Antidepressants --- Shortcut or Dead End?
The runaway bestseller for treating depression is fluoxetine hydrochloride, sold under the trade names Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lovan, and Luvox, used by about 30 million people worldwide. Fluoxetine hydrochloride inhibits the enzymes that break down serotonin so that more serotonin stays circulating in the brain.
Because it blocks the "re-uptake" of serotonin in the brain, it is defined as an SRI, a Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor.
What's wrong with that? After all, serotonin and dopamine are the two neurotransmitters that mediate mood. Why not inhibit serotonin reuptake and keep your brain cells sloshing in the stuff day and night? Guaranteed serenity, nothing bothers you...
And while you're at it, why not ensure you always have ample dopamine too? That way you could get a permanent boost in energy and initiative! So what's the DRI, the Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor?
Oops - it's cocaine...
We darn well know that cocaine isn't such a good idea for boosting dopamine levels: We've heard the horror stories of psychotic episodes and ruined lives. We may have observed the destructive effects of cocaine use in someone close to us. Still active cocaine users can fill us in on what's wrong with artificially and permanently elevated dopamine levels.
Could it be the same with fluoxetine hydrochloride, Prozac et al? If artificially raised dopamine levels are so destructive, we wondered, what about artificially raised serotonin levels? Here's what we found:
| Prozac Scares a Lot
of Very Credible People By December '95 there had already been reported 35,230 adverse reactions to Prozac - including hallucinations, aggression, hostility, assault, manslaughter and suicide - resulting in a total of 2,394 deaths. |
These antidepressant drugs also produce akathisia, a condition of constant agitation, not in the sense of fussing and fretting, but more a manic and speed-like state. It's been estimated that one quarter of Prozac users experience this side effect, often in conjunction with hostility, violent behavior and suicidal thoughts. Here are two recently reported examples:
A woman in her thirties had been taking Prozac for two years when she began having violent temper tantrums. One day, without provocation, she picked up a baseball bat and smashed the windshield of her car. Another young woman, moderately depressed over a divorce, was given Prozac. Shortly thereafter, she walked up to the bedroom of her two sleeping children and shot them dead. The newspaper story of the incident noted that she was on Prozac but immediately mentioned that it was "not related to the drug but merely coincidental."
The holistic practitioner Dr. Julian Whittaker reports what he personally saw happen in the family of a close friend whose sister was put on Prozac for depression. Her personality definitely changed, and two weeks later she shot herself. Dr. Whittaker's friend recalled that before his sister started taking Prozac, they would talk on the phone regularly, sometimes three times a day. But afterwards they had no communication at all for the two weeks prior to her suicide - she wouldn't pick up her phone or return her messages.
| Dr.
Whittaker states in his excellent newsletter Health and
Healing that Prozac The side effects of Prozac are far
more serious than just the addiction to it. Of
all the drugs I've ever cautioned people against,
Prozac is the one which terrifies me most." We must tell you in all fairness that we've also received a small number of messages from people who wanted us to know they were doing just fine on Prozac. |
Views on Prozac by People Who Neither Make It Nor Sell It
Why do so many people have such horrific experiences with Prozac? With the patterns of their self-destruction so similar to those of cocaine users? We searched the literature, questioned our scientific friends, and asked our corporate and show-biz performance trainers. The answers we got were all different but fell into two groups like this:
(1) A couple of scientists reminded us that cocaine doesn't produce dopamine, it just inhibits its re-absorption in the brain, keeping the "old" dopamine around longer. This increases brain dopamine levels for a while, but it also causes the body's metabolism itself to produce less and less new dopamine. Soon the cocaine user needs ever increasing doses to make the existing dopamine go further and last longer. Ultimately the body seems to stop producing dopamine altogether, so that no amount of cocaine is able to maintain dopamine levels. That's when the cocaine user finally crashes. Remember that low or no dopamine means extreme anxiety, raw fear, compulsive-obsessive behavior, and so on.The situation may be similar with fluoxetine hydrochloride, the serotonin reuptake inhibitor sold under the names Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lovan, or Luvox. It could mean that Prozac users will ultimately crash too.
That's one theory. It doesn't fit all cases but it made a lot of sense to us. It would mean that what's precious and should be enhanced is the body's own natural ability to make dopamine and serotonin.
(2) A slightly different view also made sense to us. It was taken by a number of the performance trainers. They claim that what you don't want are serotonin and dopamine levels that go straight up and then stay up. It's the last thing they want for their celebrity clients, some of whom are recovering drug abusers (surprise!).
They recommend that your serotonin and dopamine levels should fluctuate naturally over a 24-hour period. You want high dopamine in the morning and in stressful, confrontational situations. On the other hand you want your serotonin levels to rise for social events, and as the day comes to a close - so you can make peace with yourself and the world, go to bed and recharge your batteries. To produce such rhythmic neurotransmitter levels naturally is the objective of their diet and lifestyle recommendations.
In Business, How You Feel is What You Get
We came to the problem of depression from the side of business because we saw how badly lower mood levels reduced motivation, performance and income. We researched and compiled the information in FOOD, MOOD and MONEY because in business, "How You Feel Is What You Get." Our readers found that the natural methods in our report have caused their "inner weather" to brighten, first subtly, then dramatically, empowering them to tackle more challenges and achieving more goals than they ever dreamed they could.
Of course that's not the only application. Whatever lifts you from a neutral ("the blahs") mood level, will also lift you from such greater depths as dysthymia ("timidity"), and even depression. It just takes a few weeks, maybe a few months if you set out from a lower starting point. The FOOD, MOOD and MONEY diet is so powerful that we use St. John's Wort purely as an optional "mellow" supplement. So if you are battling with dysthymia or depression, please obtain the report and try its methods --- because among all the things you work on in this world, you yourself are your most important project.
Depression Is Being Cured by Natural Means
Performance consultants, coaches and trainers, plus a few enlightened medical doctors know about the connection between food and mood. They have been treating not just dysthymia (= timidity, a mild form of depression) but full-blown clinical depressions in their clients by natural dietary means. A number of them have recently published their research (Drs. Priscilla Slagle, Joel Robertson, Robert Erdmann --- see Backup Data). Also the wholistic Dr. Julian Whittaker mentioned above uses such natural methods --- a combination of foods, supplements, and exercise --- instead of antidepressants, in his clinic.
Antidepressants - Tapering Off Carefully
If you're now on Prozac, Zoloft or a similar antidepressant and wish to stop taking it, don't stop abruptly. You could have a marked rebound depression, possibly deeper than the one before. Build a healthy biochemical infrastructure first, then discuss with your doctor how to replace the drug with the diet and lifestyle changes you're making.