Posted by MattDDS on September 24, 2002, at 14:32:29
In reply to Re: Antidepressants versus placebo smackdown!, posted by Eddie Sylvano on September 24, 2002, at 13:58:40
Eddie,
You make some good points. I think we are in agreement about most things. I was not minimizing the positive effects meds have had on some people's lives. That's great! If AD's work for someone, then by all means, take them!
I am simply saying that I am personally not convinced they are much, if at all, more effective than placebos, that's all.
Let's suppose, hypothetically, that a drug company scandalously marketed sugar pills as a powerful antidepressant. According to previous studies, approximately 30-50% of people would respond. If 1,000,000 people took the "drug", that would mean 300,000-500,000 people would respond! Imagine all the success stories you would hear! For many people, this sugar would have been "life saving" as you put it! Still, it would not change the fact that it is simply sugar.
So we are left with an ethical dilemma. Do we "pull the rug" out from underneath these poor people's feet and tell them they only were taking sugar? Or let them continue to take it and not inform them?
Personally, I think science is our ally! If we know that a particular treatment is not effective, then we can move on to develop better ones. That is why I am saying we should be better, more informed consumers. You say that antidepressants are in a state of development, much as are televisions and electronics. The only problem I have with that is that, over the last 40 years, we have not made much progress, if at all! Many people feel that the older AD's such as MAOI's and TCA's are more effective at treating depression than the SSRI's. You could argue that SSRI's are more tolerable as far as side effects, but this is definitely debatable. SSRI's were a miserable experience for me, SE-wise.
I expect to get a lot of flak for this. But I hope I am not misunderstood. All I am saying is that I have serious doubts about the efficacy of current antidepressants. But again, if something is working for you, GREAT!
Take care,
Matt
poster:MattDDS
thread:120924
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020922/msgs/120959.html