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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:21 pm Post subject: Prozac reaches its 20th birthday |
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Eternal sunshine
It's sold as happiness in a blister pack - a cure-all that has changed the way we think about wellbeing. As Prozac reaches its 20th birthday, Anna Moore presents 20 things you need to know about the most widely used antidepressant in the world
Sunday May 13, 2007
Observer
1: Depression has deepened
In 1971, when LY110141 - the compound that became Prozac - was developed, depression was rarely discussed and antidepressants largely restricted to the psychiatric unit. People went to their GPs with 'anxiety' and 'nerves'. Tranquillisers such as Valium were a likely response.
Eli Lilly, the company behind Prozac, originally saw an entirely different future for its new drug. It was first tested as a treatment for high blood pressure, which worked in some animals but not in humans. Plan B was as an anti-obesity agent, but this didn't hold up either. When tested on psychotic patients and those hospitalised with depression, LY110141 - by now named Fluoxetine - had no obvious benefit, with a number of patients getting worse. Finally, Eli Lilly tested it on mild depressives. Five recruits tried it; all five cheered up. By 1999, it was providing Eli Lilly with more than 25 per cent of its $10bn revenue.
Fluoxetine was handed to Interbrand, the world's leading branding company (Sony, Microsoft, Nikon, Nintendo) for an identity. The name Prozac was picked for its zap: it sounded positive, professional, quick, proey, zaccy. It was marketed in an easy-to-prescribe 'one pill, one dose for all' formula and came when the medical profession and media were awash with horror stories about Valium addiction.
Prozac hit a society that was in the mood for it. National campaigns (supported by Eli Lilly) alerted GPs and the public to the dangers of depression. Eli Lilly funded 8m brochures (Depression: What you need to know) and 200,000 posters. Previous antidepressants were highly toxic, lethal if overdosed on and had other nasty side-effects. Prozac was pushed as entirely safe, to be doled out by anyone. It was the wonder drug, the easy answer, an instant up, neurological eldorado. When launch day dawned, patients were already asking for it by name.
Twenty years on, Prozac remains the most widely used antidepressant in history, prescribed to 54m people worldwide, and many feel they owe their lives to it. It is prescribed for depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, eating disorders and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (formerly known as PMT). In the UK, between 1991 and 2001, antidepressant prescriptions rose from 9m to 24m a year.
Strangely, depression has reached epidemic levels. Money and success is no defence: writers, royalty, rock stars, supermodels, actors, middle managers have all had it. Studies suggest that in America, depression more than doubled between 1991 and 2001. In the UK, an estimated one in six people will experience it - and it costs more than �9bn annually in treatment, benefits and lost revenue. Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organisation, depression is set to become second only to heart disease as the world's leading disability by 2020.
2: Bio-babble has replaced psychobabble
Serotonin was not well known 20 years ago. Now, if you ask the person sitting beside you what it is, he or she may tell you it is linked to happiness, that levels get low in depressed people ... that Prozac tops them up ... so does chocolate ... or aerobics ... maybe yoga ...
Except it isn't strictly true. Or has been repeatedly challenged. And is yet to be proven. According to David Healy, professor of psychiatry at Cardiff University and author of Let Them Eat Prozac, it's pure 'bio-babble' which has replaced the psychobabble of the Sixties and Seventies. Healy spent a decade studying the neurotransmitter serotonin in depressed people and found little evidence to support the theory of 'chemical imbalance'.
'The idea was forwarded in the Sixties - and the man behind it, Dr George Ashcroft, later took it back,' says Healy. 'Through the Seventies and Eighties, it was seen as a simplistic idea; now it's seen as very convenient - it sounds so neat. There's something in you that's low that needs to be put right. It makes you happier to take a drug.' (Witness Brooke Shields, who described it as 'comforting' to discover her depression was 'directly tied to a biochemical shift'. Or the writer Lauren Slater in Prozac Diaries describing Prozac as 'a drug with the precision of a scud missile, launched miles from its target only to land, with a proud flare, right on the enemy's roof'.)
Prozac is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). Previous tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) worked on three neurotransmitters associated with mood (serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline) whereas Prozac just concentrates on one: serotonin.
