[log in to unmask] writes:
< But to be serious: something doesn't add up here. Prozac was welcomed by
the XTC-using community as a legitimate drug that would have a major "up"
effect. Until they found out that one has to be on the drug for several days
and sometimes even weeks before it takes effect. And those guys here
inAmsterdam will rigorously try any legal pill. >
*** Not only have I witnessed violent episodes occur within the first two
days of acute Prozac usage among several very mild-mannered people, that
possibility has been mentioned clinically. Unfortunately, there is no way of
predicting which percentage of people may experience those types of
side-effect. The court transcript did not appear in the news report, but you
could contact the courts concerned to confirm that the defense team took
great pains to hunt of that sort of information. Anyway, the court decision
is being appealed and no doubt even more of that information will emerge.
By the way, the manufacturers of Prozac even ADMIT in their new patent that
their drug can cause violence. In a front page article on June 11, 2000 by
Mitchell Zuckoff entitled "Prozac new directions: Science, money drive a
makeover," the Globe followed-up on its original May 7, 2000 article (see
below) revealing that the patent for the new Prozac acknowledges that the
current version of the drug can cause suicidality and violence.
Dr. Glenmullen who has written a new book on this subject (see the review
below) is quoted by the Globe as saying: "Lilly's (the manufacturers of
fluoxetine) efforts to discredit clinicians, scientists, and journalists
trying to foster greater discussion, research, and awareness of this side
effect is one of the most disgraceful chapters in American corporate history."
Here is some further information on fluoxetine (Prozac/Paxil):
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LANCET ARTICLE
The article, "Dangers of fluoxetine" which appeared in the January 18, 1997
issue of Lancet is a letter written by Dr. Robert Bourguignon, of Belgium,
offers more information on this issue. He reports in his letter that he and a
colleague sent questionnaires to 500 Belgium physicians asking for reports of
serious side effects from Prozac.
Dr Bourguignon said in his letter that eleven doctors reported what he
classified as serious events. These side effects which were reported included
"a feeling of going to die" and panic attacks; "great nervousness" during
first 2 weeks of treatment; aggressive behavior coupled with alcohol abuse in
one patient; suicidal ideas leading to "paranoid psychosis;" and in two
patients nervous breakdowns leading to "barely controllable suicide
attempts." The doctor also reported convulsions in two cases.
Dr Bourguignon's letter gives further information about how the questionnaire
was done, as well as describing Eli Lilly's opposition to the questionnaire.
He concludes that "The company's reassurance about Prozac's safety of use and
efficiency causes some practitioners not to monitor their depressive patients
closely enough. Eli Lilly's denial of the existence of these side-effects and
refusal to discuss them gives cause for concern. "
--------------------------------------------
BOOK ON PROZAC
Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other
Antidepressants
with Safe, Effective Alternatives
Roughly 28 million Americans -- one in every ten -- have taken Prozac,
Zoloft, or Paxil or a similar antidepressant, yet very few patients are aware
of the dangers of these drugs, nor are they aware that better, safer
alternatives exist.
by Joseph Glenmullen, M.D.
ISBN: 0684860015
Now Harvard Medical School's Dr. Joseph Glenmullen documents the ominous
long-term side effects associated with these and other serotonin-boosting
medications.
These side effects include neurological disorders, such as disfiguring facial
and whole-body tics that can indicate brain damage; sexual dysfunction in up
to 60 percent of users; debilitating withdrawal symptoms, including visual
hallucinations, electric shock-like sensations in the brain, dizziness,
nausea, and anxiety; and a decrease of antidepressant effectiveness in about
35 percent of long-term users.
In addition, Dr. Glenmullen's research and riveting case studies shed
shocking new light on the direct link between these drugs and suicide and
violence.......
Dr. Glenmullen argues that antidepressant drug therapy is justified only in
moderate to severe cases -- no more than 25 percent of patients currently
taking these drugs -- and that we should avoid patients' exposure to these
drugs whenever possible. The dangerous side effects, he points out, are
caused by Prozac backlash, which is the brain's reaction to artificially
elevated levels of serotonin.
Using vivid real-life stories from his work at Harvard, his private practice,
and the latest medical research, Dr. Glenmullen explains the real role of
serotonin in depression and challenges the popular, hypothetical notion of a
"serotonin deficiency" allegedly corrected by the drugs. He relates the
research history of Prozac and similar drugs, and includes disturbing facts
about the influence of drug companies and HMOs on media representation of
that research.
