How FDA and Big Pharma mislead millions into taking dangerous anti-depressants

[donnay]

How FDA and Big Pharma mislead millions into taking dangerous anti-depressants

Paul Fassa
Natural News
March 2, 2012

The anti-depressant fraud toothpaste is out of the tube, at least partly. A Harvard Medical School psychologist, Irving Kirsch, who has been studying placebo effects for three decades, recently came up with the documented conclusion that pharmaceutical anti-depressants don’t work.

This is big news for many Natural News readers and writers. But this conclusion had the prescription-pad psychiatrists and FDA crying foul, loudly. Why? Kirsch’s conclusion was featured in a national CBS 60 Minutes television report.

Even more importantly, Kirsch’s conclusion was evidence based on documents from obtained using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Those documents were trial results from drug companies that were not published and presented to the FDA.

Drug companies pay the FDA for approving their drugs. But the FDA doesn’t do the trials or reports. They simply take them from the drug companies who all do their own trials and decide which reports to publish and submit.

Kirsch discovered that most anti-depressant trials showed no proof of efficacy. Those results were simply hidden from view. So if 12 tests were done, and only two showed any efficacy at all, those two would be submitted to the FDA, and the FDA would essentially say “pay your fee and go to market.”

After analyzing the results of all the tests he was able to procure via FOIA, Kirsch concluded that anti-depressant drugs had only a placebo effect on patients with mild to moderate depression. In other words, a sugar pill would suffice. He went public with this conclusion.

CBS did a limited hangout

A limited hangout is intelligence spook speak for letting out just enough information to appease investigations or grass roots suspicions. But only part of the picture is revealed, not the whole big picture.

CBS did not reveal the horrible side effects from anti-depressants and psychotropic drugs. They did interview a British medical official who was part of a UK commission that banned anti-depressant use on mild to moderately depressed patients.

He reasoned that since most moderately depressed patients can be handled by talk therapy and physical exercise, why expose them to the risk of adverse effects. Sixty Minutes didn’t follow up on that angle.

Here in the States, where pharmaceuticals are advertised in newspapers and magazines, radio, and especially TV, anyone seeing happy actors proclaiming how and an anti-depressant changed their lives can almost demand that drug from even a primary care physician, and usually get it.

Even Medscape lists these side effects from SSRI and SNRI anti-depressants: Abnormal bleeding, hepatitis, headache, hyponatrenia (potentially deadly low sodium), toxic epidermal necrolysis (potentially deadly skin death), impotence, abnormal sensations, mania and suicide.

These are not your normal mild nausea or mild rash side effects. While some quit those drugs in time, the last few side effects especially have led to a very high rate of suicides and homicides among anti-depressant pill poppers (http://www.naturalnews.com/022743.html).

As Heidi Stevenson of Gaia-Blog said, “Can we finally put to rest any claims from psychiatry that what they do is based on evidence, especially the so-called gold standard of placebo-controlled double blind studies … Please?”

Sources for this article include:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n

http://www.naturalnews.com/028498_an...al_trials.html

http://gaia-health.com

About the author:
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com

[bolil]

Yeah, another good example is the ADHD racket. Adderall, one of the prime drugs for medicating children with ADHD (No scientific test yet exists that can conclusively diagnose ADHD) had a Seven week trial, no over adverse effecs were reported and the FDA gave it clearance... You can smoke for seven weeks, or drink copious amounts of alcohol for seven weeks and likely not be afflicted with the diseases that are common with long term use. These $#@!ers are criminal.

[Voluntary Man]

Yeah, another good example is the ADHD racket. Adderall, one of the prime drugs for medicating children with ADHD (No scientific test yet exists that can conclusively diagnose ADHD) had a Seven week trial, no over adverse effecs were reported and the FDA gave it clearance... You can smoke for seven weeks, or drink copious amounts of alcohol for seven weeks and likely not be afflicted with the diseases that are common with long term use. These $#@!ers are criminal.

No doubt. Same applies to AIDS.

[donnay]

Big pHARMa is out of control!!

[bolil]

But we should endorse the FDA and the Federal Criminals on account that they will protect the kids WHAT THE $#@! IS GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY?

