it turns out that marketing might be the secret ingredient behind prozac and many of the other popular antidepressants currently flooding the market (and now our water supply). irving kirsch, a researcher, investigated the results of 47 FDA clinical trials and found that in only 20 of the trials did the antidepressant produce measurably different results than a sugar pill. in those cases where it was measurable, the difference was on average two points on a 52 point scale, that's 3.8%, aka little to nothing. so, think about the 92 million prescriptions written for antidepressants in 2002 (that's 8.3 billion in sales) and consider that for most people a pinch of sugar with a reassuring message from a figure of authority would have done the trick!
check out the full article here.
card: 8 of cups: freaky freddy: deeper meaning, moving on, weariness
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
prozac nation
it turns out that marketing might be the secret ingredient behind prozac and many of the other popular antidepressants currently flooding the market (and now our water supply). irving kirsch, a researcher, investigated the results of 47 FDA clinical trials and found that in only 20 of the trials did the antidepressant produce measurably different results than a sugar pill. in those cases where it was measurable, the difference was on average two points on a 52 point scale, that's 3.8%, aka little to nothing. so, think about the 92 million prescriptions written for antidepressants in 2002 (that's 8.3 billion in sales) and consider that for most people a pinch of sugar with a reassuring message from a figure of authority would have done the trick!
check out the full article here.
card: 8 of cups: freaky freddy: deeper meaning, moving on, weariness
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2 comments:
Matt, if your considering using a antidepressant some advice from me would be first evaluate your diet some deficiency's like the B vitamins can cause symptoms of depression. I've been a student of homeopathy for many years and I swear that it is wise to take vitamin supplements in promoting good health. Also I truly believe the FDA has sold out the American people for the interest of the pharmaceutical industry. Imagine, if you visit a Dr. with a problem you'd certainly feel cheated if the doctor didn't respond with a prescription of some sort just to make you feel better. regardless of actual need.
I think before agreeing to take prozac you might want to look into " Hypericum perforatum ", St. John's wort I take this herbal remedy myself when I start suffering from the winter time blues in mid December through February, and it works pretty well. Anyway that's my two cents worth hope these pearls of wisdom are useful.
Several small European studies have suggested that St. John's wort is useful in treating mild to moderately severe depression. However, the NIH reports that some experts who reviewed those studies found certain limitations to the investigation and feel that more stringent trials are necessary. Therefore, clinical trial studies are under way in the United States to determine just how effective St. John's wort is for treating depression.
According to findings published in an April, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), St. John's wort proved no more effective in treating major depression of a moderate severity than a placebo. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted to find the effect of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) on major depressive disorder.
~SD
sd, thanks for the advice. i'm not considering antidepressants. i just thought it was telling that placebos are practically indistinguishable from the drug in trials, and that the FDA didn't see fit to represent that to the public. i think it also speaks volumes about our ability to heal ourself through our consciousness and also our submission to authority whose benificence is clearly in doubt.
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