I used to be one of the biggest defenders of the Pharm companies in here. Some can agree to that. A simple SSRI given to the wrong person can say turn a 4'10" white quadriplegic female who is very sane just depressed and has PTSD into a person thinking she is Tess on Touched By an Angel. Tinfoil? No! I would sign a sworn affidavit to that fact as a witness. I had to diagnose the condition the doctors were clueless even the shrinks. It's called Serotonin Syndrome. It happened to my wife about 12-13 years ago.
Body chemistry wise Serotonin is a chemical found in a persons body used to promote digestion. Thus roughly 98% should be in the stomach. SSRI's and a few other meds even some OTC cough Meds can cause a migration from the stomach to the brain. When this occurs it can have an effect on the brain as strong as LSD. Hallucinations, anxiety, delusion, increased blood pressure and pulse, and eventually if not stopped death. What they hallucinate is their reality at that time.
What changed to bring on the problem? How medications are introduced into the patients body did and it's created problems all across the medication spectrum in one way or another.
It takes approximately four weeks for antidepressants to reach their full therapeutic level in the blood stream but the adverse reaction can come at any time. Other meds can also trigger it if taken with antidepressants.
Medications used to require a hospital stay for monitoring purposes. Insurers balked and doctors began outpatient treatment. Not that they wanted to but insurers demanded it. This goes for many pain meds as well and how addiction is now a major issues with them. Used to issues were addressed in the hospital and the person stabilized on the meds before discharge.
An increase in the number of patients taking antidepressants has obviously increased.
Technically I am disabled diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder. The protocol treatment at first for me was Xanax. Mention Xanax to health experts and they freak. They wanted me off of it and on antidepressants. They made my anxiety level much higher and my related seizure activity as well triggered by it.
I learned something by happenstance about 18 years ago doctors today still don't consider when dealing with anxiety patients. I do not have General Anxiety Disorder in the clinical sense. Rather I have severe sensory processing disorders that distort my reactions to sights and sounds. The antidepressants especially the SSRI's overtaxed my already damaged Inner Ear and portion of the brain which processes what the Inner Ear sends it. IOW if I had continued taking antidepressants I was a prime candidate for Serotonin Syndrome.
I was lucky. I found a book written by a Neurologist linking anxiety attacks to Inner Ear Cerebellar damage. Getting a doctor too listen to me took over a year. In the mean time I was being told to take meds making this worse and I was having pre - adverse reaction symptoms. What stopped me from going bonkers? The very medication they so greatly feared which was Xanax.
For Vestibular patients Benzodiazepines meds are the safest and most effective. Low dose several times a day. I've been on it 20 years. My wife nearly 30 put on it for anxiety that was triggering a coronary issue. Her xanax use likely saved her life. Benzodiazepines are the protocol antidote to Serotonin Syndrome. Doctors are scared to write Xanax scripts but few think twice about Trazodone. Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, etc. Benzo's can not produce that adverse reaction. There is a dependency factor with Xanax and other benzodiazepines that must be weighed against benefit in long term usage. Both doctor and patient have to understand low but consistent dose.
Yes I believe there is at least partial if not more reason to believe the meds could be triggering some persons. How many? We'll never know and I doubt seriously Serotonin levels in the brain were checked in their autopsies. Many doctors still deny it can happen. If so the ones it happens too honestly do not know what they do. It really deserves major closer looking into.
BTW there are sleep aids on the market now that can cause havoc as well.
1/2 mg of clonazopam here. Xanax is too powerful for this kid. SSRI’s are deadly.