Antidepressants

Depressing Truth About Antidepressants
Avena subscription...
Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and other antidepressants have taken North America by storm. In fact, it’s estimated that over twenty-eight million Americans take antidepressant drugs or anxiety medications for depression! There’s no doubt about it; we live in a pharmaceutical culture. We take pills to be happy, to be social, to be calm and to live "normally." But there is a huge downside. Antidepressant drugs can severely disrupt delicate brain chemistry, lead to bizarre changes in mood and behavior, and may even affect the ability to judge right from wrong.

A perfect example is Prozac. Over 20 million prescriptions have been filled for Prozac since its market debut in 1987. Sadly, this so-called "wonder drug" comes with a heavy price. Low libido, dry mouth and eyes, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and insomnia are only some of the Prozac side effects. In a 1990 study published in the Journal of American Psychiatry, Prozac use led to "intense, violent suicidal preoccupation" – the very disorders it seeks to prevent! These side-effects can occur after just 2 to 7 weeks of administration. As it stands, Prozac has been linked to 23,067 adverse drug reactions, 1,436 suicide attempts and as many as 1,313 deaths! In 1994, as many as 160 Prozac-related lawsuits were still pending against the manufacturer, Eli Lilly.

Prozac can be especially dangerous when taken during pregnancy. The New England Journal of medicine published a study of almost 500 pregnant women. It was found that women who take Prozac in the last trimester of pregnancy were more likely to give birth to premature babies. Further, these babies were found to be jittery, have lower birth weights, and have more respiratory problems and low blood sugar episodes than babies of pregnant women who stopped taking Prozac early in pregnancy, or did not take the drug at all.