gherman said:
Well, I am a pharmacist and that article is not proven. They haven't done enough research on the subject. They haven't really taken into account that, well, teenagers that are on antidepressants are... depressed and pre-dispossed to suicide. As far as the St. John's Wart... it has neever been prooven to work. Herbals are sketchy anyway. The FDA does not regulate them so you don't know what you are getting. Don't take that shit. Stupid doctors!
The prescriptions are just as sketchy, particularly when these drugs are prescribed somewhat arbitrarily and the fact that many side effects are ignored.
I take two naturals for depression: phosphatidylserine (PS), to lower cortisol (stress), and 5-HTP to boost serotonin. I was on a prescription SSRI for three days, until I could feel my adrenal glands being overworked; needless to say, it sent me manic. 5-HTP alone also sends me manic, if I take too much of it, while, in conjunction from PS, I have been completely balanced for nearly a year and a half.
And, how funny, Paxil has been under scrutiny for causing people to commit suicide, and they're clueless as to what causes it. But the evidence is staring them right in the face. Studies have shown that misdiagnosed manic-depressives on an SSRI alone get sent into a prolonged manic phase, and, while the archetype is that manic people are happy and shop a lot, it really just means that they tend to be more impulsive, and, especially if the underlying depression isn't solved, these people are more likely to "impulsively" commit suicide. I think that Paxil isn't the only drug that should be scrutinized; the entire SSRI class should be reexamined, as they all, theoretically, can send someone manic.
But psychiatrists....what the hell do they do even? I was, essentially, able to get whatever drug I wanted, if I asked. Their attitude was that it was "trial and error," and, when I brought up the issue of possibly being bipolar, they didn't think I was, because I didn't have those "archetypical" behaviors. Frankly, though, I don't think I am bipolar. I think that there is a frightening lack of research on the effects of cortisol on depression, which, in the few studies I've read, they have generally agreed that there is a possible connection; but, unless someone has full-blown Cushing's Disease, they tend to ignore it. With such a high stress society, though, I don't think this should be ignored.
That is why I am dismissive of psychiatry and skeptical on prescriptions, not necessarily that they don't work, but because they aren't even prescribed properly much of the time. And with all these "inhibitors," what if someone isn't producing enough serotonin or dopamine to begin with? But the only two substances that do either are amino acids, which aren't patentable and, thus, would be a negative development for pharmaceutical companies, if people starting using them en masse.
Melon