Antidepressants Don't Work, Says Study
Antidepressants work no better than a placebo for most patients, according to a new study which is the first ever to include unpublished data in its analysis.
The new study, led by Irving Kirsch from the Department of Psychology at the University of Hull, examined both published and unpublished clinical trials submitted to gain licensing for the popular drugs Prozac (fluoxetine), Effexor (venlafaxine) and Paxil (paroxetine).
What Kirsch's team found was shocking. When the unpublished trials were included in the analysis, the drugs performed little better than placebo, suggesting that the drug makers had cherry-picked the best results to make their drugs appear more effective that they really are.
"Given these results there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed," said Kirsch. "The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking antidepressants is not very great."
Kirsch further stated that the study "raises serious issues that need to be addressed surrounding drug licensing and how drug trial data is reported."
A related article was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine which reported a strong bias against publishing studies with unfavorable outcomes.
Kirsch's study appears in the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine.
Comments
This kind of article is seriously dangerous. There is not enough information in it – just an “oh great, here are the bad boy drug companies” line to it.
I have had severe clinical depression for many years. Ask my family what happened to me when my Rx had to be changed due to a heart arrythmia. (Became befuddled, then seriously suicidal until the new Rx took effect.)
People either have clinical depression or they do not. It is a chemical disorder of the brain.
Mood depression is another animal.
Instead of writing an article like this, how about advising people who are probably now in doubt as to whether they can trust their doctors to seek advanced testing which is available anywhere from a trusted psychiatrist. (I must add that some physicians who are not psychiatrists prescribe antidepressants without testing – this happened to my husband. I told him to see my psychiatrist and he did.)
I know many people with low level, short-term clinical depression (dysthmia) who have been helped by low doses of antidepressants.
I also know that the antidepressants today are described as being meant to restore brain chemical inbalances (please forgive my lack of medical specifics – see your doctor for a reference to a psychiatrist if you think you need help!).
Today’s antidepressants have no effect on those who do not have clinical depression. They have no value as street drugs as a resulkt. They do not harm anyone who takes them who does not have clinical depression (except for possible side effects).
What the drug companies have been doing to get licensed is awful, but the fact is there are many many may people like me who need antidepressants to function normally.
Psych drugs are overrated in the effectiveness dept and I woould not doubt there would be more success stories and people who stayed on their meds, if just some of these meds worked just some of the time.
Disturbed serotonin-levels are just a Symptom of Major Depression and NOT the cause. Thus, its not suprising that anti-depressants cannot CURE the illness.
It’s like when we take Pain-killers for a toothache or a brokenbone.
The 3 comments before mine I totally agree with. I was on citalopram for a number of years and it did not really help at all. Then I came off. It was difficult coming off the citalopram though. Then I had a break and sought medical help again. Then I was on prozac for a number of years. I’m not sure, even by experience, if these drugs helped me. As Nononite said, these drugs only attempt to treat symptoms of depression and they so do not even touch on the causes. I came off the prozac over a month ago now and actually it was easy and even pleasant coming off the prozac (unlike the citalopram). And I now feel very surprisingly much better (maybe because I was ready to come off them and because they were having no noticeable improvement in me). To tell the truth, I was on these two drugs and I really had no idea if they were helping me at all. Perhaps they had subtle brain chemistry changes which I needed, and perhaps they (or one of them) even helped sort out my brain chemistry until I felt better enough to come off them. BUT I so don’t know (!!!). Did they harm me? I don’t think so but in those years I had not actual treatment for the causes of my depression and I had to try sort all of that out on my own.
I knew it. I was given Paxil, Celexa,Effexor (big bucks for this one) and nothing worked. These made me feel suicidal and angry. Told my doctor, but a pill seems to be the answer to depression for the docs.I am old and poor and a female without male assistance.Maybe instead of pouring all that money into antidepressants, I should have just gotten /saved cash instead.Being poor (shh..don’t say poor in America..)is depressing. Life can be rough. Drug companies here are rediculous ,making a fortune on American stupidity.(no one feels the need to fight them- or has the money or power you would need to go against them) Health care companies are evil and cut you out of insurance just for profits. Just happened to me. I was denied drug coveage and charged $43.00 for the same drug that cost me $4.oo. Also was a case on Good Morning America yesterday. (Did you see “Sicko”??) Nope, not crazy. Just dealing with reality until they finally win. Antidepressants- probably not so much. Psychological dependence maybe.And to keep those drug companies and Anthem, Net health, etc. rich. They really don’t care about people. JUST MONEY
After 40 years of hell followed by 18 years of peace since the advent of prozac, I vehemently disagree with the sweeping conclusions of this study.
