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Would I Ever Take Prozac Again?

08.20.2016 by Molly McHugh // Leave a Comment

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Would I ever take the antidepressant medication Prozac again? No.

With what I know now about these drugs I feel a bit bad I included my taking a low dose of the med for a short time in my book in the “Things That Helped Me That May Help You or a Loved One” chapter.

Would I Ever Take Prozac Again?
I Would Never Take Prozac – Or Any Psychotropic Medication – Ever Again.

Why? Because I don’t want to be supporting anything that could:

1.   Be misunderstood. I never have taken any psychotropic medication other than lithium (one year, large dose) long term. And have been psych drug free for more than 23 years other than short-term use of low dose Prozac a couple of times.

2.   Cause someone harm. That my writing of my experience could encourage someone to try the med when they could be helped in other ways. And that they don’t understand how I took it and that I never would have taken it longer than a few months.

And most importantly that now – I’d never do the same thing again.

I Was Taken Off Prozac Immediately

I gave only a short mention in the book to the fact that I was at one time (mid-twenties) prescribed Prozac and it made me feel very strange. I took it for two days or so then stopped. It was doing something to my body-brain that felt very off.

And it made my depression I was having at the time worse, because I thought if I could not be helped with an antidepressant medication I was a hopeless case.

I wanted to respond to something. I wanted a medication to help me feel better, my family less worried and the doctor whom I was very fond of some gratification that he was helping me.

[bctt tweet=”Regular Dose Prozac Made Me feel Very Strange, Worsened Depression.”]

That was very wrong thinking I now know.

Not responding to an antidepressant is normal. They are toxic substances that if anything only have a short-term positive effect, induce a change in the person that is perceived as ‘treating something wrong in the body’ but is really just a placebo effect.

Related post: Understanding the Placebo Effect of Antidepressants.

There is no identifiable chemical imbalance that these medications have been proven to treat.

They just give the person a biochemical change, chemicals in the body-brain are altered, make them feel different.

That coupled with the psychological expectation they are treating something that is wrong – a “chemical imbalance” – contribute to a placebo effect.

Why Did I Take Prozac Years After Having an Adverse Reaction to the Drug?

I took the medication a couple of times years later when living in Mexico simply because it was easily available. And I thought I needed to. I’d dipped into the suicidal ideation typical of severe depression and knew I needed to somehow pull out of it.

I had to get my body out of the abnormal biochemical state I was experiencing and get my coping skills back in action.

A competent and kind doctor – who knew I had been diagnosed Manic Depressive – and I decided I could take a low dose of the drug and see if it would work. I have to be honest: it did.

I took the medication very carefully for a short time (under a month I believe it was) and it did calm some of the physical agitation that was going on.

But I now know I could have gotten that effect in other ways. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I have not been severely depressed for decades since, and I hope that continues. But if for some reason I did start feeling a similar state of distress I’d deal with it differently.

I’d still try to treat the physical part of the depression, but with other things such as St. John’s Wort, turmeric, more melatonin at night, etc.

Related post: How Much Melatonin to Take for Bipolar Disorder?

Thinking of this now, many years later, I think I probably would have done just as well – without the risks I was taking on by taking Prozac – by self-medicating with melatonin.

But I wasn’t thinking that way at the time.

And I did not understand fully the reality of antidepressant medications. I knew they were harmful but not to the extent that I understand the issue now.

Related post: Treatment Resistance is Your Body Saying No.

Now that I know better, I would self-treat or work with a physician differently. And go to a doctor if I had that available, the money to pay for alternative care or decent medical insurance, but never to a psychiatrist who would just want to prescribe some type of psychotropic medication.

I’m at least that smart.

I Would Never Recommend Anyone Take an Antidepressant Medication

I would be the supportive voice in the background if someone was on an antidepressant medication and not feeling well. Letting them know they were not crazy, not a hopeless case and that adverse reactions are very common.

And that taking more medications will only make their physical state of suffering worse… with most likely more distressing side effects.

Related post: Root Causes of Depression.

I’d Never Take Prozac Again

Because I didn’t know better at the time, I took the drug, with plenty of trepidation about possible mood cycling but not a full understanding of how these medications work.

I shared my experience in the book because it is a memoir. Memoirs are supposed to tell the full story, even if parts of the story are unflattering or misguided.

