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Topic: "Anti-Depresants May Cause Thoughts of Suicide ..." You Mean Depression WON'T?  (Read 3093 times)

mythociate

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That's one item on the long list of side-effects for the over-the-counter drugs sold on TV.

It always gets me how most of these drugs have side-effect lists LONGER THAN THEIR MAIN DESCRIPTIONS.

People! >:( That's what we have DOCTORS for (or at least that was what they were for, before it became en vogue for doctors to be nothing-but-pill-pushers; but EVEN THEN, THEY are supposed to be the ones who know what-all a drug will do to you!)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------That's what a Pharisee might say today. You now have the chance to respond as my mentor Jesus-of-Joseph would, and I pray that you will!

minioncookies

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I think you are very wrong.. A doctor can only know so much about a person's body.. What they may now about one person's body will differ from another person's body that is why there is so many side effects because it depends on the diffrent types of bodies. Some may cause one thing and another may cause a diffrent thing.. It probably depends on the weight the weakness or strength of the body the blood i mean there are so many factors that determine a diffrent side effect. That's why there are so many warnings for so many side effects. Doctors don't know everything.. Sometimes things can be UNDETECTABLE at the time Or it can be something NEW and they won't know any information on it.. Sometimes life throws you a bone and sometimes it doesn't but you can't blame a over the counter drug or a list of side effects they are there for a purpose it doesn't mean your going to get those side effects.. It's warning you of The POSSIBLE side effects.

dodgers16

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   "Anti-Depresants May Cause Thoughts of Suicide ..." You Mean Depression WON'T?    LOL...that is so true and exzctally what I always say when I hear that

CharmedPhoenix

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I find it interesting that today's wonder drugs are tomorrow's class action suits.  Then they have equally ridiculous ads saying if you experienced (long list of symptoms) "or death" call our offices.  LOL.

We do NOT get sick for lack of drugs or excess of body parts.

duckgoquack

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I'm not quite sure what your comment is supposed to mean.  Are you saying it's not necessary that a drug should have that listed as a side effect?  I'm also not aware of an OTC antidepressant?

That's one item on the long list of side-effects for the over-the-counter drugs sold on TV.

It always gets me how most of these drugs have side-effect lists LONGER THAN THEIR MAIN DESCRIPTIONS.

People! >:( That's what we have DOCTORS for (or at least that was what they were for, before it became en vogue for doctors to be nothing-but-pill-pushers; but EVEN THEN, THEY are supposed to be the ones who know what-all a drug will do to you!)

inertia4

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I have heard the some anti-depressants can make depression worse and thus deeper thoughts of suicide.

lvstephanie

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Minioncookies is correct in saying that the long list of side-effects is because some people may experience any one of those effects. And since the FDA requires drug manufacturers to list every side-effect that was ever reported, the list can be quite exhaustive. But that doesn't mean that every person taking those drugs will get every side-effect listed (nor even getting close to half of them).

Another thing that causes the seemingly paradox of how an antidepressant may lead to suicidal tendencies is due to the mechanism of action for that drug (it has been quite a while since I studied the pharmacological effects of antidepressants, so I may not have this entirely correct, but....). Some theories as to what causes depression is that the neurotransmitter serotonin is imbalanced in the brain. The brain has this feedback mechanism whereby if there is too much serotonin being passed between cells, there is a serotonin reuptake receptor that will essentially "soak up" (or reuptake) the excess serotonin. But sometimes (it is believed) that this mechanism is malfunctioning and there are too many reuptake receptors causing levels of serotonin to be low. So they have developed reuptake inhibitors in order to increase the amount of serotonin in the gap (or synapse) between neurons (or brain cells). But remember that I said that the reuptake receptors were a part of a feedback mechanism for removing excess serotonin? In addition to just removing the excess serotonin, it is also thought that it goes on to inhibit production of serotonin by those cells that reuptake it. If that is also the case, then if a person is given a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, it will decrease the reuptake of serotonin but it doesn't effect the production, so that when the serotonin in the synapse is used to transmit its signal to the next neuron, the synapse will once again become deficient of serotonin levels until the feedback loop is broken and serotonin production goes back to normal. And it is because of that temporary low levels of serotonin that may increase the risk of suicidal tendencies.

Finally, neuroscience is one of the fields that is very difficult to study considering the vital importance of that organ, the blood-brain barrier, difficulty in measuring neurotransmitter levels, etc. So even though certain drugs seem to help in the management of depression, there is still a lot of unknowns about the exact mechanism of how they work. So when you say that doctors are supposed to know what a drug will do for a person, their knowledge is only to the point that neuroscientists and pharmacologists know what is actually happening. If the scientists working on these type of medications don't fully know what is going on, how is a doctor supposed to know?!

But just because we don't fully understand the mechanism of a drug doesn't mean that they shouldn't be used either. That is why drugs have to go through a gamut of clinical trials before the FDA will approve their use. Phase 1 clinical trials determines the toxicity of a drug, phase 2 tests whether a drug actually works the way that it is intended to work (as well as to gauge the risk-to-benefit factor), and phase 3 is to see how effective the drug is compared with current treatments. So if an antidepressant is shown to help 95% of those that take it while increasing the risk of suicidal tendencies in only 1%, the risk-to-benefit ratio would suggest that this drug is an effective treatment even though it does seem to have the opposite effect in a slight minority of those taking it. With cancer chemotherapy, this risk-to-benefit ration is sometimes only to look at the longevity of a person rather than its lethality; if a drug is found to increase a person's length of life by a few years even though it is known that the drug will wind up killing the person later on, that increase in longevity may be enough to tip the scale in having doctors prescribe that esp. if it is the only medication currently available to treat that particular form of cancer.

vp44

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What makes your words right.

