Posted by Bob on April 23, 2003, at 16:24:24
In reply to Serotonin isn't a fad ! ??!, posted by linkadge on April 23, 2003, at 13:23:47
> For those of you who are taking AD's to improve what was relativly normal to begin with, fine lets wait for the new drug to come out.
>
> But for the rest of use who aren't really
> here to get a high, Serotoin will never
> go away. If you're genetically predisposed
> to have nill Serotonin, then whatever med
> you take - it'd better fix that problem.
>
> Prozac isn't a fad - it stopped me from
> shooting myself in the head. So please,
> have a little respect here. Yes new drugs
> may come out to have improved response or
> side effect profiles, but for us who are
> in this for real, these drugs aren't just
> the flavor of the month.
>
>
> I've played this game before, you say
> yeah, serotonin's nice but I need some
> of this. Then you're back where you started
> because you didn't learn from your past
> mistakes.
>
>
> So if you're just playing this game,
> and never had problems in the first
> place then fine, but I caution those
> who've made it a long way on SSRI's
> not to just toss them for the newest
> thing that Comes along.
>
> For all intents and purposes, Remeron
> was supposed to be that mirracle drug,
> but it made me more suicidal than ever.
>
>
> Please have respect for those of us
> to which this is really an illness
> not a game.
>
>
> Linkadge
My dear, dear Linkadge:How, in God's dear name, do you know that I was "relatively normal"? How do you come to the conclusion that I'm "playing a game"? Those are two of the largest and most unjustified assumptions I've seen in quite awhile. BTW, I don't know who called serotonin a "fad", but it wasn't me. Please don't accuse me of having no respect - I don't think it has anything to do with disrepect towards another individual who takes these meds. I to have been faced with suicide many times, and as you probably can imagine, it was not pretty. I have to admit that the drugs "saved" my life, but that doesn't mean I like them. I hate that I have to live with them. My quality of life on them ever since I got sick and had to take them has suffered tremendously.
I too have been stung by going off meds to try the latest and greatest. The best example of that for me was Topomax. It very nearly killed me and that is absolutely no exaggeration. The problem is, I have never found a drug that restores an adequate enough level of funtioning to say to my self, "ok, I can live with this indefinitely." That's why me, people like me, and the drug companies will always be feverishly searching for something better. There's no question that the current pharmacologic armamentorium has brought significant benifits to people - nobody is disputing that. No one can dispute however, that there is massive room for improvement, both in side effect profiles, as well as ability to treat a broader range of patients and conditions.
I've taken a whole, whole lot of drugs (Prozac and Remeron included) and been through a hell of a lot of pain. I can honestly say that I never discontinued a drug for a frivolous reason. It was because of either an unacceptable side-effect profile, or inappropriate/insufficient response. Those decisions are never taken lightly.
poster:Bob
thread:221618
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030423/msgs/221812.html