Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

[FinallyRN]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

I just want to clarify a couple of points brought up by all of you.
First, I can not speak for the UK so all this relates to the US only.

As Nancy said the generics are cheaper versions of the originals once the patent has ended. Usually 7 years. They have exclusive production so can charge what they want. As far as I know there is no chemical difference. Our laws are really strict that way.

Prozac is mostly prescibed to women because it has the best record in PMS depression, plus its been around the longest. Well documented results.
I was put on Prozac years ago. But I found the same thing Drenched in Wine found. I gained weight and drank more, but when I told my doc he said it usually affects people the other way, they loose weight..........just our luck not to be one of those right Drenched! It did help my depression though.
Also recently there has been a lot written on some anti-depressant causing suicidal thoughts. The thing about depression is, when its severe most people are too depressed to follow through with any acts. Its when they are being treated and begin feeling better that the energy exists to commit the act, which is why you have to watch them.

You're right. Everyone is different. Penicillin kills some people because they are allergic to it, and for others, it saves their lives. I get nervous with everyone being lumped in the same category. Hell, peanut butter can kill, but I love it.

[BILLYJACK]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Lets get one thing straight, here in the US, our government could care LESS what drug we take as long as we take a drug. The Food and Drug Administration is suppose to be our unit of government that is suppose to PROTECT its citizens from harmful drugs ect. They are actually the agency that APPROVES drugs. In the USA, they are PAID MIILIONS by pharacutical companies to get their drug approved, even though their is CLEAR evidence in lab tests that the drug was harmful in the first place.Its all about PROFITS in the USA.

DRUG companies?
a drug companies goal is to SELL MORE DRUGS. They do NOT want a monopoly or want anyone to compete with their sales, therefore, they have managed to coax/buy the federal government. Drug companies do NOT want people to get well. A drug companys goal is not to cure disease BUT TO SELL more DRUGS. If everyone in the world was healthy, the drug companies would be out of bussiness.

I dont trust our Doctors, or our government.. Im starting to seek homopathic remidies over prescription pills.

[nancy]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Thanks Finally RN for your comments.

I would also like to add that men might want to look into side effects related to sexual function when selecting an anti-depressant, as the profile is different.

Billy Jack, I don't share your pessimism though I understand it. I think drugs can be powerful and great but they should be used cautiously. Prevention should be the first route and also lifestyle/diet should be carefully reviewed. I think drugs are often given without looking into ANY of these things, which seems irresponsible to me. As for homeopathy, I don't know a lot about it. What I have read on the subject really turned me off of it.

Here is a definition of homeopathy from wilkipedia.
Note the last bit about "no molecules of the original substances remain". That is the part that makes me just say no to homeopathy and save my money. I suppose placebo effects may be strong.


Homeopathy (also homœopathy or homoeopathy; from the Greek ὅμοιος, h?moios, "similar" + πάθος, p?thos, "suffering" or "disease") is a controversial form of complementary and alternative medicine first used in the late 18th century by German physician Samuel Hahnemann.[1] His early work was advanced by later homeopaths such as James Tyler Kent, but Hahnemann's most famous textbook The Organon of the Healing Art remains in wide use today. The legal status of homeopathy varies from country to country, but homeopathic remedies are not tested and regulated under the same laws as conventional drugs. Usage is also variable and ranges from only two percent of people in Britain and the United States using homeopathy in any one year,[2][3] to India, where homeopathy now forms part of traditional medicine and is used by approximately 15 percent of the population.[4]

Homeopathic remedies are based on substances that, in undiluted form, cause symptoms similar to the disease they aim to treat.[5] These substances are then diluted in a process of serial dilution, with shaking at each stage, that homeopaths believe removes side-effects but retains therapeutic powers - even past the point where no molecules of the original substance are likely to remain.[6]

[MyHeartIsDrenchedInWine]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

FinallyRN;232087 wrote: I just want to clarify a couple of points brought up by all of you.
First, I can not speak for the UK so all this relates to the US only.

As Nancy said the generics are cheaper versions of the originals once the patent has ended. Usually 7 years. They have exclusive production so can charge what they want. As far as I know there is no chemical difference. Our laws are really strict that way.

Prozac is mostly prescibed to women because it has the best record in PMS depression, plus its been around the longest. Well documented results.
I was put on Prozac years ago. But I found the same thing Drenched in Wine found. I gained weight and drank more, but when I told my doc he said it usually affects people the other way, they loose weight..........just our luck not to be one of those right Drenched! It did help my depression though.
Also recently there has been a lot written on some anti-depressant causing suicidal thoughts. The thing about depression is, when its severe most people are too depressed to follow through with any acts. Its when they are being treated and begin feeling better that the energy exists to commit the act, which is why you have to watch them.

