[samsara]

Looks like this one has been blown out of proportion, at least for adults. This study of a large number of patients sees no increased risk of suicide due to anti-depressant use. Sounds like the FDA may be willing to back off on the cautionary labeling as a result of this study.

Antidepressants Don't Appear to Raise Suicide Risk, Study Shows

Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Antidepressants such as Wyeth's Effexor and Eli Lilly & Co.'s Prozac don't appear to pose a higher risk of suicide in the six months after they're prescribed, a study says.

The attempted suicide rate found in the months after treatment began was 90 per 100,000 people while the suicide rate was 40 per 100,000 people, the study found. Neither figure represents an increased risk ``after starting antidepressant medication,'' the researchers wrote.

``The overall suicide risk associated with antidepressants is low,'' said researcher Gregory Simon, a psychiatrist with the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, in a telephone interview. ``This conventional wisdom that risk goes up after treatment doesn't seem to be true."

(more at link to story below)

Bloomberg news - ADs and suicide risk

[HelgaDE]

Is this Article a joke or something? Why dont they explain why Eric David Harris acted the way he was when he barged into Columbine High and started shooting people? According to his Autopsy toxicology report that at the time of the autopsy that they found The Luvox (fluvoxamine) in Eric's system, which he was being treated for depression. He was taking 390 ml.

The therapeutic levels are of 50 - 900 Ml.

Can they also explain this article to us?

http://www.uhuh.com/education/drugskill.htm

Can they also explain why I felt so suicidal at the time when I was under the influance of wellbutrin? I was taking it in my teenage years. I had the strong cravings to take more and more to the point that I was taking 4 (LARGE) pills aday... which LOWERED my blood pressure to the point where I felt COLD even during a hot summer day in south florida and my eyes became rather dialeted to the point that i was made fun of by another student? Please! Eli Lilly should be ashame of themselves... try to act like their gods and actually manipulating the public into believing that the drugs that they've developed (Anti depressants and Anti psychotics) will demolish depression and stress,etc.

Not but least explain this?

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cacheIDgb7nGjNYJ:www.psych.org/edu/other_res/lib_archives/archives/tfr/TFR27.pdf+Death+by+Psychiatric+drugs&hl=en&client=firefox-a

[Azalysa]

One thing I don't see mentioned in the articles you sited, HelgaDE, is why these people who either committed suicide or killed/harmed others were on the meds to begin with. What was the disorder each person/teen had that they were prescribed meds in the first place? Were they taking the correct dosages? Then there's the possibility they were overdosing on prescribed meds ~or~ getting them on the street for the effects having no idea of dosages and such.

It is good to be aware of potential, especially potentially harmful side effects of medications, but honestly, I think this is over-hyped. For example, I was put on Prozac just about as soon as it came out. THEN shortly thereafter I started seeing articles about "Prozac causing suicide." I expressed concern about this the next time I saw my T. and his answer was "There is an increased incidence in suicide among those who are suicidal." (Took me a few minutes to figure that one out...lol)

I'm certainly not saying there "can" be a risk regarding most any medication, usually by its misuse, but I still stand by a lot of it is hype. Without Prozac and its "twin" Zoloft along with Depakote - I'm not sure I would be here today. My mother and stepfather both take Prozac as well.

My point isn't to be argumentative, but I get tired of EVERY negative thing that happens being tied to psychotropic meds.

[greenfairy]

i am terrified of all medications, having been on quite a few that really messed me up. i just want to say, though, that taking anything at all comes with some degree of risk but for some people the necessity of treatment really outweighs those risks. i was on prozac for a while and as much as i fear and loathe medications i will admit it saved my life. i think that when anyone agrees to taking medication its important for them to be monitored and to be honest about how its affecting them. not being properly monitored is a very dangerous thing, something i can certainly attest to. i was on prednisone at one point in my life to treat a stomach condition and my doctor was just too busy to keep an eye on me. the drug, which is used to treat a number of medical conditions but not psychological problems can cause serious psychological side effects. i literally went crazy. for years i blamed the drug and was furious that it would be distributed when it has the potential to cause psychosis, and then i met someone who owes their well being to having taken the same thing that made me crazy. what i'm trying to say is that in this brave new world of medical advances and treatments from everything from nail fungus to cancer, nothing is perfect. what saves one persons life might have noeefect or a negative effect on someone elses. i guess its just something to go into with as much knowledge as you can so that if something begins to make you feel bad you can say , hey, this isn't for me. i've personally learned alot just from communicating with people here about medication i'm currently trying, and i'm grateful that there are people out there willing to express their opinions about their meds, positive or negative.

[Larry_Hoover]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
HelgaDE said:
Is this Article a joke or something?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

It's anything but a joke, Helga.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Why dont they explain why Eric David Harris acted the way he was when he barged into Columbine High and started shooting people? According to his Autopsy toxicology report that at the time of the autopsy that they found The Luvox (fluvoxamine) in Eric's system, which he was being treated for depression. He was taking 390 ml.

The therapeutic levels are of 50 - 900 Ml.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I'm a toxicologist. I don't understand the units of concentration you are trying to provide. What that suggests to me is that you are not trained in science. And, the Columbine event was the product of two very disturbed young men. The fact that they were being treated at all is really a matter of too little, too late. You look for a correlation between the SSRI and violence. These young men were also breathing. Should we ban air?

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Can they also explain why I felt so suicidal at the time when I was under the influance of wellbutrin?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I'm sorry you went through this experience, but no one can explain it. It suggests that people being treated with medication for depression require closer personal care. Better medical management. The drugs are tools which are sometimes not carefully used.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Not but least explain this?

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cacheIDgb7nGjNYJ:www.psych.org/edu/other_res/lib_archives/archives/tfr/TFR27.pdf+Death+by+Psychiatric+drugs&hl=en&client=firefox-a

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Here's a better link, to the same article: http://www.psych.org/edu/other_res/l.../tfr/TFR27.pdf

Did you read this article? Here is a quote from the conclusion: "While there are plenty of explanations as to why sudden death might occur in a psychiatric population, the studies in Hungary, U.S.A. and China show no evidence for an increase in sudden death in patients receiving psychotropic medications. This does not mean, however, that the question of a relationship between the administration of psychotropic agents and sudden death has been answered.

We are left with the following conclusions. Sudden, unexplained death that takes place in the general population is often associated with stressand frequently accompanied by negative autopsy findings. Death among psychiatric inpatients has decreased since the introduction of psychotropic drugs but is still higher than in the general population. Sudden death has not increased since the introduction of psychotropic drugs. Independent studies from three different countries find no differences in mortality in patients given antipsychotic agents compared to the general population."

Despite the known serious adverse effects of these powerful drugs, people are not worse off with them.

There are better places to find your information than the ones you have selected.

Lar

[obsids]

May I add a thought or two here? A lot of people think that Paxil and other meds make teens and adults commit suicide. Uh, have they given any thought at all as to why those people are on the meds to begin with?

Paxil and Wellbutrin do not make me suicidal. My depression and PTSD do. Most of the time, the drugs keep me functional. Once in a great while, I'll get into a funk of some sort. I'll feel really bad, and the suicidal tendencies will return. I notice them more because the meds usually make me feel a LOT more serene than before I took them.

I, and a number of my friends, would not be alive today were it not for anti-depressants.