Anti Depressants In America

January 18, 2012 | Filed under: Antidepressants,Latest Drug News | Posted by: Staff

Consumer Alerts

The scenario is easy to understand: Life deals out stress every day. Pressures of uncertain jobs, mounting debt, squabbles in marriages, social rules that are increasingly unclear, and global economic crisis can quickly overwhelm our ability to cope.

No wonder people struggle to cope. But have no fear, drugs are here. That, at least, is what the pharmaceutical industry would like you to think.

Through advertising, through psychiatrists and physicians and even through family members and peers, one message seems to filter through: Take antidepressants for relief.

Since 1988, antidepressant use in the United States has jumped 400 percent, with one person in 10 over the age of 12 now taking them.

Yet if you are taking antidepressant medications, statistics say you are likely between the ages of 40 and 59, and that means you are 2.5 times more likely to be a middle- or upper- income woman.

Additionally, you have a 14 percent chance of being on these medications for more than 10 years. However, less than one-third of the people who are taking more then one drug will see a mental health therapist within a year.

Meanwhile, low-income individuals, minorities and clinically depressed people are underrepresented statistically. Why is there tremendous growth in such a narrow segment of the population?

The Role of Advertising

Anti Depressants In America Turn on the TV or open a magazine and you are struck by advertising endorsing the benefits of Paxil, Cymbalta, and others antidepressants. In 1997, the Federal Communications Commission changed its rules for broadcast advertising. Drug companies no longer have to disclose fully the side effects of the medication.

As a result, direct-to-consumer advertising increased 212 percent. Greater publicity stimulated greater public acceptance of antidepressants. It also dramatically increased patient requests for antidepressants from physicians.

And doctors responded. One survey found that 71 percent of family physicians believe that advertising pressured them into writing prescriptions for drugs they would not normally prescribe.

Changes from Traditional Treatments

Another explanation for the growth of antidepressants is lower treatment costs. Psychiatrists, in part to the coverage demands from the insurance company, no longer utilize talk therapy as a treatment, a practice that was the norm through the 1970s and 1980s.

Instead, psychiatrists prescribe medication, usually after a brief consultation. This has caused loss of intimacy between patient and doctors. Psychiatric hospitals that once offered patients months of talk therapy now discharge them within days, a prescription in hand.

It has been noted that almost 30 percent of people do not respond to the medications that are generally used to treat depression.

Without the connection between the doctor and patient is there is a risk that their depression could be resistant and undetected? Could mental illness be seen only as a simple problem that can easily be treated with medication rather than diagnosed as a complex disorder?

A change in the standard diagnosis guide also caused many milder mental ailments to fall under seeming neutral labels of disorder. This loosening of definitions allowed antidepressants to be used for maladies other than severe depression. Many doctors mistake conventional sadness with the more serious condition of clinical depression.

Long-Term Effects

When a doctor prescribes an antidepressant for feelings of anxiety, these medications often take three to four weeks to have their full effect on patients. Doctors often like to ensure these drugs are taken long-term to prevent relapse of symptoms.

Unfortunately the majority of the medications have had little research performed concerning the long-term effects. Pharmaceutical companies are not interested in long-term effects because they are not required for FDA approval.

Less than 50 percent of people who take anti-depressants are symptom-free even after trying two different medications. People complained about cataracts, weight gain, diabetes, nausea, anxiety, restlessness, decreased sex drive, dizziness, tremors, sweating, sleepiness or fatigue, dry mouth, diarrhea, constipation and headaches.

While some side effects go away after the first few weeks of treatment, others may persist and worsen. Adults over the age of 65 also have increased risk for falls, fractures and bone loss. Sometimes a person with hidden bipolar disorder can even develop a serious irritable manic reaction.

Antidepressants before Birth

Some studies have found a higher-than-average risk for low-birth weight and premature delivery when antidepressants are taken during pregnancy, especially in the final three months of pregnancy. Use of SSRIs early in pregnancy has is linked to an increased risk of autism.

At birth, infants may also suffer withdrawal symptoms, including jitters, crying, irritability, shivering and seizures. One study found more respiratory distress in infants exposed to paroxetine. The withdrawal effects form anti-depressants on the mother and developing fetus during pregnancy is not known.

Anti-depressants Use by Children and Teens

In children and teenagers, antidepressants are linked to increased risk of suicide, particularly within the first two months of use. Possibly because of side effects of unbearable internal restlessness that the young person is not equipped to handle.

The short-term side effects when they occur may have longer-term consequences. Beyond these concerns, there are other important issues to consider in long-term use of antidepressants, especially in young people.

Many youths may not be able to spot side effects of these drugs and often mistake side effects for their normal behavior leaving them often feeling inadequate with their behavior compared with their peers. This underscores how tricky it can be to use psychotropic drugs during adolescence when the brain is still developing.

Overall, pediatricians and general practitioners write about one-third of antidepressant prescriptions for children and adolescents. It’s expected that many of them will stop prescribing these drugs and instead refer patients with suspected depression to mental health professionals.

One optimistic view is that this change will result in closer monitoring. And in the future SSRIs may be prescribed mostly for children and adolescents with persistent or severe symptoms that are not responding to traditional psychotherapy.

Any antidepressant may lose its effect after months or years, sometimes because the brain has become less responsive to the drug (tolerance). Solutions include increasing the dose and switching to another antidepressant with a different mechanism of action.

Withdrawal from Anti-depressants

Symptoms that may occur when stopping an SSRI medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) include dizziness, loss of coordination, fatigue, tingling, burning, blurred vision, insomnia, and vivid dreams. Less often, there also may be nausea or diarrhea, flu-like symptoms, irritability, anxiety, and crying spells.

Although no antidepressant should be stopped abruptly, paroxetine tends to produce the most intense withdrawal symptoms. What doctors may fail to disclose is how to withdraw from it and how long that really takes.

Even with a reduction schedule set up, many people are not prepared for the complexities and difficulties the facing withdrawal. For example, Paxil is an SSRI medication with a short half-life, which means it should not be halted abruptly. Withdrawing from a medication like Paxil impacts your mind and body for years – and it can be a complex and exhausting journey.