Peter Bregguin book

I wrote an e-mail to Dr. Peter Breggin and David Healy since they are the two psychiatrists that are studying the harm done by psych-drugs. I wanted to know what they had to say about the "International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities.

This is the answer I got from Mrs. Breggin:

Dear Ana, This is Ginger Breggin, Dr. Breggin's wife, responding.

Thank you for all you are doing to alert people to the hazards and dangers of psychiatric drugs. Your International Day project is very touching.

I would like to urge you to include information about Dr. Breggin's most recent book, that documents over 50 cases of lost or damaged lives due to 'spellbinding' from psychiatric meds.

Here is some text:

Medication Madness
The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases
of Violence, Suicide and Murder
by Peter Breggin, M.D.

Medication Madness reads like a medical thriller, true crime story, and courtroom drama; but it is firmly based in the latest scientific research and dozens of case studies. The lives of the children and adults in these stories, as well as the lives of their families and their victims, were thrown into turmoil and sometimes destroyed by the unanticipated effects of psychiatric drugs. In some cases our entire society was transformed by the tragic outcomes.

Many categories of psychiatric drugs can cause potentially horrendous reactions. Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, Xanax, lithium, Zyprexa and other psychiatric medications may spellbind patients into believing they are improved when too often they are becoming worse. Psychiatric drugs drive some people into psychosis, mania, depression, suicide, agitation, compulsive violence and loss of self-control without the individuals realizing that their medications have deformed their way of thinking and feeling.

Medications for everything from depression and anxiety to ADHD and insomnia are being prescribed in alarming numbers across the country, but the “cure” is often worse than the original problem.Medication Madness is a fascinating, frightening, and dramatic look at the role that psychiatric medications have played in fifty cases of suicide, murder, and other violent, criminal, and bizarre behaviors.

End of text.

The book completely backs up and further authenticates your and other individuals' experiences.

Let me know if I can provide you with anything else. Very best, Ginger

I don't have any doubt that we are dealing with crime against humanity. It is not only me who have already said it.
This is all unacceptable! I just wonder how many people will have to suffer due to this crazy medicine. Can these physicians sleep in peace?
Dear Lord! Thank you I can.

TGN1214 clinical trial - two e-mails I wrote in 2006 to BBC (repost)

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

TGN1214 clinical trial - asking the media to do a good job

I've just found two e-mails I wrote to BBC in march 2006. It's about the TGenero drug trial that made 6 volunteers very sick. As i wrote in this post , by the time Philip Dawdy wrote an e-mail for two reporters of the Wall Street Journal and Stephany wrote a letter to Thomas Laughren, that I use to send e-mails even knowing that I will not have any answer.

This is one of them:

March 19, 2006
Dear Sirs,
About the Parelex, TGenero drug trial:
It was a bless in disguise that this horror happened in UK. Now you have hurt in your country young English citizens, a New Zealander and that is the reason why it is being reported. How many times horrors like this must have happened and has not been revealed.
This is the only way to catch attention to this horror and all the harm that Pharmaceutical Industry is causing in UK and around the world.
I do not use to watch CNN. But as the drug trial scandal is not being well reported by BBC, as I wrote before, I begun to follow the news on CNN. And I found out the reason why you cannot give too much information on this. I could not imagine that in UK the Pharmaceutical Industry use to advertise in search for volunteers in newspapers. Young people, students and unemployed are the target group to participate on these tests. Please, keep on doing your trials on english volunteers. Do not only look for poor people around the world.
It is in the Parliament review:
"A strong pound sterling makes matters worse for overseas companies. For those reasons, companies are increasingly placing their Phase II and III trials outside the UK, in low cost areas such as Eastern Europe, Russia and India." p. 18
The phase I must be in Africa and, as ethics is the last thing Pharmaceutical Industry holds dear, without people consent.
Perhaps the reason is:
"There is a shortage of appropriately trained clinical investigators in the UK, and this reflects lack of investment in clinical research and problems with clinical training pathways." p. 17
The review is very good and accurate. Unfortunately nobody pays attention.
I was astonished that CNN made a good approach on the matter interviewing doctors and even questioning ethics of Laboratories. BBC kept on repeating how luck that man was because he received placebo. From now on I will pay more attention on other sources. I was naive to believe that BBC is highly committed with good journalism. But I like Tim Sebastian even though "The Doha Debates" does not require all the skills he has. He was much better in HARDtalk.
Sincerely yours,

