Category: Health and Wellness
(NaturalNews) As NaturalNews has previously reported, the U.S. is a nation seemingly hooked on mind-altering drugs (http://www.naturalnews.com/027054_d...). A study released last fall in the Archives of General Psychiatry documented a dramatic increase in the use of antidepressant drugs like Prozac since l996. In fact, these medications are now the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S.
Think Americans are maxed out on the number of psychiatric meds that huge numbers of them are taking? Think again. A new report says U.S. adults are increasingly being prescribed combinations of antidepressants, anti-anxiety and antipsychotic medications -- and they could be experiencing serious side effects as a result.
The study, published in the January edition of Archives of General Psychiatry, investigated patterns and trends in what is known as psychotropic polypharmacy, meaning the prescribing of two or more psychiatric drugs. Ramin Mojtabai, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Mark Olfson, M.D., M.P.H., of Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, examined data gathered from a national sample of office-based psychiatry practices. In all, the researchers looked at the medications prescribed between 1996 and 2006 during more than 13,000 office visits to psychiatrists by adults.
The results showed a significant increase in the number of mind impacting drugs prescribed over these years. The percentage of doctor visits which resulted in two or more medications being prescribed increased from 42.6 percent to 59.8 percent. What's more, the percentage of visits at which three or more drugs were prescribed soared from 16.9 percent to 33.2 percent. And the median number of medications prescribed at each appointment with a psychiatrist increased on average by of 40.1 percent.
The combinations of drugs being prescribed with increasing frequency include antidepressants with sedative-hypnotics (the most prescribed combination), antidepressants given along with antipsychotics and combinations of several kinds of antidepressants. But at least the doctors prescribing these mixed drugs are only doing so based on solid research showing the combos are safe and effective, right? Wrong.
"Because scant data exist to support the efficacy of some of the most common medication combinations, such as antipsychotic combinations or combinations of antidepressants and antipsychotics, prudence suggests that renewed clinical efforts should be made to limit the use of these combinations to clearly justifiable circumstances," the authors wrote in their paper. "At the same time, a new generation of research is needed to assess the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of common concomitant medication regimens, especially in patients with multiple disorders or monotherapy-refractory conditions."
In other words, drugs are being given to patients in all sorts of combinations without sound science showing they even work well together -- much less that these drug cocktails are safe to take. In fact, the researchers point out specific dangers of taking multiple psychiatric drugs.
"While the evidence for added benefit of antipsychotic polypharmacy is limited, there is growing evidence regarding the increased adverse effects associated with such combinations," they concluded. A case in point: some combinations cause increases in body weight and total cholesterol level. Others have been associated with an increase in fasting blood glucose level.
oops. not enough room for the title. oops.
But what is the point of the article, what does it suggest we do about it?
Either people have too much faith in these drugs, are too stressed, lonely and worn out to begin with or no one sees other solutions.
Weight gain as a result of taking these drugs might be much less than weight gain resulting from the underlying depression if untreated.
I have extreme doubts aboutsome sort of psycho therapy, positive thinking campaigns etc. They may, and do I am sure, work for some people, but for some it is a chemical problem and drugs can fix or lesson it to let those people live more happily.
I think a lot of it may have to do with the lifestyle, people are so obsessed with their careers and owning a lot and buying everything, that they forget the simple things, friendship, fun, relxation, sufficient lseep etc. From the people I know here it seems more people go to a psychiatrist than, say, in Europe, simply because they don't feel comfortable talking about their problem to a friend, or don't have good enough friends or something.
Or may be people just think drugs can make them happy and mistake "sometimes life sucks" for depression.
What I think should be done, to reduce the chances of drug abuse in general, is to implement some sort of nationwide patient register. It would also eliminate the stupid forms one has to fill out whenever one goes to a new doctor, with things one has filled out many times previously.
In Iceland every surgery, doctor's visit, medical condition etc is tied to one's social security number so doctors and nurses can be well informed when you come in for appointments, you can't go to 10 different doctors and ask for the same drug prescription so you can go get high on it or sell the excess drugs in the street etc.
Of course I am waring way off topic, but I figured putting it on the boards is like asking what the probem is and how we can fix it.
I do not know why Americans in particular are so sensitive about privacy. The seecret service is welcome to tap my phone calls, I'd be happy if the doctor knew all about my medical history when I go in. Of course one needs to make sure such info is not available, say, to an employer or something, but then again your credit score is available to people here, which I think is much more personal (at least you can get free credit reports and I am sure it would not be too hard to find out about someone else's credit).
I'd be much more embarressed if someone found out that I failed to pay credit card bills (not saying I did) in 2007 rather than me going through cancer and chemo therapy that year.
Would be interesting to get more thoughts on this.
right on wildebrew!!!!!! This article falls in to the all to prevalent genre of expose but don't solve the problem.
I totally agree with your view about psychiatry. the more mobile and fast paced our society has become the more common it is to go see a helping professional.
another whole area of prescribing that the article didn't even mention was the number of general practitioners and ob/gyns who prescribe antidepressants. I get mine from my primary care physician. Since he is aware that i have an excellent support system of caring friends and loving family, and He said with my history it would be a waste of my time and money to see someone. I totally agree.
Another side effect of antidepressants which was not mentioned is hypertension. Many of these have high blood pressure as a side effect.
As for the whole weight gain and antidepressant dilemma, i wonder if we are blaming the wrong thign. After being on these meds a while, we start to feel better. Therefore our appetites improve, and we gain weight. So which came first the chicken or the egg.
I totally agree, as mentioned in a few other topics, that drugs are overprescribed, especially mind altering drugs, but I would like to see something in the news about people actually trying to change this.