Basically what it comes down to is mind over matter. If you think it will work, it has a much better chance of working for you. Antidepressants are overrated. They may make you feel better sometimes but they dont even touch upon the actual cause of clinical depression. Nowadays everyone and their mother is on an antidepressant. Its almost like its a trend. You walk into a doctor and tell them your depressed and they will just load you up them. Then their kids get their hands on them and now we have just increased the amount of kids addicted to antidepressants and prescription pills. Because now, you dont even have to go to the doctor. You can go to doctor websites, fill out a survey and if you pass they will just mail you the pills. Lets just sedate all the people of america then maybe everyone will just be too pilled out to do anything at all.
I think this article was subsidised by the scientologists. Effexor saved my life. There is no way the plecebo effect could do what it did. Is this another way for someone to try to say we are all faking it or what. I for one am furious about this article. It is just one more thing out there to add a black mark on the faces of all of us who suffer mental illness. Things like this could snowball and leave us with fewer choices for meds or no meds at all.
This kind of propaganda could cause delays in research for mental illness. In my circles I have heard so many miracle stories. S.S.R.I’s
have been the most wonderful breakthrough in mental health history. Theres always someone ready to tear it down. The unpublished data was unpublished because it was flawed. Blemished in some way as to make it untrustworthy.No doubt someone never touched by mental illness authored this one.
I agree with the last commenter; my life was saved by antidepressants 8 years ago. I know that my life is infinitely better with taking them, than it was for 20 years prior. I would add, however, that it was the antidepressants together with therapy that helped me. I believe the meds helped calm my thoughts, so that the behavior changes I learned in therapy could become habit. If you have concerns about the meds, discuss them with a psychiatrist.
I guess I don’t really CARE what any study says. I know how I am when off my meds, and it is not pretty. Having lost my only sibling to suicide, to me depression is very real and can be deadly. I’ll stay on my Prozac, thanks!
I’ll say that the SSRI class of antidepressants had almost killed me for sure. The doctor blamed me instead of the drug. Lucky I survived and studies came out later…too many people hurt or dead because of the serious side effect, suicide. I have come to understand and accept how my depression effects me and what does not work and yet I think nutrient deficiencies are to blame, since serotonin is manufactured in the stomach not the brain. Also check the documentary ENDGAME, yes they do want the public to be drug dependant.
I am certain that paxil has helped me have a much better,more pleasant life.Without it my life was pure unadulterated hell. If it is no better than a placebo,it is a very good placebo.
I have an unbelievable family history of depression. Many of my family and extended family are now on medication. I guess my question is, if it is all in my head then why does one medication that my doctor told me to trust, and I had no reason not to, fail miserably and another change my whole life? I, too, would be dead if it weren’t for the right antidepressants.
Correction: Dysthymia is not short term low level depression. The symptoms are less intense than Major Depression, however they last much longer. Major Depression can be diagnosed after two weeks, Dysthymia is diagnosed after six months.
The medical standard for clinical effectiveness of any prescription drug is 50% improvement in 50% of patients. While the average 20% improvement in antidepressant users is significant it hardly justifies the ‘most often prescribed’ status of these drugs. In my own case, the only antidepressant that was effective was an MAOI that was developed 50 yrs. ago. To say there has been no major pharmaceutical breakthrough in the treatment of depression in the past half century is not an exaggeration. In my experience with all classes of AD meds the side effects far outweighed the negligible improvements. According to “The Antidepressant Solution,” by Joseph Glenmullen, the reason alot of people think they “need” antidepressants after they discontinue them too quickly is due to the “discontinuation syndrome” (drug company-speak for withdrawal) which mimics the symptoms of depression. Since the quest for the “right antidepressant” results in an agonizing trial-and-error process of “wait 6 weeks-see if it works-withdraw-try-a-new-one-wait six weeks-withdraw….,” it is no wonder people don’t get better. In my case, rapid withdrawal from numerous antidepressants (sometimes several at once) resulted in symptoms far worse than those of the dep. itself, including a visit to the emergency room. And the weight I gained from some of these meds has limited my ability to exercise, a remedy that has been shown to be as effective as the drugs. Cognitive therapy(as practiced by “Recovery Inc” and written about by David Burns) has probably been the biggest breakthrough for the symptoms of depression and is the most practical and affordable treatment, particularly in the managed-care delivery systems of today’s HMO’s. But I’ve also learned that if something works, USE IT! If you are one of the lucky few for which these overrated, expensive drugs provide relief that outweighs the side-effects, GO FOR IT! The bottom line in wading through all the research on what these drugs do or don’t do for the masses is how they work for YOU.
I have had depression since at least age 4. I did not have any function problems, however, until about age 39 or 40. For the last 5-6 years I have tried every class of antidepressant out there. None have had any percievable benefit for me. I have use combinations of these medications as well. I do not think I initially beleived they would not help me, however I don’t have much hope when trying new meds so mind over matter may be an issue for me after so many attempts. I also have a VNS implant. Sadly, I do not know if it has helped at all. I have been in and out of therapy since college00 25 years and I see a phsyciatrist. The only thing I have yet to try which is currently available, is ECT. I have not given up, I just have not had any success that I can detect. However, perhaps if I were getting no treatment at all, I would feel worse. I do know that if I were getting no treatment at all, I’d have fewer outstanding medical bills. LOL
When properly conducted scientific studies conflict, there is sometimes new information revealed about how one may appropriatly apply the findings of one or both studies in everyday life. The conflict is itself a data point that can be useful in identifying other relevant considerations.