I've received a reply but unfortunately I have not saved it but this is my answer:

Dear Mr. Giannini,

What I was trying to stress is that BBC did not put the TeGenero drug trial in a bigger approach.
In HARDtalk, Steven Sackur once said to a GlaxoSmith representative that this Laboratory is being regarded as very greedy.
I do not believe that BBC is not aware that Pharmaceutical Industry cares a lot about money. If you did not realize it refer yourself to the Business News. You will perhaps see a laboratory representative trying to explain to their shareholders that the antibiotics they sell is being tested to be used in many diseases as possible.
You have already made on Panorama a first step about the SSRIs problems and even Charles Medawar, from Social Audit, who is very concerned about this problem, was allowed to say three sentences. He also helped a lot with the Parliament review on "The Influence of Pharmaceutical Industry" and his name is on page 12.
As BBC kept on repeating that the laboratories need volunteers I begun to follow the news on CNN. And I found out one of the reasons why you cannot give too much information. I could not imagine that in UK the Pharmaceutical Industry use to advertise in search for volunteers in newspapers. Poor people, students and unemployed are the target group to participate on these tests. I was astonished that CNN made a good approach on the matter interviewing doctors and even questioning ethics of Laboratories. BBC, need more volunteers as Lady Janet Darbyshire kept on repeating. And "Almost half of all trial delays result from difficulties in finding volunteers, and that can equate with a company losing millions of pounds in sales for a new drug. " The Guardian.
The Parelex drug trial was reported because it has caused cytokine storm. The girl who claimed that her boyfriend was like "the elephant man" did not appear two days on BBC. You also forgot to say that the two of the must serious injured are in coma, perhaps for months. You forgot to report some others aspects of this scandal.
If you read http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1734446,00.html you will find more about this horror and also the story of a man who got sick in a "male pill" drug trial.
How many people got permanent damages in such trials but cannot complain for they suffer of a iatrogenic disease that has no name and they were paid to get sick?
I understand that you will not fight the Pharmaceutical Industry. But it was clear this time that you are protecting a lot.
Not only you. The MHRA, FDA, AMA.... Bush father....politicians. After all "It is the third most profitable economic activity after tourism and finance in UK."
And you can also rely on MHRA:
"The MHRA is looking at whether the reaction was caused by a manufacturing problem, contamination, a dosing error or whether it was some "completely unanticipated side-effect of the drug in humans".
Of course this has nothing to do with the drug. It was a contamination or manufacturing problem.
That is exactly what we cannot take any longer. The manipulation and the shameful way of depicting something tragic as a normal mistake are unacceptable.
We need to hear at least: "Certainly, action will be needed to stop any repetition of the tragedy that unfolded at Northwick Park. The sight of loved ones, horribly disfigured, will be indelibly fixed in the minds of friends and relatives who gathered by victims' bedsides" The Guardian
What I have learned from it all is not to rely on BBC's impartiality. I do not like CNN, but I will have the two views from now on. Unfortunately TV5-Monde became an entertainment channel and I have stop seeing it. If it had not changed I'm sure that they would have done a debate on this issue for it is a tragedy that has to do with health and have many aspects to be discussed. But in their News they explained how the drug trials are made in France and it is more ethical.
And of course keep on reading read newspapers.
I enjoy "The Doha Debate". Tim Sebastian is a very gifted man. But I believe it does not require all the skills he has. He was much better in HARDtalk.
I would love to see him in a Hardtalk with Simon Gregor, spokesman for the MHRA, Dr Thomas Hanke, TeGenero's chief scientific officer and some key persons who profit with this mad medicine that makes people sick, risks are more usual than benefits and even death is caused by medicines.
It is about time at least to start debating this vital issues that has to do with health. Does it sounds too idealistic? Guess so.
Sincerely yours,

SSRI antidepressants do not only promote violent behavior but many other problems

I just received a comment about "International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities" that made me realize how unaware people are of the problem.