[Jonathanm]

Count me as one of the almost-suicide statistics of modern SSRI's. The doc started me on an anti-depressant called Effexor. It gave me extreme mania. The worst part wasn't even taking the medication, however. The worst part was getting off of it. You see, Effexor is physically addictive. It has a far lower half-life than most SSRI's. Interestingly, the doctor felt no need to tell me this before I started taking it. The half-life is so quick that even missing a single dosage would cause me to get anxiety and migraines.

The pharmaceutical company that makes Effexor, of course, doesn't say that it's addictive either. They use double-speak, and instead call it withdrawal syndrome, or something like that. Un-$#@!ing-real.

What did the withdrawal feel like? Well, firstly, I felt absolutely psychotic. Far more psychotic than I've ever felt without medications, and I'm bipolar for $#@! sakes. I had serious aggression and agitation issues, and damn near broke my hand punching the wall on several occasions. I couldn't sleep because I was so manic, and whenever I did manage to sleep I had terrible, vivid nightmares. The kind of nightmares you wake up from and then immediately want to down a gallon of alcohol. I had this constant feeling of 'shocks' in my eyeballs and brain. I honestly can't describe it, it was such a terrible, awkward feeling. My vision was altered, and I felt like my eyeballs were 'shaky', and my vision blurred. Lastly, I had migraines, nausea, and severe anxiety.

It was so bad that I honestly went a week without getting out of bed. I woke up, took a hefty dose of serequil (which I hate) just to put me back to sleep again. Then, when I'd wake up again, I'd take a couple of ambien. Was this the right thing to do? Probably not, and I knew that, but the withdrawal was so bad I simply couldn't bear to be awake.

It created this disgusting situation where I could stay on the Effexor, and continue being manic and crazy, or I could get off of the Effexor, and go absolutely-$#@!ing-nuts. In the end, I chose to get off of it, because I knew that in the long term it'd be the better choice, despite how awful the withdrawal was.

[donnay]

The Epidemic of Mental Illness -- Why?



By Dr. Mercola

If reading the news and watching TV advertisements for psychotropic drugs makes you wonder if Americans are in the midst of a raging epidemic of mental illness, you're not alone. In a New York Times book review, Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, talks about how a shocking 46 percent of Americans now fit a diagnosis for some form of mental illness.

"What is going on here? Is the prevalence of mental illness really that high and still climbing?" she asks. The authors of three books she's reviewed have posed some interesting -- and alarming -- answers.

Mental Illness Not the Result of Chemical Imbalance

Most of you have probably heard that depression is caused by too little serotonin in your brain, which antidepressants are designed to correct. Likewise, schizophrenia is said to be related to too much dopamine, which other psychiatric drugs help lower. Unfortunately for anyone who has ever swallowed these marketing ploys, this is actually NOT a scientific statement.

Instead, these explanations for the "causes" of mental illness were created only after the drugs were found to have these effects.

Says Angell:

"When it was found that psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmitter levels in the brain, as evidenced mainly by the levels of their breakdown products in the spinal fluid, the theory arose that the cause of mental illness is an abnormality in the brain's concentration of these chemicals that is specifically countered by the appropriate drug …

That was a great leap in logic … It was entirely possible that drugs that affected neurotransmitter levels could relieve symptoms even if neurotransmitters had nothing to do with the illness in the first place (and even possible that they relieved symptoms through some other mode of action entirely)."

As Angell states, using this logic you "could argue that fevers are caused by too little aspirin!"

Unfortunately, the idea that mental illness is the result of chemical balance is a popular one that is now firmly rooted in the conventional psychiatric profession. Not only does it take away the stigma of mental illness, but it gives psychiatrists a solution, one that fits neatly on their prescription pads.

The trouble is, not only do the drugs not work, they may actually cause your brain to function abnormally. Medical journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee Robert Whitaker, whom I interviewed in the video above, explains it this way, as Angell reported:

"Prior to treatment, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, and other psychiatric disorders do not suffer from any known "chemical imbalance." However, once a person is put on a psychiatric medication, which, in one manner or another, throws a wrench into the usual mechanics of a neuronal pathway, his or her brain begins to function … abnormally."

Are Psychiatric Drugs Making Mental Illness Worse?

Something has changed in the field of diagnosing and treating psychiatric disorders in the last few decades, and that something has led to a 600 percent increase in persons on government (Social Security) disability due to mental illness!

