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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 20 of 20. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
It's very spooky and scary but I'd like advice/opinions on the authors and their research before I throw out the meds!!!!!! I know, I know, I should ask my PDoc, and I will, but I want other feedback.
Posted by Joy on December 31, 2001, at 14:04:14
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
Please don't throw out the meds. I have the book. I think it's ridiculous. A much better book is Listening to Prozac by Peter Kramer. Many people need medication, and Breggin is selling books by telling them not to take their meds. True, it's trial and error to find the right med[s], but when someone who has not left the house in years is able to go outside again on their medication, it's a necessity. Breggin doesn't have a clue.
Joy
> by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
>
> It's very spooky and scary but I'd like advice/opinions on the authors and their research before I throw out the meds!!!!!! I know, I know, I should ask my PDoc, and I will, but I want other feedback.
Posted by IsoM on December 31, 2001, at 14:05:41
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
I haven't read the book, but others who did have posted their reviews on amazon.com. If you go to their site & copy the name of the book into the search, it'll come up. Click on the book pix & read the 22 reviews on this book. I read all 22.
Judging from what's written, the book has excellent information for weaning yourself off medication, what to expect, & all the side-effects from the different meds. Many readers found the book to be very helpful.
One thing I've noticed in a number of reviews was the comment that the book, while it has excellent & well-researched information, is very one-sided. Here's what one person wrote:
"The authors have produced a thought-provoking and scholarly critique of the overuse of psychiatric medications. This book will be helpful to patients and medical professionals alike. It is, however, oversimplified. The biological, psychological, and social aspects of mental distress are poorly understood and do not fit handily into the medical model as do infectious diseases or traumatic injuries. Throwing out the medical model is as unhelpful as slavishly applying it to all human ills. This book is best thought of as a "second opinion," equally valid, but not superior to, conventional thinking about mental disorders."For those who have a serious mental health problem, it seems that he trivialises many problems as someone just complaining about their circumstances. It doesn't sound like he knows what it's really like to be in a suffer's shoes.
But why not read the reviews from these others who have read the book? I tend to get upset with those who suggest mental illness is just a person overblowing their situation.
************************************************************************************************
> by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
>
> It's very spooky and scary but I'd like advice/opinions on the authors and their research before I throw out the meds!!!!!! I know, I know, I should ask my PDoc, and I will, but I want other feedback.
Posted by ben on December 31, 2001, at 15:24:29
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
This authors should be given an infusion of a heavy neuroleptic like nozinan (levomepromazine) and then after a heavy duty sleep they would perhaps know like it feels beeing really depressed. Sitting in your room and your brain doesnt working. Like a powerfailure of electricity. Sorry for this rude statement I count myself more to the quieter ones but sometimes you have to speak out what your thinking. I will give my best to be more civil !
Posted by OldSchool on December 31, 2001, at 15:50:05
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
> by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
>
> It's very spooky and scary but I'd like advice/opinions on the authors and their research before I throw out the meds!!!!!! I know, I know, I should ask my PDoc, and I will, but I want other feedback.I wouldnt put much stock in Peter Breggin's books. The man is a notorious leader of the "anti-psychiatry" movement. Which is heavily funded by the cult of scientology. Individuals like Breggin who are members of this anti-psychiatry movement refuse to believe or admit that mental illness is biologically based, in the brain.
From what Ive read of Breggin's works, the man is still stuck in fifties era psychiatry, with a heavy emphasis on old style, classical Freudian psychotherapy. Breggin doesnt believe in using drugs much to treat mental illness, nor in ECT. The man might have been better off had he become a psychologist, rather than a psychiatrist. What with his preferences for classical talk psychotherapy over drugs and ECT.
All of that being said, there are a few things I do personally agree with Breggin on. I agree with him on the subject of anti-psychotic drugs being used inappropriately, such as in nursing homes to combat agitated elderly folks. I agree neuroleptics are some potentially very hazardous drugs, which are misused many times.
Breggin also was heavily involved in getting rid of the lobotomy in the early seventies. Which was only a good thing for all of us folks with severe mental illness! Breggin also was influential in helping to end the common practice in "old style" psychiatry of forcing ECT on patients who didnt want it. I thank Breggin for that.
