SSRI Drugs
by Julian Whitaker, M.D. (edited for length)
According to a 1995 article in the Archives of Internal Medicine, adverse reactions to prescription drugs kill almost 200,000 people each year, making them the third-leading cause of death after cancer and heart disease. This does not include fatal reactions to prescription drugs that go unreported or, more commonly, are blamed on the disease being treated.
Incredibly, doctors and patients alike jump on the bandwagon as if they have nothing to lose. This article is an illustrative case in point. It deals with drugs that terrify me most: antidepressant drugs that increase the level of serotonin in the brain. This is one bandwagon it would be best for you to miss.
When I first heard about the Columbine High School massacre, my initial thought was, "Lord help us, were they taking Prozac?" Nine days later, it was reported that Eric Harris, one of the shooters, was taking Luvox, which like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, belongs to the class of drugs known as selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's). In one out of 25 children taking it, Luvox causes mania, "a psychosis characterized by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur...and overproduction of ideas."
Guns Are Blamed, but What About Prescription drugs?
Likely due to pressure from the pharmaceutical industry - heavy advertisers in all media - the national debate on the epidemic of teen violence has ignored the widespread use of prescription drugs in teens and particularly those who have committed monstrous acts. However the drug-violence link is frighteningly common. Fifteen year old Shawn Cooper of Notus, Idaho, fired a shotgun at students and school staff. According to his stepfather, he had been taking an SSRI. Thirteen year old Chris Fetters of Iowa killed her favorite aunt. She was taking Prozac.
Kip Konkel, a 15 year old youth, went on a rampage in Oregon. He first shot and killed his parents, spent the night with the bodies (characteristic of the dissociative reactions these drugs cause), then killed two and wounded 22 of his fellow students at Thurston High School. He was taking Prozac.
And SRRI's don't backfire in children only. In November of 1991, 66 year old Barbara Mortenson attacked her 81 year old mother, biting her more than 20 times and leaving chunks of flesh strewn on the floor. Barbara had been taking Prozac for the previous two weeks. Kristine Marie Cushing, age 39, had been separated from her husband for several months. In October 1991, she took a .38 caliber pistol and shot and killed both of her children, Elizabeth, age 8, and Stephanie Marie, age 4, while they lay sleeping in their beds, then shot herself, inflicting a non-fatal wound. Prosecutors stated that they "couldn't find one iota of information to show that she was anything but a giving, caring and sweet human being." After a plea of insanity, she was committed to a mental institution. She had been taking Prozac.
These Drugs Alter Brain Function
The explosive nature of these drugs is predictable. Studies show that they can cause a condition known as akathisia. Akathisia comes from the Greek word meaning "can't sit still" and refers to significant physical and mental agitation. Akathisia is to violence what a match is to gasoline. This condition has been reported in one out of sixteen Prozac users, but its incidence is likely under- reported because Prozac also causes mania, hypomania, anxiety and restlessness, which are first cousins of akathisia.
A recent evaluation of the usage of Prozac and other SSRI's, it was found that nearly 70% of those who are prescribed the drug do not take it as prescribed, probably do to undesirable side effects,. Imagine that, for a drug touted to make people feel better!
Furthermore, there are no studies demonstrating that that taking any antidepressant prevents suicide or violent behavior. In fact, according to Peter Breggin, M.D., author of Your Drug May Be Your Problem, "there is substantial evidence that many classes of drugs - including antidepressants, such as SSRI's - can cause or exacerbate depression, suicide, paranoia and violence.
Even The Bright Side Of SSRI's Is Dark
As Dr. Breggin points out in his earlier book, Talking Back to Prozac, these drugs rob people of their humanity- they lose their capacity for empathy. "A lot of what we are seeing is individuals losing their feeling for the people in their lives. They stop caring about their husbands or wives or children. They stop caring about God." Though zombie-like numbness may initially be felt to be an improvement by someone with depression, it can hardly be considered healthy, or even desirable
It is this loss of empathy, in my opinion, that allowed Kip Kinkel to kill both of his parents, then spend the night in the same room before heading out to shoot his classmates in Oregon. It is precisely why Eric Harris could wander about shooting his classmates in Columbine High School, even kids he liked, and laugh about it.
It is beyond my comprehension how any doctor could knowingly prescribe a drug that may generate violence and numb the individual to its consequences!
Recommendations
w If you are currently taking a SSRI, do not stop it cold turkey - this can be more dangerous than staying on the drug. It should be tapered off very slowly under the direction of your physician.
w Three books I highly recommend are Ann Blake Tracy's Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? (which may be ordered by calling 800 280-0730) and Peter Breggin's Your Drug May Be Your Problem and Talking Back to Prozac (both available in bookstores).
w Two other websites for obtaining detailed information on the human tragedies and the dark side of "happiness in a bottle" are Dr. Tracy's International Coalition for Drug Awareness at http://drugawareness.org and the Prozac Survivor's Support Group at http://pssg.org.
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