meistersinger Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Anyone catch this episode regarding antidepressants? Guests were Dr. Pinsky and Dr. Amen. Comments? History: 1995--Prozac--Quit CT by GP 1995--Effexor--Quit per my GP 1996--Amitriphene--Quit CT when changed GP 2005--Citalopram and BusPar. Prescribed when I decompensated in my GP's office. GP referred me to behavior health. Psychiatrist prescibed these drugs. Taken off citalopram in 2011 due to FDA warning. Quit Buspar during transition to viibryd. Viibryd--2011 to present. Had a severe reaction in March 2012. Advised both GP and Psychiatrist I was trying to get off these drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsports Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Anyone catch this episode regarding antidepressants? Guests were Dr. Pinsky and Dr. Amen. Comments? Hi Meistersinger, Here is copy of what I posted on the MIA site: I saw the show yesterday and was totally unimpressed. First of all, having guests like Drew Pinsky and Daniel Amen talk about the dangers of SSRIs is like having a cocaine addict discuss the dangers of heroin addiction. Dr. Pinsky has taken money from drug companies in the past although he claims he no longer does it. And he has been involved in other controversial issues that are too long to get into. He started off claiming that it is the pressure from insurance companies that pushes doctors to prescribe meds as a first time solution. If I hear that excuse one more bleeping time, I am going to scream. If doctors would have the guts to push back against this, things would change but they don’t. He then claimed that psychiatrists are alot more knowledgeable about SSRIs than family care doctors which of course make me gag again. He did acknowledge that drugs are being prescribed way to often by family doctors and needed to stop. But as he was saying that, I wondered about his role in all of this as it didn’t sound like things were going to change that much. And of course, there was Dr. Amen who claims mental illnesses can be diagnosed with brain scans. I can’t repeat what my thoughts are about that so I keep this post respectful. On the one hand, he seemed to express concern about medications but on the other hand, he still seemed to prescribe them quite a bit after of course, performing an expensive brain scan that other mainstream experts have said is not credible. The best part of the show in my opinion was when they spoke to a woman in the audience who saw her PCP for palpitations who ended up on psych meds for many years before she realized the drugs were destroying her health. She said she felt wonderful now that she was off of them. It made me facetiously think that we needed to start an anti primary care doctor movement because it seems that while of course, psychiatry deserves all the criticisms against it, that these folks are also causing alot of problems by throwing drugs at a problem without further investigation. By the way, they prescribe 80% of all psych meds. Finally, they did talk about getting off the meds but it was the standard BS advice about check with your doctor. Yeah, that worked really well for most people says me sarcastically. Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010 Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006 Finished taper on June 10, 2010 Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016 Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Here's the article posted the news section of Mad in America: http://www.madinamerica.com/2013/04/dr-oz-takes-on-big-pharma/ This can lead to dangerous results. Recently published research suggests that antidepressants may make one more prone to depression later in life Funny is how my psychiatrist told me the opposite... WHO SHOULD I BELIEVE? ...is a question I'm not asking. Tapering Zoloft, Dec 2014 Started Lamictal Re-started Zoloft mid-Oct 2014, 25-50mg Stopped Zoloft end of Sept 2014 Started Zoloft July 2014, 50mg Stopped Prozac from 3mg May 2014 Stopped Effexor Dec '13 Started 10mg Prozac Reinstated Effexor 15mg on Nov 2013 Stopped from 21mg on Oct 2013Effexor 112.5mg, since Dec 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlitegirlx Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 At least Dr. Oz is trying to take a look at this issue. What he really needs to do is have a show with people who suffered during tapering and when they went off. Then discuss how that even if this occurs in a small percent like say 10% of people who go off them, it's the sort of thing that one has to ask themselves if it's worth it given that the meds may 1) not help 2) make you worse 3) lead to you taking more meds so you end up on 'cocktails' because the original med or meds made you worse or didn't help. 4) if you end up on cocktails that it would take years to taper safely and hopefully you won't suffer all the way through it. That would scare the hell out of a lot of people. People might start talking about these drugs in a negative way and a domino effect could occur where more and more people begin to think of these drugs negatively and as dangerous. Then people would begin to taper off them in larger numbers. More information would come to light with more people tapering