Alternatively, conflicting studies sometimes help identify flaws in one or both studies that reveal them to be less than honorably conducted or simply flawed in conception or execution.
What I would like to see covered in publications about conflicting studies are the differences in how the studies were conducted, to help us understand the potential for new and useful information.
By the way, contrary anecdotes are useful when a claim is for 100% efficacy. For anything less than that, an anecdote is just a data point, and not one that can really be compared to points within the study unless you know your personal situation conforms in every way to the parameters of the study.
First and foremost, I do not automatically believe what a drug company says any more than I believe what the “researchers” say without reading the study itself. Slanted is slanted, no matter which side you are coming from.
Maybe if we discontinued from judging and engaging in preconceived conclusions, we would be more accurate in our beliefs, and apply less stigma and judgement on people challenged with depression.
This sounds very much like a similar study announced in late January in the U.S. At that time, Harvard’s Dr. Peter Kramer wrote a brilliant online refutation at Slate. I would encourage everyone to read it.
You have GOT to be joking (although this is a horrific choice of topic for any attempt at humor)! I was diagnosed with clinical depression a few years ago, and immediately started therapy and Paxil. It was a long pull, with many fits and starts along the way . . . but I have come from misery to truly valuing myself, others and Life itself.
I have to disagree. Speaking as someone that has truly benefited from taking antidepressants over the last 20 years, I can say that they have done nothing but good for me. My quality of life improved dramatically once I started taking them. They are not a cure of course, but they help with the chemical imbalance in the brain. I suppose Mr Kirsch and his party don’t believe that some mental illness is caused by a chemical imbalance.
Where are the class-action lawsuits? Because I plan on joining!!
This is disgusting, appalling. Every person involved & responsible at every drug company should be brought up on charges and go to trial.
These drugs are dangerous to our bodies and we spent time taking bad drugs when we could have been looking for alternative treatments.
I am on Surmontil, also known as Rhotrimine. This is brand name Trimiprimine. Avoid the generic, it does not work. This is the only AD that raises REM instead of lowering it. I have 2 kinds of sleep apnea and it really helps me avoid REM sleep deprivation and the resulting depression and migraines. I was also on Prozac for a while until I got hormonal help for my hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. It helped me avoid autistic melt downs and I damaged myself socially when I went off it. My Mother had hoarding type OCD. She could not throw away spoiled or rotting garbage. After my Father died and was no longer around to “protect” her from me getting her help, I got her to a geriatric psychiatrist. One little pill of Zolft a day and she started loving us instead of the garbage. She even gave me a hug! One of only 2 she ever gave me. We were then able to throw away her garbage, 20 years worth. AD’s can be miracles from God!
I’ve suffered from depression for 18 years. I’ve been on many antidepressants. Some worked, some did not.
I think that antidepressants can and do work for some people and for other people they are useless. I think it depends on the individual and their body chemistry. I think everyone is different and different approaches works for each person.
I do think that the drug companies are taking advantage of us, just to make money. And I don’t believe that their are many doctors out there who acually want to cure depression.
It’s real, it’s life damaging, but so many people believe the opposite. It’s sad and makes me very angry.
Zoloft has worked reasonably well for me for many years. I know other individuals who have been greatly helped by antidepressants. Everyone reacts differently to medication and most likely, people who are chemically depressed are helped whereas those who are just down, are not helped by antidepressants.
Anyone who says emphatically that antidepressants do not work has never had a true chemical imbalance. I am 58 years old and have suffered with this horrible disease since I was 35. I was suicidal when first put on Paxil and since I had so many failed attempts with antidepressants I expected nothing. To my amazement it completely turned me around for four years, at which point it stopped working. I couldn’t count the variety and types of antidepressants I was put on that seemed to do nothing after that. After two years of failure, my husband had me hospitalized because I couldn’t get out of bed, eat or even answer the phone.
Although I didn’t verbalize it, he knew I was, once again, suicidal. My psychiatrist was out of town so another was brought in to attempt to treat me. I had a series of shock therapy which did nothing. He then put me on an MAOI which wasn’t helping either. After studying all of my medical records he realized that I was indeed drug resistant. Regardless of the drug and what it was for, I needed much higher doses than those recommended by the drug manufacturers for the drug to be effective. He then, slowly raised my dose of Parnate weekly, in small amounts while closely monitoring me for side effects. I felt it a useless attempt, but went along with his thinking on why my antidepressants weren’t working.
To my amazement, I woke up one morning and actually wanted to get out of bed and the rest as they say was history.