However, all in all, Breggin's books reflect the darker era of psychiatry, more as it was in 1965 or 1970, not the year 2001. Basically the man is anti-psychiatry med, anti-ECT, anti-anything that could make a severely mentally ill person's life better.
Breggin still thinks its 1960 in psychiatry, IMO.
Old School
Posted by stjames on December 31, 2001, at 16:08:20
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
> by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
One of the ways Dr Breggin makes money is by being a highly paid witness in cases involving psycomeds in the court system. He has an agenda, and his books support the views he expresses in the courtroom. So he writes his own referance materals.The short answer is "Qwack"
Posted by Dennison on December 31, 2001, at 19:58:54
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by stjames on December 31, 2001, at 16:08:20
> > by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
>
>
> One of the ways Dr Breggin makes money is by being a highly paid witness in cases involving psycomeds in the court system. He has an agenda, and his books support the views he expresses in the courtroom. So he writes his own referance materals.
>
> The short answer is "Qwack"Peter Kramer-Was a bit overdramatic in Listening To Prozac and his book would kinda want just about anybody to perhaps give prozac a try,after all who wouldn't want to be so called " better than normal", or a member of the "quick" instead of the "dead". Having said that, Listening To Prozac, did in many ways open up public perception about depression and some of the stigma about seeking treatment concerning depression was lessened. Peter Kramer latter wrote about how he felt that his book Listening To Prozac was kinda taken the wrong way by the public, his intention was too basically show how he was amazed in how these particular "5" individuals seemingly had such dramatic improvements concerning their depression and how it lead to such remarkable transformations in their overall personalities and their overall functioning and attitude about life. In some of his subsequent writings and interviews he felt that perhaps he should have stressed that these "5" patients and their transformations weren't necessarily the norm he was trying moreso to illustrate that if you improve someone's depressed emotional status that many other areas fall into place and the person's wellbeing and view of life and ability to enjoy life is significantly enhanced. Peter Bregin also wrote a very popular book called Talking Back TO Prozac, clever choice of title and it worked sold extemely well. It's basically a straight forward attack on prozac and medications for mental health especially anti-depressants. It's well written and interesting but I don't agree with it. Peter Breggin's been on anti-medication crusade for many years he's most noted for his extremely vigilant crusade against ritalin and it's use for add and adhd enen though evidence shows that psychostimulants work well and are the most effective treatment avaliable for add and adhd. Dr. Breggin belives psychotherapy is the answer for just about everything and that's his niche, well ok but psychotherapy doesn't get good results with add and adhd as a first-line treatment, sometimes not even matching placebo whereas psychostimulants do. Ok use psychotherapy as an adjunct, but to negate the benefit that a properly prescibed psychostimulant can have on a vald case of add and adhd is just way off base. Btw there's another book out Prozac Nation lol, kinda interesting and catchy title. Course these books have been out for 10 years all three of them, just thought I'd mention them!!! :):)
Posted by sjb on January 1, 2002, at 6:01:42
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by Dennison on December 31, 2001, at 19:58:54
Thank you all. I'm not as on top of things as a lot of you are and I know the book isn't today's latest news, as it's been out for a few years. I had never heard of him and the title caught my eye in the library(good marketing strategy). I just was blown away when I started reading it.
I agree that he does not understand severe depression and seems to trivilize a lot. I am just frustrated because I have tried so many meds, some which have helped tremendously for a short while and some that really had terrible side effects and I don't recall being in this state of cycling before medicating. Of course, I drank a bit which says something.
I really appreciate all the advice because I became very scared for all of us here on Pmeds.
That said, some of the case studies he cites are similar to some of my experiences. Zyprexa did seem extremely counterproductive for me, as one who suffers from atypical depression.
Posted by Mitch on January 1, 2002, at 10:04:57
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on January 1, 2002, at 6:01:42
> Thank you all. I'm not as on top of things as a lot of you are and I know the book isn't today's latest news, as it's been out for a few years. I had never heard of him and the title caught my eye in the library(good marketing strategy). I just was blown away when I started reading it.
