Psych Drugs Used To Manufacture Insanity

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Pringle: Psych Drugs Used To Manufacture Insanity

Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 11:24 am

Opinion: Pringle

Psych Drugs Used To Manufacture Insanity

By Pringle

Many experts say the wide-spread epidemic of mental health problems in the

US is man-made. The case of Florence is a testament to this theory of

man-made insanity.

While mania, psychosis, anxiety, agitation, hostility, depression, and

confusion may be signs of mental illness, these same " symptoms " are referred

to as side effects on the labels of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric

medications used to treat mental illness.

Once Florence was placed on medication, whenever she experienced a

side effect from one drug, her doctor simply prescribed another until she

ended up in a drug-induced frenzy for which it would have been impossible to

distinguish which drug, or combination thereof, was causing the adverse

reactions.

The frenzy got worse and worse until she finally realized that she would

have to get off all the prescription drugs if she wanted it to end.

was first prescribed the SSRI antidepressant, Paxil for anxiety. She

began experiencing side effects from Paxil immediately and two weeks after

she began taking the drug her doctor put her on Klonopin.

Klonopin is used for treating seizure disorders and panic attacks. The

package insert says " less serious side effects " that may be likely to occur

include drowsiness or dizziness, poor coordination, nervousness, and

depression.

It also says, Klonopin may increase the effects of other drugs that cause

drowsiness or dizziness, including alcohol, sedatives, other seizure

medicines, pain relievers, antidepressants, anxiety medicines, muscle

relaxants, antihistamines, and others.

So now has Paxil, an antidepressant, and Klonopin an anticonvulsant,

all mixed together in her system even though she never had depression or a

seizure disorder.

In 2001, Dr Stefan Kruszewski, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist working for

the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, began documenting cases of

what he refers to as " insane polypharmacy, " the widespread off-label

prescribing of drugs for uses not approved by the FDA.

He found Neurontin, a drug with FDA approval for controlling seizures, " was

being massively prescribed for anxiety, social phobia, PTSD, social anxiety,

mood instability, sleep, oppositional defiant behavior, and attention

deficit disorder. "

" There's almost no evidence to support these uses, " Dr Kruszewski says.

There was no evidence to support placing on an anti-seizure drug and

doing so led to more side effects. " Between the Paxil and especially the

Klonopin, " she said, " I became more sedate than I wanted to be. "

Mentioning this side effect, prompted the doctor to add another drug to

's regiment. Next, he prescribed Provigil, " as an antidote to

psychotropics that had me over-sedated, " she explains.

" I think it's supposed to be for narcolepsy, " added.

But here again lies the problem. says she never had narcolepsy. " I was

just sluggish-feeling, " she says, " I didn't feel sleepy at all. "

Provigil was approved to treat narcolepsy. According to the August 4, 2005

Wall Street Journal, Provigil was approved by the FDA in 1998, to treat

excessive sleepiness and in 2003, it was approved to for the treatment of

" shift-work sleep disorder. "

The drug was certainly never approved for use in treating adverse reactions

caused by the combination of Paxil and Klonopin.

As it turns out, when it comes to off-label use, Provigil is a legend. SG

Cowen & Co analyst T Schmidt figures more than 50% of the drug's sales

are for unapproved uses, according to Business Week Online on November 4,

2004. " Doctors now prescribe it to treat everything from attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to fatigue associated with multiple sclerosis

and depression. "

The WSJ says doctors wrote 1.9 million prescriptions for Provigil in 2004,

generating $414 million in sales for its maker Cephalon, almost half of the

company's total revenues.

's case is a perfect example of the vicious cycle that develops when

doctors prescribe drugs for unapproved uses. She was given Provigil to

counter the sedating effects of Klonopin, which was prescribed to counter

the side effects of Paxil.

The adverse reaction that experienced when Provigil was added to the

mix was terrifying. " I took one pill and I thought I was coming out of my

skin, " she says. " It was one of the worst experiences of my life. "

" I felt as if someone had climbed inside me, " recalls.

" I moved more agitatedly, more stuccato in rhythm; I had trouble

concentrating; I couldn't find focus, " she said, " and I kept forgetting what

I was thinking a second earlier. "

" It was nightmarish, because I didn't feel like me, " continued, " I

didn't think like me, everything felt off. "

Twenty minutes after she took the first pill, she called her doctor and told

him that she had never felt so depersonalized in her life. " I remember

saying that word, " recalls.

The doctor explained that the sense of " not being me " was called

depersonalization.

Her experience after taking one pill was so horrible that says, " you'd

have had to tie me down, hold my nose and open my mouth with pliers to get

another one in me. "

But was her reaction really due to the Provigil? Its hard to see how anyone

could say yes with absolute certainty. Its important to remember that

was given Paxil for anxiety.

The latest FDA warnings say SSRI drugs like Paxil can cause anxiety,

irritability, hostility, aggressiveness and impulsiveness. Certain behaviors

are " known to be associated with these drugs, " including " anxiety,

agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, impulsivity,

akathisia (severe restlessness), " according to Proven Dangers of

Antidepressants by psychiatrist Dr Breggin.

" Akathisia makes people profoundly agitated, uncomfortable in their own

skin, jittery, impulsive, " says Dr ph Glenmullen, author of Prozac

Blacklash.

Akathisia sounds pretty much like what described to me. So was it a

reaction to Paxil or Provigil or both?

And 's story did not end with Provigil. The mad chemist was not through

with her yet.

After reporting the reaction she experienced after taking Provigil, the

doctor told her to quit taking the drug. He then prescribed Tenuate, a diet

pill that has since been pulled off the market. Tenuate comes with the

warning that it may cause dizziness, blurred vision, or restlessness, and

that it may hide the symptoms of extreme tiredness.

According to , through it all, she stressed to her doctor that she did

not want to take any drug that could be addictive.

Well, on Drugs.com, Tenuate is listed as habit forming. In fact, you can

become physically and psychologically dependent on this medication, and

withdrawal effects may occur if you stop taking it suddenly after several

weeks of continuous use, according to the warnings accessed on March 2,

2006.

Drugs.com says Tenuate is similar to an amphetamine and stimulates the

central nervous system. Instructions for use say before taking this

medication, tell your doctor if you have an anxiety disorder.

Which means went full circle and was back at square one being the

whole nightmare began when she was prescribed Paxil for anxiety.

*************

More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and

Settlements.com

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/psychiatric.html

By Pringle evelyn.pringle@...