The drugs don’t work???????
Anti-depression drugs don't work - study
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are swallowing antidepressant pills that don't work, a groundbreaking study shows. The study - one of the largest into popular drugs, including Prozac - has found the pills have no "clinically significant" effect. The results showed the drugs increased patients' scores on a 51-point depression scale by an average of only two points, although the study reported the drugs had a more significant effect on patients with severe depression. And it suggested "talking treatments" should replace drug treatments for clinically depressed people. The drugs were prescribed more than 700,000 times in New Zealand last year at a cost of almost $28 million. The medical director of the drug-buying agency Pharmac, Dr Peter Moodie, last night said the study included "some very interesting data", and would be discussed by the agency's clinical committees.
WHAT?????? We spend $28million on drugs that don’t work? You mean all those ‘clinical trials’ put out by the drugs companies that will directly benefit from glowing reports on their product were wrong? All those little spin dr. Eichmann’s in white coats passing reports with little scientific value in a multi billion dollar pharmaceutical rort that has also has the rotting corpses of teenagers who have gone suicidal while on mind altering drugs – but Pharmac won’t rush to change things – no surprises there – these drugs are only of value to people with severe clinical depression, they are not a vitamin supplement in our pills as-a-quick-fix society.
posted by Bomber @ 6:17 am
6 comments
6 Comments:
- it suggested "talking treatments" should replace drug treatments for clinically depressed people. -
But talking treatments would cost way more, so not going to happen,,,
Especially in the Manawatu.
Think what it shows is an over perscription. The drugs do work however they have to be taken as directed and you have to have actual depression, not just be sad that your cat dies, as thats a natural feeling.
I know from personal experience of a close family member how much difference anti depressives make when someone actually needs them, they can actually feel happy.
Also I read on The Sydney Morning Herald that the survey was done for an insuffient period, 6 weeks or something instead of 6 months. Also it had a figure of 90% being on the study should not of been. However that last percentage concerns me the most, why the hell are 90% of people on something that the association behind the area of health, pyscologist ass or something, says themselves only 10% should be on it
These type of drugs were produced to make doctors feel better and to give them an out.
Roche did it first with the valium drugs, they were marketed as a fix for doctors.
We are to blame as well, most people expect the doctor to offer something to be told 'sorry but there is no cure for being miserable, or having an unhappy life' is not acceptable to most people - even if it is true.
I am sick of constantly hearing the advice 'go and see your doctor/GP' it is used as a complete sentence, it isn't.
Most GP's know very little, they work on the principle that most of the time people will recover, in spite of, rather than because of 'treatment'.
There is no more evidence that 'taling' is anymore effective.
Most things get better from natural remision, wishful thinking or because people weren't really sick in the first place, so things seem to work, thats why so many people 'believe' in things like the 'magna-sleep' or faith healers. On the occasions when you are really sick you are in trouble as often (despote what people want to believe) there is little avalable to help. Most families have a 'doctor' story, go home and take two ????? - mostly people aren't sick so thats ok, if you are you can end up dead, with one leg or in a wheelchair.
These things were particualrly (orginally at least) aimed at women so no-one cared to much if there was evidence as long as it shuts them up.
People make a huge mistake when they believe doctors can diagnose - all the studies hove shown that doctors are crap at that, computers do a much better job but the doctors ego has to be protected so they won't accpet and admit the truth.
Yeah previous posters are onto it. They are
1) overprescribed
and
2) the study was not long enough.
Apparently they need quite a bit of time to build up in the adipose tissue to actually reduce the worst effects of depression.
However they do make you more active almost immediately, which is why many people commit suicide soon after going on them. The drugs give them some `get up and go`, but they are still depressed. So they top themself.
All this study shows is we have to be very careful about studies and statistics.
So if the drugs don't work then what's making all the unhappy people happy then?
Put this is a capsule and we have a WINNER!
I have always been very skeptical of anti-depressants based upon the premise that even if they work you never really get better.
Doctors work on the fact that 99% of the time people get better all on their own. Either because they weren't really sick in the first place or because of natural remission.
So mostly take two (aspirin, voltarin, or whatever is in fashion at the time) and come back in a week if you are not better works - the doctors and pills were irrelevant, in a week most people are better anyway.
As for being unhappy it is a bit of attention, some pills (doesn't matter what’s in them) and time.
People say the maga-sleep, prayer, faith healing, supplements ..... work, because they believe.
Just because you do A (take pills) and then B happens (you feel better) does not mean the two events are connected.
Simple really.
Of course on the (rare) occasions someone is trully ill - the outcomes can be .... well you know the rest.
It is good plumbing, nutrition and other social improvements that make us healthier and live longer - by and large doctors and drugs have taken credit for improvements they had little or nothing to do with.
Always remember the most important thing in a doctors office is - the doctors EGO.
More NZ'ers need to join the skeptics.
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