Dr. Oz: Addicted to Antidepressants
Dr. Oz talked about an alarming statistic: 1 in 5 American women are now on antidepressants. Why? Are depression levels really that high or are they being overprescribed? Antidepressant prescriptions are up 400 percent from where they were two decades ago. They’re now the third most common prescription drug used by Americans, and women are more than twice as likely to take them.
Dr. Oz: Should You Take Antidepressants?
Are doctors over-prescribing antidepressants? Dr. Oz looked at the alarming increase in prescription over the past two decades and the reasons behind it. (Marius Pirvu / Shutterstock.com)
Some women don’t even take them for depression. Carrie says she feels the drugs “make her a better mom” and help her reevaluate her life. She has kids and feels she needs help figuring out how to raise them as a single parent.
But Kelly Ann, another mom, went off the drugs because she thought the drugs were turning her into a “zombie”. She said the meds med her feel even, with no lows or highs. Now, she laughs more and cries more often. Having gone off them, she feels she’s now the way she’s supposed to be and that her children can get to know the real her.
Dr. Oz: Who Should Diagnose Depression?
Dr. Sue Varma, a psychiatrist, also came by Dr. Oz. She said depression levels are actually more like 1 in 10, not 1 in 5. She said 50 percent of the time patients are prescribed these medications, they don’t have a mental health diagnosis. She said in no other medical field would doctors prescribe medication for a condition without a diagnosis.
Kelly Ann and Carrie both agreed they didn’t get a diagnosis before going on the medication. Dr. Varma said that the average psychiatrist takes about 90 minutes to diagnose a mental health condition. A family doctor will only look at you for a few minutes before prescribing a medication. This can be a dangerous thing.
Antidepressants are prescribed by family doctors 59 percent of the time. Only 23 percent of the time are they prescribed by psychiatrists. Antidepressants can cause anxiety, headaches, insomnia, and GI problems, so if you don’t need antidepressants, it’s not worth the potential side effects.
Dr. Oz: How Long Is Too Long for Antidepressants?
Dr. Oz invited a panel of mommy bloggers to live tweet his show. This was kind of a stretch, since Dr. Oz is pretaped. So he’s using “live tweet” loosely here.
But his panel of mommy bloggers did get several questions from their followers. One question was: how long should you be on an antidepressant? Dr. Varma said anywhere from 6 to 12 months for the first episode. But Dr. Varma said she didn’t want people to just take the pill and come back in a year. It’s important to be monitored closely during this time so that you can fix the problem.
Medications can also actually stop working over time, which Dr. Varma called “poop out syndrome”. That’s why you should work with a mental health professional to work with your particular condition.
Dr. Oz: What To Do If You’re Depressed
Kelly Ann said she thought people on antidepressants get judged a lot. Kelly Ann said people think you’re weak if you take an antidepressant, but it’s not true.
Dr. Varma said women should know that for mild to moderate cases, women can do a lot for themselves, including more sleep, exercise, social support, and talk therapy. All of these things have proven to be effective against depression. But if you’re concerned, make sure to talk to a mental health professional. If you can’t do that for some reason, schedule an appointment with your family doctor for depression.
Elaine says
Dr. Oz
Will you ever do a REAL show on the dangers of taking antidepressants. This subject matter needs more than a ten minute vague conversation. As you said antidepressant use is up 400%! Do you understand the horror that is taking place in American homes! You can’t just have some psychiatrist come on and say there are significant side effects to taking these drugs. Society needs to know what CAN and DOES happen. Diabetes, dysfunction, loss of empathy, loss of impulse control, cognitive disorders, obesity, hypertension, dependence, akathsia, heart disease, just to name some of the side effects.
Then there’s the serious adverse events in withdrawal. Brain zaps, insomnia, severe body pain, somnolence, mania, increased depression, delusions, anxiety, psychosis, paranoia, violence, homicide and suicide.
Since this show was directed towards women, there was no mention of pregnant women taking antidepressants and birth defects some so severe baby is not viable.
We all know why so many people are seeking out the ‘happy’ pill and that is the direct to consumer advertising on TV by the pharmaceutical industry! They are being lead to believe these are ‘safe’ and ‘effected’ treatments for all life’s problems and there not!
You had two women on to talk about this ‘hot button’ issue. One who mentioned having NO feelings at all and the other using them to be able to raise her children and live life without a spouse. This show was not good enough for what you say is a serious issue going on in America today. People deserve honesty about this billions of dollars a year drug. You didn’t offer anyone a honest look at this drug and all the devastating problems that arise from using them. If I didn’t know the truth about antidepressants your program wouldn’t have educated me at all.
Also, not a word about tapering of the right way. Doctors think you can taper in a few weeks and even cold turkey off this drug. To lessen the insult to the brain, CNS it should be done very slow.
Dr. Oz the oath doctors take: First Do No Harm. Please if your going to do a show on antidepressants do it honestly, put people and families who have been devastated by this drug on. Put Doctors, psychiatrist, PhDs, researchers, patients on who know the other side of antidepressants.
Sincerely,
Elaine