Thank you for this concise summary of the pitfalls of antidepressants. I witnessed their detrimental effects in one of my children, whose anxiety and depression was 'treated' with a parade of different medications. None worked past a couple of months, and several induced suicide ideation and out-of-control behavior. The last medication she was on--Effexor--was a nightmare to titrate off. Too fast, and brain zaps, twitching limbs. and severe depression and fatigue. There are 40 spansules in each capsule. I know--I took them apart and counted them, removing 1 every two days. It took 9 months to come off the lowest dose of this medicine.
Back then, I believed the physicians and pharmacists (after all, I'm a pharmacist myself), and having my children go through the mental health 'system' is one of my greatest regrets. Especially since many of their issues turned out to stem from tick-borne problems and, for one, HPV vaccination. I've since been red-pilled to the industry, and helping myself, my family, and others through plant medicine, food, and other 'alternative' therapies.
Happy to say the kids are medication-free and thriving. Most importantly, they are emotionally intelligent and able to recognize all moods pass in time. The overmedication of mental illness is up there with vaccination as one of the truly heinous assaults on humanity. Peace...
Well done mom! you did the best at the time with the information you had...Now, onto helping others navigate the Big Pharma Demon$ assault on Humanity !!!
This couldn't have been more timely for me. My 57 year old neighbor took her life violently 3 weeks ago. I know she was depressed and on meds that were being adjusted. Her husband told me a few days ago she often went days without talking. These were not the actions of the carefree woman I met 10 years ago and I definitely suspect SSRI's. Her husband is devastated and told me he has been on anti depressants for 3 years now too. What in God's name is wrong with their doctor? Seriously now I fear for him too. 🥲
The sad thing here is these were two well educated people. At what point do people wake up? Thank God for The Midwestern Doctor and other doctors like him and for other followers so you know you aren't alone in your thinking.
I had a psychiatrist put my son on an SSRI when he was 14 and I will never forget what he said to me after about a week of taking it.
He stated that he felt nothing like he could go kill people and have no feeling whatsoever about it and that’s when I told him to stop taking that crap.
I then started looking into SSRI and the harms and the fact that they’ve never done any studies on how they affect a growing brain.
Now, how can you give medicines like that to children and not have any studies of what that does to a growing brain. I can say our pharmaceutical industry, and our medical industry in part are evil.
It wasn't my idea. I already knew how bad these SSRI drugs are and when I discovered my son was prescribed them (unbeknownst to me) because my SISTER'S son was on these drugs... And my boy was residing with them at the time.
I did extensive research, sent all concerned parties the results of my research however that only served to deepen "the divide".
I can't even talk about those years. (I write.)
It's been nearly 15 years since our relationship began disintegrating.
In late 2021: My son again disregarded my pleas and instead took his cousin and aunt's advice: he rolled up his sleeve.
He was Pfizered, injured, and is now on 3 different toxic autoimmune disease drugs, along with Prozac.
I'm trying to stay in touch with him but he seems to really care less. Unless I make contact.
I love my only begotten boy and have taken to praying for his full recovery. Which is all I can think of to do now. (Am not religious.)
He has rejected everything else I've tried.
Anyway... Just spewing. (THANK GOODNESS for Substack eh?😂)
I was put on anti-depressants 24 years ago and started trying to get off them 4 years ago when I began my deep dive into rabbit holes brought on thru Covid. Doctor said to just taper off over a few weeks...ha. Impossible. I have managed to reduce the dose to half a capsule/pill every 3 days - which is a considerable reduction especially since I was on the lowest doses to begin with. This is after 3 years of trial and error and discovering that taking any less than that and I become completely lost in a dark cloud of hopelessness and don't want to live anymore. I also lost my sex drive which has put a huge strain on my marriage. I believe my psychiatrist all those years ago meant well - and she was probably lied to, as well. Doctors desperately need to do research on alternative sites about everything they prescribe!!!
I was very anxious about stopping the anti-depressant I was on, too. I probably should have stopped sooner, but I was too afraid I would end up in the deep dark hole I had been in for way too long.
I was put on a drug at barely 20. Because of bad effects I got labeled bipolar and put on a bunch of drugs including the kind that drove me nuts originally.
Doctors don't care. As long as they can play around on their yachts, eating caviar and champagne, with multiple MacMansions and expensive name brand cars and clothes, hobnobbing with the other uber rich yuppies (politicians/journos/academics/pharma shills) they don't give a rip about all us bits of trash to be swept away as collateral damage.
An entire medical field exists for the sole purpose of crippling people so they can't lead normal lives. That's what's wrong with Western medicine. Morally bankrupt scum running the whole show at the top and those just beneath are too greedy to ask questions.
Lingering illness is the best model when it comes to making money. And socializing the system just makes the doctors less accountable to those they may injure or kill.
One of the things not appreciated about SSRIs is they are far more than SSRIs. They affect many receptors and do not just inhibit serotonin reabsorption. If that were the case you could clean swap out saffron, which is a serotonin analog, for one's SSRIs. But you cant' because SSRI's are not selective as they claim.
I’ve taken saffron pills in the past, and I believe they helped my mood. I prefer to stick to God made substances.
I asked my mom’s hospital psychiatrist about the chemical imbalance in her bipolar brain. The MD replied that they don’t really know anything about it, it’s just a theory 😳
It’s so sad to see the devastation brought on by the pharmaceuticals that claim to help. What a lie! People actually believe that they need these drugs, which is a huge part of the problem. Have they tried feeding their bodies what they need? Natural food, sunlight, sleep, thinking on good, true things?