I truly believe that there are thousands of people out there with the same problem I have in that they need higher doses of an antidepressant in order for it to work. We are all unique individuals in the way our bodies absorb not only antidepressants but other drugs, as well as vitamins, food and anything else we take into our bodies. Thank heavens many physicians are finally beginning to realize this and prescribe accordingly.
Prosac was an absolute Miracle for me the first time I went on it. I was severely depressed at the time. I’ve tried others, none with the dramatic effect, some with no good effect, and others with mild effect.
I think some people who are not clinically depressed probably do not need these meds. And nobody’s body even stays the same over the years.
Let’s not all over-react here!
Perhaps we are missing the whole point. Maybe there are many, MANY different causes of depression. Some people would then find success with the very same meds that others don’t. Seems pretty simple of a conclusion.
I am glad that so many seem to have been helped from antidepressants but the sad truth is MANY have not.
I NEVER recommend SSRI’s or the like, to anyone. Instead, I recommend they find another way to cope. Meditation, Yoga, better nutrition, better sleep habits, support groups, church, clubs etc. The most important thing I like to pass on is how necessary it is to STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF. That isn’t going to make you better.
I bet over 90% of the people on these types of medications have atleast one of the following:
-poor sleep habits
-poor nutrition
-overweight/underweight
-overworked
-alone, without good support
-are in unstable living situations
-have been in trouble with the law
-have a history of abuse
-have a drug/alcohol dependancy
-have major financial problems
-have too much time on their hands
-chronic illness
There are probably a few others I am forgetting. Now before you all jump on me, think about it for a moment. Most of us have something going on in our lives that have greatly contributed to our depression (whether you want to believe it or not). So why then is the answer ‘medication’ when really we SHOULD be dealing with our problems instead of just convering them up.
I speak from experience.
Carol
I remember saying to my family doctor, “just don’t take my Zoloft away”, after I’d been on it for maybe 6 months! That was 10 years ago. It stopped working, I tried something else in the SSRI class, then something else. Then I was put on SNRI, Cymbalta-it pooped out as well after abut 3 years! Now it is another SNRI, Effexor. I don’t like some of the side effects after 3 months. I’d like to know what life would be like without any AD meds. I have started weening myself this week and have a doctor’s appt in 4 days to chat about this. I’m happy to say that they have helped, one can not always “pull themselves up by their boot straps” or exercise, or eat right, or join a club or church group or get a support group going. Depression is real, pills help some to start doing the exercise, etc. You need to deside with a doctor you trust what is right for you.
I remember when these came and they were originally in higher dosage. They worked then! I won’t dis Kirsh any more than I have to but lets just say he thinks we ought to get off the pity pot and get a job! I’m non-functional when I’m depressed and I used to be suicidal. Before I took anything that did any good, which is Cymbalta, and I was manic, too, I used to go around telling people how they should do things to improve themselves and their businesses. Sometimes I was right, but insufferable! Now my husband is OCD and I don’t think his Paxil is doing him much good. There are medications that work and some that are terrible. If you find one that works for you but you believe you should have a higher dose, ask your doctor to prescribe a higher dose. I’m giving my husband back rubs, and it seems to help him relax. I know that some people can’t absorb a substance if they are too uptight.
mg- the drugs didn’t work for you but they do for millions of other people. they don’t make you suicidal that is a scientific fact. people are sucidal because they are at their most vulnerable before the drugs work. they can be life savers not takers.
carol maybe yoga etc worked for you. I’ve tried all sorts of very expensive treatments and do not feel sorry for myself I have an illness and the drugs help me very much. i have completely changed my life to accomodate my feelings and it didn’t help but now i am managing. get over yourself!!
All of us have different DNA and different metabolisms. Some herbs and vitamins work better than others. The first thing that is needed is proper nutrition and a good physical exam. As the director of Novus Medical Detox, I often see patients who are on alcohol or opioids, central nervous system depressants, also taking antidepressants. When they detox they find they don’t need the antidepressants.
This is good news because a Swedish study showed that 52% of the 2006 suicides by women on antidepressants. Since antidepressants work no better than placebos and are less effective than exercise in dealing with depression.
There is a prescription drug epidemic and these are leaders in the list of terribe abuses.
Steve Hayes
http://novusdetox.com
I agree 100% with Carol. Becomind dependent on medication is not a good thing. Its an addiction and we’ve all been taught that addiction is wrong. You do not have control of your life, that pill does because you have given it so much power. There are other avenues to take. I also agree that they do not work. They only succeed in allowing you to THINK they are working.
I would like to say that I have been on anti-depressants for nearly 13 yrs. Without them I think I would have been dead long ago. They have certainly saved my live and made life more bearable for me. I feel like now I am more calm and balanced. Not like the emotional rollercoaster I used to be on.
Why don’t these people ask the users instead of coming up with these sweeping statements. They may not work for everyone, but I for one would be lost without these drugs.
