The Health Consequences of Antidepressants

how can you say anti depressants are safe over the long term ,,, it seems to me many people get psychologically addicted if not physically addicted .. if there no threat why are there withdrawal symptoms ,,, also most statements say " it is believed that etc when talking about their actions on seratonin and uptakes etc .. that is not a statement of fact .. and along with the fact that many studies now show that cognitive behavioral therapies are just as effective . i am surprised doctors continue to flog anti depressants .. depression is a long term sustained sadness at a deep level .. and when people are prescribed those drugs because of a trauma in the family or their life which is situational not chronic , it seems to me to be criminal to set a person off on a pill to "fix" their situations ... may as well give them booze or street drugs ,, the dynamics of using something to cope is really no different respectfully submitted James W Seager

I'M ON Effexor and i ran out of my pills. i would like a warning posted about what happens if you miss more then a couple of pills. I'm now experiancing greatamounts of dizzieness and felling sick to my stumic all because i could not afford my perscription. thank to my daughter i got my pills today and hope to feel better soon.

First of all, if you've never used or taken anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medicine before, you don't have a clue what you're talking about, so don't bother commenting on it. Second of all, I've used Paxil and other anti-depressants for years, (on or off) and withdrawal is not an issue as long as you go off it slowly. Do it right and there is no problem. For people who may be at the risk of running out of money and pills, they should be cutting their doses in half or in 1/4 so that if they run out of cash down the road they can start weening themselves off. You go down like this: - 1/2 your dosage for two weeks. - 1/4 your dosage for another two weeks Then keep cutting in half until you are at a VERY low dosage, using 2 week periods. Then take that VERY low dosage every 2nd day for two weeks. Then take that VERY low dosage every 3rd day for two weeks. Then take that VERY low dosage every 4th day for two weeks. Then you should be ready. This is the way I know works, yet the doctors don't tell you this method. TZ