Fwd: [SSRI-Research] Prozac Backlash : Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives

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SSRI-Research

 

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 08:59:47 -0500

[sSRI-Research] Prozac Backlash : Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac,

Zoloft,

Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives

 

Prozac Backlash : Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other

Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives

http://www.mercola.com/2000/apr/9/prozac_backlash.htm

 

by Joseph Glenmullen

 

Editorial Review by Amazon.com

 

It seems like it was just yesterday that Prozac was a miracle pill, a

medication that could not only make sick people well, but " better than

well. " By the end of the 1990s, Prozac and similar drugs -- Paxil, Zoloft,

and others -- were being prescribed for everything from depression to

anxiety to drug addiction to ADD. About 70 percent of prescriptions for

these antidepressants were being written by family physicians, rather than

psychiatrists.

 

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, a psychiatrist who has a private practice and also

works for Harvard University Health Services, sees this antidepressant mania

as dangerous, even reckless. He notes that these drugs can have severe side

effects, including uncontrollable facial and body tics, which could be signs

of severe and permanent brain damage. About 50 percent of patients suffer

often-debilitating withdrawal symptoms from them, and about 60 percent end

up with sexual dysfunction. And Prozac may make a small number of people

homicidal or suicidal, or both.

 

But there are alternatives: in Germany, for example, St. John's wort

outsells Prozac 25 to 1, showing that doctors and patients there understand

that the herbal remedy works as well as the synthetic ones for mild to

moderate depression. [Editor's note: St. John's wort has been shown to

interfere with the actions of the transplant rejection drug cyclosporin and

the AIDS drug indinivir.] And diet, exercise, 12-step programs, and good

old-fashioned psychotherapy can work well, too. Even for severe depression

requiring medication, Dr. Glenmullen shows how the drugs can be used with

other treatments and then discontinued after a year or less.

 

Moreover, Prozac Backlash discusses exactly what depression is and isn't;

Dr. Glenmullen reviews hundreds of scientific studies, and discusses

numerous case studies from his practice and others. Because of that detail,

medical professionals may be this book's most likely readers, but anyone who

has been on an antidepressant, or is close to someone who is, will also want

to give Prozac Backlash a careful read. The brain you save could be your

own. -- Lou Schuler

 

Roughly 28 million Americans -- one in every ten -- have taken Prozac,

Zoloft, or Paxil or a similar antidepressant, yet very few patients are

aware of the dangers of these drugs, nor are they aware that better, safer

alternatives exist. Now Harvard Medical School's Dr. Joseph Glenmullen

documents the ominous long-term side effects associated with these and other

serotonin-boosting medications.

 

These side effects include neurological disorders, such as disfiguring

facial and whole-body tics that can indicate brain damage; sexual

dysfunction in up to 60 percent of users; debilitating withdrawal symptoms,

including visual hallucinations, electric shock-like sensations in the

brain, dizziness, nausea, and anxiety; and a decrease of antidepressant

effectiveness in about 35 percent of long-term users. In addition, Dr.

Glenmullen's research and riveting case studies shed shocking new light on

the direct link between these drugs and suicide and violence.

 

Prozac Backlash provides authoritative, balanced information on the efficacy

of these drugs, explaining how they react chemically in the body, when they

should and should not be prescribed, and what risks they present. Equally

important, the book informs readers of the many safe, effective alternatives

to using such drugs -- alternatives that can restore your spirits, keep your

weight down, and make your sex life as vital as ever.

 

Dr. Glenmullen argues that antidepressant drug therapy is justified only in

moderate to severe cases -- no more than 25 percent of patients currently

taking these drugs -- and that we should avoid patients' exposure to these

drugs whenever possible. The dangerous side effects, he points out, are

caused by Prozac backlash, which is the brain's reaction to artificially

elevated levels of serotonin.

 

Using vivid real-life stories from his work at Harvard, his private

practice, and the latest medical research, Dr. Glenmullen explains the real

role of serotonin in depression and challenges the popular, hypothetical

notion of a " serotonin deficiency " allegedly corrected by the drugs. He

relates the research history of Prozac and similar drugs, and includes

disturbing facts about the influence of drug companies and HMOs on media

representation of that research.

 

Prozac Backlash offers new hope to millions with effective alternative

treatments, including psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral treatment, herbal

remedies like St. John's wort, family therapy, and twelve-step programs. Dr.

Glenmullen shows how these alternatives work not only for depression but for

a wide range of problems, such as anxiety, phobias, obsessions, compulsions,

sexual addictions, drug and alcohol abuse, and eating disorders. He also

provides countless examples of the successful application of these

treatments where drug exposure has been reduced or eliminated altogether.

 

Written by a doctor with impeccable credentials, Prozac Backlash is filled

with compelling, sometimes heartrending stories and is thoroughly documented

with extensive scientific sources. It is both provocative and hopeful, a

sound, reliable guide to the safe treatment of depression and other

psychiatric problems.

 

------

 

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

 

This seems like an useful recently published book documenting some of the

valid concerns regarding Prozac. I am no stranger to writing prescriptions

for this medication.

 

In the late 80s when it first came out I was one of the leading doctors in

the Chicago area using this drug. It seemed like every other patient I put

on Prozac.

 

It clearly was an effective treatment for many and certainly far better than

the previously available first generation antidepressants. The reason I used

it for so many people, is that the vast majority of people who visit

physicians do have some unresolved psycho-emotional conflict or trauma as a

major component of their illness.

 

I have long since stopped prescribing Prozac and will only use

antidepressants on a mere handful of patients a year. Zoloft recently

surpassed Prozac as the leading antidepressant a few weeks ago and does seem

to be a superior drug alternative. However, I find that the muscle testing

and Applied Psychoneurobiolgy work far better at addressing some of the

foundational issues that contribute to depression.