Saffron works really well for many people, as well or better as prozac for mild depression and as well or better then ritalin (and is much safer than ritalin) for ADHD. I would recommend anyone with ADHD or depression go look up the (Iranian) studies on it and consider giving it a go. It also allegedly helps with inflammation related chronic pain (but the two people I know with arthritis who are on it for depression - and doing very well re depression - have not noticed any improvement in their chronic pain).
PS - that is not a suggestion that you stop whatever you are on and take saffron instead, by the way. Saffron is something that you can safely add on top of whatever pain, depression or ADHD medication you are already taking. If you get a good result you can then look at working with your doctor to slowly reduce your SSRI/ritalin/pain meds/whatever. At least that is the safest and most likely to succeed way of doing it.
When reading your comment, RE Nichols, AMD's article on ultraviolet blood irradiation came to mind. I wondered if that treatment might help you since it seems beneficial for a wide array of conditions.
I so appreciate this article. I am still dealing with the side effects after being pushed by well-intentioned people around me (including my therapist) to take SSRI'S. And this is after having been off for several years already. I could get into details but suffice it to say that I have struggled with almost everything MWD notes in this article. And the sad thing is that it took me YEARS to figure out how much of what I was going through was related to these demonic drugs. None of this is disclosed by practitioners. I'm glad to be past the worst of it and I am also glad that I have enough knowledge now to protect my kids from this poison. I have also seen the trend of people being able to speak out against them finally (this was absolutely taboo until recently in many Facebook groups, etc). I am praying for RFK Jr to be successful in ridding our children's lives of all the poisons our government and corporate overlords have inflicted upon us/them. Godspeed Mr Kennedy.🙏
Rudolph Steiner had a lot to say about demonic drugs, over 100 years ago.
I think our current modern lifestyle does not help our souls. I am done with therapists. They all come from the same School of $$$ from you. Healers, priests, shamans, anything other than dulling the soul.
My son has experienced 2.5 years of serious, debilitating side effects from ceasing antidepressants. I would give anything to turn the clock back and tell those doctors no thank you, my 14-year old doesn’t need multiple antidepressants. Please keep publishing the truth so people who are considering these drugs will look for natural alternative treatments instead.
I took antidepressants while working for the Army. First Paxil, which made me so mellow I could hardly do my job. Later, Effexor, which worked well but was a BITCH to come off of.
When I started to suffer panic attacks and depression two years ago, my primary care doctor's PA tried to get me back on Effexor because 'it worked so well the first time.' She ignored the withdrawal. I asked what about dementia and Alzheimer's, are they a risk? She said she didn't know but I'd have twenty or so happy years before that happened.
Um, no. I stuck it out. It's been two years. I was getting better, then my mother fell ill and died after over two months of misery. A setback, but I knew I would get better. Working with a therapist, reading books about positive thinking and an occasional chewable GABA has gotten me over the worst of it. Oh, and lemon balm and chamomile tea in the morning and afternoon.
I'm glad I turned them down. Three freaking times, they tried to get me to take them. I just had a feeling that, especially for grief - I'd just retired, so was grieving my past life and not having a purpose, then grieving my mother - I was just putting off the grief instead of going through it.
I think SSRIs DO work for some, but I wish the doctors didn't use it as a port of first call. At least ask the patient to come back after a period of time to see if the depression has lifted, rather than a prescription the first time a patient mentions feeling anxious or blue.
Yay, me!! It was a long two years, but I've learned a lot that will stand me in good stead the next time. And best of luck to all of us out there - you have to find what works for you.
Yes, SSRIs DO work for some. I was bullied into Lexepro by a doctor, and took it just to prove to her that I didn't need it. After two days, I woke up a different person: happy, and most startling, guilt-free. I had felt guilty about everything, and would beat myself up for every mistake. Ten years later, I am still on the smallest dose, and I have zero side effects. I would love to go off, because who wants to admit they're on an anti-depressant? What I would like to see is a test that patients could take that could tell us which patients would actually benefit from SSRIs. MWD has mentioned a process called methylation, and a test, but has not given enough detail that I can take to my (newer and much better) doctor.
Yes im interested in learning more about this too. I'm a rapid responder taking 20 mg prozac twice a week. I also take 50 mg amitriptyline hs twice a week. I've read the book doc recommended and need to read it again(i love to read and thought i had the book next to me to say the name but it's replaced with Think Like a Monk lol). Both of these meds have been life savers for me.
So what do you do when the Only avenue for relief you have found are SSRIs? It is not as simple as stopping the SSRI and exercising harder or whatever someone suggests. The Depression itself can be Extremely dangerous. I have started and stopped SSRIs for thirty years and have never found another option that was effective. And living in the Hell that is severe, clinical depression is Not an option. So, what do you do?
The relationship between chronic infection and depression is compelling. Suicide among those with chronic Lyme is much higher than the general population, for example. We are nutritionally deficient - depression being a major symptom. We are toxic which also causes mental issues. We are being bombarded with poison every minute. We are looking at blue screens for hours. It causes depression fatigue and metabolic dysregulation. It's amazing that we are not all laying in heaps in the streets. There is much that we could do just using common sense - like turn the lights out when you sleep. Seriously. Start with what you CAN do. I have been where you are. I had a Swedish counselor tell me that I would never go on anti depressants again if I committed to one hour of aerobic exercise a day for the rest of my life. I was 24 and dying of an eating disorder. I took the challenge. I am now 64 and although I have been tempted, I take that power walk before I pick up the phone. When I get home, I'm like," I'll wait and see how I feel tomorrow.