According to Whitaker, it used to be that depression was typically a self-limiting illness. Even in cases severe enough to require hospitalization, people would get better in six or eight months; they would recover and often never relapse, or if they did it would be years down the road and, again, self-limiting.

When antidepressants were introduced, it was with the intent that they would help people recover from depression more quickly. Unfortunately, what we're now seeing, and have been seeing since antidepressants were introduced, is patients recovering faster but relapsing more, or recovering only partially and transitioning into a festering state of chronic depression that never really resolves.

Long-term studies now indicate that of people with major depression, only about 15 percent that are treated with an antidepressant go into remission and stay well for a long period of time. The remaining 85 percent start having continuing relapses and become chronically depressed.

"By the 1990s, this change in the long term course of depression was so pronounced that finally it was addressed by researchers," says Whitaker. "Giovanni Fava from Italy said, "Hey, listen, the course is changing with antidepressants. We're changing it from an episodic illness to a chronic illness, and we really need to address this."

Not only that, but the depression is sinking into people [on antidepressants] in a deeper way than before."

According to Whitaker's research, this tendency to sensitize the brain to long-term depression appears to be the same both for the earlier tricyclic antidepressants and the newer SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Another famous psycho pharmacologist named Ross Baldessarini at Harvard Medical School also began asking whether or not these drugs may in fact be depressogenic (causing depression).

Unfortunately, the evidence points that way, and the long-term prognosis when taking antidepressants is quite bleak, as this type of drug treatment has a whopping 85 percent chronic relapse rate.

Psychiatric Drugs Cause Alterations in Your Normal Brain Function

Despite what the slick advertisements say, psychotropic drugs have no known measurable biological imbalances to correct -- unlike other drugs that can measurably alter levels of blood sugar, cholesterol and so on.

How can you medicate something that is not physically there?

The answer is, of course, you can't -- and doing so is a dangerous game.

Psychotropic drugs can actually interfere with your neurotransmitters in such a way as to upset the delicate processes within your brain needed to maintain your biological functions normally, leading to side effects that may resemble mental illness! As Angell reported, Whitaker explains:

"It is well understood that psychoactive drugs disturb neurotransmitter function, even if that was not the cause of the illness in the first place. Whitaker describes a chain of effects. When, for example, an SSRI antidepressant like Celexa increases serotonin levels in synapses, it stimulates compensatory changes through a process called negative feedback. In response to the high levels of serotonin, the neurons that secrete it (presynaptic neurons) release less of it, and the postsynaptic neurons become desensitized to it.

In effect, the brain is trying to nullify the drug's effects. The same is true for drugs that block neurotransmitters, except in reverse."

In 1996, neuroscientist Steven Hyman, who was head of the National Institute of Mental Health at the time, and is today Provost of Harvard University, published the paper Initiation and Adaptation: A Paradigm for Understanding Psychotropic Drugs, in which he explains this chain of events. According to Dr. Hyman, once your brain has undergone a series of compensatory adaptations to the drug, your brain operates in a manner that is "both qualitatively and quantitatively different than normal."

Angell continues, explaining how this vicious cycle leads to more diagnoses, prescription drug use and increasing side effects:

"After several weeks on psychoactive drugs, the brain's compensatory efforts begin to fail, and side effects emerge that reflect the mechanism of action of the drugs. For example, the SSRIs may cause episodes of mania, because of the excess of serotonin. Antipsychotics cause side effects that resemble Parkinson's disease, because of the depletion of dopamine (which is also depleted in Parkinson's disease).

As side effects emerge, they are often treated by other drugs, and many patients end up on a cocktail of psychoactive drugs prescribed for a cocktail of diagnoses.

The episodes of mania caused by antidepressants may lead to a new diagnosis of "bipolar disorder" and treatment with a "mood stabilizer," such as Depokote (an anticonvulsant) plus one of the newer antipsychotic drugs. And so on."

Continued...

[Sullivan*]

Count me as one of the almost-suicide statistics of modern SSRI's. The doc started me on an anti-depressant called Effexor. It gave me extreme mania. The worst part wasn't even taking the medication, however. The worst part was getting off of it. You see, Effexor is physically addictive. It has a far lower half-life than most SSRI's. Interestingly, the doctor felt no need to tell me this before I started taking it. The half-life is so quick that even missing a single dosage would cause me to get anxiety and migraines.

