Posted by simon levane on February 26, 2006, at 14:20:17
In reply to Re: Suicide on Effexor, posted by oneffexortoo on February 25, 2006, at 23:23:11
I am not sure that people get more depressed on these drugs. In some cases, the effect of taking away depression gives the person more focus and a feeling of being energized...and in that state of mind, they sometimes act on the thought of suicide as seeming to be a good idea. The symptoms of akithesia are very distressing - that is a general "hyperactivity" and panic is also mentioned as a potential side effect. The truly scariest part of this from reading anecdotal descriptions is that people start to have suicidal thoughts and urges. If someone were thinking of suicide from depression, it is as if those underlying thoughts are enhanced.
No one knows exactly why this is, it appears. But a few reviews of studies, one in Ottawa Canada and another in Norway, showed that there was an increase in suicidal ideation on these drugs when compared to controls. There was another study recently reported in American Journal of Psychiatry that indicates that the overall suicidal rate has declined due to use of anti-depresssants, but as I recall, it does not take into account age differences as I understand. There also issues of side effects not explained very well to patients, and if you have read this thread, the horror of doctors not taking care to advise family members (with permission), or to monitor patients adequately, as well as a tendency to increase dosage in response to worsening mood instead of considering that the worsening mood might be caused by the drug itself.
The book by Glenmullen really condemns the pyschiatric profession in just not taking these drugs seriously enough. As I have written elsewhere in this thread, there is a huge difference in attitude by doctors saying "oh, well, depressed people kill themselves" and not taking accountability for the total care of a patient, .....and risking the patient's life without even worrying that much about this.
The devastation this causes survivor family members and the regrets for not knowing more or studying this more or being more aware...... or even reacting to a troubled adolecent or young adult, is truly beyond description. The pain is unending.. a life sentence of loss and grief.
Simon
> Why DOES this happen anyway? Why do some people get MORE depressed.. or have other "scary", "weird" feelings they didnt have even when depressed?
>
poster:simon levane
thread:601406
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060219/msgs/613490.html