The Antidepressant Fact Book : What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Luvox and the Other Newly Approved Psychiatric Drugs

s/t: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You about Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa & Luvox Known as "the Ralph Nader of psychiatry," Dr. Peter Breggin has been the medical expert in countless court cases involving the use or misuse of psychoactive medications. This unusual position has given him unprecedented access to private pharmaceutical research and correspondence files, information from which informs this straight-talking guide to the most prescribed and controversial category of American drugs: antidepressants. From how these drugs work in the brain to how they treat (or don't treat) depression and obsessive-compulsive, panic, and other disorders; from the documented side and withdrawal effects to what every parent needs to know about antidepressants and teenagers, The Anti-Depressant Fact Book is up-to-the minute and easy-to-access. Hard-hitting and enlightening, every current, former, and prospective antidepressant-user will want to read this book. Contents 6 A Reader Alert 13 Acknowledgments 15 Introduction: Drug Facts You Cannot Get Anywhere Else 16 Too Little Skepticism 17 Unique Sources of Information 18 Getting Inside the Drug Companies 19 Hiding the Facts 21 Quietly Settling the Cases 22 ONE: The Meaning and Purpose of Depression 24 The Most Common Causes of Depressed Feelings 25 Mired Down in Depressed Feelings 26 The Special Vulnerability of Depressed Children 27 When Nothing Helps . . . 28 Not a Disease 29 Even Whole Cultures 30 Depression Occurs in a Context 31 Selling “Depression” as a Disease 32 The “Official” Definition of Depression and Antidepressant 33 Unanswered Questions 35 From Bile to Biochemical Imbalances 36 The Search for Biological Markers for Depression 36 The PET Scan Scam 38 If the Drugs “Work,” It’s Biological 39 The Meaning and Purpose of Depression 39 TWO: Damaging the Brain with SSRI Antidepressants 42 The Myth That Millions of Users Are Living Proof of a Drug’s Safety 43 Closely Related Drugs 44 How SSRIs Work 45 The Nature of Serotonin 45 Limits of the Serotonin Theory 46 The Complexity of the Serotonin System 46 Disrupting the Serotonin System 47 The Brain Fights Back 49 Evidence for Permanent Damage and Dysfunction from SSRIs 50 More Evidence for SSRI-Induced Brain Damage 51 Drug Company Responses to the Danger of Permanent Damage 53 Looking for the Critical Research 54 Anticipating the Nature of Permanent Dysfunction 56 We Know Enough to Be Concerned 57 THREE: Dangerously Stimulating the Brain and Mind with Antidepressants1 58 No Scientific Doubt 60 All of the SSRIs 60 The Stimulant Profile 61 Causing Mania 62 Burying the Mania Threat 65 Hiding the Truth from the Beginning 67 Deciding to Cover Up the Stimulating Effects 68 Dissent Within the FDA 70 Summing Up the Stimulant Pattern 71 The Insidious Danger of Akathisia 73 Variability in Patient Reactions 74 FOUR: Multiple Additional Risks When Taking SSRI Antidepressants 77 Lemonade out of Lemons 77 Common Adverse Reactions in the Body1 79 Cardiovascular and Bleeding Problems 79 More Prozac Problems 81 Extrapyramidal Reactions and Tardive Dyskinesia 82 Fertility, Pregnancy, and Nursing 84 Pituitary Gland Dysfunction 85 Throughout the Body 86 FIVE: How SSRI Antidepressants Can Ruin Love and Family Life 87 Impairing Our Self-Perception 89 Love and the Brain 89 The Mechanism of SSRI Sexual Dysfunction 90 SSRI Indifference 91 SIX: Depression and Suicide Caused by Antidepressants 92 The FDA Knew from the Beginning 94 Learning from Science and Clinical Experience 95 Many Drugs Cause Depression 96 Antidepressants, Mania, and Depression 97 Prozac-Induced Suicide 98 More Evidence from Drug Company Data Confirming Antidepressant-Induced Suicide 100 The “Smoking Gun” 101 Driving Patients to Suicide with Akathisia 102 Additional Reports Confirming Antidepressant-Induced Suicidality 103 Seeking a Suicide-Free Prozac 104 Making People More Depressed with Antidepressants 105 The Mechanism of Causing Depression and Suicide 106 Antidepressants Do Not Prevent Suicide 107 SEVEN: Criminal Behavior and Violence Caused by Antidepressants 108 Playing at Being “The Saint” 108 Taking Care of the Dog 111 Ending in Physical Violence 113 A Natural Desire to Hold People Responsible 115 Antidepressants, Mania, and Violence 116 The Danger of Agitated Depression 117 FDA Recognition of Drug-Induced Violence 118 Drug Mechanisms for Causing Violence 119 Epidemiological Evidence from the FDA 120 EIGHT: Dangerous Drug Interactions and a Genetic Vulnerability to Severe SSRI Toxicity 122 The Serotonin Syndrome: Much Too Much of a Supposedly Good Thing 122 More than the Liver Can Handle 123 A Missing Enzyme in the Liver 124 More than the Plasma Proteins Can Contain 125 NINE: Special Dangers of