Health Experts Warn of Antidepressant Dangers for Children, Teens

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HEALTH

By Darla Sitton
CBN News Producer

In America, Prozac is the only drug the FDA has "approved" for pediatric depression.

CBN.com – (CBN News) - As many as one in eight adolescents suffers from clinical depression. And these kids are often treated with anti-depressant drugs that have been tested and approved for adult use. But the drugs may not be safe for children.

Corey Baadsgaard doesn't remember storming into his honors English class with a gun three years ago, and taking his classmates hostage.

Baadsgaard said, "I've never been in a fight before, never done anything like that, never wanted to hurt somebody."

Corey's parents blame his surprising aggression on an anti-depressant drug he was taking, called Effexor. They are thankful no one was hurt.

One month ago, British health officials sounded the alarm. They claimed that, other than Prozac, whose benefits outweigh the risks, anti-depressants are not safe for use by children, and they can cause violent or even suicidal behavior.

In America, Prozac is the only drug the FDA has "approved" for pediatric depression, although doctors can still legally prescribe other kinds of anti-depressants to minors. That has some health experts concerned.

Thomas Moore of George Washington University, said, "I believe there is not enough evidence that these drugs are safe, and there is practically no evidence that they are effective. And in that circumstance, it appears to me that you can't justify and use them in children for depression."

In October, the FDA told Americans that a clear link between drugs and problem behavior in minors has neither been confirmed nor ruled out. They are warning doctors to use caution when prescribing anti-depressants to teens or children.

The FDA’s Dr. Russell Katz said, "We don't believe we have the information at the moment to be able to make that decision, and we think it is very, very important to get this correct, because a mistake in either direction can have very significant public health consequences."

This week the FDA opened hearings on this emotionally-charged issue. But they don't expect to reach a decision until later this summer.

Suit over antidepressants unites an unlikely pair
2003-04-11 - Special Announcementt over antidepressants unites an unlikely pair

Originally from January 17, 2003

Cory Baadsgaard sits with Columbine High School survivor Mark Taylor on Thursday during an interview for a television documentary. Baadsgaard was on antidepressants when he took an English class hostage at a high school in Washington state in April 2001. He blames the drugs for his actions, for which he spent 14 months in a correctional facility. Mark Taylor is suing the manufacturer of the antidepressant Luvox, which killer Eric Harris was taking at the time of the Columbine rampage. Gary Null & Associates of New York is filming the documentary, which could air in the summer, about the drugging of children and outcomes such as school shootings.

The other was a rifle-toting student who terrified his high school classmates in Washington state on April 15, 2001.

On Thursday, Columbine victim Mark Taylor and Cory Baadsgaard, the Mattawa, Wash., student who held a high school English class hostage, spent hours with each other.

Taylor was shot at least six times by Columbine killer Eric Harris.

Taylor wasn't sure he wanted to meet the 18-year-old Baadsgaard, who was flown to Denver for the filming of a documentary by Gary Null & Associates of New York.

"I was a little bit afraid. I just didn't know what kind of person he would be," said Taylor, 19.

But when Taylor met Baadsgaard on Wednesday night, he shook Baadsgaard's hand and said, "It's nice to meet you."

Then they talked for hours.

"He is a very sweet kid," Taylor said.

Baadsgaard, a tall, athletic-looking young man who was the starting center on his basketball team, was completely surprised by Taylor's reception.

"I thought, 'Wow, this kid (Taylor) went through all this and he has forgiven everybody,"' Baadsgaard said. "I think it is kind of ironic to have a friend who has been highly affected. It's cool to know he doesn't have a problem with me."

The common bond that brought them together is their crusade against pharmaceutical companies.

Taylor has a lawsuit against Solvay Pharmaceuticals, which manufactured the antidepressant Eric Harris was taking at the time of the rampage.

Baadsgaard, who was being treated for depression at the time he walked into Michelle Hansen's honors English class with a loaded big-game hunting rifle, blames the antidepressants he had been on for 10 months.

He says he can't remember a thing about the incident, something he directly attributes to the drugs, including one that was in the same family of antidepressants that Harris took. He stopped taking that drug, Paxil, three weeks before he invaded the classroom and was on a different drug at that time.

Baadsgaard, who spent 14 months in a correctional facility, hasn't filed a lawsuit against the antidepressant manufacturers. But his father, Jay, said Thursday that they are looking into it.

The companies that make the antidepressants say the drugs help people and don't cause people to become violent or suicidal, as claimed by Taylor.

In fact, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, which manufactured Luvox, the antidepressant Harris was taking, has accused Taylor of presenting "pseudo-scientific" theories to bolster his claims against the company.