>
> I agree that he does not understand severe depression and seems to trivilize a lot. I am just frustrated because I have tried so many meds, some which have helped tremendously for a short while and some that really had terrible side effects and I don't recall being in this state of cycling before medicating. Of course, I drank a bit which says something.
>
> I really appreciate all the advice because I became very scared for all of us here on Pmeds.
>
> That said, some of the case studies he cites are similar to some of my experiences. Zyprexa did seem extremely counterproductive for me, as one who suffers from atypical depression.
As with nearly everything, there are politics and money involved. We probably are going to see a period of reduced polypharmacy in the next few years (for good or ill). I noticed that Lilly is going to market fluoxetine/olanzapine together in one pill for treatment resistant depression. The pharmaceutical industry is worried about this trend and you will likely see more pill *combos* in the near future. Where I work (USA) they are already raising the deductibles on Rx medicine and our out-of-pocket maximum for medical expenses got boosted to a whopping $2300 per calendar year. Insurance companies are whining really loudly about covering all of the medication. Also, seniors are eventually going to get some form of Rx drug coverage which they need (there's *taxpayer* dollars in question now as well). I am not suggesting that insurance companies are behind all of this-but I bet they are going to really *help out* people like this doctor get his extreme views heard to policy makers.
Posted by OldSchool on January 1, 2002, at 11:43:03
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem » sjb, posted by Mitch on January 1, 2002, at 10:04:57
> As with nearly everything, there are politics and money involved. We probably are going to see a period of reduced polypharmacy in the next few years (for good or ill). I noticed that Lilly is going to market fluoxetine/olanzapine together in one pill for treatment resistant depression.
This is going to mess up a lot of people who are primarily mood disordered, IMO. While Zyprexa plus SSRI can work for many non psychotic treatment resistant depressives, Zyprexa brings with it all the risks of the development of movement disorders. Persons with unipolar major depression are at much higher risk of development of movement disorders than are persons with psychotic disorders.
I found even low dose Zyprexa numbed my tongue up and made my muscles stiff, just as low dose Risperdal did and low dose Seroquel did.
What is going to happen when Eli Lilly gets this Zyprexa/Prozac combo FDA approved for non psychotic TRD is you are going to see a rash of EPS and other movement disorders in individuals who really shouldnt be on anti-psychotics. Yes, I realize that the official pharmaceutical literature will tell you that the newer atypical anti-psychotics do not cause movement disorders at high rates, this is not necessarily true in individuals who are primarily mood disordered.
I am a perfect example of this. I was recently dxed with a nasty case of EPS from augmenting 50 mg Seroquel with an SSRI for slightly over a month. I have TRD unipolar major depression.
I predict a rash of movement disorders and subsequent lawsuits against Eli Lilly if Zyprexa plus Prozac is FDA approved for non psychotic TRD.
People with refractory mood disorders would be much better off and safer if they would just go back to basics and have old fashioned ECT rather than messing with all these weird psychopharmacology cocktails. ECT is actually safer than neuroleptics in individuals whose problem is a mood disorder.
Old School
Posted by Mitch on January 1, 2002, at 12:27:46
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by OldSchool on January 1, 2002, at 11:43:03
> > As with nearly everything, there are politics and money involved. We probably are going to see a period of reduced polypharmacy in the next few years (for good or ill). I noticed that Lilly is going to market fluoxetine/olanzapine together in one pill for treatment resistant depression.
>
> This is going to mess up a lot of people who are primarily mood disordered, IMO. While Zyprexa plus SSRI can work for many non psychotic treatment resistant depressives, Zyprexa brings with it all the risks of the development of movement disorders. Persons with unipolar major depression are at much higher risk of development of movement disorders than are persons with psychotic disorders.
>
> I found even low dose Zyprexa numbed my tongue up and made my muscles stiff, just as low dose Risperdal did and low dose Seroquel did.
>
> What is going to happen when Eli Lilly gets this Zyprexa/Prozac combo FDA approved for non psychotic TRD is you are going to see a rash of EPS and other movement disorders in individuals who really shouldnt be on anti-psychotics. Yes, I realize that the official pharmaceutical literature will tell you that the newer atypical anti-psychotics do not cause movement disorders at high rates, this is not necessarily true in individuals who are primarily mood disordered.
