A member of my family was nearly suicidal this past weekend and has
been on Prozac for several years. In this case the prescription was
stopped for six weeks (too "busy" to refill the prescription), then
started again for a week, then stopped again when on a family vacation for
the weekend (forgot it at home). The second day into being off of it
again, resulted in a trip to the emergency room for safety due to thoughts
of suicide.
Cleary the on again, off again nature has more to do with this,
medicinally, than anything else, but to what extent does the effects of
Prozac have? That's what I am attempting to uncover now. How appropriate
that this issue was again brought to the public eye at this time?
Further, my son is ADHD is on low doses of Adderall. I have been
fighting with his mom (my ex-wife) to maintain a regimen of therapy and
behavior modification, with the Adderall as an aid only.
My hope is to eventually ween him off the Adderall as he learns how
to deal with his issues. This is not to say, however, that I feel that he
shouldn't take the medicine. I just don't feel that it is the be all and
end all of his treatment.
I took it upon myself to research all available alternatives. This
research included, but was not limited to, interviewing several doctors
that are reputable in this field in order to form a qualified opinion to
the best of my ability.
The bottom line message that one must take from the Prozac, and
similar, stories, and from Dr. Sobo's reply and articles is one of
reasonability, the forest from the trees, as it were.
Too often we, as humans, get caught up in extremes. I have found,
dealing with the public daily, that there are generally THREE sides to
every story...not two. "My" side, "your" side and what is actually the
case.
The pharmaceutical industry is not "evil", nor is it the answer to
all our ailments. Too often we see profits outweighing sound medical
decisions while the original intent is to cure.
The fact is that we are all responsible for what I would call "due
diligence". Question why a drug or treatment is being prescribed. What can
one expect? What are the potential side effects? Is this the right
treatment for me? Get a second, third, fourth, etc., opinion if you are
not satisfied.
We hear these words time and again but rarely heed them. It is far
too easy to sit back and wait for something to go wrong, blame someone
else, and say we didn't know. This is similar to suing McDonalds for
burning yourself on a hot cup of coffee.
Doctors should be looked up to for their knowledge as well as their
ability to help and heal. However, they are also human and can make
mistakes. We carry a responsibilty to learn all we can to augment
treatment.
Of course, all the so-called "due diligence" in the world is
worthless if the information one seeks is being deliberately withheld.
Therein lies the true story here.
Rapid Response:
Re: Your coverage is sensationalist
A member of my family was nearly suicidal this past weekend and has been on Prozac for several years. In this case the prescription was stopped for six weeks (too "busy" to refill the prescription), then started again for a week, then stopped again when on a family vacation for the weekend (forgot it at home). The second day into being off of it again, resulted in a trip to the emergency room for safety due to thoughts of suicide.
Cleary the on again, off again nature has more to do with this, medicinally, than anything else, but to what extent does the effects of Prozac have? That's what I am attempting to uncover now. How appropriate that this issue was again brought to the public eye at this time?
Further, my son is ADHD is on low doses of Adderall. I have been fighting with his mom (my ex-wife) to maintain a regimen of therapy and behavior modification, with the Adderall as an aid only.
My hope is to eventually ween him off the Adderall as he learns how to deal with his issues. This is not to say, however, that I feel that he shouldn't take the medicine. I just don't feel that it is the be all and end all of his treatment.
I took it upon myself to research all available alternatives. This research included, but was not limited to, interviewing several doctors that are reputable in this field in order to form a qualified opinion to the best of my ability.
The bottom line message that one must take from the Prozac, and similar, stories, and from Dr. Sobo's reply and articles is one of reasonability, the forest from the trees, as it were.
Too often we, as humans, get caught up in extremes. I have found, dealing with the public daily, that there are generally THREE sides to every story...not two. "My" side, "your" side and what is actually the case.
The pharmaceutical industry is not "evil", nor is it the answer to all our ailments. Too often we see profits outweighing sound medical decisions while the original intent is to cure.
The fact is that we are all responsible for what I would call "due diligence". Question why a drug or treatment is being prescribed. What can one expect? What are the potential side effects? Is this the right treatment for me? Get a second, third, fourth, etc., opinion if you are not satisfied.
We hear these words time and again but rarely heed them. It is far too easy to sit back and wait for something to go wrong, blame someone else, and say we didn't know. This is similar to suing McDonalds for burning yourself on a hot cup of coffee.
Doctors should be looked up to for their knowledge as well as their ability to help and heal. However, they are also human and can make mistakes. We carry a responsibilty to learn all we can to augment treatment.
Of course, all the so-called "due diligence" in the world is worthless if the information one seeks is being deliberately withheld. Therein lies the true story here.
Competing interests: None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests