[In_The_Darkness]

"There is no doubt that psych meds are a great benefit to a large amount of people with mental disorders that cannot be treated using another type of treatment (such as bipolar disorder; schizophrenia; severe depression; chronic fatigue syndrome etc.)…but there are also a lot of people being treated with Prozac or another antidepressant that could be helped using a different method. There’s then also the case of hyperactive children with a disorder such as ADHD (or even just a hyperactive child) being put on extremely addictive sedatives so that their parents can have a bit of a better life."

Full article here

[arcangel]

All meds are over-prescribed...why should psych meds be any different. I think doctors are under intense pressure to prescribe. The only time I watch tv is during visits to my sister. She is a tv addict. The visits are brief but in the 15 to 45 minutes I visit with her the tv is on and her eyes rarely leave the screen. In those 15 to 45 minute visits there are always commercials advertising some type of prescription medication. "Do you suffer from...?" Do you wish you could enjoy ____ again?
"Ask your doctor about..."
Every time I visit my doctor there is at least one pharma rep there...bearing gifts.

[splitimage]

In Canada at least meds aren't allowed to be advertised to the general public although we do see drug ads when watching US TV channels. But yes I think there is a tendancy towards overprescription. Most Psychiatrists no longer do talk therapy - they strictly do meds management. Most talk therapy is not covered by public health care, so unless you can afford private therapy, you're stuck with extremely long wait lists for very time limited therapy, mostly CBT or Group. I pay privately to see a psychologist.

I'm particularly concerned about the off label prescription of A-typical antipsychotics without patients being fully informed about what they're taking. Seroquel seems to be the go to drug of choice at the moment, and I know a significant number of women who have been prescribed it for anxiety and or to help them sleep as it is quite sedating. Most of them don't know it's an anti-psychotic, and like all A-typcials causes a significant side effect profile, including disrupted hormones, metabolic syndrome, increased risk for developing diabetes, and at the extreme end tardive diskensia (sp?) although the risk is lower than with the older generation drugs. I've heard of children as young as 8 being prescribed risperidone. I don't have children but there is no way in hell I'd let anyone prescribe that to my child.

I think ADHD is overdiagnosed and definitely overprescribed for because it's the easy option for parents and teachers. Again, I'd think twice before putting a child on Ritalin.

I'm generally promeds and am on a real chemical cocktail myself. I need them to function. But I've researched all of them, and made informed choices about all the meds I'm on. My pdoc keeps wanting to get me off risperidone and onto a different anti-psychotic. But for me weighing the costs and benefits, risperidone has the most tolerable side effect profile and it's working for me.

I think the public needs to be better educated on how to research drugs and self advocate for appropriate medication.

But then again, my Dr's probably think I'm a pain in the butt patient.

--splitimage