>
> I am a perfect example of this. I was recently dxed with a nasty case of EPS from augmenting 50 mg Seroquel with an SSRI for slightly over a month. I have TRD unipolar major depression.
>
> I predict a rash of movement disorders and subsequent lawsuits against Eli Lilly if Zyprexa plus Prozac is FDA approved for non psychotic TRD.
>
> People with refractory mood disorders would be much better off and safer if they would just go back to basics and have old fashioned ECT rather than messing with all these weird psychopharmacology cocktails. ECT is actually safer than neuroleptics in individuals whose problem is a mood disorder.
>
> Old School
I agree that the newer "atypicals" can be nearly as troublesome as the older conventional antipsychotics. I was on low-dose Thorazine and Mellaril for probably a total of four or five years back in the early 80's. I got switched off of them onto safer benzos (which worked nearly as well-I am bipolarII). I wasn't taking the AP's for psychosis, but for agitated mixed anxiety/depressive states. Later I found that Xanax, Ativan, or Klonopin worked just as well without all of the other problems. I tried Risperdal and Seroquel a few years ago and re-experienced EPS problems with both of them. I think they are very tempting for pdocs to use because they attack so many symptoms at once and they don't have to go round and round with their patients switching and augmenting meds constantly. I feel uncomfortable posting negative stuff about AP's though, because I am afraid people who *are* psychotic won't take their meds and will wind up more miserable. However, it seems that most of the people who post here are not taking them for psychosis... It really is a dilemma. I guess if you could follow some general rule of thumb about them.. maybe if you get EPS from low-doses of all sorts of AP's and you aren't psychotic.. don't take them. If you get no EPS at all and they are helping you (even if you don't have psychosis), you just need to be informed and aware of the risks. However there is a positive correlation between EPS experiences and TD later on.. so one could alternately say that if you aren't experiencing any EPS with them *now* you likely *will not* develop any long-term problems -therefore they are beneficial and you should continue to take them until something less risky comes along that is comparably effective??Mitch
Posted by OldSchool on January 1, 2002, at 13:13:54
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by Mitch on January 1, 2002, at 12:27:46
> I agree that the newer "atypicals" can be nearly as troublesome as the older conventional antipsychotics.
The newer atypicals can and do cause EPS. I am a living example of this. I had been told by my psychiatrist that seroquel has extremely low rates of causing movement disorders. I had read the literature. I believed it. Then after I went off the low dose seroquel the symptoms hit. Numb tongue, stiff and sore muscles, twitches, weakness on my right side. Let me tell you Ive taken a lot of psych meds in my time and this took the cake as far as side effects go.
I think the use of atypicals for mood disorders and anxiety needs to stop. Atypicals can and will cause a variety of movement disorders. Unless you are bona fide psychotic or manic, ditch these drugs.
ECT is superior for mood disordered individuals with psychotic symptoms...no danger of screwing yourself up neurologically like on anti-psychotics and you get a much superior antidepressant/anti-psychotic effect from ECT.
ECT is like a "super MAOI" in my opinion. The worst side effect is memory loss.
>I was on low-dose Thorazine and Mellaril for probably a total of four or five years back in the early 80's. I got switched off of them onto safer benzos (which worked nearly as well-I am bipolarII). I wasn't taking the AP's for psychosis, but for agitated mixed anxiety/depressive states. Later I found that Xanax, Ativan, or Klonopin worked just as well without all of the other problems.Ive found just plain old Klonopin works great for anxiety. Neurontin is another great choice for those with anxiety. So is Buspar. Why the use of atypical anti-psychotics for anxiety? I do not understand.
>I tried Risperdal and Seroquel a few years ago and re-experienced EPS problems with both of them. I think they are very tempting for pdocs to use because they attack so many symptoms at once and they don't have to go round and round with their patients switching and augmenting meds constantly. I feel uncomfortable posting negative stuff about AP's though, because I am afraid people who *are* psychotic won't take their meds and will wind up more miserable. However, it seems that most of the people who post here are not taking them for psychosis... It really is a dilemma. I guess if you could follow some general rule of thumb about them.. maybe if you get EPS from low-doses of all sorts of AP's and you aren't psychotic.. don't take them. If you get no EPS at all and they are helping you (even if you don't have psychosis), you just need to be informed and aware of the risks. However there is a positive correlation between EPS experiences and TD later on.. so one could alternately say that if you aren't experiencing any EPS with them *now* you likely *will not* develop any long-term problems -therefore they are beneficial and you should continue to take them until something less risky comes along that is comparably effective??