SSRIs and SRNIs are drugs like Prozac and Effexor and they don't only causes violent behavior.

I will repost some data about other problems caused by this class of antidepressants. I am amazed that people are so unaware of this problem and think that they are not in danger. This is very serious and this is why many bloggers are trying hard without any payment to try to convey what the mainstream media doesn't because they are part of the problem.

It's a very hard job to make this blogs and I had to stop it because it really made me sad and was affecting me in a terrible way.

We are all saying what we have experienced or what we saw people experiencing and still some people think that we are here, I don't even know what they think. Read the blog! Read Furious Seasons, read Seroxat Sufferers, Alison Bass and many others. It's not only SSRI antidepressants: most of the medicines that are at the market are causing harms and I just stressed this because I think that if a healthy 19 years old woman hangs herself during a clinical trial, four other people were also hurt because of the same clinical trial and this information is not hidden and the drug is on the market I don't know what else can happen.

Medicine is corrupted that is the main problem. That is why Senator Charles Grassley is doing his job.

Excerpts from the review "The Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry" published in 2005:

Professional and patients Education p.25

74. Education for patients is provided in a variety of ways, including disease awareness campaigns, which are discussed in detail in Part 8.Such campaigns are designed to increase awareness among the general public of particular conditions that may be under-reported or under-diagnosed and to encourage people to seek treatment. Often, such campaigns are sponsored by a drug company and may bear a company ’s logo they may be also endorsed by a charity or patient organization and/or supported by a celebrity. P. 27

The promotion of Drugs

77. Prescription-only medicines may be promoted only to healthcare professionals, except in very specific cases such as Government-endorsed vaccination programmes. Promotion to prescribers may take many forms:

a) Drug company representatives. Approximately 8,000 drug company representatives operate in the UK and play an important role in information provision and. Many doctors cite them as one of the main sources of information on the use of new drugs.56 p.27/28

79. A critical element of the work of medical communications companies is the recruitment and training of key opinion leaders (KOLs), who are usually ‘authoritative third parties ’ such as physicians at the top of their field. These individuals may be paid to speak and write on behalf of the sponsoring pharmaceutical company. They attend medical conferences, for example, and may present research papers, take part in panel debates or field questions in oral sessions. The ' development' of KOLs, we were told, is a well-worked process involving all types of doctors (hospital consultants, clinical academics and GPs). P. 29

84. The direct advertising of prescription drugs to patients is prohibited. Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription-only medicines is permitted only in the US and New Zealand. p. 29

248…Dr Spence was especially concerned about the ‘Defeat Depression Campaign ’ and its effect on prescribing patterns and the public ’s perception of depression: [That campaign ] led to us being told that a third of people were depressed, that we should screen for it, that we should start using antidepressants early, and we did. If I think back five or ten years ago, we were diagnosing large numbers of people with depression, and we were prescribing many antidepressants. As time has gone on, I have certainly begun to realize that in some ways yes, there are many people who do have depression, but lots of people are just unhappy and that is a part of life. So there is a whole generation of people coming up who almost feel that being unhappy is and abnormal state, which, of course, it is not.210 p. 71/72

249.The ‘Defeat Depression Campaign ’ ((1992 –1997),which was run through the RCGP and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and sponsored by the manufacturers of antidepressants (who provided approximately one-third of the funding)targeted doctors as well as patients, in particular to emphasize that these drugs did not cause addiction or dependence. These claims have since been disputed and a warning about withdrawal symptoms is now included in the SPC. The Royal College of Psychiatrists provided supplementary evidence emphasizing that the Defeat depression Campaign had been intended to make it clear “that antidepressant treatment was not appropriate for mild to moderate depression, but effective only for severe or clinical depression ”.211 This important message evidently got lost; indeed there remains much confusion on this point today.212

The Royal College also told us it had recently reviewed its policies on accepting commercial sponsorship, and now aims to keep total income from these sources at around 5%of the College's annual turnover. Commercial sponsorship accounted for under £500,000 (5.5% on turnover of £9m) in 2003. p. 72

The concept of ‘genetic predisposition to disease’ is therefore one that has gained widespread acceptance in recent years. However, being genetically predisposed to a disease does not mean that it will actually develop – there is an environmental component that interacts with other biological factors, such as the presence of particular disease antibodies.