The pharmaceutical company that makes Effexor, of course, doesn't say that it's addictive either. They use double-speak, and instead call it withdrawal syndrome, or something like that. Un-$#@!ing-real.

What did the withdrawal feel like? Well, firstly, I felt absolutely psychotic. Far more psychotic than I've ever felt without medications, and I'm bipolar for $#@! sakes. I had serious aggression and agitation issues, and damn near broke my hand punching the wall on several occasions. I couldn't sleep because I was so manic, and whenever I did manage to sleep I had terrible, vivid nightmares. The kind of nightmares you wake up from and then immediately want to down a gallon of alcohol. I had this constant feeling of 'shocks' in my eyeballs and brain. I honestly can't describe it, it was such a terrible, awkward feeling. My vision was altered, and I felt like my eyeballs were 'shaky', and my vision blurred. Lastly, I had migraines, nausea, and severe anxiety.

It was so bad that I honestly went a week without getting out of bed. I woke up, took a hefty dose of serequil (which I hate) just to put me back to sleep again. Then, when I'd wake up again, I'd take a couple of ambien. Was this the right thing to do? Probably not, and I knew that, but the withdrawal was so bad I simply couldn't bear to be awake.

It created this disgusting situation where I could stay on the Effexor, and continue being manic and crazy, or I could get off of the Effexor, and go absolutely-$#@!ing-nuts. In the end, I chose to get off of it, because I knew that in the long term it'd be the better choice, despite how awful the withdrawal was.

When I came off the same stuff, I didn't have quite the violent reaction, but I get everything you say. That $#@! is poison, pure and simple, and one of the reasons I completely stopped going to the psychiatrist that prescribed it. I'll grant that it was the last med he tried on me, but it's the last med ANYONE will try on me. I don't give two $#@!s how bad my concentration is, I'm not $#@!ing with my brain chemistry ever again.

As for Effexor, I challenge anyone who thinks antidepressants aren't that bad to take even a mild dose without food and tell me how it ends up for you. I guarantee you won't have any hair left on your head within an hour. The first time I took a dose after it was prescribed for me was in a car doing 75 towards Salt Lake City, on an empty stomach, and the only thing that got me to the hotel without freaking out was a whole pack of Camel wides and a gas station burrito ($#@!'s DANGEROUS in its own right!).

[Jonathanm]

When I came off the same stuff, I didn't have quite the violent reaction, but I get everything you say. That $#@! is poison, pure and simple, and one of the reasons I completely stopped going to the psychiatrist that prescribed it. I'll grant that it was the last med he tried on me, but it's the last med ANYONE will try on me. I don't give two $#@!s how bad my concentration is, I'm not $#@!ing with my brain chemistry ever again.

Sorry to hear you had a run in with this nasty stuff. It was actually the first anti-depressant that my doctors tried me on. Go figure. I'm glad to hear your reaction wasn't as bad as mine. Not everyone has a terrible reaction like I did, but it's still far too common for it to be prescribed like it is.

Funny, the bold is exactly how I feel. You really lose trust in doctors when they prescribe you $#@! like that, especially if they don't even warn you about the issues.

As for Effexor, I challenge anyone who thinks antidepressants aren't that bad to take even a mild dose without food and tell me how it ends up for you. I guarantee you won't have any hair left on your head within an hour. The first time I took a dose after it was prescribed for me was in a car doing 75 towards Salt Lake City, on an empty stomach, and the only thing that got me to the hotel without freaking out was a whole pack of Camel wides and a gas station burrito ($#@!'s DANGEROUS in its own right!).

They started me on 150 mg, and the first dose I took made me think I was dying. My vision got blurry as $#@!, my head was thumping, I was vomiting, and damn near having a panic attack. They moved me to a lower dose after that, but I always felt something wasn't right with the medication... This sounds terribly stupid, now, but at the time I just honestly thought that doctors always had my best interest in mind. I just wish I would have listened to my gut instinct.

Oh well, a good lesson for me I suppose: Always question authority. Or, in this case, always question the medications that doctors prescribe.