'The idea that it's been a major step forward for Prozac to select serotonin only is just hypothesis,' says Malcolm Lader, professor of clinical psychopharmacology at the Institute of Psychiatry. 'There's no science behind it.'
The theory that emotions are governed by serotonin levels is highly simplistic and works just as well the other way around (ie, our emotions, our stress levels alter our brain chemistry, so it's at least a two-way street). Other important factors that contribute to depression include life experience, family history, hormones and diet. However, the oft-repeated 'chemical imbalance' theory (the fault is not in ourselves, but in our precious bodily fluids) is promoted on depression websites owned by drug companies and in advertising.
And just like scuds, Prozac turned out to be less precise than originally supposed. Experiences with it range from miraculous to mediocre. The writer Zoe Heller found that within weeks of taking it, she stopped crying and could get out of bed. Others describe it as a detached benevolence, or a comforting numbness. It makes some people feel anxious, agitated and unable to sleep. There are those who stop taking it, as they feel no effect at all.
Interestingly, reports gained through the Freedom of Information act revealed that in half the 47 trials used to approve the six leading antidepressants, the drugs failed to outperform the sugar pills. When they did, it was by only two points on a 52-point depression rating. Frosties, anyone? |
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329819920-110648,00.html
The article itself has several more excellent points... |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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Dealing with MENTAL "HEALTH"? Addressing EGO & neuroses?
Most people are far better off simply sitting each moring for 10 minutes in quiet meditation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaimonia
Speaking of PROZAC, Donald "666" Rumsefeld (e.g.) is said to be on the record in saying that it ( and RITALIN )
ought to be SPRAYED on various populations to ... well ... readers can surely figure out the rest  |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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| igotthisguitar wrote: |
Most people are far better off simply sitting each moring for 10 minutes in quiet meditation. |
Sure. Most people don't suffer from clinical depression, however. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
| igotthisguitar wrote: |
Most people are far better off simply sitting each moring for 10 minutes in quiet meditation. |
Sure. Most people don't suffer from clinical depression, however. |
And as I understand it, most people who are on prozac aren't suffering from clinical depression either...
But I don't know much on the topic. My opinion is that people use meds instead of learning how to cope with life. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
| My opinion is that people use meds instead of learning how to cope with life. |
BINGO! More often than not, yes.
Pharmaceuticals cannot help but prey upon confused & pathetic slaves  |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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Hot off of YAHOO ... ( another no-brainer )
Walking for wellness
Taking a walk in the country can be an effective alternative to chemical anti-depression treatments 
Thank goodness we have some "experts" to help enlighten us on this one
Actually a little secret here ( the ancients knew this fact quite well )
Going "Green" Could Beat The Blues: British "Experts"
Mon May 14, 5:26 AM
LONDON (AFP) - A walk in the country is an effective alternative to chemical anti-depression treatment, a leading mental health charity said Monday, calling on British doctors to prescribe outdoor activities.
The Mind charity said so-called "ecotherapy" could help millions of people with mental health problems after two studies it commissioned suggested it could have significant benefits for sufferers in most cases.
Prescription of care farms as a treatment has been highly successful on mainland Europe, but Britain has failed to follow the example, it added as it launched a report "Ecotherapy: the green agenda for mental health."
Mind chief executive Paul Farmer said: "Mind sees ecotherapy as an important part of the future for mental health.
"It's a credible, clinically-valid treatment option and needs to be prescribed by GPs, especially when for many people access to treatments other than anti-depressants is extremely limited."
Researchers from the University of Essex, eastern England, studied the effect of a 30-minute walk in a country park compared with one in an indoor shopping centre on a small sample of 20 people with mental health problems.
It found that 71 percent reported decreased levels of depression and anxiety after the outdoor walk while 90 percent said their self-esteem increased.
This compared with 22 percent who said their stress levels increased, 50 percent who felt more tense and 44 percent whose self-esteem plummeted while indoors.
A second study of 108 people with mental health problems suggested nearly all (94 percent) found "green exercise" boosted their state of mind.
Mind said prescriptions of anti-depressants were at an all-time high, with more than 31 million written last year -- a six percent increase from the previous 12 months -- because doctors had no alternatives.