According to GeneWatch:

Increasingly, medication is now prescribed to reduce risk of future illness. Selling medication to treat risk factors rather than diseases is immensely profitable for the pharmaceutical industry: or example, statins (to lower cholesterol levels) are now the biggest selling prescription drugs in the world [and are also now available over the counter ]220 p. 75

I am tired! I will take a break because it is there are so many information that it amazes me that I have to publish it all over again!
Why can't the mainstream media do the job? Why physicians, psychiatrists in the case of this blog, don't raise their voices?
No. They say to their patients: "No! You are not hallucinating and having ataxia because of the drug." "It is all in your head."
I will make a collection of posts "Psych-drugs problems for beginners" and publish the links but not today or tomorrow because I have to easy my mind.
I'm tired of having my words put in disbelief or having to explain it over and over again and look like a lunatic because after all the side effects and withdrawal symptoms are so serious that it is really hard to believe. People simply don't believe that a drug can induce violent behavior. But if a man beats his while while drunk it was because of the alcohol. Funny!
Maybe making a post like this can help.
Or maybe it's time to stop trying to raise awareness. It's too damn hard! Too damn hard!

Christopher Pittman - a 12 years old boy who killed his grandparents while taking the SSRI antidepressant Zoloft

Christopher Pittman case is at many sites but I only became aware of it today. This is part of the story at The Juvenile Foundation at this page:

Christopher Pittman

Christopher Pittman at 12 years of age was charged as an adult for the murder of his grandparents.

These crimes were committed while Christopher was under the influence of Zoloft, having an adverse reaction to an adult medication prescribed to him that was not approved for children under the age of 18.

Christopher was held in a South Carolina juvenile detention center as a 5'2', 96 pound 6th grader for 3 years and did not sit before a jury until he had grown to be a 6'1' and 150 pound young man at the age of 15.

He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

His sentence is the minimum mandatory sentence allowed by South Carolina laws.

At the age of 12 without the benefit of legal representation or a parent being present, he was allowed to waive his Miranda rights with no audio or video taping and gave multiple statements to the interrogators.

Christopher was questioned with no adult or attorney present and was not told his father was outside the room demanding to see his son.

This was Christopher's first offense

Update:
I changed the title because I did a mistake saying that he killed his father when it was his grandparents.

How to join "International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities" at Bloggers Unite

This is the badge for the event and you can find it at Blogger Unite's page. Join the event if you want. It's not mandatory to write a post. You can just join if you feel like.
I hope people join it because I think it is an opportunity to raise awareness about SSRI's side effects like violent behavior, suicide and homicide. and also raise other problems like addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
If you want you can check at SSRI Stories to see how many people are reported to have committed suicide or homicides. Other violent behaviors are at the site.
Thank you.

Update:
These are yesterday's reports at SSRI Stories:

Crime Against Humanity	SSRIs/SNRIS/Antidepressants	2010-02-01	Global	++New Book by Lilly Executive Claims Drugmakers Knew of Potential for Homicides, Mass Shootings, etc
Suicide	Antidepressants	2010-02-01	England	Depressed Man Who Fell for Internet Dating Scam Kills Himself
Murder	Antidepressant	2010-02-01	Canada	14 Year Old Girl Kills 3 Year Old Boy
Murder	Prozac	2010-02-02	Alabama	Man Kills Police Officer During an Investigation Into a Crash
Shooting	Med For Depression	2010-02-02	Tennessee	Man Shoots Five Times: Then Gun Jammed: One Child Injured
Assault	Med For Depression	2010-02-02	California	Successful Businessman Burglarizes Student's Dorm Room & Tries to Molest Her

**	Indicates a school shooting or school incident. * Indicates a legal case won using SSRI defense. ++ Indicates an important journal article. + Indicates a highly publicized case. num An age <>

Invite your blog friends if possible.