These drugs are sadly not the answer, but can worsen your depression, thinking & outlook. When I see commercials re antidepressants that list suicide as a side effect—how can that even be for an antidepressant or anti-anxiety?!
I’m so sorry that you are up & down with SSRIs. I think you need to find a good doctor, schooled also in holistic & see if you can wean off these drugs & what else you can do to make yourself more healthy. I also have a dear friend who has been using SSRIS for years & she isn’t the same person I used to know. And she also finds it tough to go w/o.
So if you find a solution, do share.
Maybe Midwestern doc can do a follow up article on resources to help people?
Lithium orotate is just very low-dose lithium. It has surprisingly low solubility. (Most lithium salts are either deliquescent, or totally insoluble.) Lithium increases mellowness and patience, while reducing grumpiness. However, titrating the correct dose (best approached from below) is important. Excessive urination and thirst are the first symptoms of overdose. Worse, as well as goiter, are possible.
You look at how it’s working for you. Benefits vs risks. If the alternative is losing a life changing treatment, or even a life saving one, if your depression is severe and the med is what keeps suicidal behavior at bay, the calculus favors the med or finding another treatment like intensive therapy and or a different med.
Don't listen to these people. It's all nonsense. If you want to find an alternative to long term SSRI use (and why wouldn't you? Being on these drugs is not ideal even though AMidwesternDoctor and the commenters ideas about them are mostly not true) then the best thing for you to do is to find a good naturopath who is confident in working with mental health cases (assuming that you are not fortunate enough to have a natural therapy orientated psychiatrist in your area) and work with said naturopath towards that goal. They will be able to prescribe you a mixture of herbs and supplements which should realistically be able to at the very least either reduce your dose of SSRI OR improve your level of wellness on the SSRI.
Yes...in my case i know there is the need for very low dose meds as i wrote above. I also know it's likely something besides my strategies of exercising, meditation, spiritual, mindfulness based cognitive therapy, energy psychology...that i haven't found. ..maybe saffron ! Also, i have yet to get my trampoline (i have an intuitive idea this will help).
Pharmaceuticals in general are the leading cause of dysfunction and death in America. Many have fluoride in them. Many cause men to lose their testosterone. Which can cause problems within a relationship. I've seen this. The FDA needs to be shut down. The doctors at hospitals are financed by pharmaceutical industries. The doctors are always pushy pushy for you to take their drugs. When I tell them they make me feel sick they yell at me. Because I know they're getting kickbacks basically to poison America.
Another example of enormous wealth co-opting well intended medical doctors. The insidious control money now has over health care has almost completely removed the health part. Care works for the greedy because it is a constantly flowing cash resister. Health is a polar opposite to today's health care industry. Healthy people are not furthering the interests Rockefeller, Gates, The Welcome Trust et. all. Around a recent outback fishing trip campfire my M.D. friend shared "if I give you good health advice, I don't get paid. If I write you a prescription, I do". A very sad example of health care no longer being about health.
Respectfully, I would like to remind you that correlation does not prove causation. People that take these are on them due to mental problems they had prior to taking them. Maybe the pills made their behavior worse, maybe they didn't. I have been taking citalopram for several years 40 mg once per day, and noticed a dramatic improvement in my moods and general happiness immediatly after starting them. Again correlation doesn't prove causation, but in this case I became happier immediatly after starting taking them, I recall it was the very first day, so the timing is a fairly strong indicator that it is the pills. Perhaps I should stop taking them and see what happens, although I was quite depressed before and I don't want to return to that state, it scares me. Depression is a powerful force, I was having a hard time functioning until amazingly things changed, and the change correlated exactly to when I started the pills. Perhaps I will reduce the dosage and see what happens. I do agree that the power of chemical substances to alter our thoughts is amazingly high and we must be very careful. I am thinking of trying CBD oil as a substitute. I must admit, though I am generally much happier, if I get angry about something the anger does seem to be more intense, although I'm not sure if that is due to the pills, or social media, or something else such as DEI doing it to me.
He does not categorically condemn the use of anti-depressants. What he DOES do is offer some reason for skepticism on widespread use. Like it nor not, the data on mass shootings is real and ALARMING. What is most alarming is the lack of discussion in the medical literature regarding violence and self harm on these meds.
I have known a few friends who were placed on these drugs mostly for post menopausal depression and post partum depression. Guess what? There is NO OFF ramp. The people I know who were placed on them felt better for a while then felt numb and flat. Not sad, not elated, just flat. We should ALL be skeptical of adding drugs to our bodies and especially drugs for the rest of one's life. Ask questions. Read.
Steve, please stay on the meds which made and keep you well which you and your doctor worked out together. There is no need to risk a relapse into another depression. Only those who have gone through it and come out the other side understand it fully!!
100% Finally a voice of sanity. If you are thinking of finding a substitute for your citalopram, you might want to look into medicinal saffron. You are likely to find it a lot more useful then CBD oil. My advice would be to start the saffron first and if you get a good result, then work with your prescribing doctor to reduce the citalopram gradually.
I agree with those who say: "don't play around with this!" Just because some people suffer side effects does not mean everyone will. It seems like it would be impossible for someone not to actually be helped out of all the millions who were prescribed. Be observant to your thoughts, read everything you can on the subject, and communicate with your MD.
