Letters to the Editor

My mother stopped her Paxil and appears to have gone crazy She went on Paxil eight years ago when my dad died, and now she's acting irrationally. By Cary Tennis [2007-02-08]

• Many antidepressants are prescribed by the GP...

  Cary,

  I'm not quibbling with the gist of your advice, but it's important to note that the majority of people who are receiving antidepressants are doing so from their general practitioner, internist, family practice doc, etc.

  And sadly, it's very likely that the doctor who prescribed the medication may not have much expertise or knowledge about mental health issues, or know what, if anything, to do about a patient acting as this LW's mother is acting.

  These days, you go in and say you're blue, down in the dumps, sleeping a lot, can't deal with winter, lonely, gaining weight, losing weight, sleeping too little, and so on, and they whip out the scrip pad, and you're walking out with Prozac, or Paxil or Xanax or Klonopin -- oh, and some Ambien to help you sleep of course.

  Many people who have more serious mental health problems than mild depression or mild anxiety -- problems like borderline personality, bipolar disease, major depression, schizophrenia -- are being rushed out with a garden-variety antidepressant or antianxiety scrip...

  Just so the LW knows what might be in store...

  -- AncientAssyrian
  [Read AncientAssyrian's other letters]
  Permalink Flag Wednesday, February 7, 2007 07:19 PM
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