4 ms·

I believe I was quite careful in what I said rather than pimping antidepressants. Each time I start a course of antidepressants, I am genuinely worried what th

I believe I was quite careful in what I said rather than pimping antidepressants. Each time I start a course of antidepressants, I am genuinely worried what the outcome will be. Messing with your brain chemistry isn't something to do lightly. But equally, for many people, possibly including myself, it quite literally saves their life. However, I must take umbrage at your characterisation of how considering a course of these drugs is akin to taking on a lifetime addiction. They do cause withdrawal/discontinuation effects if you stop suddenly, and often tapering isn't particularly pleasant either. This is something that users of these drugs have known for a long time, likely since they first hit the market, but it took a surprisingly long time for the medical industry to accept this and list it on patient information leaflets. I also certainly accept that many doctors are quite terrible at discussing potential side effects and discontinuation syndrome with patients. This doesn't just concern antidepressants or even heavily marketed drugs. Common, generic, 50+ year old antibiotics can have really horrific side effects that aren't often mentioned by your doctor. This is a serious informed consent issue that needs addressing more widely within the medical field. However, these drugs are not heroin. They are, for most people, relatively easy (albeit sometimes unpleasant) to taper. They don't cause the same kind of pleasure/punishment cycle that makes substances like cocaine or heroin so hard to quit. You don't become a fiend when you miss a dose, you just feel shitty and get some brain zaps. Nobody's holding up gas stations to get some dollars to pay for their Prozac. If you do discontinue antidepressants, your life is typically better for having taken them compared to when you started, and for the most part, you can take these drugs for your entire life without significant adverse consequences.

aa-jv 4y ago
These drugs ruin lives just as efficiently as they 'improve' them. Be very, very careful if you are going to advise people that they should overlook the evidence of this fact, "because they're great for me so you should try them too!". Yes, you are pimping these drugs in so doing.
- cameronh90 4y ago
  It's very rare that these drugs ruin someone's life. For the most part, if they don't work for you, you just stop taking them and try something else instead without any long term side consequences. There is the very well known risk of suicide in adolescents in particular, which is printed in a black box warning on all of these drugs. This potential side effect usually very early on in the treatment, and usually occurs in people who already had suicidal tendencies. Discontinuing the drug immediately typically resolves this. Responsible doctors will weigh up this risk and ensure that everything is done to make this less likely. Other things are like sexual side effects can persist for some time after discontinuation, but nearly always resolve eventually. Serotonin syndrome is another risk but the chance of that is fairly low unless you take other serotonin-affecting drugs. Should these risks be weighed up when considering treatment? Absolutely. Does that make the drugs harmful overall? Absolutely not. Look at some of the people who've experienced permanent nerve damage as a result of quinolone antibiotics - yet they are still on the market because sometimes there is no alternative besides death.
  - aa-jv 4y ago
    >It's very rare that these drugs ruin someone's life. I don't agree, I think its just under-reported/under-studied, because it clearly won't make anyone any money to do so .. For-profit mental health should be illegal, or at least treated the same as religion - do it if you want, but don't force your ideologies on others who don't agree with you ..

aa-jv 4y ago

These drugs ruin lives just as efficiently as they 'improve' them. Be very, very careful if you are going to advise people that they should overlook the evidence of this fact, "because they're great for me so you should try them too!". Yes, you are pimping these drugs in so doing.

cameronh90 4y ago
It's very rare that these drugs ruin someone's life. For the most part, if they don't work for you, you just stop taking them and try something else instead without any long term side consequences. There is the very well known risk of suicide in adolescents in particular, which is printed in a black box warning on all of these drugs. This potential side effect usually very early on in the treatment, and usually occurs in people who already had suicidal tendencies. Discontinuing the drug immediately typically resolves this. Responsible doctors will weigh up this risk and ensure that everything is done to make this less likely. Other things are like sexual side effects can persist for some time after discontinuation, but nearly always resolve eventually. Serotonin syndrome is another risk but the chance of that is fairly low unless you take other serotonin-affecting drugs. Should these risks be weighed up when considering treatment? Absolutely. Does that make the drugs harmful overall? Absolutely not. Look at some of the people who've experienced permanent nerve damage as a result of quinolone antibiotics - yet they are still on the market because sometimes there is no alternative besides death.
- aa-jv 4y ago
  >It's very rare that these drugs ruin someone's life. I don't agree, I think its just under-reported/under-studied, because it clearly won't make anyone any money to do so .. For-profit mental health should be illegal, or at least treated the same as religion - do it if you want, but don't force your ideologies on others who don't agree with you ..