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Antidepressant warning too late for some (?) patients

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atracyphd2

Tue, 9 Aug 2005 10:46:10 EDT

[drugawareness] Antidepressant warning too late for some (?)

patients

 

 

 

 

 

I would change the title of this article to read, " Antidepressant

warning too

late for FAR TO MANY patients. " But I know that generally editors, rather

than the writers, pick out the titles of articles. Other than that I

am more than

excited to see information like this come out nationwide in a nationally

syndicated column that commands the respect that this one holds!

 

Joe and Teresa Graedon have touched lightly upon this issue for years in

their column, but never to this extent! At this point they have

obviously heard

enough and finally jumped in with both feet to sound the alarm on

these most

deadly antidepressants!!!!! I applaud their courage to do so and to

stand up for

all those whose lives have been destroyed by these drugs!

 

These are stories you have heard from me for a decade and a half now. You

have seen them posted on our website for years. And FINALLY after so many

needless deaths and years of pain and suffering by so many patients

and their

families, these stories are in your mainstream news for all to obtain

the warning

they have needed for so long!

 

THANK YOU Joe and Teresa Graedon for having the courage to speak the truth

and in doing so give honor and respect back to those who have been

victims of

these deadly drugs!

 

Dr. Tracy

______________________

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,

International Coalition For Drug Awareness

www.drugawareness.org

Author of the " Bible on Antidepressants, " Prozac:

Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare

& audio " Help! I Can't Get Off My Antidepressant! "

(Order: 800-280-0730)

_________________________

 

 

 

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_Basic\

Article & c=MGArticle & cid=1031784324296 & path=!living!article & s=1037645509005

 

 

Tuesday, August 9, 2005

 

Antidepressant warning too late for some patients

 

KING FEATURES SYNDICATE

 

Some psychiatrists may have been shocked by the Food and Drug

Administration’

s recently revised labeling for antidepressants: “Adults being

treated with

antidepressant medication, particularly those being treated for

depression,

should be watched closely for worsening of depression and for

increased suicidal

thinking or behavior.â€

 

This warning follows a similar one directed toward children and

adolescents.

 

These cautions are doubly troubling because they are long overdue. For

years

the FDA has reassured physicians and patients that drugs like Prozac,

Paxil

and Zoloft would not make people worse or lead them to suicide.

 

Shortly after Prozac was introduced, however, we heard from a bereaved

father

about the death of his daughter, who was given Prozac for an eating

disorder:

“One month later, after taking this medication, she committed suicide by

hanging herself. What was so strange about this unsuspected action was

that she

was not behaving like a person who was depressed or suicidal.â€

 

When we first heard from him in the late 1980s, we checked published

reports

of Prozac side effects and found nothing to suggest this could be a drug

reaction. In 1990, however, a case report was published in the

American Journal of

Psychiatry. Harvard psychiatrists described six patients who suddenly

developed “intense violent suicidal preoccupation after 2-7 weeks of

fluoxetine

(Prozac) treatment.â€

 

When we asked the drug company and the FDA about this report, we were told

that depressed people sometimes commit suicide and that the drug was

not to

blame.

 

Over the past 15 years, we have heard of many other instances in which

people

became preoccupied with harming themselves or others after starting on an

antidepressant.

 

A man taking Zoloft woke in the middle of the night with a strong urge to

kill himself. A woman reported having wild thoughts while on Prozac

about ramming

her car into other cars and getting a gun to kill an irritating co-worker.

 

One reader shared this sad story: “I am convinced that Zoloft caused my

cousin to kill himself, even though he was strongly opposed to

suicide. He saw

Zoloft advertised on television and asked his family doctor about it.â€

 

“The night my cousin told me he had started taking Zoloft, I immediately

looked up the drug in your book The People’s Pharmacy. I became

alarmed when I

read this sentence: ‘Family members should help monitor people on

Zoloft for

suicidal thoughts or self-destructive behaviors. The doctor must be

notified

immediately in such cases.’

 

“I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t feel I could tell my cousin

to stop

taking the Zoloft. I regret to this day that I didn’t call him back

immediately

and read that warning to him.

 

“One week later, he went out to check on his cattle. When he

didn’t return,

his wife and sons went looking for him. They found him dead under his

favorite

tree. He had shot himself in the head with his father’s double-barreled

shotgun.â€

 

We wonder how many families have had to suffer like this one. We wish

the FDA

had moved sooner on the analysis that led to its recent warning.

Perhaps now,

though, patients will be watched more closely and given the support

they need

during treatment for depression.

 

Q. The subject of taking vitamins or medication with coffee came up in a

friendly discussion recently. Some in the group take medicine or

vitamins with

morning coffee and breakfast. Others take their pills at breakfast

with orange

juice.

 

A few of us went to vitamin stores to research the issue. One store

manager

said that orange juice was OK, but he wasn’t sure of combining

vitamins and

medicines. He had no idea whether coffee would affect either of them.

 

A second store manager indicated that coffee negates the value of

vitamins or

medicine. We asked about tea, and he stated that was fine. He does not

recommend ingesting vitamins and medicine together.

 

A third manager could not provide any answers to our questions.

 

Can you tell us what effect coffee, tea or orange juice has on vitamins or

drugs and whether it is safe to take these together?

 

A. Interactions between foods, drugs and nutrients are complicated, and

different medicines have distinct interactions. Prednisone, for

example, may

deplete the body of vitamin D, calcium, potassium and B vitamins.

 

Antibiotics such as tetracycline, Cipro or Noroxin should not be taken

with

calcium-fortified orange juice, calcium supplements or dairy products.

Calcium

can prevent the absorption of the antibiotic.

 

Such drugs as Cipro magnify the effects of caffeine. Some medicines,

such as

Fosamax, must be taken at least an hour before food, vitamins, coffee,

tea or

anything but tap water.

 

• If you have a question or comment, write to Joe and Teresa

Graedon, c/o

Features Department, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159,

Winston-Salem, NC

27102.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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