In particular, prescriptions of drugs such as Prozac have risen by 10 percent. Cheap ecotherapies could cut costs as they were readily available and had no negative side effects.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/070514/health/lifestyle_britain_health |
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ED209
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
| mindmetoo wrote: |
| igotthisguitar wrote: |
Most people are far better off simply sitting each moring for 10 minutes in quiet meditation. |
Sure. Most people don't suffer from clinical depression, however. |
And as I understand it, most people who are on prozac aren't suffering from clinical depression either...
But I don't know much on the topic. My opinion is that people use meds instead of learning how to cope with life. |
I need a drink |
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stevemcgarrett
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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BJWD wrote:
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| And as I understand it, most people who are on prozac aren't suffering from clinical depression either... But I don't know much on the topic. My opinion is that people use meds instead of learning how to cope with life. |
You're right; you don't. And neither do the editors of that leftwing anti-drug company, anti-corporate rag The Guardian. The article sounds like Tom Cruise wrote it.
My youngest brother was saved by Prozac. We saw the changes. The psychotherapy helped a bit but the drug took away his thoughts of hopelessness and suicide. It reinvigorated a man of 35 who had always had lots of energy and curiosity about the world. While work-related stress induced the depression, we know it runs in my family, specifically one of our grandmothers.
I am sick and tired of people without firsthand experience of clinical depression telling the rest of us to just shake it off, get ourselves together, meditate, etc. That won't do the trick for those with diagnosed clinical depression.
Of course it's become a fad drug for some who can't face life's ups and downs. Of course it is often prescribed needlessly. Of course more often than not those with depression are not clinically depressed. They have the blues or are rebounding from the loss of a loved one, or sheer stress.
But those of us around my youngest brother have absolutely no doubt that within 2 months of starting the meds, he was nearly his old self again. And 18 years later he still takes a mild dose every day. Twice he tried to get off and twice his depression rebounded.
My only objection to Eli Lilly is that the drug has no true generic equivalent and so the user must pay a much higher cost for non-formulatory brands. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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| I did not say that it could not help people who are depressed, but that it was likely being used by people who do not need it. I have no doubt that many people who use it do need it. |
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safeblad
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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In my early teenage years I suffered from depression, which when you think about it isnt terribly unusual. My worried parents insisted that I go to the doctor, I cant blame for that.
I ended up on Prozac, actually with quite a mental addiction to prozac which I eventually shed when I realised it was doing me harm.
The drug made me very aggressive and violent. Maybe it is easier to say that I did things whilst on the drug, rather than that the drug MADE me do things. I dont know if that even makes sense.
Either way while I was on it I did horrible things that I am ashamed of, even now. 
My dad took it though and it worked out really well for him.  |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:10 am Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
| mindmetoo wrote: |
| igotthisguitar wrote: |
Most people are far better off simply sitting each moring for 10 minutes in quiet meditation. |
Sure. Most people don't suffer from clinical depression, however. |
And as I understand it, most people who are on prozac aren't suffering from clinical depression either...
But I don't know much on the topic. My opinion is that people use meds instead of learning how to cope with life. |
I have no doubt many drugs are over prescribed. One need look no further than pain killers, sleep meds, and antibiotics. However, I don't doubt prozac is safe and effective (when combined with psychological therapy) for those who truly suffer from clinical depression. |
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stevemcgarrett
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:54 am Post subject: |
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BJWD wrote:
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| I did not say that it could not help people who are depressed, but that it was likely being used by people who do not need it. I have no doubt that many people who use it do need it. |
If that's what you intended to say, then I agree. Sorry for breathing down your neck.
mindmetoo:
Certainly far too many meds are overprescribed in the West these days--something else we could learn from Asians.
I myself sometimes take traditional Chinese herbal medicines which do wonders without side effects.
safeblad:
Studies have been done on whether there's a definitive link between Prozac and aggression and thus far all have proven inconclusive. That said, if you felt it made you moreso, that's enough for me. Then again, perhaps the stress your body and mind was under at the time incited you to violence?? |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 2:55 am Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
| I have no doubt many drugs are over prescribed. One need look no further than pain killers, sleep meds, and antibiotics. However, I don't doubt prozac is safe and effective (when combined with psychological therapy) for those who truly suffer from clinical depression. |
Hmmmmm ... likely could not have said things any better myself.
Agreed  |
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