That saying-correlation does not prove causation, is a worn-out phrase when people don't like truth. What you don't realize is that people are in fact prescribed these meds inappropriately. One of the first things my primary doctor offered me for severe hot flashes was prozac and/or eat more soybeans. My mother cried at her Dr appointment when talking about my dad who was on hospice. He offered her prozac instead of taking a few minutes to talk to her.
I practiced Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry for a number of years before switching over to Integrative Healthcare. Although I did witness some people have symptomatic improvement on anti-depressants and other types of psychotropic medications, the battlefield was littered with the wounded, victims of friendly fire. I could no longer stomach the harm I was doing by prescribing these medications, and gradually reduced and finally eliminated my prescribing of these toxic substances. The good that they do is more than outweighed by the harm caused, from my direct experience. I couldn't stomach it, and I had no idea how other psychiatrists were able to tolerate harming their patients as they must have. I think it is part of the degeneration more broadly of the field of medicine from a "First Do No Harm" emphasis to a "standard of care" emphasis, where medical decisions are made not in the interests of the patient, but in the interests of protecting the doctor from the accusation of "deviating from the standard of care".
These were once supposed to be synonymous but it has been painful obvious from the very start that this was never true. I hope that we will soon reach the denouement for the debacle of standard of care medicine and return to Hippocratic and humanistic principles, which were the basis of why most doctors went into medicine into the first place. Standard of care medicine is just corporate welfare, a wolf masquerading in sheep's clothing. It is high time to rip off the costume and get back to first principles of medical ethics.
Thank you for bringing up the standard of care. Think of how many therapies were the "standard of care" that were actually useless and often harmful and remained the standard until someone found a new treatment breaking with the standard of care.
The discovery that H. pylori infection is a primary cause of most peptic ulcers led to a paradigm shift from symptomatic treatment to curative therapy through bacterial eradication.
Key Contributors: Dr. Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren identified H. pylori in 1982 and demonstrated its role in gastritis and peptic ulcers. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005 for their groundbreaking work. Dr. Marshall was criticized for his finding Hp in ulcers so he infected himself with the bacteria and cured it with an antibiotic.
Ignaz Semmelweis (1818–1865): The Father of Hand Hygiene
Contribution: In 1847, while working at Vienna General Hospital, Semmelweis observed that physicians often transmitted infections from autopsies to patients in maternity wards, causing high mortality rates from puerperal fever. That was the standard of care. He introduced mandatory handwashing with a chlorinated lime solution, which dramatically reduced mortality rates from 18% to less than 2%
Joseph Lister (1827–1912): Pioneer of Antiseptic Surgery
Contribution: Building on the germ theory proposed by Louis Pasteur, Lister introduced antiseptic techniques in the 1860s, including washing hands and instruments with carbolic acid to prevent infections during surgery. He published his findings in The Lancet in 1867, revolutionizing surgical practices and reducing post-operative infections significantly.
Legacy: Lister's work led to widespread adoption of handwashing and antiseptic practices by the 1870s, making surgery safer and earning him the title "Father of Modern Surgery"
Thank you again, for the phenomenal — and very hard — work abridging this article.
I wonder whether the combination of SSRIs and COVID shots could be putting seniors (especially) over the edge of paranoia and dementia. A neighbor of ours, in his 80s, seems to be coming unglued. I do not know whether he’s on SSRIs, but he definitely took COVID shots and boosters.
Yes, very sad. Anything foreign that can travel to the brain — including the mRNA jabs and aluminum adjuvants in various vaccines — CANNOT be anything but harmful. Lots of shot-caused dementia. I’m betting the combo of SSRIs and the shots could be making things so much worse. With so many people on SSRIs, it’s no wonder people are literally going crazy.
Back in the early 2000's, my OBGYN said I could take prozac (called seraphim) for us depressed ladies when I just learned I was pregnant. I can't believe that? I asked if it was safe for pregnancy and of course she said yes.
Thank you for this concise summary of the pitfalls of antidepressants. I witnessed their detrimental effects in one of my children, whose anxiety and depression was 'treated' with a parade of different medications. None worked past a couple of months, and several induced suicide ideation and out-of-control behavior. The last medication she was on--Effexor--was a nightmare to titrate off. Too fast, and brain zaps, twitching limbs. and severe depression and fatigue. There are 40 spansules in each capsule. I know--I took them apart and counted them, removing 1 every two days. It took 9 months to come off the lowest dose of this medicine.
Back then, I believed the physicians and pharmacists (after all, I'm a pharmacist myself), and having my children go through the mental health 'system' is one of my greatest regrets. Especially since many of their issues turned out to stem from tick-borne problems and, for one, HPV vaccination. I've since been red-pilled to the industry, and helping myself, my family, and others through plant medicine, food, and other 'alternative' therapies.
Happy to say the kids are medication-free and thriving. Most importantly, they are emotionally intelligent and able to recognize all moods pass in time. The overmedication of mental illness is up there with vaccination as one of the truly heinous assaults on humanity. Peace...
"The overmedication of mental illness is up there with vaccination as one of the truly heinous assaults on humanity". Precisely.
Glad to hear your family survived and is now thriving.
Good job!
Well done mom! you did the best at the time with the information you had...Now, onto helping others navigate the Big Pharma Demon$ assault on Humanity !!!
