Comments on: Suicide risk: why knee-jerk reactions to antidepressants help no-one http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/04/21/suicide-risk-why-knee-jerk-reactions-to-antidepressants-help-no-one/ now with extra source Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:47:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Roger Fry http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/04/21/suicide-risk-why-knee-jerk-reactions-to-antidepressants-help-no-one/#comment-17647 Roger Fry Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-17647 I think this is another case where words get in the way, rather than help. If a 'professional person' albeit a medico, shrink or psychologist, tells me that I am depressed - will I get better, get worse, or stay the same? Professionals might feel powerful and important throwing their technical words to the unwashed, but what good do these words do for the person who has a problem? I think this is another case where words get in the way, rather than help.
If a ‘professional person’ albeit a medico, shrink or psychologist, tells me that I am depressed - will I get better, get worse, or stay the same? Professionals might feel powerful and important throwing their technical words to the unwashed, but what good do these words do for the person who has a problem?

]]> By: John http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/04/21/suicide-risk-why-knee-jerk-reactions-to-antidepressants-help-no-one/#comment-17648 John Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-17648 I'm no expert but a visit to my GP always seems to co-incide with these now regular "over-prescribed anti-depressenant" outbreaks. I've aksed him several times the result as I know he specialises in mental health and as he is in an inner city lower income area dealing with many troubled souls he describes them as blantantly dangerous as they always result in a flurry of extra work for him. He describes patients he has taken 2 or 3 years to get their lives back on track with the aid of these new drugs and his sympathetic hard work and the great success stories and then a report comes out critising these new drugs and how so many patients come back fearful that they may have been misled-putting back his work by six months or so. I’m no expert but a visit to my GP always seems to co-incide with these now regular “over-prescribed anti-depressenant” outbreaks. I’ve aksed him several times the result as I know he specialises in mental health and as he is in an inner city lower income area dealing with many troubled souls he describes them as blantantly dangerous as they always result in a flurry of extra work for him. He describes patients he has taken 2 or 3 years to get their lives back on track with the aid of these new drugs and his sympathetic hard work and the great success stories and then a report comes out critising these new drugs and how so many patients come back fearful that they may have been misled-putting back his work by six months or so.

]]> By: Simon Baxter http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/04/21/suicide-risk-why-knee-jerk-reactions-to-antidepressants-help-no-one/#comment-17649 Simon Baxter Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-17649 Perplexed and amused by a number of things in the Hickie article: 1. Why in an argument on anti-depressants am I offered as compelling evidence a meta-review (Baldessarini et al 2007) study on Lithium - anti-mania (bipolar) treatment ? 2. Why do the Baldessarini et al. authors have so many funding/wage relationships with pharmaceutical companies - can I ask about an allegiance effect? 3. Why did an author in the article (Fred K Goodwin) in the original 2006 article state in footnotes "FKG has no reported conflict of interest" THEN a year later publish "Erratum" correction that FKG in fact FKG has over 10 related interests with pharmaceutical companies? Hilarious! Dear reader, pls refer on Google to Kirsch et al (2007) "Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: a meta-analysis ...". Basically analysed all drug company trials of anti-d finding they do little better than placebos. Medicine's Empire over mental health is crumbling. Clinicians (talking NOT prescribing), arise. Perplexed and amused by a number of things in the Hickie article:
1. Why in an argument on anti-depressants am I offered as compelling evidence a meta-review (Baldessarini et al 2007) study on Lithium - anti-mania (bipolar) treatment ?
2. Why do the Baldessarini et al. authors have so many funding/wage relationships with pharmaceutical companies - can I ask about an allegiance effect?
3. Why did an author in the article (Fred K Goodwin) in the original 2006 article state in footnotes “FKG has no reported conflict of interest” THEN a year later publish “Erratum” correction that FKG in fact FKG has over 10 related interests with pharmaceutical companies? Hilarious!

Dear reader, pls refer on Google to Kirsch et al (2007) “Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: a meta-analysis …”. Basically analysed all drug company trials of anti-d finding they do little better than placebos.
Medicine’s Empire over mental health is crumbling. Clinicians (talking NOT prescribing), arise.

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