It's OK to make broad assumptions until these assumptions affect peoples' health this morning the UK media is full of 'Prozac and Seroxat being bad for people with depression' ...... based on a State-side report Hull University have issued a 'report' telling the public that more depressed people should be prescribed exercise and not be put onto medication: because apparently medication is 'no better than a placebo' ..........

The media never reports the full story - I am going to search for who funded this 'research', who was asked the question - if it was taken from medical notes or were sufferers asked - hubby is going to find the Abstracts and Calls for Papers to see if we can find out why this 'research' was considered at all.

Do not stop taking your medication. This is a person journay between depression, yourself and your medical advisors. Some patients need an emotional boost and a short course will help get life back on track. Others, myself included, need to take medication for LIFE. To read that we are 'doing the wrong thing' when already vulnerable and for those who are ant-meds and those who worry about taking medication, this can be the straw that breaks the camels back. I've seen enough 'research' done where it's putting money into the College rather than putting sense into 'research'.

I've just caught the end of an interview with the Prof from Hull: he works in the Psychology Department, maybe that is the reason for his 'research' - if he puts a downer on medication will his speciality get more clients? It probably wont' get any more funding .........

This post has been edited by Lizzy: Feb 26 2008, 08:26 AM

i agree, i cant go without my meds......ive tried and i cant function. but this time i am doing more aswell as takin my meds...........more exercise for one thing and trying to cut out the sugar...........think thats gonna take longer than keeping up with the exercise!

well,from what ive been reading over the past 2 weeks,this is true.there has been loads of research done into it,and it seems there have been years of cover-ups and very dodgey clinical trials by the pharmesutical industry-who are making a HUGE profit from these meds.often when people are told to stay on meds for life due to 'relapse',these relapses are often withdrawal symptoms(but of course,these meds arent addictive,are they?bull!).

nobody should stop taking thier meds if they are truly helping them,but how do you know they are helping if you cant stop taking them because the withdrwal is so bad?

i am glad this is in the media at last,and that the drug companies are being exposed for the profit-before-people industry they really are.

dont stop taking the meds,not cold turkey,as this could potentially risk your life.but dont keep on taking them just because you think you have no choice.


there are 2 sides to everything,and i know the media is just trying to make money,but it is worth looking more into this as in some cases(including mine)the meds just keep you ill

For varying reasons I didn't take my full medication allocation last week: by Saturday I was on my knees, deeply depressed, tearful, edgy, irritable ...... I NEVER want to be as ill as I was in 1995. Some side-effects can be dreadful. Some people have problems with withdrawal probably because it is unsupervised. I've been there too - and survived. Seroxat has a bad press regarding withdrawal problems.

My problem is with the press - their apparent inability to report the whole research schedule: who funded the research, where did they find the information - no one has ever asked me about my mental health history with a view to research Papers. No one has ever talked to me about whether these reports have any truth in - hey, each one of us is different, there are historical, genetic, socialbe consequences to what ever meds we take! But this report seems to be saying that no one should be offered ADs unless very depressed - but personally when clinically depressed I have taken them, my mood has lifted, I have coped once more : however, my organic depression needs stabilising every day.

My meds have helped me.

Over the long term it has really helped me.

I am at ease with many things now,

even my depression.

It is not even a problem anymore...

I spend my personal life alone, and in silence, with my meds, and I actually choose to, because I am content.....I am happy.

And I am happy with myself.

That's great svendorrian!

What meds are you on? I want some!!

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Hi to All here.
I'm a new member, glad I found this group.
Very interesting to read the posts.

Well then I'm Lukey, male, 57 years.
I have a history of depression and anxiety for the past 12 or so years. Been to hell and back in this time.

Been on meds most of the 12years, Prozac and Seroxat mostly with the odd Valium.
So,my present situation is this:

Was on prozac for about 2years (20mg) up till january 08. The prozac did help me a lot during this time. For some reason about last november I decided to quit taking it, so I weened myself off over a 2 month pereod.

Did not notice any withdrawl effects till a couple of weeks ago when I started to get very Depressed and restless with anxiety....The past 2 weeks have been horrible, the exact same effects I had Before I took Prozac, as If ive gone back to day one.

My delema is WhatDo I do now ? Am very tempted to go back on the prozac...I still have plenty left over.

My fears (anxiety) are :

1 Fear of side effects when first starting the pro.
2 Feelings of low self esteem that I cant do with out the pill.
3 Fear that the pills may have a negative effect thin time around
4 Fear of having to be on them the rest of my life


Would be good to get some feed back on this as its causing me great problems.