[Jonathanm]

The episodes of mania caused by antidepressants may lead to a new diagnosis of "bipolar disorder" and treatment with a "mood stabilizer," such as Depokote (an anticonvulsant) plus one of the newer antipsychotic drugs. And so on."

Christ, that's so true. They had me on a cocktail of four different medications at one point, and I felt so much worse then, than I do now. The medications included: Effexor (Anti-depressant), Depakote (Bipolar med/mood stabilizer), Serequil (Anti-psychotic highly known for its ability to cause diabetes), and Ambien. It's caused a bit of a trouble for me, even in the long run now that I'm off of them. I really don't remember the six month period when all of this was happening. I only remember select things, and those things aren't very pretty.

Nowadays I find myself in constant disorientation: Who am I, really? It $#@!s you up when you find out your whole persona can be changed with a pill or two. That might seem obvious to some, but I think understanding it and actually experiencing it are two different things. I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but for me it was absolutely terrifying. Some people might think you could stay sane out of sheer willpower, but it really isn't that simple. To quote George R. R. Martin: A mad man sees what he sees.

[PatriotOne]

Go Donnay! Your on a roll today! Great posts.

[papitosabe]

my question is could some of these problems that we think prescriptions fix, be caused by artificial ingredients that we consume. Not all, but some, or speed up process. I remember I used to have restless leg syndrome. I spoke to an herbalist that asked me if I drank alot of diet products, which I had. Diet sprite and diet dr.pepper (ALOT), and gum. He said to look for aspartame on any product I eat and take it out of my diet for 30 days. I did that, and the RLS completely went away. Apparently it can diff problems in for all of us. So what about all the other products that contain artificial ingredients that the FDA approves? now, if I were to have gone to a doctor, I'm sure I would have been prescribed something. If the doctor doesn't provide medication to just about everyone, then he/she may not get the bonuses for prescribing those meds. The cycle of corruption is much larger and more indepth than we think. Sounds tin foil hatty huh?? wish it was... I'd love to see the companies that are subsidized by gov't and who's in bed with these GE's, food companies, subsidies beneficiaries, and what politicians benefit.

[PatriotOne]

my question is could some of these problems that we think prescriptions fix, be caused by artificial ingredients that we consume. Not all, but some, or speed up process. I remember I used to have restless leg syndrome. I spoke to an herbalist that asked me if I drank alot of diet products, which I had. Diet sprite and diet dr.pepper (ALOT), and gum. He said to look for aspartame on any product I eat and take it out of my diet for 30 days. I did that, and the RLS completely went away. Apparently it can diff problems in for all of us. So what about all the other products that contain artificial ingredients that the FDA approves? now, if I were to have gone to a doctor, I'm sure I would have been prescribed something. If the doctor doesn't provide medication to just about everyone, then he/she may not get the bonuses for prescribing those meds. The cycle of corruption is much larger and more indepth than we think. Sounds tin foil hatty huh?? wish it was... I'd love to see the companies that are subsidized by gov't and who's in bed with these GE's, food companies, subsidies beneficiaries, and what politicians benefit.

Speaking of Restless Leg Syndrome. I had it every night for over a yr about 10 yrs ago. Drove me freakin nuts and I was exhausted all the time due to a severe lack of sleep. I finally went to a sleep clinic for the RLS. They prescribed me medication and told me I would probably have to be on it for the rest of my life. I can't remember the name of it now, but it was the same thing they prescribed to Alzheimer patients. Don't ask me why but..... Anyways, I took it for one night. ONE NIGHT. I decided I didn't want to take it anymore before I did some research on it and to see if there was an alternative to taking Alzheimer meds. But that night and ever since then I have not had RLS. That one pill literally cured it and I never took the meds again. And they said I would probably have to be on them for the rest of my life.

