Dr. Mercola June 19 2004 2,136 views
After some hesitation the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally requested that the producers of 10 antidepressants issue warnings to both doctors and patients informing them of the associated suicide and worsening depression risks.
As a result of the negative news, more and more disturbing disclosures about antidepressants were uncovered. Some of the disclosures included the FDA’s decision to ignore negative findings from drug studies on antidepressants and the way the FDA dragged their feet regarding recommendations to place warning labels on antidepressants, out of fear the actions would leave pharmaceutical companies open to possible liability troubles.
Despite the negative publicity, antidepressants sales have continued to rise, particularly among children and adolescents, where there was a reported increase of 10 percent a year.
Even more startling was the fact that the largest growth spurt in antidepressant use was among preschoolers. Other statistics showed antidepressants sales reaching the total of 37 billion in sales in 2003, which came out to $9 million more than was spent on treatments for the heart, arteries and blood pressure.
City Pages.com May 26, 2004
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration waffled for months, but were finally forced in March 2004 to ask the manufacturers of 10 antidepressants to warn doctors and patients that both adults and children taking the drugs should be closely monitored for worsening depression and thoughts of suicide.
The bad news opened a Pandora's box of sorts, and in recent months medical journals, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal have carried a steady stream of horrifying disclosures:
Most shocking of all, FDA honchos even conceded that for some time they opposed adding warning labels to antidepressants because they feared it would expose the pharmaceutical industry to liability So far none of this seems to have had much effect on the sales of antidepressants in this country.
It is time for the profession to realize that we have far more effective options for the serious problem of depression. Fish oil and energy psychology tools really work and excluding them from anyone's treatment program should be grounds for medical negligence.
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