Posted by rskontos on September 12, 2007, at 18:43:50
In reply to Re: News - Antidepressants Vindicated? » jrbecker76, posted by Larry Hoover on September 12, 2007, at 10:51:00
If the FDA’s goal is to ensure that children and adults treated with antidepressants receive adequate follow-up care to better detect and treat emergent suicidal thoughts, the current black box warning is not a useful approach; what should be considered instead is better education and training of physicians."
Lar, I think this is the gist and the most important point you have made in this thread. For all the studies and conclusions, you are right that the drugs are blunt instructions and used well and carefully, they can be helpful. Doctors need to be better educated. I think releasing drugs so quickly with the FDA only requiring 12 weeks of trials it is imperative that doctors be highly educated and prescribe judiciously. Then and only then, can we all hope that the drugs are safe for all that need them. For me, with my anxiety disorder or illness or whatever you want to call it, and my bad experience with AD's I am so hesitant to go to another doctor to get another drug to help me, yet that is probably what I need to do. First, though I need to find a new doctor. The argument here should not really be are AD's vindicated but how about how they are used. This seems to be the real issue. At least for me it is. The black box warning only seems to get the monkey off the backs of the doctors and the manufacturers and place it back on the very people that really shouldn't have to be the ones deciding should I take it or is it the right one for me? Don't get me wrong I feel we need to be educated but what has the black box warning done is cause many people just to back off. We need to be better informed, but so do the doctors that prescribe these drugs. I think with children we should be extra cautious naturally. I know from my own experience that my daughter's doctors always said medicating a child was tougher than an adult. So erring on the side of caution is good but parents need solutions too. I have been in the tough situation where no meds were working and no one had an answer either. It is a tough issue all the way around but I think you hit the nail on the head with your statement of educating doctors more. Thanks for your insight. RK
poster:rskontos
thread:781684
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070911/msgs/782515.html