What about psychotropic drugs? Psychotropic drugs like antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication and anti-psychotic medication have been questioned of their validity and whether or not they should be prescribed as frequently as they are. These drugs have many side effects that are later believe to unveil other psychological conditions. Here's a great example, in the early 1980's Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rose to be a huge concern and epidemic in children. By the 1990's children diagnosed and prescribed medications for ADHD were later believed to also be bipolar. Coincidence or closely related? Turns out there is much research out there indicating that the ADHD drugs have side effects that look like bipolar symptoms. All the research can be located via the FDA resources and are public but the topic is not published in journals.
Antidepressant studies show they have the best effect the first two weeks of use. After the initial two weeks the same results cannot be obtained. Studies have shown that the brain adjust to keep balance. What is more interesting is the damage done to the brain. Children and adults who have take ADHD drugs over prolonged periods of time will develop tics. These tics are permanent and irreversible.
I could go on and on, but there is not enough time. I encourage everyone to be aware of the side effects of these drugs and make it a last resort. Chantix was being advertised as a stop smoking ad but really it is a psychotropic drug. Below is a clip of the Ad, pay attention to the warnings... wouldn't you rather quit smoking cold turkey than hear voices or have suicidal thoughts?
The Blood-Brain Barrier is there for a reason and we should respect it. But how do we find a balance to treat those with debilitating psychological disorders? Should behavioral approaches be vamped up or should we conduct more animal research? (nice segue from last week huh?)
Recommended reading: Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker
3 comments:
That's some pretty crazy stuff. I really had no idea this was such a controversial thing. I think a large part of the reason for having so many diagnoses of these disorders is that the psychological community is still struggling to agree on the criteria for making a diagnosis. This can cause some people to simply decide that a child has ADHD without being completely sure, which leads to a kid taking medication they don't need. I hope that, sometime soon, we'll start seeing an increase in treating these conditions through therapy as opposed to drugs. Unfortunately, no one knows when that'll be.
Great post. Always good to remind people that they should generally avoid suddenly stopping medication without discussing it with their doctor, however. Sometimes it's important to taper off a drug.
@ Dr. Benham, absolutely, I didn't get to emphasize that those taking medications should always discuss with their doctor first. While I was editing late that night I guess I deleted that part.
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