I agree, atypicals can cause serious problems for mood disordered folks just like older style anti-psychotics can. There is even mention of this right here on this website, under Dr. Bob's "tips and tricks." Go to the tips, check on "movement disorders" and go to the section titled "Risk of Tardive Dyskinesia." There under this section psychiatrist Ivan Goldberg discusses how mood disordered folks are more at risk of developing TD on neuroleptics than are hardcore schizophrenics. The risk is low for schizophrenics, but then again schizophrenia is what these meds were originally designed for.I simply do not believe everything I read about atypical anti-psychotics being safe. They are not safe for those with major depression or simple anxiety.
Old School
>
> Mitch
>
Posted by akc on January 1, 2002, at 13:21:14
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by OldSchool on January 1, 2002, at 13:13:54
> ECT is like a "super MAOI" in my opinion. The worst side effect is memory loss.
>
But for some, memory loss is huge. Even short term, memory loss could cause tremendous damage to my career. I don't think you want to minimize how the memory loss can affect people -- while I have not personally experienced it, I have seen its effects on people -- and it scares me to such a degree that I will never agree to such treatment. I will continue my use of seroquel for my distorted thinking.akc
Posted by caroline on January 1, 2002, at 13:27:44
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
Hi,
I've not read the book, nor will I go near it. But I will say that a previous Breggin book - Toxic Psychiatry - nearly ruined my life. I read it while I was at university studying neurology and psychology and I believed he must be right.
At the time I had undiagnosed Aspergers, extremely bad OCD and terrible depression. I was on anafranil 300mg, which certainly helped a lot over a 6 month period. So after those 6 months, I thought, hey I'm okay again now and Breggin suggests getting off the drugs, so I set about weening myself off. I did it very sensibly over 18 months, and believing Breggin to be right I then spent 6 years experiencing crippling OCD, total insomnia and dreadful depression.
Sure getting the right diagnosis - Aspergers + OCD has helped me big time, but getting back on the life saving drugs has helped me much more. I will be on drugs for the rest of my life I should think, and it doesn't worry me in the least. I know there is a lot of truth in what Breggin says, but has he ever tried living with a mental illness or a disability like aspergers? I suspect not.
This is all just my opinion and my experiences, of course, but I wish I had never read his book.
Best wishes and happy new year!
Caroline
Posted by bob on January 1, 2002, at 14:11:54
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by caroline on January 1, 2002, at 13:27:44
Caroline:
You have a good point. It seems to me that you are one of the few people on this board who is completely at peace with these meds. My guess is you either didn't experience significant side effects, or you've somehow learned to live with them. I think one of the reasons why Breggin's book intrigues people is because so many of the meds are a diabolical trade-off. For example, when I took Anafranil (over 1 year), I lived with a weight gain of around 45 pounds, no sexual ability, profuse sweating, an ever-present jittery feeling, profuse sweating, sedation, and God knows what else that I can't remember. That's quite a trade-off for something that isn't a 100% cure, but maybe an 80% effective treatment. If the meds weren't so problematic, I don't think people would be so attentive to what Breggin says. I guess the other problem is how much of a mystery all of psychiatry is. It's hard to prove anyone right or wrong when nobody even understands what's going on.
Posted by Krazy Kat on January 1, 2002, at 14:41:13
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem » sjb, posted by Mitch on January 1, 2002, at 10:04:57
Mitch:
What's olanzapine?
Thanks!
- K.
Posted by Mitch on January 1, 2002, at 16:55:14
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem » Mitch, posted by Krazy Kat on January 1, 2002, at 14:41:13
> Mitch:
>
> What's olanzapine?
>
> Thanks!
