Re: FDA SAYs

Posted by linkadge on June 23, 2008, at 13:15:20

In reply to Re: FDA SAYs, posted by blueboy on June 23, 2008, at 9:52:33

I will break with the flow and argue that some of these medications actually do increase the risk of suicide.
There is the convenient hypothesis that these meds just "give the patient the energy" before actually reducing their depression. I don't buy this, especially when it comes to anticonvulsants as they generally lower drive and energy.
Why is it not possable for these meds to increase suicide? Just because a med is called an "antidepressant" or a "mood stabilizer" doesn't mean it needs to live up to its title. And besides, how did it get the title in the first place? From data! If data is capable of supporting the safety of a drug, then it should be equally capable of questioning the safety of a drug. If the data starts uncovering new facts about a drug, why would we not listen?
Data comparisons of lithium to depakote for instance, show that lithium has clear antisuicide effects while depakote apears to increase suicide slightly.
Most of the anticonvulsants are essentially function like benzodiazapines with much less abuse potential. The benzodiazapines have been shown to increase the risk of suicide especially in the depressed patient population. The anticonvulsants are great for mania but it is well known they do little for depression.
Many of the anticonvulsants are slightly neurotoxic, they tend to decrease hippocampal neurogenesis and decrease stem cell proliferation. They also interfere with important mood regulating nutrients like folic acid.
Keep in mind that a number of these studies are controlled too. Its not just some researcher comparing a group of psychiatric patients on a drug to health controls (of course that would show a higher suicide rate). So, the argument "the patients are ill, its not the drugs" may not be correct. Instead, the studies generally compare equally sick psychiatric patients assigned to the active drug and a placebo. If this type of study shows that the active drug increases suicidal tendancies, then it might be a good idea to listen.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Linkadge

Thread

FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suicide Phillipa 6/22/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suic dbc 6/22/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suic » dbc Phillipa 6/22/08
Re: FDA SAYs » Phillipa Mc Comfortable 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs blueboy 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs » blueboy Mc Comfortable 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs linkadge 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs linkadge 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs » linkadge Mc Comfortable 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs linkadge 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs dbc 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suicide bleauberry 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suic » Phillipa Mc Comfortable 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suic » Mc Comfortable Phillipa 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suic dbc 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suic » dbc Mc Comfortable 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs linkadge 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suicide » bleauberry linkadge 6/23/08
Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suicide bulldog2 6/24/08
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Re: FDA SAYs Seizure Meds May Or Can Lead to Suicide » linkadge Bob 6/28/08

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