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Your Drug May Be Your Problem
Ahead of its time in 1999.
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"I'm not afraid of counseling!"
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My Psychic Therapist and Other Myths
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Let's play cops and robbers. I wanna play the bad guy.
Questioning Medications
By: Dr. Suzanne LaCombe, September 2007.
Several things seem apparent:
- Clients do not have access to unbiased information about the risks and benefits of medications;
- The threshold for access to meds is too low, with the result that they're being over-prescribed;
- Alternatives are not investigated and long-term pharmaceutical usage is tacitly condoned, if not encouraged.
- Research on pharmaceuticals is problematic; and finally,
- The "medicalization" of mental health problems creates an artificial need for meds, when they could be better solved in other ways.
Undoubtedly, pharmaceuticals have improved the mental health of countless people and have even made it easier for many to enter therapy. Yet the increasing medicalization of psychotherapy blunts the effectiveness of the therapeutic relationship, and thus its potential for creating change.
Too many folks are caught in an endless cycle of medications that no longer help. Unfortunately they often feel helpless to find alternatives.
Pharmaceuticals are often promoted with the implication that there are no alternatives.
Many folks have complained to me how their doctor only offered one solution to their troubles: medication. Counseling is rarely put forth as an option. Yet, counseling is a practical and effective choice for folks especically for those who do not wish to take medications or who hope to eventually dispense with their meds.
There are also alternatives to medications that encourage individuals to take personal responsibility for their healthcare (e.g. homeopathy, naturopathic).
Can't decide whether to go on medication?
It can't be easy. The decision to take medication treatment is a personal one. No one but you can fully appreciate what particular circumstance or internal distress motivates your decision to use, or not use medications.
While I acknowledge that MyShrink will not accept advertising dollars from pharmaceutical companies, this policy was designed in part to balance the over-emphasis on medications by many counseling websites today.
If you are currently on medication or are planning to begin, please understand that it is not our intention to dissuade you or disparage your decision. You should never feel you have to apologize or explain your need for medication.
I have prepared a short list of links to sites and articles that offer alternative views from that promoted by the pharmaceutical industry. Included in this list are sites that help visitors understand the benefits as well as the side effects of medications. The opinions expressed on all sites are not necessarily those of MyShrink, however.
Dr. Suzanne LaCombe
September 2007.
You'll get a laugh out of this little video. FDA Approves Depressant Drug.
SSRIs in Pregnancy Hike Risk of Heart Defects
They followed over half a million Danish women taking SSRI's. One SSRI during pregnancy increased the risk in septal heart defects in babies by an odds ratio of 1.91 and taking multiple SSRI's increased that risk five fold. (MedPage Today, September 25, 2009.)
Fuzzy Relationships: Influential Psychiatrist Didn't Report $1.2 M Drug Makers Pay
It'd be tempting to think this was the actions of just one bad apple. But given the history of the pharmaceutical industry (as described below) I think not. This is the calculated strategy of a huge industry that feels free to manipulate research results and delude consumers and health care professionals. (New York Times Oct. 4/08 article)
Do Antidepressants Really Work?
You'll enjoy IronShrink's brief introduction on the question of antidepressant usage. Dr. Shawn Smith aka IronShrink has a flare for pointing out the obvious.
(March 9, 2008)
Psychotherapy: A cost-effective choice over medications?
This article reviews some research on the cost-effectiveness of psychotherapy vs. drug treatment for depression. When you factor in all the costs (ie. side effects, relapse rates, and duration of relief), treating disorders exclusively with drugs is not economically justifiable. (APA Monitor, January, 2000)
Integrating psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy: Myths and the missing link (2006) PDF Form
This is a hard-hitting article on some common distortions in the way research results are reported by the pharmaceutical industry. Authors Jacqueline Sparks, Barry Duncan and Scott Miller review three major studies and expose the "evidenced-based" problems of drug research.
"We recommend that the medical model, as it gains ever more momentum in our field, be questioned for its assumptions, method, and implications. We call for recognition of the fact that psychiatric drug therapy is a profit-driven industry, built on questionable science."
What the drug companies really want.
Mike Adams from Natural News is a champion of holistic causes. In this short piece he explains that the cartoon above isn't too far off.
Antidepressant Medications in Children and Adolescents
Looking for unbiased information on pharmaceuticals? Therapeutic Initiatives is a university-based organization that provides objective opinion on "evidence based" drug information to medical practitioners and pharmacists on "rational drug use" (they emphasize it is not "evidence biased" information). This is a revealing report on medication use in young people.
