By Ann Tracy on December 16, 2009
First sentence reads: “GPs should not prescribe antidepressants routinely for long periods, or to treat mild depression, NICE has warned.”
http://www.healthcarerepublic.com/news/948602/NICE-warns-GPs-antidepressant-use/
Sanjay Tanday, healthcarerepublic.com,
28 October 2009, 00:15am
GPs should not prescribe antidepressants routinely for long periods, or to treat mild depression, NICE [National Institute for Clinical Excellence] has warned.
BMJ research reveals an increase in long-term antidepressant use across the UK
Updated guidance published this week says GPs should only consider the drugs for patients with moderate or severe depression, or those suffering sub-threshold depressive symptoms for at least two years.
The latest guidance comes as research in the BMJ reveals an increase in long-term antidepressant use across the UK.
The researchers assessed all cases of depression from 1993 to 2005 across 170 surgeries, covering 1.7 million patients.
They found that prescriptions per patient rose from 2.8 in 1993 to 5.6 in 2004, despite a drop in the number of patients diagnosed with depression.
The researchers said the rise may be due to more patients taking antidepressants on a long-term basis.
* Read the full version of this story in this week’s edition of GP dated 30 October
Posted in Recent Cases Blog | Tagged 28 October, Antidepressant, antidepressants, Bmj, Depressive Symptoms, drugs, Gp, Gps, Guidance, Long Periods, Mild Depression, National Institute For Clinical Excellence, prescriptions, Sanjay, Severe Depression, Suffering, Surgeries, Term Basis, Threshold
a Ph.D. in Health Sciences with the emphasis on Psychology, is the director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She has specialized for 14 years in adverse reactions to serotonergic medications (such as Prozac, Sarafem, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Effexor, Serzone, Anafranil, Fen-Phen, Redux and Meridia) and has testified before the FDA and congressional subcommittee members on Prozac. She has testified since 1992 as an expert witness in Prozac and other SSRI related court cases around the world. Her first book on the issue was published in 1991. During the last twelve and a half years she has participated in innumerable radio, television, newspaper and magazine interviews. We know of no one with such extensive experience and expertise on all of these issues surrounding the SSRI antidepressants as Dr. Ann Blake Tracy. You can learn a lot about these medications from her latest book on the Prozac family of antidepressants: PROZAC: PANACEA OR PANDORA? (2001). The book is the product of many, many years of intensive research, and the cases of approximately 1,000 patients on a long-term basis.
Dr. Tracy also has an hour and a half long audio tape/CD, “Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant!,” which explains the safest withdrawal methods from these antidepressants and how to rebuild the body and brain after the use of these drugs. She has spent the last thirteen years working with patients coming off of these antidepressants. That experience has helped her to know much about the serious and very dangerous withdrawal effects and how to avoid those in coming down off the drugs.
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My 67 year old husband was prescribed 60 ml of celexa daily and clonazapam and began to have uncontrollable muscle spasms and tightness when he tried to go to sleep at night. He groans and makes weird noises and it takes hours to fall asleep. The doctor took him off completely and prescribed trazedone, Still he could not sleep. Thent he doctor prescribed wellbutrin and temazepam and he is he only sleeping a couple hours but has just as much difficulty falling asleep. Help…he wants to die now, mood is getting worse than ever. losing all hope he will ever be able to sleep. roxanne