Solvay has portrayed Taylor as lawsuit crazy and relying on unscientific gibberish to back his assertions that Luvox caused Harris to kill.

Gary Null, who says he is one of the country's leading health and fitness advocates, has also been attacked as a conspiracy theorist who particularly targets the pharmaceutical industry.

Manette Loudon, who is producing the documentary in Denver, said the company hopes to complete its work in June on the two-hour film, called "The Drugging of Our Children."

Baadsgaard, who has been banned for five years from Mattawa and can't come within 25 miles of the tiny town of 1,800, said he never drank or did illegal drugs before he burst into the classroom.

He said he is convinced the prescription medication made him do it. "I've been there. I know what it's like," Baadsgaard said. "It's horrible; it's terrible. I blame everything on the drugs. Obviously, I didn't know what I was doing."

Corey's father wrote paxilprogress personally recently and had the following to add:

My son Corey had been prescribed Paxil for social anxiety disorder. He still felt bad after months on Paxil and the Doctor suggested a new medication. Corey was told the stop paxil immediately and start on Effexor. For the next three weeks his dose went from 75mgs to 300mgs. The day he reached 300mgs is also the day he went to school with a gun. He luckily has no memory of his actions. A psychiatrist found him in diminished capacity because of the abrupt discontinuation and significant dose. Unfortunately people in the community did not want to understand and so we moved. Corey is doing fine and we try to warn others. These drugs are truly crap. We believe Corey experience drug induced Mania with a Psychotic break.

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Do Antidepressants Increase Suicide Risk?

A study consisting of 2,800 adults and children that involved the evaluation of four antidepressants, found that these drugs were more likely to lead to suicidal tendencies during the initial days when patients were placed on the medication. The study, however, didn't reveal any distinctions in risk between newer and older medications.

Results of the Study

Suicidal thoughts or attempts were four times more likely to occur during the initial 10 days of being put on the antidepressant than after three months of taking the medication
The likelihood of suicide was 40 times higher in the early stages of treatment
17 participants of the study committed suicide and were all over the age of 19

Some doctors argued that the suicide attempts were the result of the medication supplying a depressed person with just enough energy to follow through on the suicidal thoughts they may have already been having.

Relatives of the suicide victims on the other hand disagreed and blamed the medications themselves for the suicide attempts.

Experts claimed that the majority of serotonin-affecting antidepressants weren't safe for children to take. Evidence of the potential dangers of these antidepressants in children could be seen in the lawsuit placed against the manufacturers of Paxil. The lawsuit was the result of concealing studies showing that the drug caused potential suicidal tendencies in children. The FDA has also taken a closer examination of antidepressants and has begun an investigation of 10 antidepressant drugs. They are proposing that these drugs include stronger warning labels detailing possible risks associated with the medication.

KDKA July 20, 2004

Kids of Depressed Moms Watch More TV and Weigh More

Preschool-age children of depressed mothers watch more television than those of non-depressed moms, putting them at increased risk of obesity.

Depressed moms' kids watch more TV, an extra half-hour per day on average.

Higher stress levels in moms were correlated with additional television viewing in children overall. Children who watch more TV spend less time outdoors, and youngsters tend to be more physically active when they are outside.

The researchers surveyed 150 low-income mothers of preschool children who were participating in the Vermont Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. They interviewed mothers about their body mass index, levels of depression and stress, and their kids' daily television-viewing habits. While the mothers were re-registering for the program, the researchers also calculated the BMI of the children, who ranged from 3 to 5 years old.

The study findings, showed that many children were overweight and about 16% had a BMI -- a measure of weight in relation to height -- above the 90th percentile. About 5% of children in an average group would be expected to weigh in at this level, Burdette said.

About one-third of mothers had high levels of depression while one-half were obese, depressed or both. The children of depressed moms who were normal weight watched an additional half-hour of television a day and those with mothers who were both depressed and obese watched an additional hour of television daily.

Mothers who are depressed or stressed may not encourage their children to go outside and be active.

North American Association for the Study of Obesity in Quebec City, Canada October 8, 2001

Exercise Better Than Drugs For Depression

Besides its physical health benefits, exercise is often said to help people simply feel good. And a growing number of studies are showing that these mood-boosting effects may even fight clinical depression.

Researchers found that walking for 30 minutes each day quickly improved the patients' symptoms -- faster, in fact, than antidepressant drugs typically do.

The results indicate that, in selected patients with major depression, aerobic training can produce a substantial improvement in symptoms in a short time.