You're right. Everyone is different. Penicillin kills some people because they are allergic to it, and for others, it saves their lives. I get nervous with everyone being lumped in the same category. Hell, peanut butter can kill, but I love it.

Actually it is the minority that drinks and eats less and the majority that eats and drinks more, ESPECIALLY if the patient is female. Doctors simply tell you what their pharmaceutical rep tells them. Each and every pharmaceutical rep is a human being, flaws and all. Some reps are 21 year olds straight out of college and making all kinds of mistakes. In the US the reps have access to what each Doctor prescribes through their prescribing ID#. The pharmaceutical companies buy this data and give it to the reps. If a Doctor isn't prescribing what the pharmaceutical company wants the rep will put pressure on that Dr. The Dr's want to stay in the reps good graces because they offer free "spoon fed" education, saving the Dr's time & money. The problem is the "education" is all about profit and very biased. There are great drugs out there but I think people should also be aware of how the system works.

[Guest]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

To be perfectly honest, I think it pays to do our own research, if indeed the Gvt., pharmaceutical companies and the docs are in cahoots. This IS all about money and at the end of the day, pharmaceutical companies would fold if their drugs offered a foolproof cure........such companies are businesses, after all. Isn`t health "care" about making the most suitable, optimum brand of any drug available to us?

Yes, I am now bloody angry to be prescribed a generic form of anti-depressant and fully intend questioning my doc when I am due to see her for a repeat script. Docs don`t even make us aware that we`re being prescribed a generic form.......they don`t explain any of this.........it`s all being swept under the carpet. And yes, I do want to know where all the money is going that the Gvt. is saving on healthcare overall. Sure, I am not working, but it doesn`t follow that I am any less entitled to as good a brand of drug as someone who is. I have every right to feel like this, as there isn`t enough money being invested in the health service here in the UK. What makes me say that?.......personal experience, when this unemployed woman recently had to take her 15 yr. old for a private consultation with a neurologist or face a 6 mth. wait for an NHS consultation. If it takes half a yr. here to see a consultant, why the hell can`t the Gvt. afford us the real deal on drugs.

My argument remains, that generic forms of a drug may not be as potent in their percentage of active ingredient and the fact that different companies use different fillers in their capsules........a drug can react very differently in the body, dependent on the percentage of active ingredient and the filler used.

Somehow, I don`t think my doc is going to be very happy when I express my concerns........

Starlight Impress x

[nancy]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Hi Star


here is an article I found on generics versus patented drugs:

Generic drugs vs brand name drugs on MedicineNet.com

Here in the US, we can choose a patented but it costs more. I would never choose to pay more for the name brand version once a patent is over. I think if the active ingredients are the same, that is what counts. If the NHS can save money by using generics, that seems to make financial sense.

I think My Heart makes some interesting points. We had a good discussion on one thread about weight gain a while back and I stopped them because I was worried about it. I guess anti-depressants have different side effect risk profiles and I posted the weight gain effects by drug. The one I was on, had mild weight gain side effect. For me, 10-15 pounds is too much. Is mild 10-15 pounds? After going off it, I lost weight but I don't really know if the drug was to blame.

To My Heart: Where did you get the info that most women drink more on SSRIs? Is that anecdotal or is there actually evidence about this? I am very interested to know.

I think when it comes to anti-depressants, it's best not to generalize about effects as they seem to have different properties. I think some anti-depressants are believed to help weight loss (welbutrin) and some to lessen drinking. It makes sense that an anti-depressant could help if a person is self-medicating for depression. With food, if you lose your appetite while depressed you may regain it when the depression is relieved.

[lilnev]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

I know I didn't even feel like I had the strength to try to quit drinking until I started taking an SSRI (I'm on citalopram, 20 mg but thinking of going up to 30). Different anti-Ds work for different people, and I think it has more to do with personal metabolism and neurochemistry than with brand vs. generic. About half the people simply don't respond to any particular one. But if so, there's still a good chance that you'll respond to a different one. The anxiolytic properties and side effects profiles also differ somewhat; I wanted something that could help with anxiety as well, which means an SSRI rather than the norepinephrine/dopamine drugs (e.g. Wellbutrin); and I'd gained a lot of weight while depressed (and drinking), so she put me on citalopram, supposedly less associated with weight gain than fluoxetine. And I've lost some weight, though I seem to have stalled still 15 or 20 lbs over my ideal.