Trying my best to help others on individual levels, as well as through the policy machine. Everyone needs to use their voice. Peace...
This couldn't have been more timely for me. My 57 year old neighbor took her life violently 3 weeks ago. I know she was depressed and on meds that were being adjusted. Her husband told me a few days ago she often went days without talking. These were not the actions of the carefree woman I met 10 years ago and I definitely suspect SSRI's. Her husband is devastated and told me he has been on anti depressants for 3 years now too. What in God's name is wrong with their doctor? Seriously now I fear for him too. 🥲
The same thing that is wrong about most doctors...they worship at the alter of big pharma.
The sad thing here is these were two well educated people. At what point do people wake up? Thank God for The Midwestern Doctor and other doctors like him and for other followers so you know you aren't alone in your thinking.
I had a psychiatrist put my son on an SSRI when he was 14 and I will never forget what he said to me after about a week of taking it.
He stated that he felt nothing like he could go kill people and have no feeling whatsoever about it and that’s when I told him to stop taking that crap.
I then started looking into SSRI and the harms and the fact that they’ve never done any studies on how they affect a growing brain.
Now, how can you give medicines like that to children and not have any studies of what that does to a growing brain. I can say our pharmaceutical industry, and our medical industry in part are evil.
Same story with my only child.
It wasn't my idea. I already knew how bad these SSRI drugs are and when I discovered my son was prescribed them (unbeknownst to me) because my SISTER'S son was on these drugs... And my boy was residing with them at the time.
I did extensive research, sent all concerned parties the results of my research however that only served to deepen "the divide".
I can't even talk about those years. (I write.)
It's been nearly 15 years since our relationship began disintegrating.
In late 2021: My son again disregarded my pleas and instead took his cousin and aunt's advice: he rolled up his sleeve.
He was Pfizered, injured, and is now on 3 different toxic autoimmune disease drugs, along with Prozac.
I'm trying to stay in touch with him but he seems to really care less. Unless I make contact.
I love my only begotten boy and have taken to praying for his full recovery. Which is all I can think of to do now. (Am not religious.)
He has rejected everything else I've tried.
Anyway... Just spewing. (THANK GOODNESS for Substack eh?😂)
Praying for you Unapologetically Me, and your son. Spew away, we listen and care.
We'll pray for him, too. 🙏💕🤗
many PRAYERS of HOPE for you and your son...GOD alone can HEAL !!!
I was put on anti-depressants 24 years ago and started trying to get off them 4 years ago when I began my deep dive into rabbit holes brought on thru Covid. Doctor said to just taper off over a few weeks...ha. Impossible. I have managed to reduce the dose to half a capsule/pill every 3 days - which is a considerable reduction especially since I was on the lowest doses to begin with. This is after 3 years of trial and error and discovering that taking any less than that and I become completely lost in a dark cloud of hopelessness and don't want to live anymore. I also lost my sex drive which has put a huge strain on my marriage. I believe my psychiatrist all those years ago meant well - and she was probably lied to, as well. Doctors desperately need to do research on alternative sites about everything they prescribe!!!
I was very anxious about stopping the anti-depressant I was on, too. I probably should have stopped sooner, but I was too afraid I would end up in the deep dark hole I had been in for way too long.
SSRI drugs ruined my life.
At 51 I feel 80. Multiple health issues.
I was put on a drug at barely 20. Because of bad effects I got labeled bipolar and put on a bunch of drugs including the kind that drove me nuts originally.
Doctors don't care. As long as they can play around on their yachts, eating caviar and champagne, with multiple MacMansions and expensive name brand cars and clothes, hobnobbing with the other uber rich yuppies (politicians/journos/academics/pharma shills) they don't give a rip about all us bits of trash to be swept away as collateral damage.
An entire medical field exists for the sole purpose of crippling people so they can't lead normal lives. That's what's wrong with Western medicine. Morally bankrupt scum running the whole show at the top and those just beneath are too greedy to ask questions.
Lingering illness is the best model when it comes to making money. And socializing the system just makes the doctors less accountable to those they may injure or kill.
I hate liking this, but it is spot on.
yup
One of the things not appreciated about SSRIs is they are far more than SSRIs. They affect many receptors and do not just inhibit serotonin reabsorption. If that were the case you could clean swap out saffron, which is a serotonin analog, for one's SSRIs. But you cant' because SSRI's are not selective as they claim.
I’ve taken saffron pills in the past, and I believe they helped my mood. I prefer to stick to God made substances.
I asked my mom’s hospital psychiatrist about the chemical imbalance in her bipolar brain. The MD replied that they don’t really know anything about it, it’s just a theory 😳
It’s so sad to see the devastation brought on by the pharmaceuticals that claim to help. What a lie! People actually believe that they need these drugs, which is a huge part of the problem. Have they tried feeding their bodies what they need? Natural food, sunlight, sleep, thinking on good, true things?
Saffron works really well for many people, as well or better as prozac for mild depression and as well or better then ritalin (and is much safer than ritalin) for ADHD. I would recommend anyone with ADHD or depression go look up the (Iranian) studies on it and consider giving it a go. It also allegedly helps with inflammation related chronic pain (but the two people I know with arthritis who are on it for depression - and doing very well re depression - have not noticed any improvement in their chronic pain).
PS - that is not a suggestion that you stop whatever you are on and take saffron instead, by the way. Saffron is something that you can safely add on top of whatever pain, depression or ADHD medication you are already taking. If you get a good result you can then look at working with your doctor to slowly reduce your SSRI/ritalin/pain meds/whatever. At least that is the safest and most likely to succeed way of doing it.