Now that I know better, I’d choose other ways to deal with a depressive episode. I’ve updated the book, added that info in and linked to this blog post.

Cheers.

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Categories // Antidepressants

Nutritional Supplements Help Antidepressants Work Better

05.28.2016 by Molly McHugh // 2 Comments

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Nutritional supplements help antidepressants work better. That they have shown to increase the effectiveness of these over-prescribed drugs is excellent, but how and what should you be taking? Fish oil supplements are one answer to that question, but other nutraceuticals were tested as well.

How Nutritional Supplements Help Antidepressants Work Better
Take a Bunch of This Good Stuff, Turn it Into Powder and Put in a Pill and You have a Nutraceutical.

Not to mention the fact… taking these identified as helpful supplments should, logically speaking, help anyone who suffers with low moods whether they are on an antidepressant medication or not.

[bctt tweet=”Study shows Omega 3 fish oil had a statistically significant effect over a placebo.”]

The fancy word to describe using nutritional supplements as medicine is “nutraceuticals”. The word was coined in the 1990s and is a combination of the Latin term ‘nutrire’ which means ‘to nourish’ and the word pharmaceutical. Fun. I think I’m going to start making up some new words… ๐Ÿ™‚

The formal definition of a nutraceutical according to Oxford Dictionaries.com is: “A food containing health-giving additives and having medicinal benefit”.

Whether you want to start down the very danger-laden trail of antidepressant use at all is a separate topic altogether. They do not treat any proven chemical imbalance, are addictive and very harmful with long-term use.

The short-term improvement a patient may feel is primarily a placebo effect.

Related post: Understanding the Placebo Effect of Antidepressants.

Some sufferers or those diagnosed bipolar may feel they have no choice but to take them. Or even be court-ordered to comply with psychiatric treatment or hospitalized.

I get it, I’ve been there.

It can be very time consuming to have to research on your own and costly to implement with a trial and error approach. I did that for many years. I wish I’d had access to a website like this one.

Nutritional Supplements Help Antidepressants Work Better – Study Says

For those who are taking an antidepressant, why would they want to add vitamins to their treatment regimen?

The below is quoted from an April, 2016 Science Daily.com article:

“An international evidence review has found that certain nutritional supplements can increase the effectiveness of antidepressants for people with clinical depression. Omega 3 fish oils, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), methylfolate (bioactive form of folate) and Vitamin D, were all found to boost the effects of medication.”

Source: Nutrient Supplements Can Give Antidepressants a Boost.

That is excellent and not very costly to implement. There are many quality salmon oil supplements on the market, and the other vitamins not difficult to obtain either. Shop online for some great deals. I use Iherb.com.

Related post: Salmon Oil, Fish Oil or Krill Oil – What is Best for Bipolar Disorder?

Will You Notice an Immediate Effect or Improvement in Mood When Starting to Take Nutritional Supplements?

Most likely not, as it will take time for the supplements to reach levels in your blood stream and tissue that may affect your moods.

If you are very sensitive in general (allergies, food sensitivities, etc.) you may want to start slowly and let your body adjust to one new nutrient at a time.

The best supplement to try first, especially if you are on a tight budget? Salmon oil.

“The strongest finding from our review was that Omega 3 fish oil — in combination with antidepressants — had a statistically significant effect over a placebo,” Dr Sarris said.

“Many studies have shown Omega 3s are very good for general brain health and improving mood, but this is the first analysis of studies that looks at using them in combination with antidepressant medication.

And if your doctor or therapist tries to discourage you from giving salmon oil a try, as they are uninformed and not up-to-date on research… ignore them.

“Medical practitioners are aware of the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids, but are probably unaware that one can combine them with antidepressant medication for a potentially better outcome,” he said.

Buy it, take it and maybe for the long term think of ways to get off the antidepressant as soon as possible.

Here are some resources if you want to consider tapering off psychotropic medications – with a qualified healthcare practitioners help: Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Resources.

To your good mood health, Molly

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Categories // Alternative Treatments, Antidepressants, Nutrition & Supplements

What Age Group Has Highest Risk of Suicide?

04.25.2016 by Molly McHugh // Leave a Comment

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What Age Group Has Highest Risk of Suicide? The below is a quote from one of the many excellent books written by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison: Night Falls Fast – Understanding Suicide.

