SSRIs: Sharp Drop in Brain Activity + Worsening Depression & Suicidality

hile antidepressant medications have proven to be beneficial in helping people overcome majordepression, it has long been known that a small subset of individuals taking these drugs can actually experience a worsening of mood, and even thoughts of suicide. No clinical test currently exists to make this determination, and only time usually weeks can tell before a psychiatrist knows whether a patient is getting better or worse.

Now, UCLA researchers have developed a non-invasive biomarker, or indicator, that may serve as a type of early warning system.

Reporting in the April edition of the peer-reviewed journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Aimee Hunter, an assistant research psychologist in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry, and colleagues report that by using quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG), a non-invasive measurement of electrical activity in the brain, they were able to observe a sharp reduction of activity in a specific brainregion in individuals who proved susceptible to thoughts of suicide within 48 hours of the start of treatment.

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Leslie Judd’s Story – post-partum depression – Prozac, Paxil and Trazodone

Every month when I went to my doctor, my medication and dosage were changed. There was a point during the ten years that I realized the medication was making me sick, especially when I got lithium toxicity. My body was holding on to all fluid, I was bloated beyond recognition, my pupils were dilated (one more than the other), I started to get panicky and I had constant nausea and severe headaches along with other symptoms which alarmed my husband, and he called my doctor, who told me to stop taking the medication immediately.

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ANTIDEPRESSANTS: 17 Year Old Attempts Suicide: Charged with Illegal Pos…

First sentence of paragraph 13 reads:  “About a month before the suicide attempt, the teenager was diagnosed with “major depressive disorder” and was taking prescription anti-depressants, court papers say.” http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090806/NEWS01/908060333/1002/NEWS/Mendon+teen+charged+after+suicide+attempt Mendon teen charged after suicide attempt Gary Craig • Staff writer • August 6, 2009 A Mendon teenager’s attempt to commit suicide has led to…

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My 10 Year Antidepressant-induced Nightmare Trip Into Hell

Eleven years ago, I experienced some serious depression which I now
recognize was most likely postpartum depression, since it began following the
birth of my third child. The condition was serious enough to cause me to be
unable to function normally. After a visit to the doctor, I came home with a
prescription for Prozac, and this was the beginning of a ten-year nightmare.

Within the first few days, I began having hallucinations and hearing
voices, but had no relief from the depression. At my next appointment, the
doctor prescribed Paxil and Trazodone. Temporarily, it seemed to help with the
depression, but I was a zombie all of the time. I felt like I had a hangover
every morning.

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4/10/2002 • Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in Major Depressive Disorder

4/10/2002 • Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John’s Wort) in Major Depressive Disorder David J. Kupfer, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O’Hara St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (e-mail: kupferdj@msx.upmc.edu). JAMA Vol. 287 No. 14 This study fails to support the efficacy of H perforatum in moderately…

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