regarding the issues faced when going off these meds. This would force the medical profession to begin to address and accept how bad these drugs are and prescribe them in only the most extreme cases after more natural methods are used (meditation, coping skills taught, relaxation techniques taught, etc). And then big pharma would lose billions and stop making this crap that is legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarannamated Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 In related article at bottom, both Drew and Amen say ~ in different words ~ that 75% of antidepressant use is for medical conditions (undiagnosed). Amen says family docs should be testing for / ruling out and treating medical conditions before referring to psychiatrist for treatment of depression. Wow! Way to pass that buck, Dr. Amen! http://www.current-movie-reviews.com/42295/dr-oz-recap-432013-allergy-epidemic-and-antidepressant-overuse/ Pristiq tapered over 8 months ending Spring 2011 after 18 years of polydrugging that began w/Zoloft for fatigue/general malaise (not mood). CURRENT: 1mg Klonopin qhs (SSRI bruxism), 75mg trazodone qhs, various hormonesLitigation for 11 years for Work-related injury, settled 2004. Involuntary medical retirement in 2001 (age 39). 2012 - brain MRI showing diffuse, chronic cerebrovascular damage/demyelination possibly vasculitis/cerebritis. Dx w/autoimmune polyendocrine failure.<p>2013 - Dx w/CNS Sjogren's Lupus (FANA antibodies first appeared in 1997 but missed by doc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsports Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 In related article at bottom, both Drew and Amen say ~ in different words ~ that 75% of antidepressant use is for medical conditions (undiagnosed). Amen says family docs should be testing for / ruling out and treating medical conditions before referring to psychiatrist for treatment of depression. Wow! Way to pass that buck, Dr. Amen! http://www.current-movie-reviews.com/42295/dr-oz-recap-432013-allergy-epidemic-and-antidepressant-overuse/ He claimed that depression can be due to low brain activity or over activation. What a crock of sh-t. By the way, there is an Amen clinic about 30 minutes away. The thought of it makes me gag. CS Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010 Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006 Finished taper on June 10, 2010 Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016 Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarannamated Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Amen's main office is in my area. He was a competitor to my old psych and I have a few friends who went to him. Pristiq tapered over 8 months ending Spring 2011 after 18 years of polydrugging that began w/Zoloft for fatigue/general malaise (not mood). CURRENT: 1mg Klonopin qhs (SSRI bruxism), 75mg trazodone qhs, various hormonesLitigation for 11 years for Work-related injury, settled 2004. Involuntary medical retirement in 2001 (age 39). 2012 - brain MRI showing diffuse, chronic cerebrovascular damage/demyelination possibly vasculitis/cerebritis. Dx w/autoimmune polyendocrine failure.<p>2013 - Dx w/CNS Sjogren's Lupus (FANA antibodies first appeared in 1997 but missed by doc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsports Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Amen's main office is in my area. He was a competitor to my old psych and I have a few friends who went to him. I will honest, when I was on psych meds, I was tempted to go see him. Thankfully, I didn't. I remember one person who took her son there and felt he was so much improved. Would love to know how that worked out. CS Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010 Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006 Finished taper on June 10, 2010 Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016 Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarannamated Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Just watched the full segment and thought it was decent on issues of misuse and getting full medical workup and doing therapy before considering drugs. The woman in the audience mentioned how she has trouble with all doctors dismissing her as a psych case now. Dr.Oz added that insurers also discriminate once a psych dx is in record and said that's an idea for a whole separate show (or something to that effect). I hope he follows through. Link to videos (3 or 4 parts): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytzXm37v9G0&feature=youtube_gdata_player Pristiq tapered over 8 months ending Spring 2011 after 18 years of polydrugging that began w/Zoloft for fatigue/general malaise (not mood). CURRENT: 1mg Klonopin qhs (SSRI bruxism), 75mg trazodone qhs, various hormonesLitigation for 11 years for Work-related injury, settled 2004. Involuntary medical retirement in 2001 (age 39). 2012 - brain MRI showing diffuse, chronic cerebrovascular damage/demyelination possibly vasculitis/cerebritis. Dx w/autoimmune polyendocrine failure.<p>2013 - Dx w/CNS Sjogren's Lupus (FANA antibodies first appeared in 1997 but missed by doc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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