Update:

SSRI - list of 58 withdrawal symptoms

This is the most complete list of SSRIs withdrawal symptoms I have found till now:

ANTIDEPRESSANT WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS.

1. Crying spells
2. Worsened mood
3. Low energy (fatigue, lethargy, malaise)
4. Trouble concentrating
5. Insomnia or trouble sleeping
6. Change in appetite
7. Suicidal thoughts
8. Suicide attempts
9. Anxious, nervous, tense
10. Panic attacks (racing heart, breathless)
11. Chest pain
12. Trembling, jittery,or shaking
13. Irritability
14. Agitation (restlessness, hyperactivity)
15. Impulsivity
16. Aggressiveness
17. Self-harm
18. Homicidal thoughts or urges
19. Confusion or cognitive difficulties
20. Memory problems or forgetfulness
21. Elevated mood (feeling high)
22. Mood swings
23. Manic-like reactions
24. Auditory hallucinations
25. Visual hallucinations
26. Feeling detached or unreal
27. Excessive or intense dreaming
28. Nightmares
29. Flu-like aches and pains
30. Fever
31. Sweats
32. Chills
33. Runny nose
34. Sore eyes
35. Nausea
36. Vomiting
37. Diarrhea
38. Abdominal pain or cramps
39. Stomach bloating
40. Disequilibrium
41. Spinning, swaying, lightheaded
42. Hung over or waterlogged feeling
43. Unsteady gait, poor coordination
44. Motion sickness
45. Headache
46. Tremor
47. Numbness, burning, or tingling
48. Electric zap-like sensations in the brain
49. Electric shock-like sensations in the body
50. Abnormal visual sensations
51. Ringing or other noises in the ears
52. Abnormal smells or tastes
53. Drooling or excessive saliva
54. Slurred speech
55. Blurred vision
56. Muscle cramps, stiffness, twitches
57. Feeling of restless legs
58. Uncontrollable twitching of mouth

Reading these words does not give an idea of what does it really is to feel these symptoms.

Call for action: International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities at Bloggers Unite

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International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities

http://justana-justana.blogspot.com/2010/01/februa…

February 07, 2010

Objective:
Raise Awareness about SSRIs violent behavior that has already killed many people and changed some people's lives that took these medicines.

SSRIs are being prescribed not only for those who are suffering Major Depression but also for people who are in distress because of life problems.
These antidepressants such as Prozac, Effexor, Paxil/Seroxat, Zoloft, Cymbalta and many others promote serious side effects, are very hard to withdraw and many people have already reported the hell they have to go through while tapering them.
One of the most terrible side effects, also a withdrawal symptom, is suicidal ideation that is not triggered by the disease that has led physicians to prescribe them but it's drug-induced.
Traci Johnson, a 19 years-old healthy volunteer hanged herself during Cymbalta clinical trials and was found dead in 7th February 2004
That is why this is the date for the International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities.
Violent behavior also leads people who are taking SSRIs, lost dosages or are withdrawing to harm other people as is demonstrated by reports of people who have killed induced by antidepressants.
Patients are not informed of these problems and many others like the teratogenic effects that has already been reported by some women who took SSRIs while pregnant.
Although there are many testimonies at the Web FDA, physicians and laboratories do not consider them as a source to Post Marketing Surveillance Trial which is the 4th phase of clinical trials.
They just claim that these testimonies are only anecdote evidence and not scientific data.
This are some of the aspects of this serious problem mental healthy and all the population of the world are facing: medicines that can make you kill yourself or others among other side effects.
It has already gone too far. People have the right to be informed about all of these harms and also that the theory that SSRI's antidepressants were done is an hypothesis that is questioned by serious psychiatrists.
I hope we can make people know what kind of problems they are facing when prescribed an SSRI antidepressant.