Treating Children with SSRIs 127 Growing Numbers of Children on SSRIs 128 Hazards to the Child’s Brain 128 The Vulnerability of Children to Adverse Reactions 129 Confusing the Issue of Drug-Induced Mania in Children 130 SSRIs and School Shooters 131 Scientific Reports Linking SSRIs to School Shootings 132 Allowing the Prescription of Unauthorized Drugs to Children 134 Evidence for the Usefulness of SSRIs for Children 135 A Situation Entirely Out of Control 135 Forcing Parents to Drug Their Children 136 TEN: Withdrawal Problems When Stopping Antidepressants 138 How Drugs Cause Withdrawal Reactions 138 An Example from a Non-Prescription Drug 139 Lack of Physician Awareness 139 Rebound Versus Withdrawal 140 Interdose Withdrawal 141 Withdrawal from the Older “Tricyclic” Antidepressants 141 SSRI Withdrawal Symptoms 142 The Most Common SSRI Withdrawal Problems 142 The Most Dangerous SSRI Withdrawal Reactions 143 Differences in Withdrawal Reactions Among SSRIs 143 The Danger of Irreversible Withdrawal Reactions 145 Anticipating How You Might React to Withdrawal 145 How to Handle Withdrawal from SSRIs 146 Ten Principles for Withdrawing from Psychiatric Drugs 146 ELEVEN: Physical ConditionsThat Cause or Worsen Depression 149 The Elusive Biochemical Imbalance 150 Physical Disorders that Can Cause Depression 151 Medications as the Cause of Depressed Feelings 152 Psychiatric Drugs Known to Cause or Worsen Depression 152 Recreational Drugs That Can Cause Depression 154 Medical Disorders That Commonly Cause Depression 154 The Importance of a Good Medical Evaluation 157 Diet and Depression 157 TWELVE: No Such Thing As an Antidepressant 159 Reviewing All the Recent FDA Studies 159 Drug Company Tricks 160 More Evidence That Antidepressants Do Not Work 161 Growing Recognition of Drug Company Influence 162 The Myth That Drugs Are Tested on Thousands of People Before They Are Approved 163 The Myth That Millions of Users Are Living Proof of a Drug’s Efficacy 163 SSRIs as Panacea 164 The Limits of FDA Approval 166 THIRTEEN: From Lobotomy to Electroshock and Brain Stimulation 168 Stopping Psychosurgery on Little Children 170 Taking on the Harvard Surgeons 171 Deep Brain Stimulation 172 Causing Insanity 173 Trying to Stop Shock Treatment 174 Electrical Closed-Head Injury 174 The Targets of Shock Treatment 175 Failing to Tell the Truth 175 Scientific Evidence for Brain Damage and Dysfunction from Shock 176 The Promotional Campaign for Shock Treatment 178 ECT for Suicide Prevention 179 Committing Violence Under the Influence of Shock Treatment 179 What Should Be Done About Shock Treatment? 180 Transcranial Stimulation 181 Light Therapy 181 Your Doctor’s Condition 182 FOURTEEN: The Safety and Efficacy of Natural Remedies 183 The Usefulness of Some “Alternative” Treatments 184 St. John’s Wort 184 Other Remedies 186 FIFTEEN: How Drug Companies Can Deceive the Courts, the Medical Profession, and the Public 188 Caught in the Middle of a Fix 190 Withholding Evidence from Their Own Expert 190 The Testimony 191 The Jury Verdict 192 The Final Outcome 192 My Own Reactions 193 The Growing Impact of Drug Companies 194 The Role of the Federal Government 195 SIXTEEN: How to Overcome Depression: Suggestions for Patients and Therapists Alike 197 The Moral Context of Therapy 198 Drugs Versus Therapy and Life 199 Psychotherapy for Depression 200 What to Expect from the Therapy Relationship 201 The Effect of Depressing Personal Relationships 202 The Effect of Depressing Therapy Relationships 203 Identifying Depressing Relationships 205 Helping Very Depressed People 206 Welcoming the Depressed Feelings 207 Dealing with Emotional Emergencies 209 Expressing My Views on Drugs to Patients 210 A Few Words for Therapists 211 The Importance of Limiting the Therapy Relationship 211 Love Is Not Enough 212 The Importance of Relationship 213 The Challenge of Being an Ethical Person and Therapist 214 Doctors Who Practice Drug-Free Therapy 215 Appendix A 216 Appendix B 218 Notes 220 Bibliography 226 Index 233 About the Author 241 A Reader Alert; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Drug Facts You Cannot Get Anywhere Else; Too Little Skepticism; Unique Sources of Information; Getting Inside the Drug Companies; Hiding the Facts; Quietly Settling the Cases; ONE: The Meaning and Purpose of Depression; The Most Common Causes of Depressed Feelings; Mired Down in Depressed Feelings; The Special Vulnerability of Depressed Children; When Nothing Helps . . .; Not a Disease; Even Whole Cultures; Depression Occurs in a Context; Selling "Depression" as a Disease; The "Official" Definition of Depression and Antidepressant.;By the author of Talking Back to Prozac and Your Drug May Be Your Problem, the answers to over 100 questions about antidepressants.

By the author of Talking Back to Prozac and Your Drug May Be Your Problem, the answers to over 100 questions about antidepressants