Antipsychotic drug prescriptions triple in the US

Antipsychotic drug prescriptions triple in the US

www.kosmografias.com

Expensive antipsychotics were originally approved to treat schizophrenia. They are now also prescribed for conditions including anxiety disorders and dementia, even though the Food and Drug Administration has not approved these off-label uses. The side effects of such drugs can include diabetes, weight gain and an increased risk of heart disease.

Caleb Alexander at the University of Chicago and colleagues analysed the results of a survey of visits to doctors between 1995 and 2008. In the sample population, the prescriptions of antipsychotics went from 6.2 million in 1995 to 16.7 million in

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They left out another side effect that goes under-reported: violent and homicidal behavior and outbursts:

healthland.time.com...

As you can see, half of the prescription meds tied in the top ten list associated with violent behavior are anti-psyche meds.

Looks like the U.S. is again mirroring the UK (or vise-versa) in doling out copious amounts of anti-depressants, like they were candy, to the masses. And you can bet there is a heavy tie in to the pharma-corp giants pushing this stuff onto Doctors to move it, with 'perks' and incentives to do so.

Legalized drug dealing, as long as you have the lobbyists to pay off the lawmakers, then your 'product' can be pimped out, widespread, never mind the dangers.

A dangerous trend, as these products are not to be taken lightly.

www.kosmografias.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


For anti-psyche meds to be causing violent and homicidal behaviour something is messed up, yet again. It is no real surprise for any new technology to make some mistakes along the way. It is unfortunate that more natural remedies that have been around for a very long time are criminalised with so many stressed out people looking for something.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Hardly surprising really. It's going from bad to bloody outrageous if you ask me.

You can go to see your doctor with an ingrowing toenail or a bit of a cough these days, and he'll prescribe you anti-depressants from his best pal, big pharma..(who'll give him a nice wad of cash for prescribing them to you).

What's really scary, is the amount of children that these leeches have got on these drugs...adults can look after themselves, if they want to pop the suicide lottery in pill form, that's their choice...kids can't decide for themselves.

I hate every one of the money grabbing, twisted gits.

ETA I went to see my doctor a couple of months ago, after a few seconds listening to me, (insomnia related) she tried to prescribe me anti-depressants..i refused of course, and she was kind of taken aback..she said, well..about 60-70% of the population are on these!!!!

How many!!?

*ALL* medical related fields, including Pharma should by LAW be forced to become non profit. Making a profit from peoples misery and suffering is absolutely immoral and disgusting, and invites corruption.

This is ridiculous. People need to face reality, not be numbed and dumbed down with pharmaceuticals. Truly is tragic what's going on in the U.S. If only people were aware of alternative therapies which cause little to no harm. I suffered severe anxiety and depression, along with slight psychosis, or what I refer to now as positive disintegration. What did me well was to switch my diet, cleanse from parasites, heavy metals, repair the gut, and take nutritional supplements. I hope other people out there will be more wise and bypass bigpharma.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


I was prescribed Cymbalta, an antidepressant, for IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I had NO idea what I was getting myself into when I started that sample the doctor gave me. I spent the next three years trying to get off of it. It was the worst three years of my life.

I never read the insert prior to taking the pill, nor did I know that it was an antidepressant. I just didn't expect that from my doctor for a stomach/intestinal problem. I chime in to attempt to warn others. ALWAYS read the inserts on drugs these days, and don't take the easy way out. Do some exercise, eat healthy.

Good day folks!

reply to post by spikey


It is pretty much becoming the 'norm' for antipsychotics to be handed out along with antidepressants these days...it is an American phenomena based on very shaky evidence that they somehow compliment each other, it has become common in the uk also...i don't know about mainland Europe. In any case, i would tell 'most' people to steer clear...or find a doctor that is not such a pill pusher before taking these meds. This is coming from someone who went through hell with various meds for years, i didn't even know what was 'normal' anymore...and any mention of taking no meds for a few months to see what was 'normal' to me was met with extreme threats and resistance.