What I forgot to add to my previous post too was that I have also had lots of counselling over the years too. I think all AD’s should go hand in hand with counselling. I learned how to help myself with CBT. I think it would be difficult to treat depression with just pills, but they are a wonderful place to start if the depression is severe enough. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have access to these drugs.
I am sure that some people who take anti-depressants don’t really need them. In my case, however, I struggled for years with depression and was resistant to taking medication. Once I started taking a mild dose of generic Prozac, however, I was angry with myself for resisting. I still get mildly depressed sometimes, but now suicidal thoughts no longer plague me. The problem with this study is that so many people already think that clinically depressed people should just “snap out of it.” This is just one study – let’s not give it too much credence. And, you know what – even if the anti-depressants I take have a slight placebo effect, I don’t care. They work for me and I am so happy to be able to wrest myself from the bonds of depression, no matter how!
Oh yeah, they don’t work! So how come I’m happier now that I’m on them? How come when I miss a pill I feel like crying? This medecine has made my life better. I will say that with the pills, you do have to make lifestyle changes, like stop watching depressing movies, and listening to depressing music, etc. The pills, are a helper. You need to do some of the work too.
On another note, Scientists don’t know jack! One week they’re saying, coffe is bad for you, the next week they say it’s good for you. I say, the next scientist who makes a stupid study should get spray painted orange, and covered in aluminum foil.
Was this study sponsored by Tom Cruise?
American greed that has no regard for human life
I wonder if someone switched any of your pills with a sugar pill would any of you know the difference?
I agree with z. Hey I bet if you went and got some flintstone vitamins you wouldn’t feel the diffrence.
The idiot that wrote this report is a Prof of clinical psychology. Psychologists have a long history of disparaging meds because they cannot administer them. I have worked in this field for years and I have no qualms in stating that the vast majority of psychologists are neurotic imbeciles that should not be allowed anywhere near a person suffering a mental illness
Putting things in to perspective,there are undoubted problems with antidepressant medication, these are acknowledged by the psychiatric community. For many people these drugs may have adverse affects, or no effect at all. However in many cases they restore the lives of depression suffers back to normal and have saved thousands of lives.
To Carol I say, depression is not a state of mind, it is a debilitating illness that in severe cases requires medical intervention. You can’t think your way out of depression anymore than you can think your way out of cancer.
This type of thinking needs to be eradicated once and for all.
I was on antidepressants for 13 years. They did help me, but also had some unpleasant side effects. Then I developed major migraines/vomiting from the SSRI’s and had to get off- was on Effexor at the time. That was hell. There truly is withdrawal from SSRI’s. What is worse is that I did not go back to the way I was before I went on the meds. I now have insomnia and anxiety along with the depression that I did not have before I got on them. I really believe they permanently changed my brain chemistry (and not for the better). If I had to do over again, because of how I reacted to the med, would never have started on them. But I do believe they can help people and if you can tolerate them and they make you feel better, that is great. But watch out if you ever have to permanetly get off if you have been on them for a long time.
The truth about Antidepressants and their lack of effectiveness has been known for years. But the drug companies make billions and aren’t going to tell you they don’t work or might cause life threatening side effects. Dr. Peter Breggin has written books about this with shocking facts you need to know. His website, Breggin.com is a goldmine for anyone interested in what is really going on. He’s been a medical expert in court battles with drug companies and has examined internal drug company documents the public never sees. His recent book – MEDICATION MADNESS – is a must read.
Regarding whether or not depression can be helped with a non-drug approach, I highly recommend you do a net search for Emotional Freedom Techniques – better known as EFT – invented by Gary Craig. His site contains amazing info and a free EFT manual you can download. Many people have gotten real relief on many issues including life long depression using this method.
Steve DeSanto
EFTisland.com
My sister and I both have ADHD, and it is often in comorbidity with dysthymia, so we have that as well. Now, it is also well known that ADD or ADHD people have paradoxical reactions to most drugs. That’s why ritalin (speed) works and I can have a whole pot of coffee and go to sleep… I don’t take any medications at all to cope with my dysthymia… But, it has turned into a secondary Major depression for my sis.
What I’m saying is that antidepressants may work for some people, and not for others. Neither my sister or I can take them without crawling the walls.
70 TO 80% OF ALL AMERICANS ARE MAGNESIUM DEFICIENT.THAT IS A CAUSE OF MAJOR DEPRESSION.TAKE MAGNESIUM AS GLYCINATE OR CITRATE, AND TAURINE AND YOUR DEPRESSION WILL GO AWAY IN LESS THAN 7 DAYS PROMISE.
After reading this I had to leave a comment in regard to Anita. It IS a proven fact and now widely recognized and even warned on television commercials that anti depressants CAN cause an increase in depression and suicidal thoughts. I have had severe depression on and off over the years and medications have never worked for me. I fell into the hands of an undereducated psychiatrist who put me on an anti depressant. He decided when I came to him telling him the depression was increasing, that he would add yet another anti depressant to cover whatever the new symptoms I was having were (ie: anger,anxiety and suicidal thoughts as well as an increase in heavy depression). As this doctor increased the number of medications I took my self esteem grew worse because my night stand was covered with drugs and I wasn’t getting any better. I could not imagine life like that. In the interim I was diagnosed with severe thyroid disease and ovarian failure from too much stress and began treatment for my thyroid. As the medications began to kick in the depression increased and I became 24/7 suicidal…not thoughts… fighting not to do it. I was afraid to tell my psychiatrist because I knew he would just drop another one on me. Finally, after a couple of months of that, and being on the verge of putting myself in a hospital, I told him. He then decides I am bi-polar and wants to add yet another drug. Now I am up to four. I told him to get me the hell off the drugs because I had been diagnosed with a medical condition. He was convinced I needed the drugs. I came home despondant and told my husband. He said that he knew I was not bi polar and I should tell the doctor to shove the pills. I decided to try the pills anyway, just in case they would work, I would try anything, and was sent into an emotional tail spin. I finally called the doctor and told him if he didn’t tell me how to get the heck off the drugs I was going to find someone who would. It took two months of severe withdrawls, crying night and day to get off of those prescriptions. When about two months into it I woke up one morning and felt normal again. I have over the years gone through some depression. The worst part is that what those drugs did to me had a chain reaction for people deciding to judge me for what I went through and the worst part is I have a hard time recovering from the horrible memories of what happened to me during that time…of forgiving myself for allowing such a quack into my life. He basically treated me as if I didn’t know anything about what was going on with my body and he knew more. Since then I found out that one of the drugs I was taking actually has caused numerous people to commit suicide when they were on it. I also learned of an old friend of mine who slit her wrists when on the same medication only to find out later that this was a side effect. Thankfully she survived and her medication was changed.
I truly believe that medications can help people. But I also know they need to be monitored very closely and doctors need to give people who struggle with mental illness alot more heed when they tell their doctors what they are experiencing. People with mental illness are not stupid, actually many are highly intelligent, but they are struggling and they know their bodies better than anyone else. Their voices need to be heard and they need people to support them emotionally and encourage them on the journey.
Anita, your comment that lethal mind altering drugs do not cause increased depression comes from undereducation and is completely inaccurate. It only places guilt on struggling peoples shoulders instead of helping them find a solution. You dear need to get more educated before you speak. That comment could have been the crux of someone who is struggling not reaching out for the help they need to get off of a drug. I realize you also struggle with depression and I am very sorry you do. It sucks…no better way to put it. You are one of the lucky people who the drugs worked on the first time. But don’t put other people down who have had different experiences than you because their experiences are valid.
I truly pray that your depression gets healed and you become free of it. I also encourage you to spend some time researching before you place comments like you did on a web site.
I tried alternatives for 15 years and the therapy didn’t work! Or the self-help books, or religions, etc. None of that worked my whole life. I feel I should have been on my current meds my whole life. I tried about 10 different medications, and finally, after 28 years of hell, I have peace by taking Luvox. It’s been a near life-saver. I worship Luvox. Truly. It’s a godsend. It works 200 times better than 20 years of therapy, and self-questioning! And I only have to take 50mg a day. Each medication is different for each person, ’cause each person is unique, in how they react to any drug. Luvox is about 80% effective for me at any time, which is better than most. Most drugs did nothing for me. Prozac made me feel violent and sick. Wellbutrin was good for a while, but then I got more nervous. Luvox is great for depression and anxiety, etc., but it doesn’t do much for the compulsions side of my OCD. But I can live with that! Thank you for making Luvox (fluvoxamine maleate).
that THING who calls itself ‘anita’ should do the world a favor and hang herself, and any children / blood relatives. she’s the one who should get over herself.
antidepressants are one of the biggest and most evil scams in history. none of them work for me, and i don’t have a single friend who says they worked. one said things were mildl bearable for a week until he stopped being able to sleep. i personally know people who have had strokes and heart attacks from these things, and i had a friend who committed suicide after going on them. the doctor prescribes this stuff like candy when most of our issues were that we needed to grieve. my friend who committed suicide went through a troublesome breakup with a true psychopath (probably related to anita). he had a couple of breakups before, and this person was slightly harder to get rid of. but before, he was down for a month or so then got back to normal. then the doctor put him on effexor. that has to be more evil than heroin and crystal meth and cocaine combined. he could no longer function and he got very quickly worse, and the doctor told him and us that it was in his head, it wasn’t the effexor, and (even though the bad problems started after the effexor, the doctor insisted that he was mentally ill and had a chemical imbalance. no, he had a stalker ex girlfriend. he killed himself over nothing. and then of course the stalker ex girlfriend made a big scene about how that was proof it was all his fault, she continues to drag his name through the dirt at church. we have tried to have her kicked out of church but after a while i just stopped going to that church and went to another.