Since going off mine, my entire body has become horribly inflamed.
Restrictive diet, exercise, regular sleep, etc. only help so much.
When reading your comment, RE Nichols, AMD's article on ultraviolet blood irradiation came to mind. I wondered if that treatment might help you since it seems beneficial for a wide array of conditions.
https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/the-evidence-putting-light-inside
This is true! SSRIs is the fancy marketing name they came up with.
I so appreciate this article. I am still dealing with the side effects after being pushed by well-intentioned people around me (including my therapist) to take SSRI'S. And this is after having been off for several years already. I could get into details but suffice it to say that I have struggled with almost everything MWD notes in this article. And the sad thing is that it took me YEARS to figure out how much of what I was going through was related to these demonic drugs. None of this is disclosed by practitioners. I'm glad to be past the worst of it and I am also glad that I have enough knowledge now to protect my kids from this poison. I have also seen the trend of people being able to speak out against them finally (this was absolutely taboo until recently in many Facebook groups, etc). I am praying for RFK Jr to be successful in ridding our children's lives of all the poisons our government and corporate overlords have inflicted upon us/them. Godspeed Mr Kennedy.🙏
"And the sad thing is that it took me YEARS to figure out how much of what I was going through was related to these demonic drugs."
A lot of people are prescribed "demonic" drugs rather than be treated by therapists in order to get to the ROOT of their issues labeled: "depression".
If you know what I mean...
Those issues don't magically get resolved by dulling senses with anti-depressant drugs.
Just my opinion.
I think in the majority of cases an orthomolecular approach to depression would FIX most people.
Rudolph Steiner had a lot to say about demonic drugs, over 100 years ago.
I think our current modern lifestyle does not help our souls. I am done with therapists. They all come from the same School of $$$ from you. Healers, priests, shamans, anything other than dulling the soul.
My son has experienced 2.5 years of serious, debilitating side effects from ceasing antidepressants. I would give anything to turn the clock back and tell those doctors no thank you, my 14-year old doesn’t need multiple antidepressants. Please keep publishing the truth so people who are considering these drugs will look for natural alternative treatments instead.
I took antidepressants while working for the Army. First Paxil, which made me so mellow I could hardly do my job. Later, Effexor, which worked well but was a BITCH to come off of.
When I started to suffer panic attacks and depression two years ago, my primary care doctor's PA tried to get me back on Effexor because 'it worked so well the first time.' She ignored the withdrawal. I asked what about dementia and Alzheimer's, are they a risk? She said she didn't know but I'd have twenty or so happy years before that happened.
Um, no. I stuck it out. It's been two years. I was getting better, then my mother fell ill and died after over two months of misery. A setback, but I knew I would get better. Working with a therapist, reading books about positive thinking and an occasional chewable GABA has gotten me over the worst of it. Oh, and lemon balm and chamomile tea in the morning and afternoon.
I'm glad I turned them down. Three freaking times, they tried to get me to take them. I just had a feeling that, especially for grief - I'd just retired, so was grieving my past life and not having a purpose, then grieving my mother - I was just putting off the grief instead of going through it.
I think SSRIs DO work for some, but I wish the doctors didn't use it as a port of first call. At least ask the patient to come back after a period of time to see if the depression has lifted, rather than a prescription the first time a patient mentions feeling anxious or blue.
Yay, me!! It was a long two years, but I've learned a lot that will stand me in good stead the next time. And best of luck to all of us out there - you have to find what works for you.
❤️👍
Yes, SSRIs DO work for some. I was bullied into Lexepro by a doctor, and took it just to prove to her that I didn't need it. After two days, I woke up a different person: happy, and most startling, guilt-free. I had felt guilty about everything, and would beat myself up for every mistake. Ten years later, I am still on the smallest dose, and I have zero side effects. I would love to go off, because who wants to admit they're on an anti-depressant? What I would like to see is a test that patients could take that could tell us which patients would actually benefit from SSRIs. MWD has mentioned a process called methylation, and a test, but has not given enough detail that I can take to my (newer and much better) doctor.
Yes im interested in learning more about this too. I'm a rapid responder taking 20 mg prozac twice a week. I also take 50 mg amitriptyline hs twice a week. I've read the book doc recommended and need to read it again(i love to read and thought i had the book next to me to say the name but it's replaced with Think Like a Monk lol). Both of these meds have been life savers for me.
So what do you do when the Only avenue for relief you have found are SSRIs? It is not as simple as stopping the SSRI and exercising harder or whatever someone suggests. The Depression itself can be Extremely dangerous. I have started and stopped SSRIs for thirty years and have never found another option that was effective. And living in the Hell that is severe, clinical depression is Not an option. So, what do you do?
The relationship between chronic infection and depression is compelling. Suicide among those with chronic Lyme is much higher than the general population, for example. We are nutritionally deficient - depression being a major symptom. We are toxic which also causes mental issues. We are being bombarded with poison every minute. We are looking at blue screens for hours. It causes depression fatigue and metabolic dysregulation. It's amazing that we are not all laying in heaps in the streets. There is much that we could do just using common sense - like turn the lights out when you sleep. Seriously. Start with what you CAN do. I have been where you are. I had a Swedish counselor tell me that I would never go on anti depressants again if I committed to one hour of aerobic exercise a day for the rest of my life. I was 24 and dying of an eating disorder. I took the challenge. I am now 64 and although I have been tempted, I take that power walk before I pick up the phone. When I get home, I'm like," I'll wait and see how I feel tomorrow.