[donnay]

my question is could some of these problems that we think prescriptions fix, be caused by artificial ingredients that we consume. Not all, but some, or speed up process. I remember I used to have restless leg syndrome. I spoke to an herbalist that asked me if I drank alot of diet products, which I had. Diet sprite and diet dr.pepper (ALOT), and gum. He said to look for aspartame on any product I eat and take it out of my diet for 30 days. I did that, and the RLS completely went away. Apparently it can diff problems in for all of us. So what about all the other products that contain artificial ingredients that the FDA approves? now, if I were to have gone to a doctor, I'm sure I would have been prescribed something. If the doctor doesn't provide medication to just about everyone, then he/she may not get the bonuses for prescribing those meds. The cycle of corruption is much larger and more indepth than we think. Sounds tin foil hatty huh?? wish it was... I'd love to see the companies that are subsidized by gov't and who's in bed with these GE's, food companies, subsidies beneficiaries, and what politicians benefit.

Yes haven't you heard about the drug for restless leg syndrome? Requip.

One of the side effects is compulsive gambling.

MSG and Aspartame are excitotoxins and are extremely bad for you. Aspartame is even in regular gum that does not say, "sugar free." MSG is in prepackage foods, in fast foods and in every can of soup.

MSG is being hidden under several names:

MSG

Gelatin

Calcium Caseinate

Monosodium Glutamate

Hydrolized Vegetable Protein

Textured Protein

Monopotassium Glutamate

Hydrolized Plant Protein

Yeast Extract

Glutamate

Autolyzed Plant Protein

Yeast Food or Nutrient

Glutamic Acid

Sodium Caseinate

Autolyzed Yeast

http://216.218.243.84/~aspartam/msg%20names.htm

If it was so safe as the FDA tell us it is, why do you suppose they keep changing the names?

Aspartame is changing it's name to Aminosweet. Could that be because so many people are waking up to the fact that it is poison! It is genetically engineered fecal matter of E-coli. Oww Yum!

[papitosabe]

Yes haven't you heard about the drug for restless leg syndrome? Requip.

One of the side effects is compulsive gambling.

MSG and Aspartame are excitotoxins and are extremely bad for you. Aspartame is even in regular gum that does not say, "sugar free." MSG is in prepackage foods, in fast foods and in every can of soup.

MSG is being hidden under several names:

MSG

Gelatin

Calcium Caseinate

Monosodium Glutamate

Hydrolized Vegetable Protein

Textured Protein

Monopotassium Glutamate

Hydrolized Plant Protein

Yeast Extract

Glutamate

Autolyzed Plant Protein

Yeast Food or Nutrient

Glutamic Acid

Sodium Caseinate

Autolyzed Yeast

http://216.218.243.84/~aspartam/msg%20names.htm

If it was so safe as the FDA tell us it is, why do you suppose they keep changing the names?

Aspartame is changing it's name to Aminosweet. Could that be because so many people are waking up to the fact that it is poison! It is genetically engineered fecal matter of E-coli. Oww Yum!

"January 1981-- Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of Searle, states in a sales meeting that he is going to make a big push to get aspartame approved within the year. Rumsfeld says he will use his political pull in Washington, rather than scientific means, to make sure it gets approved.

January 21, 1981-- Ronald Reagan is sworn in as President of the United States. Reagan's transition team, which includes Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of G. D. Searle, hand picks Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. to be the new FDA Commissioner. "

http://www.rense.com/general33/legal.htm as always, follow the money...

[donnay]

Since we are talking about prescription drugs, does anyone ever notice the side effects are usually worse than the problem you are trying to deal with?

Ever notice that because you are taking one drug another drug has to be introduce in order to help you from the side effects of the first drug?

Let's take for instance Nasonex nasal mist to stop year round allergies...lets look at the side effects:


Common Side Effects of Nasonex
http://allergies.emedtv.com/nasonex/...e-effects.html

Nasonex has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials in which the side effects of a group of people taking the drug are documented and compared to another group not taking the medicine.

As a result, it is possible to see what side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine.

In these studies, the most common Nasonex side effects included:


Headaches -- in up to 26 percent of people
Viral infections (such as the common cold) -- up to 14 percent
Coughing -- up to 13 percent
Nosebleeds -- up to 13 percent
A sore throat -- up to 12 percent
Painful menstrual cramps -- up to 5 percent
Muscle or bone pain -- up to 5 percent
Sinus infections -- up to 5 percent
Vomiting -- up to 5 percent.


Other common side effects, occurring in 2 to 4 percent of people, included:


Joint pain
Asthma
Bronchitis
Chest pain
Conjunctivitis ("pink eye")
Diarrhea
Upset stomach or indigestion
Earaches
Muscle pain
Nausea.

