I suspect that if I took 100 people with runny noses (some of which have colds, some sinus infections and some with allergies) and gave them all either penicillin or a placebo, penicillin may not come out looking real helpful.Your suspicion is wrong. The penicillin would wipe out the infections in a way the placebo never could. It's a proven drug - not through personal anecdotes, but through the same research that prozac can't seem to pass.
Luckily, we can distinguish between these illnesses and treat them appropriately. I think we simply don't have enough information about depression and brain function to do that yet.Not hardly. But you're arguing my point.
I don't think lacking that information means we should throw out the meds until we understand things better. Some people probably need the medication. Other people find it helpful, for whatever reason.Sticking with the parallel you suggested, would you feel the same about a new cold medicine if they couldn't seem to prove it's efficacy in trials, and had no idea how or if it worked? Drug companies could advertise it as a cure, and they should be allowed to market this nonsense? Why do we make an exception when we move from physical illness to mental illness? Because the mentally ill are easier to con?
I think anti-depressants can validly be used as a tool. Oftentimes a depressed person can find it difficult to impossible to make the sustained lifestyle changes which might be needed to cure their type of depression. To give that person some relief and motivation to make those changes is not a bad thing. It seems unlikely that we will find out later that these meds do lasting damage. But we know that even overprescribing of antibiotics has become a problem, so this is a possibility. Whether it is worth the risk has to depend upon personal circumstances.The research doesn't indicate that the drugs give that person any more relief than sugar pills. If we don't know what it does, how is it that we could know it won't cause lasting damage?
Personally, I have been battling a moderate depression for 3 years. I have tried 2 different anti-depressants, neither have worked. I know people who have had sucess with these meds.So did these people improve because of a placebo effect, or because of the drugs? The truth is, you don't know, and they don't know, and the drug companies are pretty sure it's the former. But your friends feel better, and that's good. It's too bad they had to pay $$$$$$$ for candy to feel better.
My own son, who is 10, suffers from extreme anxiety. He refuses to "work" on it. I believe he doesn't think he can feel any differently and anxiety has had a huge effect on him socially, physically and academically. We have, after consulting with learning specialists, an allergist, a neurologist, and batteries of tests with his pediatrician, 6 months of group social therapy, and several years of hoping that maturity would have some effect, have finally tried medication. We are having some sucess and are still in the process of adjusting the medication.I wish you well in dealing with your son. I hope you find the real cause of his problems, and get him a serious cure.
I wish we knew more about the drugs. I wish we knew more about how the brain works. I think the meds are overprescribed. But I think they have to be an option.I think that's alchemy.
Knee-jerk? We are looking at a group of runny noses and doing NO other diagnosis. Penicillin could only work in 1/3 of the cases. The placebo could look effective for all groups. If one gets away from the allergen while taking the placebo, it seems to work. If a cold has run it's course and one is taking a placebo, it could be seen to work. And many infections will clear up entirely on their own.
Like....zinc tablets, vitamin C? Not prescription, but touted all over the place. People with colds are easier to fool?
Let's go back to penicillin. If you had a 1000 sick people, and 900 would not be helped by penicillin, would you withhold it from everyone? These meds DID help SOME people, even in this study.
You certainly have a point. If we could make everyone feel better by giving them m&m's, I'd go for that in an instant. But they won't work for everyone, and some people will die from depression. Some families are very negatively affected by depression. That is why I said that the circumstances must be taken into account. People must evaluate the risks.
Know what? To a depressed person, it really doesn't matter. Getting their lives back is worth not being able to answer this question.
Thank you. But I believe the "real cause" of his problems is a brain disorder. I had hoped to circumvent that by teaching him to better control it. He hasn't given me that option.
Why do I think it is a brain disorder? Because his profile of symptoms is very similar to psychological/social difficulties associated with Tourette's Syndrome and Autism. He exhibits anxious behaviors similar to behaviors I exhibited as a child which he could not have known about (ie adding numbers on digital clocks, with some totals being "good" and others being "bad"), so suspect there MAY be a genetic influence (influence, not cause).
And because he was barely 3 years old when we were made aware of his anxiety. He had/has a loving mom and dad and had a strong network of friends and adults. No abuse of any kind (he was young enough that I could be certain of this). No trauma. Atypical behavior for a well loved child.
We were discussing depression rather than anxiety, but I think the two may have similar causes. I hope the meds will be temporary.
As is your right. But for people needing help, I'm glad they get it, in whatever form it may take. Adults can make their own decisions. And I pray that any children who may be involved are cared for by intelligent parents who do their damndest to try everything else first.
Aspirin was on the market for decades before we had any idea how it worked...