Previous studies have suggested that exercise is a potent mood-booster, and some research indicates that for some patients regular activity may be a better depression treatment than psychotherapy or medication. Exactly why is unclear, but exercise does influence certain mood-related hormones. And it is also believed to enhance people's sense of control over their lives.

In one study that compared exercise with antidepressants among older adults, investigators found that physical activity was the more effective depression-fighter.

British Journal of Sports Medicine April 2001;35:114-117

Defeating Depression: as Easy as Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, may hold the key to naturally easing depression.

In the past, studies have shown that in countries where large amounts of fish are consumed, rates of depression are low as compared with countries where little fish is consumed. This has led researchers to examine whether omega-3 fats found in the fish are responsible for the decreased evidence of depression.

One study followed patients with bipolar disorder. Half of the participants were given fish oil tablets and the other half received a placebo. After four months, half of those on the placebo had fallen into depression, but only two out the 15 people given fish oil were depressed.

Other studies have shown similar results indicating that omega-3 fatty acids may in fact relieve depression, and some psychiatrists are now recommending that their depressed patients increase their consumption of these fatty acids.

In addition to its positive effects on depression, studies have linked omega-3s with improved cardiovascular health, as well as shown them to be a potential prevention and treatment tool for certain cancers and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Omega-3 fatty acids have also proved beneficial to the development of babies’ brains; therefore, pregnant and breast-feeding women are encouraged to consume these fatty acids. However, eating fish as a source of omega-3s can be dangerous to pregnant mothers because of potentially high levels of mercury in the fish.

One side effect that may occur from consuming increased amounts of fatty acids through fish or fish-oil tablets is an increase in dyspepsia, or indigestion that may result in gas, though researchers point out that this has been the only side effect discovered.

Researchers noted that further studies need to be done to determine whether patients would benefit from an increase in omega-3s in combination with antidepressant drugs.

ABC News September 17, 2002

There are a number of studies that show that fish oils are associated with decreased depression.

If this subject interests you, Dr. Stoll's book is highly recommend The Omega-3 Connection. He is a Harvard psychiatrist who has done a great job of compiling the evidence supporting the use of fish oils for depression.

Mom's Depression Affects Her Infants' Learning

"Baby talk" helps foster young infants' learning, but when a mother suffers from depression, this form of stimulation may be muted enough to affect her baby's development.

Researchers found that while the 4-month-old infants of women without depression associated the sound of their mother's voice with an image of a smiling female face, the infants of depressed mothers did not.

These babies did, however, respond to the speaking patterns of the unfamiliar, but non-depressed, women.

So while these infants showed normal learning ability, the lower level of stimulation they may receive from a caregiver who suffers from depression could nonetheless hinder their learning.

This could help explain evidence that young children with depressed mothers may lag behind in school readiness.

The vocal stimulation of baby talk is an important teaching tool. Parents normally use it, along with other types of stimulation, to focus infants' attention or to simply make them happy.

But in earlier work, the investigators had found that, compared with mothers without depression, those with the disorder spoke to their babies in flatter tones. The new findings, represent the first demonstration of how a specific infant-learning process can be affected by maternal depression.

However, the study results also suggest that exposure to a caregiver without depression may lessen such potential learning deficits.

An estimated 10% of mothers suffer clinical depression shortly after giving birth.

Psychological Science May 2002;13:268-271

Antidepressant in Pregnancy Not a Great Idea

Using the antidepressant Paxil late in pregnancy seems to be associated with a higher rate of complications in the newborn, but the findings do not mean women should not take the drug.

In a new study, Paxil did not increase the risk of birth defects when taken during any trimester. However, 12 infants born to 55 women who took the drug late in pregnancy had complications that required prolonged hospitalization. Nine of the babies had respiratory distress, two had hypoglycemia (abnormally low blood sugar) and one had jaundice -- a yellowing of the skin due to reduced liver function.

Paxil is a newer type of antidepressant known as a selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), and is known to cause a "discontinuation" syndrome in adults -- a type of withdrawal. There had been case reports of a similar syndrome in infants born to mothers who have taken the drug during pregnancy.

Motherisk counsels physicians and women about the safety of medications during pregnancy, largely based on a huge database of its own safety studies.

In this study researchers compared outcomes for infants exposed to Paxil during the third trimester of pregnancy, to 27 babies exposed only during the first or second trimester, and to 27 infants whose mothers took other types of medication during pregnancy. Only three babies of the women who used Paxil during the first or second trimester or who used other medications ended up having complications.

The higher rate of complications in infants exposed to Paxil late in gestation suggests they may have been experiencing discontinuation syndrome.

Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting Baltimore, MD May 7, 2002

New England Journal of Medicine April 11, 2002;346(15):1175-6

Drugs 2002;62(5):757-73

Antidepressants are by far the most over-prescribed medication to hit the market. Some doctor s and far, far too many shrinks are simply not doing enough neurological and more important Ear, Nose, and Throat, work ups on children as well as adults.

There indeed is a proven link between ADD ADHD type behavior and persons {adults and children} with Damaged Sensory Receptor Disorders or Dysfunctions. This includes persons with histories of Chronic Ear Infections, Chronic Sinus Allergies, Asthma, or any condition which can damage the persons Vestibular System. Vestibular refers to being related to Inner Ear Damage or Diseases.

I would strongly recommend any parent who either suspects their child is ADD ADHD or is told so to seek Central Auditory Processing Disorders testing by a qualified Audiologist or Speech Pathologist ASAP.

It is Very Dangerous to give a patient with Sensory Receptor or Interpretation problems any antidepressants. The results can produce a highly psychotic state called Serotonin Syndrome. Serotonin Syndrome: Recognition and Management Here is a reputable source as to what Serotonin Syndrome is.

I speak from personal experience both as a patient with strong life long sensory damage related disorders and as a care giver to a person with such problems. I have witnessed Serotonin Syndrome in a patient who due to her quadriplegia was not able to do anyone physical harm. Serotonin Syndrome can last for up to a week. The person has hallucinations and their hallucinations are their reality at that time. The one I know saw Satan. Convinced now? The doctors weren't and that's my point. They did not do a very basic PDR or adverse reaxction to two medications which were Zoloft and Trazadone. Even though the patient finally went into a COMA in the emergency the attending physic ans were convinced this was the result of acute psychosis and mental illness. Name me one mental illness that induces a COMA?

Some in here may remember me from a few years back. I have what is technically called General Anxiety Disorder or Panic Disorder. However the name alone is misleading. I am non phobic except for heights. I am phobic to heights because I have extreme vertigo and balance problems caused bu life long sinus allergies and was also believed to have ADD ADHD.

I had to do some extensive research into venues other than Mental Health ones to find the right answers and even after 11 years it is an ongoing learning process. Many cases of Adult Anxiety Disorders are misdiagnosed Sensory Disorders which due to sensory saturation set off the fight/flight responses associated with Panic Disorder or Anxiety Disorder. The distinction however is this. The offending triggers will not be reliving traumatic experience fear or flying for example. It will be triggered in environments that either saturate the audio, visual, or both sensory interpretation systems.

If you go into a Building Supply Store, Department Store, or Grocery Store and after a short time become agitated and ready to leave because you can't concentrate this points to just what I am saying. Places like Walmart for example are sensory torture chambers. Go there late at night for a more relaxed atmosphere. These stores overuse their in store paging systems at excessive volume levels.

The above however is true for a kid lets say for example playing NITENDO. After 15 minutes give or take 10 minutes the kid becomes somewhat agitated, restless, or loses energy unable to concentrate it is because the child has sensory problems and they have been flooded. The end result is ADD ADHD type behavioral problems. A kid that has to ask you to repeat instructions needs help. A kid who walks away in the middle of them also needs help. To best understand the challenge they face read this article. It is long but I find it a best description overall both in kids and adults. COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF VESTIBULAR DISORDERS I find this to be true and to the point. I also recommend searching Central Auditory Processing Disorder sites. Why? Simply this. This is sites done by persons away from pharmaceutical company influence. Or better yet go to the Anti-Depressant makers web sites and see if they warn about persons with sensory damage should not take these type medications.

Personally I have found tranquilizers to be the most effective. However many doctors as well it seems lack the basic knowledge to dispense such medications as Xanas in a correct manner. Most will give you 2MG twice a day. Doing so will make matters worse as the life is 6-8 hours. Why not .5mg 4 times a day instead? Works for me. IMO and experience drugs like Xanax if used responsibly and correctly are far more safer in treating these type of disorders than Antidepressants. I have used it 11 years and I know someone who has used Xanax for 20 years. Neither of us have had any problems with it's usage nor abuse of it. The Family Doctors and the Mental Health Profession needs to be educated to these facts before more Columbines or worse occur.

If anyone else is in this situation and needs more info then FR mail me. I'm not a doctor but I do have some relaible sourced information. BTW person with Inner Ear Disorders may seem Dyslexic as well and will use poor spelling and sentance structure in which correcting the errors is near an impossible task.

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Chapter Nine

Schools Are Being Transformed Into Mental Health Providers