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SSRI do Cause Permanent Sexual Dysfunction - a video-testimony

This was the first video about PSSD:
Some people will never have a sexual life because of the use of a SSRI antidepressant during adolescence or even prior to adolescence.


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shasanni (2 months ago) Show Hide

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o my goodness.....

emotobot (3 months ago) Show Hide

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Thank you so much for having the courage to speak up about this issue. Despite the denial of of drug companies and the medical community, post -antidepressant sexual dysfunction is a real and devastating problem. I took ssris for a week to help combat anxiety related to university exams. Five months later I am still completely unable to enjoy sex, and no doctor can tell me why or whether the condition will ever improve.

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the aftermath of 2 months of ssris has literally destroyed my life, one of the many ways it did this is lessened libido which contributed to ending my relationship. Im 18 and it feels like its all over.

rubberjohnny84 (4 months ago) Show Hide

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i have almost complete ed since taking anti-depressants for about 2 years. I'm 24 and in all honesty i question very much whether or not I wish to live out a life like this.

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I used antidepressants for less than 1 yr when I was in college and my sex drive went to almost zero when I stopped the drug and has not returned after many yrs. Although my sex drive was somewhat less while on the drug , the dramatic decrease came when i stopped taking it so I never connected the drug to sexual dysfunction .
Dr Kessler, former head of theFDA says that <1%>

hiya192 (6 months ago) Show Hide

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omg.
I was talking to my friend today who's 17 and is on Zoloft. She told me that she's lost her drive, and I just cannot believe that it can have permanent effects. This is truly pathetic as far as medicine goes, these are things that really can affect someone socially. Anti-depressants? I think not.

psychawareness (7 months ago) Show Hide

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I was on SSRI/SNRI agents from 14 to 22 years of age. I have many PSSD symptoms. Been a year since discontinuance.

kataridragon (9 months ago) Show Hide

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Wow. I met this girl in my home town and things went swimmingly in our relationship but she seemed to have problems with affection both physical and mental. In short she didn't seem to have a sense of sexuality or sex drive. I knew she took anti-depressants and I didn't realize that the anti depressants she took might actually be the problem.
Thanks for making this video.

stevosteebs (9 months ago) Show Hide

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you helped me bro, in understanding the problems im having with cipralex(anti-di) im getting the same thing and we are trying for a baby..cant thank you enough! x

Raedor (10 months ago) Show Hide

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Very brave and very well put. Its just such a shame thatas of now we do not have an answer to this problem.
Sometimes I feel as if I am getting back to normality, yet, like many, 6 months of Prozac some 7 years ago destroyed my libido and it has never recovered.
I feel that though Prozac is great for depression the side effects far outweigh any benefits.

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In your eyes by Peter Gabriel

A moment for peace.

Bloggers Unite has NIDA as sponsor and it uses pharmacotherapy to drug-addiction and claims that psychosis increases the likelihood for drug addiction

I put an update at the post February 7 - International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities saying that I created an event for this day to be accepted.

I don't think it will since one of their sponsors is NIDA

as you can see below. I believe that the pharmas are everywhere. It is amazing! No Bloggers Unite for an event that tells the truth about SSRIs. In Brazil some drug addicts are being treated with Zyprexa and I have already published the harm it is causing at this post.

They end up being addicted to street drug and Zyprexa.

National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA's mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. This charge has two critical components. The first is the strategic support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines. The second is ensuring the rapid and effective dissemination and use of the results of that research to significantly improve prevention, treatment and policy as it relates to drug abuse and addiction. http://www.nida.nih.gov/

"The following are some specific aspects of drug abuse treatment that should inform customized treatment strategies.

