Aren’t the people who see psychiatrists and told they need psychiatric drugs for a mood disorder not likely to know what negative effects drugs can have?
…and MDs are likely NOT to tell anyone about the negative side effects because they want the patient to comply with treatment, yes? If these people are more or less desperate and want the drug to work will they really care or will they be more vulnerable?
If you have no clue what I’m talking about:
1. Paxil http://www.enthalpy.net/archives/000028.…
2. Lexapro http://www.anxiety-and-depression-soluti…
3. http://www.theroadback.org/lexapro_side_… (scroll down page)
4. Zoloft http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/rx/rx-mon… (scroll down to “special warnings”)
5. http://www.antidepressantadversereaction…
6. http://depression.about.com/gi/dynamic/o…
Nov 22
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Well, I get my psych meds from WalMart pharmacy here in the US, & along with the meds, they give you papers, explaining the cautions, side effects, & what happens in accidental overdose.
Now, I was just reading yesterday. With a medicine like Wellbutrin XL, 300 mg, if it’s an ANTI-depressant, then why are 1 of the side effects “increased risk of suicidal thoughts or suicide”? What that doozie?
& meds like this make you more depressed than you already are, & they give you all sorts of physical symptoms & increased anxiety. No wonder why I feel that my meds don’t help!
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I’m on medications for anxiety, ADHD, Bipolar disorder plus. When my Doctor and Psychiatrist prescribe me these medications that I’m on everything was brought out on the table. They both had me get my medications from the pharmacy and come back to the office. There’s a paper inside with the medications that tell you a lot plus the doctor and psychiatrist had books telling even more. Both of these people sat with me for 3 hours each going over the medications.
So not all doctors don’t do their jobs, and not all psychiatrists don’t do their jobs. Without the medications I can’t function and you wouldn’t want me out into the world. It’s not good at all, I feel so much better now then I did before they diagnose me and I saw 25 doctors and 17 psychiatrists before the truth came out. I went through hell and then some…………
Due to the medications I do have to take blood work every 5 months.
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Not necessarily.
The side effects are included in the pamphlet the pharmacy gives you. There is some personal accountability in this though. You should do your research before putting any chemical in your own body… because honestly, medicine is practice, and you’re the guinea pig. I was prescribed a cornicopia of pharmaceuticals earlier this year and did all my research. I decided the benefits outweighed the side effects for some of them. However, once I started to take the medicine I experienced almost every side effect to a degree that I refused to take them anymore. Maybe it was placebo affect but I doubt it because I was happy to take the medications because they helped me. I also discussed them with my doctor who openly told me he was aware of the side effects but I had to proactively ask him.
Edit: Good point! I’m actually especially interested in the politics of pharmaceutical companies so I’m already weary about the fact that people will believe anything is okay as long as it’s FDA approved. Most people also don’t know that statins (cholesterol lowering meds) have a NNT (# needed to treat to actually help someone) is 215. So only 1 person out of 215 actually benefit from the drug and the rest are only getting the side effects. I think it really just boils down to the point that the information is there right in front of you, you just have to look for it. Doctor’s aren’t going to sit down with anyone for 3 hours explaining the meds. That’s really the patient’s responsibility, which would only take the doctor 30 seconds to explain (not sure why they don’t…hmmmm?). And I definitely disagree with the point that the pamphlet has ALL the information needed. In my case, Abilify did not list “feeling like your skeleton wants to jump out of your body” as a side effect, but when I explained that to my doctor he said, “Oh, that’s normal when you’re on a higher dosage.”
So no, not every side effect will be listed and I ended up having to live for a few weeks of my life feeling that way and then curling up in a ball crying just wanting to die because that’s how the medicine affected me.
Edit 2: in my experience with the mental health industry, Christopher must have AMAZING health insurance. They’d have cut me off a LONG time ago if I were him. I barely am able to go to one psych, let alone double digits.
Edit 3: Last thing I promise! Once you’re taking 3 medications or more, the mixture is completely unpredictable in your system and the doctors have absolutely no idea what will happen. It’s the absolute truth. They’re just prescribing and praying at that point.
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
When you get your medications from the pharmacy they have a pamphlet in them that explains every single side effect that you might experience, there’s also warnings about drug interactions and side effects on the bottles of the medications. For example I’m on a drug that interacts with grapefruit, and my bottle tells me not to eat grapefruit while using the medication.
Also my doctors have always been very open in listening to me about the side effects of my medications, and have been willing to change them for me if I am worried about them. I was on Seroquel which can raise your cholesterol and cause weight gain (all which was described in the pamphlet from the pharmacy) and I was worried about this. My doctor switched me to Trazadone which has a very low risk of long term side effects.
So no, I don’t agree with you.
Edit: Because I’ve been diagnosed with Bipolar for 11 years. My mom’s been diagnosed for twice that long, and my grandmother and grandfather were recently diagnosed. Mentally Ill people have plenty of times when they are stable and lucid and rational.