These drugs are sadly not the answer, but can worsen your depression, thinking & outlook. When I see commercials re antidepressants that list suicide as a side effect—how can that even be for an antidepressant or anti-anxiety?!
I’m so sorry that you are up & down with SSRIs. I think you need to find a good doctor, schooled also in holistic & see if you can wean off these drugs & what else you can do to make yourself more healthy. I also have a dear friend who has been using SSRIS for years & she isn’t the same person I used to know. And she also finds it tough to go w/o.
So if you find a solution, do share.
Maybe Midwestern doc can do a follow up article on resources to help people?
You might listen to Andrew Saul about niacin therapy. You can learn more about it at his website www.doctoryourself.com
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7K2tqxKf2EE
Thanks. I will.
Have you investigated an over the counter supplement called "lithium orotate"?
Lithium orotate is just very low-dose lithium. It has surprisingly low solubility. (Most lithium salts are either deliquescent, or totally insoluble.) Lithium increases mellowness and patience, while reducing grumpiness. However, titrating the correct dose (best approached from below) is important. Excessive urination and thirst are the first symptoms of overdose. Worse, as well as goiter, are possible.
You look at how it’s working for you. Benefits vs risks. If the alternative is losing a life changing treatment, or even a life saving one, if your depression is severe and the med is what keeps suicidal behavior at bay, the calculus favors the med or finding another treatment like intensive therapy and or a different med.
I'm in the same boat. I just wanted to say you're definitely not alone.
Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and their Families
The book gets good reviews.
Don't listen to these people. It's all nonsense. If you want to find an alternative to long term SSRI use (and why wouldn't you? Being on these drugs is not ideal even though AMidwesternDoctor and the commenters ideas about them are mostly not true) then the best thing for you to do is to find a good naturopath who is confident in working with mental health cases (assuming that you are not fortunate enough to have a natural therapy orientated psychiatrist in your area) and work with said naturopath towards that goal. They will be able to prescribe you a mixture of herbs and supplements which should realistically be able to at the very least either reduce your dose of SSRI OR improve your level of wellness on the SSRI.
Yes...in my case i know there is the need for very low dose meds as i wrote above. I also know it's likely something besides my strategies of exercising, meditation, spiritual, mindfulness based cognitive therapy, energy psychology...that i haven't found. ..maybe saffron ! Also, i have yet to get my trampoline (i have an intuitive idea this will help).
Of course you stay on the meds which keep you well! This essay is propaganda and is wrong . You and your doctor worked out what you need!!
Propaganda for what? What is the benefit of writing this?
Pharmaceuticals in general are the leading cause of dysfunction and death in America. Many have fluoride in them. Many cause men to lose their testosterone. Which can cause problems within a relationship. I've seen this. The FDA needs to be shut down. The doctors at hospitals are financed by pharmaceutical industries. The doctors are always pushy pushy for you to take their drugs. When I tell them they make me feel sick they yell at me. Because I know they're getting kickbacks basically to poison America.
Another example of enormous wealth co-opting well intended medical doctors. The insidious control money now has over health care has almost completely removed the health part. Care works for the greedy because it is a constantly flowing cash resister. Health is a polar opposite to today's health care industry. Healthy people are not furthering the interests Rockefeller, Gates, The Welcome Trust et. all. Around a recent outback fishing trip campfire my M.D. friend shared "if I give you good health advice, I don't get paid. If I write you a prescription, I do". A very sad example of health care no longer being about health.
Look up the definition of medical and medicine and tell us if the word “HEALTH” is anywhere in sight?
Respectfully, I would like to remind you that correlation does not prove causation. People that take these are on them due to mental problems they had prior to taking them. Maybe the pills made their behavior worse, maybe they didn't. I have been taking citalopram for several years 40 mg once per day, and noticed a dramatic improvement in my moods and general happiness immediatly after starting them. Again correlation doesn't prove causation, but in this case I became happier immediatly after starting taking them, I recall it was the very first day, so the timing is a fairly strong indicator that it is the pills. Perhaps I should stop taking them and see what happens, although I was quite depressed before and I don't want to return to that state, it scares me. Depression is a powerful force, I was having a hard time functioning until amazingly things changed, and the change correlated exactly to when I started the pills. Perhaps I will reduce the dosage and see what happens. I do agree that the power of chemical substances to alter our thoughts is amazingly high and we must be very careful. I am thinking of trying CBD oil as a substitute. I must admit, though I am generally much happier, if I get angry about something the anger does seem to be more intense, although I'm not sure if that is due to the pills, or social media, or something else such as DEI doing it to me.
The case is quite strong and detailed in the longer article.
Your case is complete garbage.
He does not categorically condemn the use of anti-depressants. What he DOES do is offer some reason for skepticism on widespread use. Like it nor not, the data on mass shootings is real and ALARMING. What is most alarming is the lack of discussion in the medical literature regarding violence and self harm on these meds.
I have known a few friends who were placed on these drugs mostly for post menopausal depression and post partum depression. Guess what? There is NO OFF ramp. The people I know who were placed on them felt better for a while then felt numb and flat. Not sad, not elated, just flat. We should ALL be skeptical of adding drugs to our bodies and especially drugs for the rest of one's life. Ask questions. Read.
not a very thoughtful comment.