Cheers
Lukey

MEDS FOR LIFE, BABY !!!!!!!

i don't know if my meds did a lot for me..i stopped taking mine about a month ago(with permission from my doc) and it was tough the first few weeks and i'm still really depressed..but when i was on the meds i was depressed so i don't know..i guess meds help for some people and at one point prozac seemed to have been helping me but then i felt like it made me too hyper so i stopped and tried other drugs like zoloft, paxil, cymbalta..none really helped i don't know. i guess it depends on the person

I was on Paxil for 2 years and it seemed to help in the beginning. I could have done without the side effects but I guess that's price you pay for sanity. Due to insurance reasons I had to stop the meds and therapy. No money, no honey. Had I known it was going to be this painful to detox from my meds I'm not sure I would have ever started.

I know the pharmacutical companies make lots off of us from these medications. They also depend on us. What I can say, is that for myself, therapy has helped, exercise did not help, medication made the difference between night and day. I am a whole different person without the horrible thoughts going around in my head.

When I first went on meds the only concern I had was that I wanted to be on meds for life, because they helped me so much. My doctor said I would be on them for life, and I'm glad for it.

For years and years I didn't take medication because holistic/exercise advocates were was meds were so bad for us. Finally I got so desperate that I decided I had to at least give it a try. It was only a few days after that all these terrible thoughts went away.

I'm not saying exercise and therapy doesn't help, it likely will, but some people require medication to fix an imbalance. There is no other way.

A pill or two a day and I'm feeling good. It's ONLY a pill!!! And it makes you so you don't wanna end your life!!!

Makes sense to me.

This post has been edited by simpleblue: Apr 26 2008, 03:17 PM

My position on meds. right now is ambivalent.

I think unless you are VERY supervised-keep taking meds.!!

I had taken a gazillion meds. on the market for over 20 years. They've really worked to a point until about 6 years ago they didn't work very well anymore. I was on about 4 -5 meds. in 6 years because initially they'd work and then flatline and I had to be back to square one. I've been on Desyrel ( a much older one), Lithium, Paxil. And in 6 years--Zoloft, Wellbutrin (twice),Celexa and probably other ones I just can't recall right now.

I got off meds. with supervision about 6 months ago and I was better initially because I wasn't a zombie anymore but then could feel everything--my feelings became very intense and had to find ways to calm down-praying, eating healthy, exercise, mindfulness,music,reading, Sam-e, etc.

I now vacilatte between physical pain in my chest, tearfulness,sadness that is intense from an hour to days, and then it'll lift and I'll be happy again.

I really don't know what to do because the meds stopped working and trying to treat it holistically doesn't really work.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Whitelilly[color="#FFA500"][/color]

This post has been edited by Whitelily: May 7 2008, 04:14 PM

When I went holistic I was taking tiny peices of fresh Rhodiola Rosea herb about 4 times a week for my depression/anxiety. Because of Rhodiola, 2007 was the best year of my life. Feb 2008 I had a panic attack and stopped taking it because the panic attack made me scared of everything I was doing at the time. I'm still not sure if I should get rhodiola again or keep trying pharms that feel like they are putting me a step backwards.

I have not heard of Rhodiela Rose herb-I will look into that. I will not take St. John's Wort because it is a stand alone herb-it tends to interact poorly with other things. You can't even take Sam-e with it.
I am about to try 5-htp, which is a natural serotonin raiser. Sam-e really helps. It is safe to combine Sam-e and 5-htp.

My take on this story was that the pharmaceutical companies did not publish all the information they had. Something like 37 trials were ignored and in most of those, ADs performed as well as or worse than placebos. I don't think their message was to encourage people to quit, but to raise the issue that the meds may not be all they're cracked up to be. It seems they've worked best for those with severe depression, but not so much for those with mild to moderate depression. The message is to take an honest look at what you're taking and consult your doctor if you feel you should make changes. Some people have good experiences with medication and truly need it - others can probably do without it. Personally, I think they're over-prescribed and an unfortunate result is that traces of ADs can now be found in most drinking water.

ADs are big business and making huge profits for pharma companies, who often let quality control lapse. There was a recent story about Effexor being made in Puerto Rico and sold in the US - with paint residue from the machinery. Same with Lipitor. Cholesterol drugs have also recently been unveiled as a big moneymaker with few actual effects. In fact, the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease is negligible but was heavily promoted by the AHA in tandem with pharma companies because pharma had a drug to sell. In return, the AHA received a share of the profits. Sort of makes you wonder who you can trust anymore when it comes to health. I think that's what happens when healthcare is allowed to be based entirely on consumer-driven capitalism.

I always had faith in anti-depressants. I thought these meds would be a cure. I then started a course and realised they do not make you skip down the street. the effects are either very,very subtle for me or non-existent and I lean towards the latter. I have tried lots of anti-depresants but Im impatient. If I take a pill, I want a benefit. i mean if Im in pain and I take a painkiller, half an hour later, it has eased that pain, so why cant I take an anti=depressant and it ease my depression within half an hour??