INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR DRUG AWARENESS » companies http://www.drugawareness.org Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:47:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcasesblog/antidepressant-use-doubles-in-u-s-study-finds-2 http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcasesblog/antidepressant-use-doubles-in-u-s-study-finds-2#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:12:45 +0000 Ann Tracy http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcases/antidepressant-use-doubles-in-u-s-study-finds-2

“Not only are more U.S. residents being treated with antidepressants, but also those who are being treated are receiving more antidepressant prescriptions,” they added.
[Note by Dr. Tracy: Far too many doctors are prescribing two and even three antidepressants at a time which should never be done due to the high potential of resulting Serotonin Syndrome from the combination.]
“During this period, individuals treated with antidepressants became more likely to also receive treatment with antipsychotic medications . . . “
[Note by Dr. Tracy: Additional supporting data to add to the story we just sent out on 81% of those diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder having been previously treated with antidepressants or Ritalin type drugs - making these popular drugs the main triggers for Bipolar Disorder and manic psychosis.]

Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds

1 in 10 are taking medication to improve mood, fewer going to talk therapy

By Maggie Fox

updated 2:44 p.m. CT, Mon., Aug 3, 2009

WASHINGTON – Use of antidepressant drugs in the United States doubled between 1996 and 2005, probably because of a mix of factors, researchers reported on Monday.

About 6 percent of people were prescribed an antidepressant in 1996 — 13 million people. This rose to more than 10 percent or 27 million people by 2005, the researchers found.

“Significant increases in antidepressant use were evident across all sociodemographic groups examined, except African Americans,” Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University in New York and Steven Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

“Not only are more U.S. residents being treated with antidepressants, but also those who are being treated are receiving more antidepressant prescriptions,” they added.

More than 164 million prescriptions were written in 2008 for antidepressants, totaling $9.6 billion in U.S. sales, according to IMS Health.

Drugs that affect the brain chemical serotonin like GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil, known generically as paroxetine, and Eli Lilly and Co’s Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine, are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant. But the study found the effect in all classes of the drugs.

Olfson and Marcus looked at the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys done by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, involving more than 50,000 people in 1996 and 2005.

“During this period, individuals treated with antidepressants became more likely to also receive treatment with antipsychotic medications and less likely to undergo psychotherapy,” they wrote.

Newer drugs, more social acceptance
The survey did not look at why, but the researchers made some educated guesses. It may be more socially acceptable to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, they said. The availability of new drugs may also have been a factor.

“Although there was little change in total promotional spending for antidepressants between 1999 ($0.98 billion) and 2005 ($1.02 billion), there was a marked increase in the percentage of this spending that was devoted to direct-to consumer advertising, from 3.3 percent ($32 million) to 12 percent ($122.00 million),” they added.

Dr. Eric Caine of the University of Rochester in New York said he was concerned by the findings. “Antidepressants are only moderately effective on population level,” he said in a telephone interview.

Cost may be deterrent to talk therapy
Caine, who was not involved in the research, noted that several studies show therapy is as effective as, if not more effective than, drug use alone.

“There are no data to say that the population is healthier. Indeed, the suicide rate in the middle years of life has been climbing,” he said.

Olfson and Marcus said out-of-pocket costs for psychotherapy and lower insurance coverage for such visits may have driven patients away from seeing therapists in favor of an easy-to-prescribe pill.

The rise in antidepressant prescriptions also is seen despite a series of public health warnings on use of antidepressant drugs beginning in 2003 after clinical trials showed they increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and teens.

In February 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added its strongest warning, a so-called black box, on the use of all antidepressants in children and teens.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

]]> http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcasesblog/antidepressant-use-doubles-in-u-s-study-finds-2/feed 0 ICFDA Warning on Drug Discontinuation http://www.drugawareness.org/articles/icfda-warning http://www.drugawareness.org/articles/icfda-warning#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:02:56 +0000 Ann Tracy http://www.drugawareness.org/?p=868 Taper off very, very slowly.

Dropping “cold turkey” off any medication, most especially mind altering medications, can often be MORE DANGEROUS than staying on the drugs.

The most dangerous and most common mistake someone coming off the SSRI antidepressants makes is coming off these drugs too rapidly. Tapering off very, very, VERY SLOWLY–OVER MONTHS (and for long-term users—a year or more), NOT JUST WEEKS!—has proven the safest and most effective method of withdrawal from this type of medication. Thus the body is given the time it needs to readjust its own chemical levels. Patients must be warned to come very slowly off these drugs by shaving minuscule amounts off their pills each day, as opposed to cutting them in half or taking a pill every other day. This cannot be stressed strongly enough! This information on EXTREMELY gradual withdrawal is the most critical piece of information that someone facing withdrawal from these drugs needs to have. A REMINDER: IT IS EASIER TO GET DOWN OFF A MOUNTAINTOP ONE GUARDED STEP AT A TIME THAN TO JUMP FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM.  Learn More   No matter how few or how many side effects you have had on these antidepressants, withdrawal is a whole new world. The worst part of rapid withdrawal does not hit for several months AFTER you quit. So even if you think you are doing okay you quickly find that it becomes much worse. If you do not come off correctly and rebuild your body as you do, you risk:

  • Order TodayCreating bouts of overwhelming depression
  • Producing a MUCH longer withdrawal and recovery period than if you had come off slowly
  • Overwhelming fatigue causing you to be unable to continue daily tasks or costing your job
  • Having a psychotic break brought on by the terrible insomnia from the rapid withdrawal, and then being locked in a psychiatric ward
  • Ending up going back on the drugs (each period on the drugs tends to be more dangerous and problematic than the previous time you were on the drugs) and having more drugs added to calm the withdrawal effects
  • Seizures and other life threatening physical reactions
  • Violent outbursts or rages

Although the book contains massive amounts of information you can find nowhere else on these drugs, it does not have the extensive amount of information contained in the tape on withdrawal. The tape contains newer and updated information on safe withdrawal from these drugs. The tape details over an hour and a half the safest ways found over the last ten years to withdraw from antidepressants. It also lists many alternative treatments that can assist you in getting though the withdrawal. And it contains information on how to rebuild your health after you have had it destroyed by the drugs so that you never end up on these drugs again. The tape is very inexpensive and will save you thousands in medical bills which you will spend trying to do it on your own. Many have lamented that they wished they would have had the information on this tape before attempting withdrawal.To order Dr. Tracy’s book or audio, “Help, I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant,” click here.

This is a tape doctors can also benefit from when attempting to withdraw their patients from these drugs that the World Health Organization has now told us are addictive and produce withdrawal.

The Aftermath of Antidepressants

“In 2005 the FDA issued strong warnings about changes in dose for antidepressants. They warned that ANY abrupt change in dose of an antidepressant, whether increasing or decreasing the dose. So if you are switching antidepressants, starting or stopping antidepressants, forgetting to take a pill, skipping doses, taking a pill one day & not the next, etc., can cause suicide, hostility, and/or psychosis – generally a manic psychosis which is why so many are given a diagnosis for Bipolar Disorder after this reaction. Clearly coming down too rapidly can be very, very dangerous. We encourage you to arm yourself with knowledge by downloading our CD on safe withdrawal.”

http://www.drugawareness.org/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/product_images/thumbnails/helpicant.jpgclick here. order a CD download.
]]> http://www.drugawareness.org/articles/icfda-warning/feed 5