Yes it's where i learned about the book.
Steve, please stay on the meds which made and keep you well which you and your doctor worked out together. There is no need to risk a relapse into another depression. Only those who have gone through it and come out the other side understand it fully!!
100% Finally a voice of sanity. If you are thinking of finding a substitute for your citalopram, you might want to look into medicinal saffron. You are likely to find it a lot more useful then CBD oil. My advice would be to start the saffron first and if you get a good result, then work with your prescribing doctor to reduce the citalopram gradually.
I agree with those who say: "don't play around with this!" Just because some people suffer side effects does not mean everyone will. It seems like it would be impossible for someone not to actually be helped out of all the millions who were prescribed. Be observant to your thoughts, read everything you can on the subject, and communicate with your MD.
I think there is an impact, at least in my case, of TBI. I also have seen the meds help more people than they harmed.
Agreed!
Don't stop citalopram abruptly. That causes flu-like symptoms.
That saying-correlation does not prove causation, is a worn-out phrase when people don't like truth. What you don't realize is that people are in fact prescribed these meds inappropriately. One of the first things my primary doctor offered me for severe hot flashes was prozac and/or eat more soybeans. My mother cried at her Dr appointment when talking about my dad who was on hospice. He offered her prozac instead of taking a few minutes to talk to her.
I practiced Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry for a number of years before switching over to Integrative Healthcare. Although I did witness some people have symptomatic improvement on anti-depressants and other types of psychotropic medications, the battlefield was littered with the wounded, victims of friendly fire. I could no longer stomach the harm I was doing by prescribing these medications, and gradually reduced and finally eliminated my prescribing of these toxic substances. The good that they do is more than outweighed by the harm caused, from my direct experience. I couldn't stomach it, and I had no idea how other psychiatrists were able to tolerate harming their patients as they must have. I think it is part of the degeneration more broadly of the field of medicine from a "First Do No Harm" emphasis to a "standard of care" emphasis, where medical decisions are made not in the interests of the patient, but in the interests of protecting the doctor from the accusation of "deviating from the standard of care".
These were once supposed to be synonymous but it has been painful obvious from the very start that this was never true. I hope that we will soon reach the denouement for the debacle of standard of care medicine and return to Hippocratic and humanistic principles, which were the basis of why most doctors went into medicine into the first place. Standard of care medicine is just corporate welfare, a wolf masquerading in sheep's clothing. It is high time to rip off the costume and get back to first principles of medical ethics.
Thank you for bringing up the standard of care. Think of how many therapies were the "standard of care" that were actually useless and often harmful and remained the standard until someone found a new treatment breaking with the standard of care.
The discovery that H. pylori infection is a primary cause of most peptic ulcers led to a paradigm shift from symptomatic treatment to curative therapy through bacterial eradication.
Key Contributors: Dr. Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren identified H. pylori in 1982 and demonstrated its role in gastritis and peptic ulcers. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005 for their groundbreaking work. Dr. Marshall was criticized for his finding Hp in ulcers so he infected himself with the bacteria and cured it with an antibiotic.
Ignaz Semmelweis (1818–1865): The Father of Hand Hygiene
Contribution: In 1847, while working at Vienna General Hospital, Semmelweis observed that physicians often transmitted infections from autopsies to patients in maternity wards, causing high mortality rates from puerperal fever. That was the standard of care. He introduced mandatory handwashing with a chlorinated lime solution, which dramatically reduced mortality rates from 18% to less than 2%
Joseph Lister (1827–1912): Pioneer of Antiseptic Surgery
Contribution: Building on the germ theory proposed by Louis Pasteur, Lister introduced antiseptic techniques in the 1860s, including washing hands and instruments with carbolic acid to prevent infections during surgery. He published his findings in The Lancet in 1867, revolutionizing surgical practices and reducing post-operative infections significantly.
Legacy: Lister's work led to widespread adoption of handwashing and antiseptic practices by the 1870s, making surgery safer and earning him the title "Father of Modern Surgery"
Excellent comment, thank you, Dr. Brody.
Thank you again, for the phenomenal — and very hard — work abridging this article.
I wonder whether the combination of SSRIs and COVID shots could be putting seniors (especially) over the edge of paranoia and dementia. A neighbor of ours, in his 80s, seems to be coming unglued. I do not know whether he’s on SSRIs, but he definitely took COVID shots and boosters.
studies are now showing the POI$ON Injecticide$ cause psychosis -UGH!
Yes, very sad. Anything foreign that can travel to the brain — including the mRNA jabs and aluminum adjuvants in various vaccines — CANNOT be anything but harmful. Lots of shot-caused dementia. I’m betting the combo of SSRIs and the shots could be making things so much worse. With so many people on SSRIs, it’s no wonder people are literally going crazy.
Might it be "cancer" drugs? My sister's bf's husband became wildly "unglued" shortly before Christmas and he died a couple of weeks ago.
Not elderly though.
No cancer as far as I know. So sorry about your sister’s bf 😢
It was hard. On everyone. Thanks.
Back in the early 2000's, my OBGYN said I could take prozac (called seraphim) for us depressed ladies when I just learned I was pregnant. I can't believe that? I asked if it was safe for pregnancy and of course she said yes.
Believe the gods in white coats, and suffer the consequences with these and ALL drugs, the injectables being particularly dangerous and toxic!
Prozac is mostly fluoride. You can't overdose on it like one person I know who tried.