• Behavioral Therapy. Evidence-based interventions include cognitive behavioral therapy to help participants learn positive social and coping skills and to utilize contingency management approaches with them to reinforce positive change. Motivational enhancement through the provision of abstinence-based incentives can increase engagement and retention. A goal of treatment planning should be to match evidence-based interventions to individual needs at each stage of drug treatment.
• The Case for Pharmacotherapies. Effective interventions often include pharmacotherapies, or medicines targeting drug abuse and addiction. We at NIDA are hopeful that just as psychotropic medications for conditions like depression or psychosis are starting to be used in criminal justice settings, medications proven effective in treating the disease of addiction can also become part of a comprehensive treatment regimen. Presently, though, despite evidence of their effectiveness, addiction medications are under-utilized and are all but absent within offender populations. For the offender with both mental and substance use disorders, effective use of pharmacotherapies can be instrumental in his or her ability to function successfully in society.
• Consideration of Co-morbidities. Comorbid mental disorders are major risk factors for drug abuse and addiction. Children and adolescents with depression, conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, or learning disabilities are at much higher risk of abusing drugs than other youth. It is important to adequately assess mental disorders to address them as part of effective drug abuse treatment. Early recognition and treatment of mental illness will help prevent drug abuse, and more effective strategies applied with young people who suffer from co-morbid mental and drug abuse disorders will likely improve their prognosis."
• 
  

I don't know what to say for the moment. It is hard! Too hard.

Some facts about neurotransmitters that make SSRI antidepressants a very questionable medicines

I did publish it under another title in December, 2008:

"These are some facts that puzzle me:

Here: "Neurotransmitter is a specialized messenger cell that transfers or sends information from one type of cell to another. Scientists have managed to identify over 100 neurotransmitters in the human brain alone, but evidence suggests we have significantly more than this number. An unfortunate aspect of not being able to identify all neurotransmitter cells is that researchers, especially those developing medications to act on specific messenger cells, can’t always determine why or how medications work or fail to work. (emphasis mine)

You’re probably familiar with some of the identified neurotransmitter names. These include dopamine, GABA, serotonin, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine. Each of these performs some specific functions in the body. For instance serotonin is indicated in mood stability, emotional response, and temperature control. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that allows for the person to willfully or voluntarily use his or her muscles. While researchers can suggest the possible effects of certain neurotransmitters, they not only haven’t identified them all, but also are nowhere near determining all effects of the messenger cells that have been identified."

Here: "The neurotransmitters work by interacting with receptors. These are minute areas on the nerve or other cells that make the cell respond in the appropriate way. Some psychiatric drugs block these receptors, reducing the effect of a neurotransmitter. Others increase the level of a neurotransmitter, so its effects last longer. Because they all interact, changing the level of one neurotransmitter will change others; so however well a drug is targeted towards a particular receptor, it will have a knock-on effect on the whole system. One knock-on effect of many psychiatric drugs is to suppress acetylcholine, and this causes some of the side effects people experience."(emphasis mine)

Here: "The SSRIs are not selective for anything except that they act on all serotonin in the body.
Only 5% of this is in the brain. Five per cent. The other 95% is found throughout the body with large amounts being found in: the digestive system (stomach movement); the cardiovascular system (blood flow); blood cells (clotting); reproductive system (genitals); hormonal system (widespread effects on lots of physiological processes). All of which is acted upon by the drug. All of it."

Here: "Since we don’t understand the precise mechanism of each neurotransmitter or the true number of all that exist, we also can’t understand how medications, foods, or environmental exposure may affect these chemical messengers. Scientists and researchers must make educated guesses based on what is known, but the plethora of unknown information on these cells equates these theories to trying to playing darts in total darkness. Sometimes the guesses are pretty good; SSRIs for instance are reasonably effective for a lot of people. Other times these theories fail to work, since we’re guessing about what is essentially undiscovered territory, and we have no idea what other effects might be caused by raising or decreasing levels of certain chemicals made by the body."

Are you confused?"

I'm still confused but researchers and physicians still swear antidepressants SSRIs are great for depression - funny that one of the side effects is depression -, headache, back pain and who knows what more.
They have even created a Prozac for dogs.

