The 99th Monkey

Well I take Abilify, Effexor and Imovane every day. My depression has lifted, can't be sure it's the drugs, would hope so!! lol

As for stabilising my bi-polar disorder ah wait and see!

I have alway's been wary of drug's so your post is nothing really new to me. Still i need to get better, so i am giving drug's the benefit of the doubt!

Cheers
André

PTSD treatment for Veterans found ineffective.
Eli Lilly Zyprexa can cause diabetes.
I took Zyprexa a powerful Lilly schizophrenic drug for 4 years it was prescribed to me off-label for post traumatic stress disorder was ineffective costly and gave me diabetes.
-FIVE at FIVE-
The Zyprexa antipsychotic drug,whose side effects can include weight gain and diabetes, was sold for "children in foster care, people who have trouble sleeping, elderly in nursing homes."- *Five at Five* was the Zyprexa sales rep slogan, meaning *5mg dispensed at 5pm would keep patients quiet*.
-- Daniel Haszard Zyprexa victim activist http://www.zyprexa-victims.com

Except for maybe referring to "ritilan O's" lol.

But Much depression could be cured if people would start adopting a healthier diet. Eating less simple carbs, more omega 3's less omega 6 oils. Cutting out milk and gluten.

eating more complex carbs, protein, and vegetables.

Where does cheese danish fit into this?

So you paraphrase the Abilify commercial as:

“Ask your Doctor if Abilify might be for you. Side effects may include life-threatening increases or decreases in blood pressure; liver, renal or pancreatic failure; thoughts of violence or suicide; dizziness, nausea and the inability to breathe; severe insomnia, loss of appetite or unusual weight gain; sexual dysfunction, stroke, cardiac arrest or sudden death. Abilify, it could SAVE YOUR LIFE!”

And then you say you took this drug? Can you please explain?

1) it was one of my 2-day drugs, just long enough to read all the side effects in the fine print and get freaked out, and 2) it was before the TV ads came out. Thanks for asking!

Thanks for replying!

Yeah the ads these days are just outrageous ... the majority is all about influencing us psychologically (creating a need) but if ads like these are coming out, I guess the ad industry isn't even trying to be convincing anymore.

Good to have this worked out :)

I have had suspicions of all of this before reading your article. The saddest thing of all is the children.
There are highly educated individuals out there advising parents to drug their children believing they have their best interests at heart. A parent puts his trust in his child's doctor. Probably a good walk in the woods and good nutrition would do more to help than any of these drugs. We have lost our common sense.

Just to present all sides of this issue, this piece is currently in the Huff Post "mind" section:

"WHY WE NEED PSYCHOACTIVE MEDICINES"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-harold-koplewicz/psychoactive-medicatio...

This article hits home in so many ways. I personally have had an MD, without any input from me other than, "I'm having trouble sleeping," prescribe Ambien and Lexapro. No questioning sleeping habits, caffeine / alcohol intake, etc. I've had a psychiatrist diagnose me with a severe mental illness (after 1 office visit) so that he could bill the insurance company at a higher rate. (and then admit to me that I had nothing more than anxiety but that he was working the system to allow for more office visits per year and therefore more money for himself). After my dad (who has Alzheimer's) was admitted to the hospital for constipation his MD was planning on changing his entire regimen of drugs (related only to his dementia). I told him "nothing doing," and asked him why he was fixing something that wasn't broken and he didn't have an answer. I know the answer - the charming pharmaceutical rep that comes into his office and perhaps the perks (trips to Hawaii or wherever) that go with it. We are all turning into pawns as the pharmaceutical companies place profits over people.
Thanks for a great article!

I have battled depression all of my life, but I didn't realize it until I was diagnosed in 1998 and started learning about it. I currently take Zoloft and Wellbutrin, and unfortunately due to layoffs and loss of health insurance, I have been off and on these meds over the past ten years. I'm here to tell you I feel MUCH better when I take them. I do agree that big pharma shouldn't be allowed to advertise on TV, but I also feel strongly that if your doctor, shrink, or therapist isn't asking you the right questions and offering alternatives, it is YOUR responsibility to fire them and find another.

when they work, they work, and count yourself one of the lucky ones.

Drugs have been shown to benefit patients, while there are various side effects to most of the drugs, they have been shown to help people get better. I am wondering what you are founding your beliefs in? What research has shown that antidepressant effects are simply due to placebo? I challenge you to present some substantial evidence to these claims. There is a problem with drugs and psychiatrists sometimes seem only to be certified drug dealers, but drugs have helped millions of people get better, you are doing a disservice by telling people not to give them a try, and you are being very harmful by trying to convince people not to take drugs when they can save lives. I feel for the people who listen to your advice, and I hope people are smart enough not to. The best way to get better is with a combination of drugs and therapy.

I cited two extensively researched books in the article...read them! And read last Sunday's NY Times Magazine article, "The Post-Prozac Nation." And understand also, that I am on Paxil and am helped by it.