The evidence has mounted yet again regarding the need for doctors to wise up about the side effects of drugs when prescribing medications to their patients.
Why? According to a study, taking selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Paxil can cause acute gastrointestinal bleeding similar to that prompted by aspirin and related painkillers.
The Study
Researchers reviewed the medical records of some 550 patients admitted to hospitals for acute gastrointestinal bleeding and found that continual use of the antidepressants in question were responsible for a risk of bleeding similar to that caused by ongoing use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as:
In defense, the company that makes Prozac, Eli Lilly, argued the possibility of bleeding was a potential side effect already listed and that patients were cautioned about it in information that accompanied the medication.
Yet despite the argument, the reality remains: Gastrointestinal bleeding from NSAIDS is responsible for an alarming 16,000 deaths in the United States each year. Will SSRIs boost that statistic?
MSNBC May 16, 2005
Gary Craig's Comments:
EFT has successfully reduced or eliminated depression on many occasions without the use of drugs, thus eliminating the gastrointensinal bleeding mentioned above. Further, the result is often permanent. As an example, go to the EFT Web site and read "30 plus years of depression gone in 2 minutes."