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

Hypothyroid and Suicide - an SSRI Connection?

Could the effects of Fluoride-related ingredients in Accutane, SSRI's and other medications that require Black Box warnings, be the cause of thyroid damage leading to suicidal ideation and acts? Could thyroid damage also be the cause of Bipolar disorder that sometimes emerges during antidepressant treatment?
Click on the image to see it in larger size, and on the PDF link to read the article in full.
Hypothyroid Presenting As Psychosis -Link to PDF



Thyroid-Disrupting Chemicals: Interpreting Upstream Biomarkers
of Adverse Outcomes

German school murderer was on antidepressant medication

'It emerged that (Tim) Kretschmer had been suffering from depression, even attending a clinic and receiving medication for the condition.

The 17-year-old had far from excelled at Albertville. His parents – his father Joerg was a wealthy owner of a packaging firm employing 150 people – had removed him from the state secondary in 2007 and sent him to a private school. His grades were poor and teachers were unimpressed.

The Kretschmers hired a tutor. She felt the boy had problems. "He was a really strange boy – introverted and closed," she told German newspapers. "But he did love his cat."

Kretschmer tried sport – especially table tennis – but wasn't very good. Over the years he became more and more interested in just two passions: violent computer games and guns. The teenager was obsessed with Counter-Strike, a 'shoot 'em up' game in which special forces have to kill terrorists to win. He was good, his few friends said. He was also, they added, a fine shot.'

Story here

Some Information on Antidepressant Harm

Read about antidepressant toxicity and brain damage here.

Update: Antidepressants plus other substances can make you behave very oddly. A story has just come in from the UK that one man, behaving erratically while on antidepressant meds and alcohol, was shot and killed by police.
Story here.