February 7 - International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities

This is Traci Johnson is a 19 years-old healthy volunteer for Cymbalta clinical trial for urinary incontinence in 2003. She hanged herself at Eli-Lylli's clinic in Indianapolis in February, 7, 2004. According to Wikipedia:

"A suicide of 19-year-old Traci Johnson, a healthy volunteer in a duloxetine clinical pharmacology study, was highly publicized. For about a month she had been given high doses of duloxetine, and then she was switched to placebo. Four days after the switch, she hanged herself with her scarf from a shower rod in the bathroom of Lilly Laboratory for Clinical Research.^[65][66] The New York Times article mentioned a withdrawal syndrome as a possible reason for this suicide."

I always thought about changing the avatar but whenever I looked at this bright smile it gave me courage to keep going for it is not easy to deal with this subject and most of the friends I met because of this blog that are dealing with psych-drugs harms feel the same. I wish I did not know about it all but I cannot stop trying to raise awareness because these drugs are destroying lives.

Last year I did a post in February in Tracy Johnson's memory and I have already scheduled this year post but today morning I thought that it was not enough.
So I though about dedicating this day to all those people who have their lives changed because of SSRI harm.

I wrote an e-mail to some of my friends and this is the outcome of my idea with their inputs:

February 7 - International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities *

SSRI fatalities are those who have died violently due to homicide of suicide induced by SSRIs and now there are newborns that suffer heart malformations or any other teratogenic disturbance.
I would also like to remember people that have their quality of life changed because of the use of SSRI as a teenager.
Those who are not aware of these facts may be asking themselves why is it happening or even if it is true that a drug that has killed during clinical trial can be at the market.
You just got your answer: "market". We are talking about money and corruption is the reason of so many distress in this world.



I will change my picture next 7th February and leave Tracy Johnson in peace. I want to thank her for all these months she was here by my side.

R.I.P. Tracy Johnson

I want to thank my blog friends that helped me and encouraged me to keep going:

Bob Fiddaman at Seroxat Sufferers
Mark p.s. 2 at Psychiatric Survivor
Matthew at It's quite an experience
Susan at If you're going through hell keep going

Needles to say that without them I would not be able to do it.

* This is the Awareness Ribbon for the International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities created by Aloisio Congrejo, an italian Second Life artist that was kind enough to do it when I asked him. You can see some of his works at Flickr. Thank you very much Aloisio!

Update:
I just did an event at Bloggers Unite and I am waiting if they will accept it.

Do you want an appointment with Dr. Kayoko Kifuji? Here is the address with map and directions!

This is where you can find Dr. Kayoko Kifuji, the psychiatrist that has diagnosed a 2 years-old girl, Rebecca Riley, as bipolar and prescribed her 200 mg Seroquel; 750 mg Depakote and 35 mg cloridine.
I took Depakote for six months and felt terrible lower back pain and could hardly move my neck. I also felt other side effects that I don't remember and it all went away when I stopped it
Seroquel is used as an antipsycothic and now for depression although it doesn't alter serotonine - the culprit of depression according to the chemical imbalance theory that is an hypothesis that was used by the pharmaceutical industries to make people believe they understood the origin of depression.
Seroquel deals with dopamine that is the culprit of psychosis according to other hypothesis.
It makes one sleep almost instantly and is being used as date rape pill as well as of Rohipnol.

Seroquel is also very hard to withdraw to some people but physicians are not aware of this tiny little problem.

But I digress. Rebecca Riley died two years after starting taking this cocktail and her mother, that was also taking Paxil/Seroxat/Aropax is being accused of overdosing Rebecca.

Dr. Kayoko Kifuji is not considered guilty of anything.

If you are near to Boston here is the place you can find her:

Home | Search | My Account

Home > Massachusetts > Psychiatry > Psychiatry Results > Add To My Doctors Name: Kayoko Kifuji Practice Name: Profession: Psychiatry - Psychiatry Phone: Insurance: Address Information Address: City: Boston State: Massachusetts Zip: 02111 Country: US 1km 1mi ©2010 Yahoo! Inc. Directions to this location.

GOOD LUCK!
You can take a look at her photo at the post below so that you don't mistaken her with another doctor. I wonder if it makes a difference changing psychiatrists.But I digress again. Go, go!