>
> - K.Hi K.K.,
Haven't talked to you in a while! Oh, olanzapine, that is the much-talked about Zyprexa.
Mitch
Posted by Beliala on January 3, 2002, at 2:07:55
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by caroline on January 1, 2002, at 13:27:44
Hyperbole sells books. I think there’s a lot of truth in what Dr. Breggin says but it’s hard to separate it from the exaggeration and outright b.s. I agree that it’s dangerous to tell people their very real physical symptoms are "psychological" and that they just need to invest enough time/effort in talk therapy. But it’s equally dangerous to attribute all human suffering to a conjectured chemical imbalance, without even looking at external circumstances (stress can trigger/perpetuate screwed up brain chemistry, and in my case no drug could compensate for the effects of my torturous life situation). I know some of y’all are somewhat offended when pdocs/therapists look for psychological causes, since for many people this isn’t relevant. I’m personally offended when certain problems I have are attributed to a Remeron deficiency or whatever (as if I don’t already hold the world record for "greatest number of serotonin boosters trialed"). I wish psychiatry would unite both aspects of mental health - physical AND emotional. The pdocs I’ve had haven’t helped too much with either - seems they have a very limited vocabulary of words they’ll scrawl on the prescription pad, and that’s the extent of their usefulness.
As for whether psych meds cause brain damage, well, given the screwed-up state my brain’s in I wouldn’t be surprised. Meds: can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.
Posted by Mitch on January 3, 2002, at 9:48:33
In reply to Re: Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by Beliala on January 3, 2002, at 2:07:55
> Hyperbole sells books. I think there’s a lot of truth in what Dr. Breggin says but it’s hard to separate it from the exaggeration and outright b.s. I agree that it’s dangerous to tell people their very real physical symptoms are "psychological" and that they just need to invest enough time/effort in talk therapy. But it’s equally dangerous to attribute all human suffering to a conjectured chemical imbalance, without even looking at external circumstances (stress can trigger/perpetuate screwed up brain chemistry, and in my case no drug could compensate for the effects of my torturous life situation). I know some of y’all are somewhat offended when pdocs/therapists look for psychological causes, since for many people this isn’t relevant. I’m personally offended when certain problems I have are attributed to a Remeron deficiency or whatever (as if I don’t already hold the world record for "greatest number of serotonin boosters trialed"). I wish psychiatry would unite both aspects of mental health - physical AND emotional. The pdocs I’ve had haven’t helped too much with either - seems they have a very limited vocabulary of words they’ll scrawl on the prescription pad, and that’s the extent of their usefulness.
>
> As for whether psych meds cause brain damage, well, given the screwed-up state my brain’s in I wouldn’t be surprised. Meds: can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.I was thinking yesterday about the "balance" of meds versus psychotherapy and starting analyzing it from the economics. I don't want to be *too* cynical here, but I think that when a lot of meds were starting to be used, insurance companies liked them because they were cheaper than lots of psychotherapy (hey, you just need a pill and look at the dramatic difference-let's not waste a lot of money talking and nothing happening). Now, the balance of cost has shifted onto meds. With high-dose polypharmacy and patent meds the total bill is a lot higher than if they paid for psychotherapy (the tables have flipped around). I think insurance companies have figured out that generally they are dealing with pricey chronic conditions that don't wind up with *cures* like physical ailments and they are looking for ways to cut costs. Hence, the trend away from meds we are seeing now.
Mitch
Posted by Bekka H. on January 5, 2002, at 1:12:37
In reply to Has anyone read, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, posted by sjb on December 31, 2001, at 13:29:02
> by Peter R. Breggin, MD and David Cohen, PhD - 1999.
>
> It's very spooky and scary but I'd like advice/opinions on the authors and their research before I throw out the meds!!!!!! I know, I know, I should ask my PDoc, and I will, but I want other feedback.Peter Breggin is a megalomaniacal, self-aggrandizing, self-promoting nutcase. If you want to read an excellent, anti-medication book by someone who is sane, read Joseph Glenmullen's Prozac Backlash. It's an excellent book and very well researched and annotated. Much of what you read there will be very disturbing, but at least you'll know it comes from someone who cites real research and who doesn't belong in the looney bin.
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