I suffer from insomnia. After years of Ambien, a doctor put me on Trazadone. I said the heck with this and have been doing fine with OTC Melatnin.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


18 months back I had to see the doctor for a tumor on my back. Doctor starts taking to me in a more personal way, she dtermines I am depressed.. whaaaat???? she wrote me a perscritopn for a few phsyci drugs, i never filled them. Me being the cosnpiracy theorist I am immediately saw through what I deemed a plot to take control of my mind, or a way of slowly killing me. I see on television on these new meds being offered to the so called mental psychi, and what alarmas me is, so many many people actually fall prey to them. I am 49 have been told I have various diffenrt health problems, I have a stack of prescriptions never filled. I do not even take anti biotics. The last time i took an antibiotic was about 13 months back, I got a real bad ear infection and was nearly hospitalized. I took the drugs for 3 days, had enough for 10. my ear started healing case closed. I personally believe the ear infection came from the water. I had been living in this area maybe 6 months when I got this ear infection. I never had this happen before. I moved from this area about 11 months ago, and know what? i dont get these ear infections anymore....water im telling you water. Back to the drugs. we abuse drugs we take, and believe it as truth we need them. I do not get the flu, dont take the flu shot, I sometimes start to get a cold but stay inside a few days watch what i eat and waah lahh im ok, dont need the drugs to get past the health issues. I believe THE MAN is trying to poison us through our need to think drugs are good and probably our waters and foods. I buy the majority of my food from locally grown markets, health food markets, but these days this even worries me. I am going to start growing my own foods this spring, to leave the market for the fools....

Trust me antipsychotic meds are horrible and there isn't any way someone is gonna take them if they don't need them. The side effects are just horrendous. I've been taking them for 15 years for schizophrenia. The reason relapse rates are so high among schizophrenics is because the side effects are that bad.

reply to post by prexparte


It's about the money!
I have a patient who recieves a thirty day supply of one particular medicine that costs,
936.00 a month for thirty pills!
Seriously, the tail is wagging the dog!

reply to post by Ex


It could be partly the $$money, But I will stay strong to it is deeper. You docs get the meds, but, do you really know what the pharmaceudical makers are putting in these drugs? Come on the government leaders across the globe know we are over-populated, what a better way to begin a slim down then to poison us with drugs...

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Didn't gw bush say once that he wanted everyone in usa brain scanned lol.

I wonder if his has anything to do with it, i personally believe the gov send sout a signal to find sensitive people, to use them. They could also be doing this to target people to put them on these things.

i know that 4 years ago my doctor had me on 900mg of lithium, 30 mg of zyprexa and 1mg of xanax in one day.

Olanzapine/zyprexa
is used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia (a mental illness that causes disturbed or unusual thinking, loss of interest in life, and strong or inappropriate emotions) in adults and teenagers 13 years of age and older. It is also used to treat bipolar disorder.

side effects
Constipation; dizziness; dizziness or fainting when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position; drowsiness; dryness of mouth; headache; runny nose; vision problems; weakness; weight gain

oh and they dont mention the extreme tingling in the legs, twitching eyelids and toes and diabetes .

lithium

Lithium is used to treat and prevent episodes of mania (frenzied, abnormally excited mood) in people with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of depression, episodes of mania, and other abnormal moods).

side effects
Increased frequency of urination or loss of bladder control - more common in women than in men, usually beginning 2 to 7 years after start of treatment; increased thirst; nausea (mild); trembling of hands (slight)

and they dont mention sleeplessness

xanax
Alprazolam is used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks. Alprazolam is in a class of medications called benzodiazepines. It works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain.

side effects
Clumsiness or unsteadiness; dizziness or lightheadedness; drowsiness; slurred speech

needless to say i felt like # for the 6 months that i was taking them. i weigh 115 when taking zyprexia i went up to 120 when i origionly weighed 110. that is the only thing good that came from this med.

but my doctors felt that my problems were bad enough to drug me up with 3 hard drugs at one time. they also tried me on effectsor* and a few others after i told them that i would never take the others again.

to make a long story short all of my problems were coming from a (supposed) chemical imbalance from hypothyroidism (which im still sceptical of because the medication they gave me for (levothyrixin) it did #. i shortly realized that i was depressed and anxiouse from my situation in life and now do not need any medication.

the doctors could have really messed my head up. thank God that didnt happen..... or at least i dont think it did lol

I can vouch for that fact that these medications are being overly prescribed, and prescribed inappropriately.