For dozens of very informative reviews of this revealing book:
<http://www.glenmullen.com/reviews.html#newYorker>
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MORE INFORMATION FROM DR BOURGUIGNON
Here are extracts from another article by Dr Bourguignon on the side-effects
of Prozac:
<http://www.camtech.net.au/malam/reports/prozac.htm>
Robert Bourguignon MD
But is Prozac as safe as its manufacturer says? Or is there a hidden face to
this success? It would seem so. By 1996, the American FDA had received some
40,000 reports of Prozac-associated adverse reactions, many of them quite
serious. As early as the eighties, reports warned of Prozac's potential
dangers. In 1990, Martin Teicher et al, of Harvard Medical School, reported
six cases of "intense suicidal preoccupation" in patients who had been
prescribed the drug (American Journal of Psychiatry, February 1990).
According to the authors, "none of these patients had ever experienced a
similar state during treatment with any other psychotropic drug". This
inspired a wave of further reports and controversy in the medical literature.
In September 1991, in spite of many harrowing accounts from "Prozac
survivors", an advisory committee of the FDA cleared Prozac. Yet "suicidal
ideation" and "violent behaviours" were added to the label as "reported, but
not proven".
In 1994, David Healy (then consultant to Eli Lilly) published an article
entitled "The Fluoxetine and Suicide Controversy, a Review of the Evidence"
(CNS Drugs, March 1994) (1) in which he opines that antidepressants, Prozac
included, can indeed induce suicidal behaviour in a minority of patients.
Since 1990, an organisation set up by former Prozac users who have suffered
adverse events and their relatives, the so-called "Prozac Survivors Support
Group (PSSG), has been active to warn patients against the possible
side-effects of Prozac.
1994 saw a major milestone in Prozac's legal history. As the first of some
160 cases filed, The Fentress Case (popularly known as The Wesbecker Case)
was tried at Louisville, Kentucky (2). Back in 1989, Jo Wesbecker had killed
and wounded several of his coworkers, and thereafter committed suicide, a few
weeks after starting a Prozac treatment. By a divided 9 to 3 vote (the
smallest possible margin), the jury denied the plaintiffs' claim against
Lilly, but Judge John Potter's doubts about the proceedings led him to seek
to be authorised to carry out further hearings.
Ultimately, the Kentucky Supreme Court granted him the right to do so in
early 1997. Thus it came to light that the plaintiffs had reached a secret
deal with Lilly. In spite of their original denials, both parties have now
admitted the deal, but they are still refusing to divulge the details. An
attorney in the know has described the amount involved as one "that boggles
the mind" (see for instance John Cornwell, "The Power to Harm", Viking, 1996)
.........
In March 1998, I testified in a murder case at an Assizes trial in Belgium. A
man who had shot his partner in 1995 claimed he had done so because of
Prozac. This trial became a national event. Several people testified to
their bad experiences with Prozac in the media.
It is quite remarkable that Lilly did not use any scientific arguments to
deflect criticism: no new survey was published, although that would have been
the best response to public questioning about the safety of the drug.
In 1993, William Forsyth, a retired businessman residing in Maui, Hawaii,
stabbed his wife to death, then committed suicide ten days after starting
Prozac. His children are suing Lilly, claiming Prozac is to blame for their
father's acts. Eli Lilly sought "summary judgement", but on January 5, 1998,
Judge Alan Kay decided there were sufficient grounds for the case to be tried
before a federal jury in Honolulu. Having been postponed
several times, this trial is now scheduled to take place in March 1999.
In July 1997, I was asked to testify at the Forsyth trial. Besides some other
practitioners, also David Healy will act as an expert witness for the
plaintiffs.
It is my opinion that Prozac can induce psychotic episodes in a small
percentage of patients (5-7%), especially those with borderline or manic
personalities. In a small minority of these people, psychosis manifests
itself by
dangerous behaviours such as self-mutilation and suicidal/homicidal ideation
and acts. So far, Lilly has refused to conduct (or publish the results of)
double-blind studies specifically developed to find out more about these
possible side-effects. In my opinion, by refusing to do so, Lilly fails to
meet normal standards in health care.
In my opinion Lilly unduly reassures doctors and patients, while neglecting
doctors' and patients' reports by calling them "anecdotal". It would appear
that Lilly is prepared to go to great lengths to protect Prozac sales.
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FURTHER WEB RESOURCES ON PROZAC
<http://www.breggin.com/prozac.html>
<http://www.garynull.com/Documents/prozac1.htm>
<http://www.garynull.com/Documents/prozac2.htm>
<http://www.breggin.com/bulletinprozac5.html>
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Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/
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