i lost a friend due to effexor. and the pharmaceutical companies explicitly and in no uncertain terms know all the bad effects. fixing and helping people are not their goals, they have no intentions of helping people. it is all about money, and it is about getting generations and hundreds of millions of people ***hooked*** to their drugs. they own congress, so they know they can act as they please.
pharmaceutical companies are more evil than every drug cartel and even the nazis. there is a human holocaust going on in america and it is funded by pharmaceutical companies, who own congress, and who actually literally pay commissions to doctors who prescribe their pills.
this is because big business can’t get hold of the profits from the illegal drug trade. since eli lilly and all those companies can’t make money off cocaine and heroin and amphetamines and marijuana, they simply came up with their own, deadlier and more addictive drugs, used all their bullying power and mone to buy off our corrupt government, and now have a reliable cash stream coming in. people like my friend who committed suicide? those are just collateral damage. they know that more people will stay addicted to these pills, they know these people will be horribly depressed, and they know that if these people go off these drugs, then the brain damage will have already been done, so there is no choice once you start on them but to continue until you die — they don’t care that you suffer or die, they just want to make money off you and have power over you. and even more than money, they just want what every elected official wants, godlike power.
if you start antidepressants – you will NOT get better, you WILL get worse. and it will end in a miserable, painful, horrifying death. antidepressants are designed explicitly to destroy your brain, and then when you can no longer function, you will be cut off and in the street and left to die.
the ones who commit suicide, they are the lucky ones. if you are on antidepressants now, your only way out is suicide. i miss my friend but at least he died with dignity and not at the hands of a pharmaceutical company, even though they are 100% to blame for his death.
and the psycho stalker ex girlfriend sounds just like this anita person, and she is still out there wreaking havoc on innocent people, just like the eli lilly’s of this world.
I was on 3 different anti-depressants for about a period of 10 years. None of them ever worked out properly. The only benefit of taking them was it took away some of my anxiety and panic attack spells. But even those continued, just with less frequency. I still have crying spells, I still have terrible flu like symtoms trying to get off them.
Maybe they work for some people, but damn, they ruined 10 years of my life. I’ve been a zombie, I’ve been more kept to myself, and I hate it. I used to be so full of life, but these damn drugs took that away.
By the way, XRS, I agree with you that AD’s don’t work, but being on an AD doesn’t mean you don’t have a way out and that suicide is the only answer. That is really a terrible thing to say, and it’s not true. I’ve had friends on AD’s before that have gotten off of them and went back to their normal selves.
SUICIDE IS NEVER THE ANSWER. IT IS A LONG TERM SOLUTION TO A SHORT TERM PROBLEM.
I doubt the reliability of a single study which contradicts the results of a much larger body of research–not all of which comes from or is financed by the drug companies. It is true that in some cases, placebos work no better than anti-depressants, but that is because naturally, some people with depression will feel better in three months or so. For those people for whom time is not a curative factor, antidepressants DO work better than placebos. In addition, in some cases, therapy works as well as anti-depressant treatment, but there is a lot of research that states that the most effective treatment for severe major depression is therapy combined with anti-depressants.
A major fault in this study is that it takes into account only three drugs, two of which (Prozac and Paxil) are SSRIs and are similar in mechanism. (Effexor is another animal.) Individual biochemistry can affect how people react to SSRIs, and for some people, they do not work at all. For those people, alternative forms of medication are prescribed. This study takes into account only one example of a non-SSRI anti-depressant. It is entirely possible that those people who did not respond well to SSRIs would have responded to, say, Wellbutrin.
I read many comments which said that anti-depressants do not address the cause of depression. Currently, one of the prevailing theories is that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin. That’s why the three main categories of anti-depressant drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclics, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) prolong the time that serotonin remains in the synapse.
The bottom line of this is, a layperson does not know better about his or her medical health than a good doctor. If you are being prescribed anti-depressants, it is for a reason. If they do not work, discuss this with your doctor. If your doctor refuses to discuss the potential that they might not work, and you are not feeling better, be an advocate for yourself and switch to a doctor who will listen to you.
I am not disputing that anti-depressants do not work for some people–merely suggesting that people should not rely on one study when forming opinions, but instead look at the entire body of research.
“I doubt the reliability of a single study which contradicts the results of a much larger body of research…”
Technically it could be called a singel study, but it would be intellectually dishonest to call it that. It was actually an extensive meta analysis.
