Posted by linkadge on March 10, 2007, at 16:21:13
In reply to the real issue » linkadge, posted by crabwalk on March 10, 2007, at 15:02:09
>So two questions arise...One is how often are >people pretty much screwed over (meaning >severely reducing quality of life, I'm one of >them at this point) by these drugs? It's >probably a relatively small number because the >number of people taking ad's is astronomical,
Well, thats the thing. The use of the TCA's was not this widespread. So, we really don't have any idea yet on how the SSRI's are affecting people long term. They havn't been out long enough.
People need to come off the drugs in order to know how they have been affected.
>I've struggled with this issue for years now, >since I realized that prozac had done what >Linkadge has described -- caused possibly >permanent anhedonia.
>As a sufferer, I've definitely felt the same >things at times, but unfortunately I think the >issue is more complicated.
I never said psychiatry was evil. There is a difference between people and drugs. People often have good intentions, while drugs cannot have intentions. We simply don't know the long term implications of what we are doing. Its a world of bandwagons and subsequent mass panic.
In hindsight I don't really see the point of taking the drugs. I mean, if I wanted a quick fix, I would have taken illegal drugs. They were not a long term solution for me. This may not be the case for everybody, but I can only know how to deal with myself.
>While there are definitely some victims of >malpractice and ignorance in the name of >convenience or even profit, I think the majority >of damage done by ad's is a combination of bad >luck and selective ignorance. The luck part is >obviously uncontrollable, the ignorance part >oppositely, and inexcusably, so.
Clearly there needs to be constant reassesment of a drugs benifits and drawbacks. Unfortunatley, doctors are unwilling to make that assessment untill a new (better) class of drugs comes along. I am sure that once a new class of drugs is established, the public view on SSRI's will be quickly and easily shifted.
>So, I think the FDA and doctors have seriously >dropped the ball in evaluating long-term safety >of ad's.
Thats the problem. Once they're out, and used so widespread, there is a problem. You can't just go around revealing the dangers of these meds. Afterall nobody wants to panic about their anti-panic meds, or get depressed about their depression pills.
So, its a double whammy. The fact that the patient population would be so sensitive to such negative data gives more reason for experts to keep it behind closed doors. They think they are acting in the patient's best interest, I suppose.
>This has created a general perception that they >are almost infallible, and it will take a long >time for anyone to go against this. When people >realize the subtle yet devastating dangers of >ad's, a paradigm shift will occur, and those >moral questions will be at the heart of it, I >hope. I also hope it will happen in my lifetime, >but I'm not sure that it will.
This is it. People have worked so hard to establish the efficacy of the drugs, that it cannot be reversed over night.Its all about giving people hope. If people believe in drugs, then they have hope. Thats why most of us are here, we are looking for hope. Faith in a pill is powerful. Its the kind of thing people would like to belive in because it is whatever you want it to be.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:739762
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070308/msgs/739935.html