Boy, are my arms tired! Adventures of the Owlcat.

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Brain Storms

Prozac-Yikes My last therapist used to say that, given the current dearth of knowledge doctors have about the workings of the brain, trying to fix mental disorders using blunt instruments like medication or ECT was about as effective as a mechanic attempting to fix an automobile with the hood down. “Still,” she said, “you should take antidepressants.”

I may have been depressed, but I wasn’t crazy and her speech did little to inspire my confidence in pharmaceutical cures. I had already tried Wellbutrin and Zoloft, in separate trials, and didn’t much care for the results. I liked the not-depressed part, but I didn’t like the heavy, unshakable numbness that descended upon me after a few days of taking either of those medications. In other words, I didn’t miss the valleys, but I sure as hell missed the peaks.

In addition to my own experimentation with SSRIs, I have not been convinced by any currently available scientific evidence that medication is the right antidote for me, or most other people who are battling depression and anxiety.

The New Bad News

A study released in November, 2004, conducted by Welmoed E. E. Meijer, PhD, and colleagues in The Netherlands and published in "The Archives of Internal Medicine," shows an increase in uterine and gastrointestinal bleeding among new users of antidepressants, including Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft.

Plus, SSRI and SSNRI antidepressants, like those listed above and others, have been shown to induce side-effects like Tardive Dyskinesia/Dystonia (a severe body movement disorder, mostly permanent), Parkinsonism (a sign of future Parkinson's disease) and Akathisia (a Neurological driven severe mania and agitation that can lead to self-harm).

These facts have only underlined my feeling that antidepressants could conceivably create a health hazard as severe and scandalous as those seen with the Cox-2 Inhibitors. It's not like Americans can trust the Food and Drug Administration or the pharmaceutical companies to come up with definitive answers about the safety of new medications — and these medications are relatively new compared to say, the Salk vaccine. This view isn't just unfounded paranoia. David Graham, a drug-safety reviewer at the FDA, recently told the Senate Finance Committee, "I would argue that the FDA, as currently configured, is incapable of protecting America against another Vioxx. We are virtually defenseless."

So, here's what is known about these drugs. They help some people. They don't help others at all. They make some people feel lethargic and sick to their stomachs (not to mention those pesky bowel problems that most drugs seem to have as a side-effect). They decrease the desire for sex in some people. They help some people for a period of time and then they stop helping them. They make some people psychotic. They make some depressed children commit suicide. They make some people shake uncontrollably, and possibly permanently. And now, they make some people lose the ability to form blood clots.

The Old Good News

On the bright side, there is one safe, proven method to alleviate depression: exercise. In several studies it has been found that although antidepressants may facilitate a more rapid initial therapeutic response than exercise, after 16 weeks of treatment exercise is equally effective in reducing depression among patients with major depressive disorders.

At $34 per month, my membership at the YMCA is more cost effective than a monthly prescription and ongoing doctor and therapist visits. Exercising also provides other health benefits besides the lessening of depression. For one thing, it increases the desire for sex. However, exercise requires time and effort.

There is no quick fix to solving mental disorders like depression and anxiety. (Let me be clear, I am not opining about schizophrenia or other, more severe problems, which may well require medication.) Even taking the "quick-fix" pills could necessitate months of trial and error until the right drug or combination is found — if one doesn't give up in despair first.

Back to Common Sense

To choose medication as the first resort to reduce depression seems dangerous at this point in our pharmaceutical evolution. It may be easier than making the effort to do some Sweatin' with the Crazies. But that's like saying it's easier to have a gastrointestinal bypass operation than it is to limit calories and do some sit-ups.

And much like the confusion about dieting in America, a confusion fueled by the mixed messages about what to eat and how to lose weight being put forth by the greedy, advertainment media, many conflicting voices will point the way to rapid remedies for feeling bad. It might be the little purple blob on the TV screen telling one that their negative feelings can be fixed with a trip to the pharmacy, or it might be one's frustrated therapist or spouse who tells them that drugs are the answer.

Plato believed that the sound minds of the Philosopher Kings he envisioned as rulers of his imaginary, utopian metropolis needed the calming influence of strenuous sport to make them whole human beings. Exercising the mind alone, he knew, would only create an imbalance within people's psyches. And though he does not state it explicitly, I believe Plato would have eschewed limiting one's diet to saturated fats to lose weight, too.

In the end, all that's known is that the drugs currently available have not been shown to be the solution for everyone and they cause irreparable harm to many. Exercise, on the other hand, is not harmful and has been shown to have countless benefits. And as soon as someone figures out how to make a lot of money from that idea, it could become the remedy of choice.

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The Cradle Will Rock

Prozac, Paxil and other antidepressants of the category known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs,plus serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, which include Effexor, when taken late in pregnancy, have been shown to adversely affect newborns. According to a May 2005 Journal of the American Medical Association report, these babies will show symptoms such as jitteriness, irritability and respiratory problems during their first few weeks of life.

Though most symptoms are mild and dissipate after a couple of weeks, some require lengthy and costly hospital stays. There are no current studies showing the long-term effects of such drugs.

The FDA has recently mandated that drug makers label this category of drugs to include information about these recent alarming findings.

As always, caveat emptor.