Jen’s right, Kirsch did a meta analysis. Here’s an article about it, it’s quite interesting:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045
Sometimes getting up in the morning and taking your medication and trusting that you are in good medical hands is enough to get you through the day. Being conscious of the fact that you’re making an effort towards the betterment of yourself gives you hope. At least that’s what my experience has been. I’ve taken more medications than I can count ranging from ssri’s to all the benzodiazepines to anitpsychotics to high doses of omega 3 to 5htp and natural remedies and so on…all for bipolar disorder and social anxiety disorder. It’s hard to trust your doctor when you’ve failed so many times but I keep trying because I feel like I have no choice. I don’t take anything now and I pray that I’ll be okay. My point though is that people shouldn’t mess with a person’s trust for their doctor and what their doctor is doing to make them better. Sometimes that’s all people are sure of when it comes down to it and that trust is really important.
I am bipolar. I am NOT a stupid F-ing idiot. I am not, as Carol implied, a drug or alcohol addict, nor do I have financial problems, nor have I been in trouble with the law, no chronic illness, I eat well, no, no, no to everything except yes, I live alone. Wow! I live alone! So automatically I must have problems, right???
Oh, and one of these damned drugs has caused me to gain some weight. But that was after I began taking it, not when I first went to the doctor.
My experience with these meds is they do NOT work for me. I have been on Lithium, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Geodon, Zoloft, Trazodone, Paxil, Lamictal, Neurontin, Tegretol (carbamazepine), Depakote, to name a few. Currently on Seroquel and Klonopin, plus Niravam as needed for panic attacks. I will say the Niravam helps a lot for panic attacks. The Seroquel and Klonopin, frankly, mostly help me get a good night’s sleep.
I have gone into each new drug that I have tried with an open mind. I have to have much lower doses than other people, as I get side effects on very low doses. Many drugs I have had to discontinue due to intolerable side effects. Example: Effexor made me feel like my eyeballs were popping out of my head. I am NOT kidding.
Yet, even though I go into them with an open mind, I am always left feeling, “Do I feel better? Not really. Why isn’t this working? Well, maybe I give it more time.” But I have yet to find one single drug or drug combination that has gotten rid of my depression or at least allowed me to cope with it. My biggest symptom is depression, although I have had mania as well.
I resent that so often people who are bipolar are automatically assumed to be drug addicts, alcoholics, law-breakers, and whatever else Carol said. Thanks, Carol, for the stereotyping.
I also resent the drug companies, who are making billions, trillions, on medication and taking advantage of people who take so many medications they do not need. The doctors are pushers who push the medications onto patients. If you do not want to take your antidepressant that will leave you fat and with no sex drive, you are determined to be “non-compliant” with your meds. Lovely.
The entire pharmaecuetical industry, doctors, insurance companies, psychiatric hospitals, and related industries are in a horrid scheme to make money off patients, who in most cases are in no condition to speak for themselves. The whole business is shameful.
And to think the F.D.A. actually allowed all of this crap to be marketed to people. I agree in rare instances certain things can work for certain people, but you never hear them first talking about eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
And I’d like to sue the makers of Seroquel for making me so f-ing fat. Thanks a lot, guys. At least I can get to sleep at night, but you misrepresented the diabetes factor and the weight gain. Yet I’m sure you sleep at night just fine.
If people want to take these medications, then that’s their choice. But please do some research first. In my experience psychiatrists will either minimize or completely fail to inform people of the serious effects of these drugs.
Antipsychotics are even worse and can cause neurological damage called tardive dyskinesia.
Aside from the things that have already been mentioned, antidepressants have also been linked to birth defects.
Drug companies fund much of the research in psychiatry and the mental health fields and have powerful ties to the goverment. Their first priority is not your health and wellbeing, but making a profit.
“Since 1998, drug companies have spent $758 million on lobbying — more than any other industry, according to government records analyzed by the Center for Public Integrity, a watchdog group. In Washington, the industry has 1,274 lobbyists — more than two for every member of Congress.”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2005-04-25-drug-lobby-cover_x.htm
I’ve had bad experiences on anti-depressants, and while on Prozac at 14 I believe it empowered me to make a serious suicide attempt which almost succeeded. I’m not sure whether they help some people but I know they are marketed deceptively.
They say when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Well the psychiatrists sometimes think that way. They see depression and think one of the new designer anti-dep. pills can isolate and neutralize it.
Of course that’s not true, and I’ll bet the type of depression helped by anti-deps isn’t as common as
depression induced by other disorders. Then the improperly prescribed pill will cause disturbing chemical changes that aren’t easy to prepare for or experience.
I agre with one of the first posters. AD may help with CLINICAL depression, but aren’t effective for MOOD depression. I had a health experience about 15 years ago that drove me crazy with depression. I tried everything I could tolerate. Nothing helped. Only when my health situation resolved did my mood improve. After that I was good. Recently I suffered a terribly disabling back injury. I can barely do anything and am in extreme pain even with pain meds. I’m suicidally depressed as I look to my life ahead. Is taking an AD going to help. I doubt it. The only thing that would help is an improvement in my symptoms and that’s not happening acoeding to the doctors. They have actually gotten worse. Unless something miraculous happens, I will be dead in a year. In spite of going against everything I know or believe, I cannot life in this type of pain or disability for another 25 years.