__________________________________________

Buying local honey and using a teaspoon a day, throughout the winter will help people build their immune system to help fight springtime/summertime allergies.

[papitosabe]

Buying local honey and using a teaspoon a day, throughout the winter will help people build their immune system to help fight springtime/summertime allergies.

you best watch your tongue boy..gov't don't take to kindly to non-FDA appv'd cures or preventative alternatives... you might see yourself sleeping with the fish... lol... you should research the benefits of 5K -10K grams of Vit C to cure colds, even for just anti-oxidant use... i think i also read how daily use of 20k up 50k (maybe more) for curing certain cancers.. I used to know this old guy that would come into my job...he was around 85, in great shape, and sharp as hell...he'd always talk about taking 5K of vit c daily...back then didn't believe him, but i wondered about its benefits...i either did 5K or 10K for a cold, last year, and it knocked it out... i can't prove it, but others have had same benefit... I think we need RP more than ever... he's talked about the need for alternative medicine as a free market choice...

[donnay]

you best watch your tongue boy..gov't don't take to kindly to non-FDA appv'd cures or preventative alternatives... you might see yourself sleeping with the fish... lol... you should research the benefits of 5K -10K grams of Vit C to cure colds, even for just anti-oxidant use... i think i also read how daily use of 20k up 50k (maybe more) for curing certain cancers.. I used to know this old guy that would come into my job...he was around 85, in great shape, and sharp as hell...he'd always talk about taking 5K of vit c daily...back then didn't believe him, but i wondered about its benefits...i either did 5K or 10K for a cold, last year, and it knocked it out... i can't prove it, but others have had same benefit... I think we need RP more than ever... he's talked about the need for alternative medicine as a free market choice...

Yes C is great to combat colds and I have read independent studies on cancer as well. However, Vitamin D3 is great immune builder. Last I researched it, most of the country (including Floridian, Californians and other warmer places) were deficient in vitamin D. A simply blood test will tell if your deficient or not.

I take 1000 IU's of D3 daily and I have read it is best to take as much as 5,000 IU's in the wintertime.

[Sullivan*]

I'd caution people that while Vit. C and other vitamins/minerals can help boost your immune system, nothing can really replace getting it from healthy food, not to mention if you ingest assloads of that stuff for long periods of time I'm not convinced it can't hurt you.

[papitosabe]

Yes C is great to combat colds and I have read independent studies on cancer as well. However, Vitamin D3 is great immune builder. Last I researched it, most of the country (including Floridian, Californians and other warmer places) were deficient in vitamin D. A simply blood test will tell if your deficient or not.

I take 1000 IU's of D3 daily and I have read it is best to take as much as 5,000 IU's in the wintertime.

good to know, recently bought 360 pills of 5000g D3 tabs for $10 from gnc...just bought them cuz it was a good deal..didn't know anything about them....thx..

[pcgame]

Christ, that's so true. They had me on a cocktail of four different medications at one point, and I felt so much worse then, than I do now. The medications included: Effexor (Anti-depressant), Depakote (Bipolar med/mood stabilizer), Serequil (Anti-psychotic highly known for its ability to cause diabetes), and Ambien. It's caused a bit of a trouble for me, even in the long run now that I'm off of them. I really don't remember the six month period when all of this was happening. I only remember select things, and those things aren't very pretty.

Nowadays I find myself in constant disorientation: Who am I, really? It $#@!s you up when you find out your whole persona can be changed with a pill or two. That might seem obvious to some, but I think understanding it and actually experiencing it are two different things. I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but for me it was absolutely terrifying. Some people might think you could stay sane out of sheer willpower, but it really isn't that simple. To quote George R. R. Martin: A mad man sees what he sees.

my story is similar to yours and i'm really sorry to hear that...

[playboymommy]

I went through something in 08 that I had never before experienced. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. For about 6 months I was terrified to leave my house. I wasn't allowed to work. I was terrified to drive because I was afraid someone would throw their cigarette out the window and blow up my car. Just the craziest fears all started by the butterfly effect. Extreme paranoia, afraid the government was coming to take me away. Panic attacks. Nightmares so real I would wake up crying and screaming. I was afraid of the television that they were sending messages to over take my brain or something. It was like I had disappeared and I was a ghost, but I was watching myself from the outside. Ever see Stephen King's 'The Langoliers'? It's kind of like that, like you're in this stale time warp and you've been left behind and there is no way out. Like an endless nothing. No medication I was prescribed helped me feel 'better'. At one point I was on 7 different medications at the same time.