It actually sickens me. They have a function and can be enormously helpful when they are actually needed.

I saw a SEVEN year old child who had been prescribed Risperdal, a very powerful antipsychotic. There was NO psychotic diagnosis. When I asked his mother what the doctor said when he gave her the Rx, she said he told her it was to be used as a sleeping aid. This is when I want to use these little faces:

I actually called this doctor. lol. I wondered why he had prescribed an unproven medication, which is clearly not intended for persons less than the age of 18, for sleeping, when he could have prescribed a simple "sleeping aid".
He said, "well then, tell her to discontinue it". I said I would. End of that conversation. With children they use these medications as chemical restraints, as I have said many times before. Completely inappropriate, and we don't even know all the long term effects yet. Some of them are beginning to show symptoms of tardive dyskenisia, and these are irreversible side effects from these "state of the art" medications.. Not a pretty sight.

It doesn't help when the drug companies are permitted to go on television and peddle their toxic wares, suggesting they treat everything from depression to fibromyalgia. Of course then the patient sees the doctor and requests the medication, and he is the one who writes the Rx, so that's ultimately where the buck stops.

Again, don't let it appear that I am bashing all these meds. I'm not. They have their place, and can greatly contribute to an otherwise dysfunctional person being able to fully function.

But I am concerned they are overly prescribed. Way overly prescribed.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


S+F

What many people don't know is that pharmaceutical companies fund many schools and universities. This in itself should be a flag as to why there are so many drugs being prescribed. Some new drugs introduced are the same as the old ones but they have a new name and logo.

Many psychotropic drugs are from the same family as coc aine and MDMA which are illegal street drugs. These crooks can sell them because they have powerful lobbyists and because they change the molecules so they aren't exactly the same but give the same effects.

So why would you want your family on those same illegal drugs that the government warns you are dangerous? We have medicines coming from opiates but dealers selling those types of drugs get the harshest penalties. The government claims that the street dealers sell it to people who abuse it, but don't some of the prescriptions get abused? People will take a zanex than drink wine until they pass out.

How is that any different from smoking a joint? The fact is that these drugs leave you hooked as well. It isn't like you get off of them and everything is okay.

reply to post by Equinox99


i made a post like this in a previous thread that im not in the mood to look up lol. but for example adderall is the same thing as crystal meth. and they give this stuff to kids. a lot of kids when they turn 18 wont be able to get adderall any more so they turn to meth because adderall is VERY addictive. its really sad

How does it work over there in regards to owning or purchasing a firearm if you are on anti-psychotic drugs?

That would be one way to get the gun ownership down, get everyone onto medication then certify them unable to get or own a gun.

CX.

My "family doctor" is an internal medicine specialist and pushing pills is his only real treatement mode as other therapeutic measures are referred to other specialists. Pharmaceutical sales reps cater lunch there every day and I've overheard they need to book catering dates at least two weeks out. The business end of health care is run by profiteers and the docs basically do what they want - daily business lunches provide "uptodate research" "new products and uses" - marketing opportunities to the docs and free lunch for the staff, a pretty good benefit these days! My two cents is to use doctors for what they're worth - fixing immediate issues - and pursue your health care lifestyle choices outside the medical professions. Doctors generally are clueless about much of anything outside their narrow practice areas.

ganjoa

School nurses and non medical school officials are getting into the act too these days. My cousins kid is a very bright and very hyper kid. Just naturally bouncing off the wall kind of kid. No real disciplinary issues unless you think talking loud is a mortal sin. ANyway, she got a letter sent home abotu a meeting she needed to attend concerning the kid. The nurse and the Principal sat there and actually urged her to go to this certain Dr that other parents really liked and put the kid on ritalin! These jokers were making a pseudo diagnosis on a kid they barely knew and telling a parent to medicate the kid with a dangerous chemical.

Outrageous... and IMO its criminal.