Anyway, I hope it works for you. Being depressed really, really sucks. If you're not not feeling better in 3 or 4 weeks (they take a while to go to work), ask your doc for a different one. Good luck and stay strong.

lilnev

p.s. This is the first time I've used the "busy" mood icon. Is that the world's worst cold sore, or what?

[MyHeartIsDrenchedInWine]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Here is an article describing the link between antidepressants and increased alcohol consumption/cravings.

ICFDA Alcohol Cravings Induced via Serotonin

[nancy]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Thanks for posting that My Heart.

I didn't know that hypoglycemia was listed as a side effect of anti-depressants.
I don't really get the bit about noradrenalin though. Do you know what that is about?

New part of post.
After reading My Heart's link i googled hypoglycemia and anti-depressants and found this link, which is also interesting:
Hypoglycemia Self-Evaluation

Boy I sure learn a lot from all of you!

[BILLYJACK]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Nancy,
you need to read the book by Kevin Trudeau called NATURAL CURES---they dont want you to know about. Or you could go to Natural Cures Home | NaturalCures.com

I read this book and am ABSOLUTLEY CONVINCED that the Government of the USA, the Pharmacutical companies,most doctors and the Food and Drug Administration has formed an elite conspiracy to keep the citizens of America on as many drugs as they can sell them.All in the name of MONEY!

95% of food manufactures, PURPOSELY add chemicals to their foods so that you will get FAT and later SICK. Its one VISCIOUS cycle from one conspiracy to the other, all in the name of GREED.

ALL drugs have side effects and do NOT treat the underlying cause of the problem. I can go on/on, but unless you have read this book,you would probably not be convinced.

I read the book, and I no longer trust most doctors,drugs,or the food we eat today.

Bill

[Cashregister]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Ahhh star, i've been on generic "prozac" which, yes, is fluoxetine hydrochloride, and had no issue with generic. I've heard some have probs but if you're not allergic to any of the ingredients really no issue - and so much cheaper
It works really well for a lot of people, and is one of the safest SSRIs cause is oldest and therefore had the most testing - it is my P-docs 1st line choice for an anti-depressant.
I always wanted to get the "brand name" version and leave the box lying casually round the house!
But the generic was fine with me, and it has nothing to do with you being thought of as "not worth the Brand name drug" , it means your doctor has propbably not been offered a free trip to the Maldives (conference sorry!!) by Elli Lilly!!! Generics are good I reckon - then the drug companies can't rip us off - I just always ask the chemist for the ingredients first - they know more about the actual drug than the Dr.
But don't be cross Star, it is not an issue if you are not allergic to something in it - not in my experience.
Did not put on weight on Prozac (well generic!!), but for me just was not the right drug (different mental health issue as I now know - oh hindsight).
As soon as a drug that i'm on comes out as a generic I go for it - sometimes half the cost.
Good luck with it
Cashy
xxx

[beatle]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

So much has been said here... just an add-on:

DRUGS AND BIG BUSINESS: Billy Jack is dead on. There are several doctors in my family (in the US and Europe) and they all confirm what he says. One of them even stopped practicing because she couldn't handle the pressure of the drug companies and insurance companies to do what went against her conscience.

HOMEOPATHY: I'm not in the mood to get into a debate here, but there is TONS of evidence that it is effective and that the results are not from the placebo effect (double blind studies). Homeopathists mostly admit they don't really know for sure why it works, but it does. (By the way, Calms Forte, part of the MWO regime, is a homeopathic formula. I'm sure there are many members who will confirm its efficacy.)

GENERIC DRUGS: My gut feeling is if it is less expensive, that's my choice, but my personal experience is when moved from a "patent" drug to a generic (without my knowing it), the effects were quite different. I'm not saying if it was worse or better, just very different. The formulations are NOT exactly the same, as Star points out, and maybe the generic is better for some and maybe the patent is better for others.

[trixietrack]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

billy jack I agree with you . I know that I still need to do a lot of research to keep informed.
patenting is really expensive, so is the advertising that goes to docs etc. that is why generic drugs are cheaper.
In regards to Prozac it was never meant to be used for long term on depression. I personally steer clear of to many pharma drugs.
Doctors are always pushing drugs for this and that. they like prescribing drugs that you need to take for extended periods of time, that's how they make their money.

[hippie37]

Prescribed meds eye-opener for me.

Here's a rather humorous look at prescribed meds and pharmaceutical companies.

Drugs I Need | Funny Video Animation by JibJab

Great thread by the way I'm learning a lot reading all the links.

Love and Happiness
Hippie
xx