Book Review: Natural remedies for psychiatric conditions

Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs

by Ethan Russo, MD

The Haworth Press, Inc. 10 Alice Street, Binghampton, New York 13904 USA; 800-429-6784; sales@haworthpress.com

Softcover, 2001, $29.95, 352 pp.

In the late 1980s the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) burst upon the psychiatric landscape, and fueled by massive advertising campaigns, these new "miraculous" drugs for depression began to generate enormous profits from the ensuing parade of pharmaceuticals: fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), and citalopram (Celexa). A major change in the treatment of psychiatric disorders came with the new drugs: family doctors began to prescribe them--to children as young as four--and today we are seeing the sequelae of suicidal ideation in young people taking these drugs, as well as aggression (most of the school shooters, such as Columbine, were taking one of the SSRIs)

Now that we know the deadly side effects of these drugs, it seems imperative to find alternatives to the SSRIs. Although many people use herbs occasionally, most are unaware of a number of well-researched herbs found to be effective in treating depression, insomnia, dementia and cognitive impairment, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Ethan Russo, MD, author of several books on psychotropic herbs, and a well-known neurologist with vast clinical experience, has remedied this lack with the Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs.

Dr. Russo's books are solidly rooted in scientific data. His analysis of herbal remedies for psychiatric conditions includes history of usage, botany, preparation of extracts, and the newest research, making his Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs a unique and reliable resource for practitioners.

Continues at link

Five Reasons Not to Take SSRI Antidepressants

Great article from Psychology Today. Edited for brevity; please visit the link

Lennard J. Davis is professor of disability studies, medical education, and English literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the author of Obsession: A History.

Now that SSRIs don't work for depression, don't take them!
Published on January 7, 2010

For the past five years, and in my recent book OBSESSION: A HISTORY, I have been questioning the effectiveness of Prozac-like drugs known as SSRIs. I've pointed out that when the drugs first came out in the early 1990's there was a wildly enthusiastic uptake in the prescribing of such drugs. Doctors were jubilantly claiming that the drugs were 80-90 per cent effective in treating depression and related conditions like OCD. In the last few years those success rates have been going down, with the NY Times pointing out that the initial numbers had been inflated by drug companies supressing the studies that were less encouraging. But few if any doctors or patients were willing to hear anything disparaging said about these "wonder" drugs.

Now the tune has changed.

Reason One: A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that SSRI's like Paxil and Prozac are no more effective in treating depression than a placebo pill.
...

Reason Two: A January 4 article in MedPage Today cites a study done at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins. The study says that doctors routinely prescribe not one but two or three SSRI's and other psychopharmological drugs in combination with few if any serious studies to back up the multiple usage.
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Reason Three: More and more psychiatric disorders are appearing that might be called "lifestyle" diseases. What was called shyness, sadness, restlessness, shopping too much, high sex drive, low sex drive, and so on have increasingly been seen as diseases and many more will appear in the new DSM
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Reason Four: We're an over-medicated society, and the goal of drug companies and a compliant and harried medical establishment is ultimately to have some drug coursing through every individuals' s bloodstream.
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Reason Five: The whole serotonin hypothesis is challenged by these findings.
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What Should You Do? Think twice, be skeptical, and question a simplistic diagnosis you might receive after discussing your condition for a short time with a rushed practitioner.
...

Link

UK: Increase in Long-Term Antidepressant Use, Study Reveals

"A dramatic rise in antidepressant prescriptions issued by GPs has been caused by a year on year increase in the number of people taking antidepressant drugs on a long-term basis, according to researchers from the University of Southampton.
In a paper, published in the printed edition of British Medical Journal (BMJ), scientists found that despite a drop in the number of new patients diagnosed with depression over 11 years, the number of prescriptions doubled.
"We estimate that more than 2 million people are now taking antidepressants long-term over several years, in particular women aged between 18 and 30," comments Tony Kendrick, a professor in Primary Medical Care of the University's School of Medicine, who led the study.
The number of prescriptions issued per patient rose from 2.8 in 1993 to 5.6 in 2004.
Prescription Pricing Authority data shows that more than 30 million prescriptions for SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Prozac and Seroxat, are now issued per year, twice as many as the early 1990s. Researchers at the University of Southampton found 90 per cent of people diagnosed with depression are now taking SSRIs either continuously or as repeated courses over several years.
Professor Kendrick adds: "Our previous research found that although these drugs are said not to be addictive, many patients found it difficult to come off them, due to withdrawal symptoms including anxiety. Many wanted more help from their GP to come off the drugs. We don't know how many really need them and whether long-term use is harmful. This has similarities to the situation with Valium in the past."
The research team analysed all new cases of depression between 1993 and 2005 from anonymous computerised general practice records covering 170 GP surgeries and 1.7 million registered patients."

Link

Video: Alison Bass, Journalist and Paxil Whistleblower, Gives a Talk

Visit Alison Bass at her site here.
Now comes news that Paxil is being touted to help cancer sufferers think more clearly. But chemo cancer therapy itself can cause brain fog, as we have seen, and if cancer is a fungus, this therapy is wrong.
What do YOU think?

Furious Seasons: "Another Fine SSRI Withdrawal Story"

Here. Don't miss the comments.

April 20th: Anniversary of Columbine Shooting

Today marks a sad anniversary - the
Columbine High School massacre. Did medications cause the Columbine shootings - and many others?


Film by Gary Null, 2005

'In the absence of any objective medical tests to determine who has ADD or ADHD, doctors rely in part on standardized assessments and the impressions of teachers and guardians while the they administer leave little room for other causes or aggravating factors, such as diet, or environment. Hence, diagnosing a child or adolescent with ADD or ADHD is often the outcome, although no organic basis for either disease has yet to be clinically proven. Psychiatrists may then prescribe psychotropic drugs for the children without first without making it clear to parents that these medications can have severe side-effects including insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, psychotic symptoms and even potentially fatal adverse reactions, such as cardiac arrhythmia. And yet, despite these dangers, many school systems actually work with government agencies to force parents to drug their children, threatening those who refuse with the prospect of having their children taken from the home unless they coooperate.'

PDF: Treatment-related mania: antidepressants can cause bipolar disorder

Since product infomation documents and inserts WARN of these very side effects, isn't it time we stopped this?

Statistics on antidepressant murders, suicides and other tragedies are here

This is Dr. Ann Blake Tracy's site on the dangers of psychotropic drugs: Drugawareness.org