Seroquil
Ambien
Topomax
Lexapro
Wellbutrin
Ativan
Klonopin

Seroquil, imo, is the devil's drug. You can't function on that $#@!. That's why they call it the 'seroquil shuffles'. And the side effect of topomax was constant shaking, restlessness in my legs, completely unable to sit still. The drugs made me feel like a zombie, a non functioning ghost of my former self. That is no way for anybody to live. My doctor suggested electro shock therapy at one point and when I discussed this with my daughter's father (we aren't together) he began to cry and pleaded with me not to do it. He worked in the mental health field and said the people he has known go through that are never the same again.

After about 4 months I told my doctor these drugs aren't working. He tapered me off of them and put me on Paxil. Then I stopped that eventually and have been anti-depressant free for over a year. I will never again take an anti-depressant. I've learned through experience that the best drug, for me anyways, is exercise. I also use cognitive thinking when I know that I need to.

Thanks to the others who have shared their anti depressant drug experience. I know there is still a stigma against people who are on them or who have depression. I think you're brave for sharing your stories.

[donnay]

I'd caution people that while Vit. C and other vitamins/minerals can help boost your immune system, nothing can really replace getting it from healthy food, not to mention if you ingest assloads of that stuff for long periods of time I'm not convinced it can't hurt you.

I definitely agree that food is medicine--eat well and be well. Also people need to do enough research to find the purist vitamins too. Too many vitamin companies put filler in their vitamins, and some of those fillers are not good to consume--MSG is one filler, I have come across and I am highly sensitive to MSG laden products. Nevertheless, since they constantly scare people about being in the sun, where you can soak up, naturally, the vitamin D most people are deficient in D. Besides in the winter months, because the way the earth is tilted the sun is further away so you really cannot get the good UVB rays like you need or can in the summer months.



More info is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlXde...feature=relmfu

[donnay]

Here is some great information:

[donnay]

Some more great info:

[bolil]

My proactive remedy works best: I bite my fingernails and get sick maybe once a year... if that. I pick my nose to, and eat the gold. Disgusting other people is the only side effect. I am actually writing an essay on the drugging of America, our societal hypochondriasis... anyone care to give it a read, it has good research! Its called: Death and Diarrhea: The Drugging of America.

[NewRightLibertarian]

The pharmaceutical drugs are used to chemically lobotomize populations. It's frightening how many zombies there are taking these drugs and losing their humanity.

[Jason525]

Back when I was a teenager I was out of control. I drank beer and smoked cigarettes , hung out with the wrong kids and cut school. I hated school and life. I had a bad acne problem and I was depressed. So , of course my parents brought me to a psychiatrist and was disgnosed with bipolar depression , ADHD and panic dissorder. I was on a hand full of these stupid drugs that did nothing but make me sick , almost completely killed my sex drive and made me think in ways not normal for a teenage boy. My parents were told by the qwack psychotrist to go down to social security and get me on SSI because my so called clinical depression would prevent me from ever holding down a job. At the age of 18 I took myself off these drugs. I started doing research into natural remedies. To make a long story short I have been doing a lot of shopping at GNC and the Vitamin shoppe. I take multivitamins as well as many other natural dietary supplements as a preventative measure. Mostly because I still drink and smoke cigarettes and don't have the best diet in the world. Anyway , ever since I went almost 100% natural and stay away from any kind of big pharma drugs I don't even get headachs. I'm not unususally depressed at all , I'm not hyperactive and I only get nervous over normal things. I no longer even believe that these disorders even exist. Fill yourself with GOD's goodness and set yourself free.

[tttppp]

How can anti-depressants cure depression when they cause impotence and severe weight gain? Wouldn't impotence and weight gain cause depression?

[NewRightLibertarian]

How can anti-depressants cure depression when they cause impotence and severe weight gain? Wouldn't impotence and weight gain cause depression?

They dope people up so much that they don't care if they're fat or can't get a hard on.