Posted by Jenne on August 31, 1998, at 13:05:40
When prozac had just come out, I went through a psychological
problem that I thought was depression. A university psychiatric resident
prescribed prozac. I had many of the bad side effects, but was
afraid to tell my doctor because I also had 'numbness' in that I knew
I was unhappy and panicking, but it was 'under the surface'-- I was afraid
that if they took me off the drug I would fall apart. When I finally
did stop seeing the dr and taking the drug, and began seeing
a counselor instead, I got better.A while back I had a problem with anxiety. My counselor and her partner,
a psychiatrist, had previously diagnosed anxiety disorder. Neither my family
doctor nor the psychiatrist my health system sent me to were willing
to proscribe FDA-approved anti-anxiety meds, only SSRI's. (prozac, paxil, zoloft)
I was so afraid of my previous experience that the psychiatrist, after weeks of argument
(and a panic attack IN the office over the meds) finally gave me a prescription
for an anti-anxiety drug for a short time. By the time I was feeling better
and more able to cope (the acute problem had been triggered by environmental
stress), the psychiatrist was finally willing to prescribe anti-anxiety meds, but we
agreed that I no longer was in acute need of them.I see lots of stuff in the literature about SSRI's for every mental health
complaint, and they are offered first thing when you see a dr. for a counseling
referral.But what I also see in the literature is that many patients end up on three or four other meds to control
the side effects of the SSRI's, and while they aren't considered addicting, people
are being told to expect to stay on them for their whole lives.Why are SSRI's considered the magic bullet-- the first and only resort-- these days?
poster:Jenne
thread:470
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19980901/msgs/470.html