BlackSheepNY

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That's one item on the long list of side-effects for the over-the-counter drugs sold on TV.

It always gets me how most of these drugs have side-effect lists LONGER THAN THEIR MAIN DESCRIPTIONS.

People! >:( That's what we have DOCTORS for (or at least that was what they were for, before it became en vogue for doctors to be nothing-but-pill-pushers; but EVEN THEN, THEY are supposed to be the ones who know what-all a drug will do to you!)

I tend to agree with you, here.  At the very least, your Physician should KNOW what, if any, types of drugs you may be taking on a regular basis that MAY conflict with anything else he or she is prescribing you.  HOWEVER... a Physician CANNOT know any of this unless and until YOU tell them what drugs you're taking on a regular basis.  ALL drugs have side effects, ranging from minor to you need to get to a hospital like NOW.  When your Pharmacist fills your prescriptions, there's a detailed explanation of the drug and its side effects attached to your prescription.  It's YOUR responsibility to READ it and be AWARE of any of the side effects that MAY occur.

mythociate

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I think you are very wrong.. A doctor can only know so much about a person's body.. What they may now about one person's body will differ from another person's body that is why there is so many side effects because it depends on the diffrent types of bodies. Some may cause one thing and another may cause a diffrent thing.. It probably depends on the weight the weakness or strength of the body the blood i mean there are so many factors that determine a diffrent side effect. That's why there are so many warnings for so many side effects. Doctors don't know everything.. Sometimes things can be UNDETECTABLE at the time Or it can be something NEW and they won't know any information on it.. Sometimes life throws you a bone and sometimes it doesn't but you can't blame a over the counter drug or a list of side effects they are there for a purpose it doesn't mean your going to get those side effects.. It's warning you of The POSSIBLE side effects.

You misunderstand me. I don't think all doctors know everything about everybody's body, but rather that it's YOUR doctor's job to know everything about YOUR body (that's what you hire him for ... i.e. to 'become a doctor' by studying the common body, and to use his 'doctoral' skills to LEARN how your body is different from normal).

Your doctor is supposed to learn the chemical makeup of your body (other than what you eat, unless he's also a dietician), so HE knows which side-effects are possible for you!

What makes your words right.

Are you asking me? Practice! Practice-practice-practice! Practice makes my words right.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------That's what a Pharisee might say today. You now have the chance to respond as my mentor Jesus-of-Joseph would, and I pray that you will!

stretch1967

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I was just taken off of zoloft and put temporarily on citalopram. I take amityptine for my headaches. I now have to see a counselor. I have really bad anxiety/panic attacks and depression. I have to go from there. As far as suicide I wouldnt be able to do anything. Like I told the doctor I  would have to have somon else do it.

mythociate

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I was just taken off of zoloft and put temporarily on citalopram. I take amityptine for my headaches. I now have to see a counselor. I have really bad anxiety/panic attacks and depression. I have to go from there. As far as suicide I wouldnt be able to do anything. Like I told the doctor I  would have to have somon else do it.

And if you experience any of the side-effects, you can blame your doctor; right?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------That's what a Pharisee might say today. You now have the chance to respond as my mentor Jesus-of-Joseph would, and I pray that you will!

Dynamite2013

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I have been in the past prescribed drugs that did not help me. And both are true it depends on the person. some people respond bad to anti=depressants and others to depression itself. I presently have no meds that I take because I was on meds for being in a bad relationships and went into deep depression and recently in the last four years when I almost lost my husband. Now I am fine because we are both very healthy for being retired people. So remember it is what you tell your doctor that decides what you are going to take. So tell the whole truth and you will be prescribed the right meds.

duckgoquack

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I don't understand why they would blame their doctor if they had any of these side effects?  ...It's not like the doctor created the drug and intended for the side effects to happen...

I was just taken off of zoloft and put temporarily on citalopram. I take amityptine for my headaches. I now have to see a counselor. I have really bad anxiety/panic attacks and depression. I have to go from there. As far as suicide I wouldnt be able to do anything. Like I told the doctor I  would have to have somon else do it.

And if you experience any of the side-effects, you can blame your doctor; right?

minioncookies

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Actually that is still not true.. A doctor can not know everything about your body.. That is why there are people beyond Doctor's because sometimes a Doctor just can't solve your problem or doesn't know the answer or the cause.. If a Doctor knew everything about your body they would be able to determine what everything is straight away. They can't.. Which is why they run tests. and sometimes the tests can come back with nothing and a year later the same test can show something diffrent...Which is why it is important to maintain your health and go to the doctor for checkups.. Sometimes Doctors can go off the signs and symptoms and determine what they issue is.. and sometimes it can be the same signs and issues but not the exact same issue..  Also if a doctor never seen something like that before how would they know how to treat it? You can't..My point is that doctor's can't know everything about your body.. If that were true they could tell you exactly when you had cancer..

Sorry for babbling (:

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