What Age Group Has Highest Risk of Suicide?
Click Image to Go to the Book’s Amazon Page

The book (image to the left, can click to purchase) was published in October, 2000 and has 151 customer reviews.

The majority of those reviewers rated the book five stars and many wrote paragraphs of heart-felt and deeply provoking responses they had after reading it, some of it heart-wrenching.

The reviews are worth reading, even if the book may be a bit too intense in full. I have not read it yet, not the time right now. But I do want to understand the issue better.

I have no illusions that I will never experience serious depression again in my lifetime. Bipolar 1 Disorder does not usually play out that way.

Though I have found things that have helped me deal with and prevent serious mood episodes. I am hopeful that will continue as I age.

Quoted from Prologue of the Book

“As a clinician, researcher, and teacher I have known or consulted on patients who hanged, shot or asphyxiated themselves; jumped to their deaths from stairwells, buildings, or overpasses; died from poisons, fumes, prescription drugs; or slashed their wrists or cut their throats.”

“Close friends, fellow students from graduate school, colleagues, and children of colleagues have done similar or the same. Most were young and suffered from mental illness; all left behind a wake of unimaginable pain and unresolvable guilt.”

Source: Read on Amazon here.

The Young Are Most At Risk – Is This True Today?

“Most were young…” That persons who are in the supposed prime of their life are wanting to end that life prematurely is beyond sad. We all know that.

Like Jamison I know that reality intimately. And most of my suicide ideation was during my early twenties. Same as too many others.

“In 2014, there were 42,773 deaths by suicide in the United States. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death; homicide ranks 17th. It is the second leading cause of death for 15 – 24 year olds.”

Source: SAVE – Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.

Elderly More Likely to Commit Suicide?

Jamison’s book quoted above was written in the year 2000. Have things gotten better? Unfortunately no. And it seems that more elderly persons are taking their own lives which is making the overall rate higher now.

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

“The suicide rates decreased from 1990-2000 from 12.5 suicides per 100,000 to 10.4 per 100,000. Over the past decade, however, the rate has again increased to 12.1 per 100,000. Every day, approximately 105 Americans die by suicide. (CDC)”

The below is from a May, 2013 article: There’s Been A Disturbing Increase In Middle-Aged Suicides Since 2000.

“The economic downturn may have something to do with the increase in the suicide rate, the report says. Suicide rates tend to rise and fall along with economic cycles.”

“It may also have something to do with the historically high rates of suicide among the baby boomer generation โ€” who are now in their 50s and 60s โ€” as well as the increased availability of prescription drugs commonly used in suicide.”

Source: Business Insider article.

Are There Any Factors That Can Be Eliminated?

We can help in many ways someone suffering from severe depression but no one can take over someone’s pain or walk in their shoes. No one has the power to stop a suicide. We can only make attempts to prevent the impulse from being acted on and accomplished.

But can we do other things too? Are there reasons for the increase in deaths that are not being studied or talked about honestly? Reasons like an insane increase in handing out prescriptions for brain damaging psychotropic medications that often worsen a person’s mental and physical state of suffering?

Related post: Are Your Psych Meds Making You Sick?

Can we do things like stop giving brain damaging drugs to children under the age of 18 at minimum, and at best stop the increase in adults being prescribed psych meds?

More Honesty in Research and About Psychotropic Medications

Can the increase in suicide among older adults be related to the increase in the percentage of adults taking a psychotropic medication and the effects those medications are having?

We are talking about ‘normal’ folks here – not the much smaller percentage of the population who truly suffers from a genetically-based serious mental illness such as Manic Depression. Or the more common mental illness depression.

Below are two quotes from a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) article:

“Older adults have a higher risk for experiencing bad drug interactions, missing doses, or overdosing.”

“Older adults also tend to be more sensitive to medications. Even healthy older people react to medications differently than younger people because older people’s bodies process and eliminate medications more slowly.”

Source: Mental Health Medications.

Did you know this? Do families know this? Are the doctors prescribing these meds willy nilly to treat any form of psychological distress telling their patients this?

Asking an overly-broad question but one that is still valid to ask: Is suicide related to taking psychotropic medication?

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

If you are having a hard time coping, feeling very depressed or suicidal there is a 24 hour free telephone line with people who care available to talk to you.

National Suicide 24/7 Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

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Categories // Antidepressants, Depression

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