Apparently there are 8 million children in the USA on psychiatric drugs. Here's one of the ways that drug companies lure young people into getting their parents' consent.
For a chuckle, take this short quiz from the UK division of No Free Lunch and find out if you're an addict.
Authors Ray Moynihan (editor of British Medical Journal) and Alan Cassels (pharmaceutical policy researcher of the University of Victoria) expose pharmaceutical advertising tactics in this enlightening article published in The Nation (Oct. 17, 2005).
Dr. Breggin is a hero to many. For decades he has warned the public--and health professionals--of the potential side effects of drugs, electroshock therapy, psychosurgery and involuntary treatment.
Author of several books, he has also served as an expert witness in numerous lawsuits, which has given him access to the in-house research files of the largest pharmaceutical companies. Fortunately for us he has made his findings public.
Tooker Gromberg was an amazing man. I never knew him but his legacy lives on in the hearts of his supporters. This site showcases the "Depression Expression: raising questions about antidepressants", a PDF document filled with factual gems. For example, did you know that advertising prescription drugs is illegal in most countries in the world, except for the USA and New Zealand?
Worst Pills is operated by US-based Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer interest group. Their primary focus is on banning or re-labelling unsafe or ineffective drugs and encouraging greater transparency and accountability in the drug approval process.
Their searchable database of over 500 medications lists those that are known to have a high risk and/or insufficent research to back up their claims.
Drug vs.Talk Therapy for Depression
Consumer Report Survey Shows Antidepressants' Side Effects More Common Than Package Labels Indicate.
"...one appears to work faster, while the other may be more effective," says author Jeanie Lerche Davis, Sept. 7, 2004.
Talk Therapy Is Sometimes Best for Depression
WebMD: Drugs Aren't the Only Effective Treatment, Study Shows: April 4, 2005 -- "New research challenges the widely accepted idea that drugs are the only effective initial treatment for major depression." This news item was based on an article published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The Resignation of Dr. Loren Mosher
Dr. Mosher, another hero, boldly resigned from the American Psychiatric Association in protest for what he feels is his profession's collusion with the pharmaceutical industry.
A line from his resignation letter reads, "...there are no external validation criteria for psychiatric diagnoses. There is neither a blood test nor specific anatomic lesion for any major psychiatric disorder."
The Menacing Mathematics of Multiple Meds
Gary Craig is the developer of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) a non-drug approach to anxiety and depression related problems. He wrote this article to highlight an important consideration when you're taking more than one medication.
Training Daze - Why do doctors fixate on diagnosis, not treatment?
This article by Darshak Sanghavi examines an issue that is only recently coming to light. Too little attention is being paid by physicians on treatment. There are longstanding issues related to this pattern. And a major source of treatment information tends to promote pharmaceuticals over behaviourial or lifestyle changes.
More on the politics of medication
Blogs of Interest
Blogs are often posted anonymously and the accuracy of the information can't always be counted on. However, these blogs show promise.
Books for a Deeper Analysis
Selling Sickness
The Truth About Drug Companies
$200 billion are spend yearly by Americans on prescription drugs. In her work with the New England Journal of Medicine Dr. Marcia Angell watched close hand as the pharmaceutical industry "brazenly" raised prices for spurious reasons.
Caution!
I strongly suggest that your decision to go on (or off) your meds be made in consultation with your health care practitioner. There are side effects for either decision and it's a good idea to be aware of what to expect and what precautions you need to take.
After careful consideration and with the help of your physician and/or health care provider you have decided to come off your medication, I suggest doing so under his or her supervision. This way you have a team approach to your health care. No one need do this alone.
Withdrawal from many psychiatric drugs can sometimes result in serious emotional and physical reactions. The side effects for coming off can make you feel much worse and while this may be a temporary situation, coming off slowly is the best solution.
In short, not only might there be problems starting a psychiatric drug treatment (i.e. side effects), but it can also be hazardous to stop taking them.
(For more information read: Many Suffer from Antidepressant Withdrawal)
From the BBC here's a transcript from a show on the potential withdrawal effects of Paxil: The secrets of seroxat (the name of paxil in Britain).
Conclusion: withdrawal from psychiatric drugs should be done ONLY under clinical supervision!
References:
Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome by Donald S. Robinson, MD
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