is an eye opener and has a Psychiatrist and a GP as well as Dr Oz. very interesting.

doctoroz.com/episode/truth-...

[Marz]

Wasn't able to load the videos Am wondering if his show is in some way giving support to Kelly Brogan and her latest book - A Mind of Your Own. She has been banned from TV and radio shows as she does not conform with the medical model on depression.

drperlmutter.com/the-empowe...

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

Marz - were you able to watch the first one?  I found that parts 2,3 and 4 were actually beneath the video screen.

Thank you for your link, it's on my list!

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

Thank you c-g - yes now it works - I just saw the loading bit on the bigger screen and thought that was it.  Have tried watching - but it is jumping around - a bit like cyberspace I guess  

[shaws Administrator in reply to Marz]

I wonder why that is - that you couldn't view them. They were interesting. Kelly Brogan wasn't mentioned. He had a psychiatrist and a GP too. This is another doctor:

youtube.com/watch?v=KMoZcmm...(Not working as expected?)

[Marz in reply to shaws]

I sorted it out in the end - thanks !  I didn't think Kelly would be mentioned - was just adding to the discussion as there has been so much about her and her new book which supported your post too.

[hairyfairy]

Anti-depressants are a con as far as I`m concerned. They don`t work, & the only people that benefit from them are the drug companies, who have conned people into thinking that pills can cure unhappiness.

[Hidden in reply to hairyfairy]

The medical profession already know the truth about antidepressants and they know that people are struggling to get off them too.  There is a debate going on in parliament right now on the subject headed up by the chair of the BMA and being investigated by the council for evidence based psychiatry.  Google this organisation's website and you will find many articles which endorse the posted video and which link you to current BMA and government enquiries into their effects. 

In February in the UK there was finally acknowledgement by the BMA that certain prescription drugs - including antidepressants - cause dependence. This has been denied for years....

If you take a look at the "unrecognised facts" section of the website, you will discover quite a bit about these drugs as well as information on the myth that a shortage of serotonin causes depression.

What isn't highlighted to patients currently is the dependency and withdrawal effects which many people suffer and which mimic depression and heightened anxiety.  These effects cause many people to think that they have a long term serious mental health condition and having been through it myself, I can understand why. The effects are suggestive of mental illness and difficult to distinguish from the real thing. 

The BMA recognising this dependency is a big step forward as people becoming hooked on these drugs may be impacting on the number of people thought to be suffering from mental health disorders in our society.   Mental health services are inundated, and whilst there are almost certainly more people than ever before seeking help for mental distress, we have to ask whether a dependency inducing drug is the answer as dependency keeps people medicated and in the system once they start taking these drugs.

It's worth reading up about these drugs and finding out the facts and what is truly known about them. 1 in 10 people are taking them after all.

 

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

If only they would check for deficiencies of B12 - VitD - Thyroid and so on - before reaching for the prescription pad.  Thank you for your post.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

missdiagnosis - thanks for such an informative post.   Link to Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry:

cepuk.org/2016/03/07/britis...

[Allyson1 in reply to Hidden]

I was started on drugs at 17. I wanted off immediately. I suffered withdrawal, which was used as a reason for more drugs. I was never fully screened for physical illness, and being young I didn't realize how badly I was being let down.

I tried for several years to wean off Paxil cold turkey, with no doctors to acknowledge dependence.

I finally found one who believed me but didn't know how to treat. I got liquid paxil and weaned every few weeks for FOUR YEARS.

Every drug I was on made me worse in a bad way. I wasn't suicidal or prediabetic before the drugs. I barely remember my 20s. As an adult, I can no longer trust my parents for pushing that on me in high school.

FWIW, in a psych ward I saw others with undertreated thyroid problems and mood swings after meals. 

The staff dismissed my b12 deficiency and wanted me to do electroshock instead.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Allyson1]

That is an awful story. one you could well have done without. I'm sorry for all who are wrongly diagnosed and if hypo I believe if undertreated/undiagnosed can cause mental health symptoms but they desperately need thyroid hormones.

B12 too, of course, is a major reason for neurological symptoms but to offer electroshock instead of checking all our vitamins/hormones is awful.

[Hidden in reply to Allyson1]

I fully understand 4 years of withdrawal. I had a similar experience with a different drug and got re-medicated time and time again.  My very fast withdrawal caused cardiac rhythm disturbances which were then treated with a pacemaker. No one would acknowledge the role of the drug and it took me years to understand withdrawal....by then it was too late to have the pacemaker removed.

What worries me is that once medicated and diagnosed with any form of mental illness or disturbance nobody listens to your pleas to be taken seriously.  It is easy to dismiss your concerns on the basis that you are "supposedly" mentally ill. It has taken me so, very, very long to be validated and despite 3 years without drugs, no mental health symptoms and an acknowledgement that dependency was the issue all along, my medical notes still tell a story which I cannot distance myself from and I am treated as if I am still mentally ill.

The medical profession, their biases and assumptions about mental illness constitute a cause for serious concern.

Mental illness overshadows every other physical concern too often and it is this which is treated and medicated rather than looking into the multiple causes of which thyroid issues, misunderstood withdrawal & dependency, Vitamin K & B12 deficiencies and drug reactions (to steroids for example) are just a few examples.  

I wish my doctors had been willing to listen and take the time to reflect instead of dismissing me as lacking in credibility due to what they thought was mental illness. I know have treatment induced symptoms and campaign for awareness. 

Mine's just one of many stories.... it's frightening.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

I'm sorry you had all these stresses. You are right - officially diagnosed you cannot get it changed. The American Woman on the video said that her health insurance may not cover her at all if she doesn't take anti-d's and she cannot change her medical diagnosis. It is terrifying and when ill we are apt to believe the diagnosis until we know better.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your important response.

[Hidden]

shaws - thank you for bringing these to our attention, they are spot on when they say that GPs should not be prescribing AD's.

[Allyson1]

I don't have much love for Dr. Oz, but I do have some antidepressant horror stories if my own.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Allyson1]

I'm sorry you've had horror stories and it is dreadful what some have to suffer, particularly if a proper diagnosis wasn't done before prescribing.

I hope you are o.k. now.