Consequences of Antidepressants

Catie Beauvais-Lacasse 12-27-12

When antidepressants first came out, the world was fascinated by these wonderful new drugs. They could make people feel better simply by consuming a pill. But what the drug industry did not consider, or at least did not care about, was how these drugs were affecting

people besides the immediate relieving effects. According to the government, about 1 in every 8 young adults have experienced depression (Update). What may not seem obvious to a patient taking antidepressants is that there are many consequences to using them. Feeling better for only a moment of time is not worth the risks of being prescribed these mood enhancers. One of the consequences of taking antidepressants is that there is a higher chance of suicidal tendencies. This may seem counter-intuitive since they are supposed to cure depression, but the depressing feelings do not go away after starting the medication (Consider). Of course, the sadness may be relieved at first, but suicidal thoughts will still be present (Sharpe). In many pediatric trials, researchers found that there were suicidal thoughts, attempts, and self-harm reported for patients 18 and under (Consider). There have even been some reports of antidepressant treatments causing children to commit suicide shortly after it was prescribed (Update). This does not sound like a medication that should be allowed on the market. The harm it causes for young adults is too significant to be ignored. Consuming these drugs also brings up the question of personal identity for adolescents. Since their personalities are still developing, there is no way to know how these teenagers would have turned out without the medication. These young adults have said that they have a painful and persistent desire to find out how they would have been if they had not been prescribed antidepressants (Sharpe). Also, there are instances where the drugs are not even necessary. Many teenagers experience feelings of depression, but this does not necessarily mean that they are clinically depressed. Doctors incorrectly diagnose these types of patients very often, which leads to antidepressants being overprescribed. In a study made by the Carmel Hill Center for Early Diagnosis and Treatment at Columbia University, 68% of parents said that SSRIs were being overprescribed to adolescents (Update). These teenagers do not know what it is to live a

normal, emotion-filled life. If they are put on the medication continuously, they will never know the reasons behind their thoughts, or how to become happier without the help of a drug. Instead of learning to deal with their problems and emotions in a sophisticated manner, doctors prescribe pills because they want a quick fix to the situation. This causes emotional illiteracy not being able to understand the emotions and their causes because of an overreliance on antidepressants (Sharpe). Another problem associated with antidepressants is that they have potential consequences during a womans pregnancy. The SSRIs have been proven to cause higher risks of preterm birth and spontaneous abortion when taken while pregnant (Nakhai-Pour, Antidepressants). In a study conducted to test the effects of antidepressants on pregnant women, researchers found that the risk of a miscarriage was much higher in medicated patients compared to the non-medicated ones. There was a 68 percent increase in the chance of spontaneous abortion in women who were being prescribed antidepressants. The researchers also found that the more she took, and the more often she took the mood enhancers, the likelier it was that the woman would have a spontaneous abortion (Nakhai-Pour). Yale University showed that antidepressants raised the chance of preterm birth as well. Depression is very common in pregnant women due to the constant changes in hormones. This causes concern for the mothers because they worry that their depression will affect their child. What they do not realize is that when they try to fix the depression, they are doing more harm to the baby. The researchers at Yale found that just being depressed did not affect whether or not a woman would give birth prematurely; it was the consumption of antidepressants which determined it. This danger to the child should be enough to stop the prescription of these drugs to pregnant women, but doctors will still recommend the use of antidepressants in pregnant women(Antidepressants). Some research done by The

Women's Health Initiative (WHI) of the National Institutes of Health found that using SSRI treatments also affect the death rate in post menopausal women. They had a small increase (of 2 percent) in deaths caused by hemorrhagic strokes, but these results were still considered statistically significant (Massachusetts). Some other medical consequences of antidepressants with emerging evidence are serotonin syndrome, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), upper gastrointestinal bleeding risks, weight gain, and an increased chance of diabetes (Consider). Sexuality is something else that should be taken into account when discussing antidepressants. A well-known fact about mood enhancers is that they are detrimental to sexual desire and performance. Studies have shown that more than half of the people who are on antidepressant treatments experience these negative effects. A point that Timothy Dugan a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Harvard's Cambridge Hospital makes is that If Freud's right, then sexuality should drive development, and drive connections with other people. If you're a kid, and your sexual desires are somehow fooled with or messed with, what does that do? This astute observation makes it clear that if a teenagers sexuality is altered in any way by the antidepressants, then their future could be affected as well (Sharpe). An important fact to consider is that there have been no studies that show any long term benefits from using SSRIs (Update). There are some short term benefits, but the pros of taking these drugs cannot outweigh the harmful consequences. Considering all of these risks, a better alternative to taking antidepressants would be to seek therapeutic help. This way, a person can get all the benefits without the added consequences.

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Association.Journal 182.10 (2010): 1031-7. ProQuest AP Science; ProQuest Research Library.Web. 2 Jan. 2013. Sharpe, Katherine. "The Medication Generation." Wall Street Journal. 30 Jun 2012: C.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Dec 2012. "Update: Antidepressant Drugs." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 31 Dec. 2008. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.