Posted on 01/18/2008 2:39:53 PM PST by neverdem
About a month after my cousin (and best friend) hung himself the FDA came out with the warning (not that it would have mattered). We were at lunch together earlier in the day. In the wee hours of the next morning he took his life. No clue or impending sign although he had mentioned it in years past. The anti-depressants seemed to narrow/alter his usual thought processes in very subtle ways that I do not at all understand.
Thanks for the ping, neverdem. Thanks to all contributors and posters with first-hand experience.
((((((PGalt))))))
Thanks. Nothing but fond memories- interesting discussions, lots of laughs, and good times when we were together (even on that last fateful day).
The point of the article (and the original Wall Street Journal article from last week, upon which the NYTimes article is based) is that www.clinicaltrials.gov is NOT comprehensive. Doctors making their "evidence-based medicine" decisions on published studies are not getting all the information.
As to the effectiveness of anti-depressants, beyond individuals saying "It worked for me" or "It didn't work," the article points out that the majority of studies were NOT favorable (i.e. the antidepressant didn't work any better than a placebo.) The unfavorable studies were not published.
neverdem can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that these studies are done with placebos that produce no side effects. If placebos are used that do produce some mild side effects, IIRC they can have an even stronger placebo effect, because people expect some kind of side effect from medication.
I could be wrong, but I believe every trial (starting with 2004 on) is published on clinicaltrials.gov. The article, when speaking about "published" vs. "unpublished" is talking about peer-reviewed journals. You are probably aware of that, but I wanted to clarify.
You'd better be glad I'm on Prozac.
In theory the SSRIs with longer half-lives should cause less abrupt and intense withdrawal symptoms. Is this consistent with your experience/knowledge? I have been partial to longer-acting Prozac for this reason. The ranp-up (therapy onset) seems less dramatic with Prozac as well although pronounced mood swings can still occur. I am on SAM-e currently as Prozac lost its effectiveness and am very happy with it so far. The only drawback for me has been its cost, but I am inclined to think it worth the money and worthy of those glowing reviews from Europe. P.S. Prayers for those patients who didn’t make it.
Well, I'm not Paxil! Wanna step outside and settle it?
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