Posted by JLx on March 31, 2003, at 9:08:51
In reply to Re: JLx, Larry Hoover, SLS -- Magnesium, posted by bozeman on March 29, 2003, at 17:18:27
> (bozeman comment 7)
> Kramer's book was a real eye-opener for me. It makes me sad that so many people jump to conclusions about what he was trying to say without actually reading the book. After reading it, and re-reading several sections, I took his point to be that though their improvements on Prozac were quite remarkable, the effect it had on his patients actually made him quite uneasy, as for the first time it opened the door to the possibility of debate/miscategorization/misuse/pressure of whether personality could be biologically determined, and therefore phamacologically altered, at will. He thought this could create enough confusion to eventually take away (or at least muddy the water) over an individual's right to be who they were, without feeling pressured to conform to a "socially preferable but induced by medication" personality. Not that such a personality was desirable or should be pursued, but that for the first time, it appeared to be possible to create it biochemically. And, his book was published before any long-term information existed on SSRI's, the term "poop-out" had not yet been coined nor the phenomenon really observed, and at that time, there appeared to be no "contraindication" to long-term SSRI use. That possibility deeply disturbed him, as it made "cosmetic psychopharmacology" potentially feasible, which was an idea that distressed him on medical, social, and spiritual levels. Long-term (and inadvertent) adaptive changes in neurotransmitter levels, and the poop-out phenomenon, have hopefully made his fears moot.Excellent summary. :)
> LOL . . . indeed, I agree with Larry. It never ceases to amaze me the ability of people (all of us, not just doctors or patients) to flatly ignore evidence in front of us that we just don't want to hear. Good luck, JLx, and I'm glad you're feeling so good. Don't let your doctor's lack of enthusiasm keep you from utilizing a relatively cheap, safe, effective therapy that's working so well for you. :-)
Ha! Don't worry. If I never see a psychiatrist again, it will be too soon. ;)
What ticks me off about them is that they get the big bucks for being scientists knowledegeable about the human body (as opposed to the mere psychologists). So why are we, their patients, the ones having to find our OWN WAY to these remedies that are about the human body, i.e. the brain....and mood?
poster:JLx
thread:214008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030329/msgs/214674.html