WHAT DO ALL THESE NEW DRUGS DO?
Here’s the latest: Ketamine, a hallucinogenic drug also called the “date rape” drug, or Special K, is now being seriously considered for treating depression. What??? So if used as a prescription medication does that make it OK? And what about the fact that it’s addictive? Here’s a thought, why not examine the underlying causes of a person’s severe depression instead of simply throwing a potentially dangerous medication at it?
There are various and complicated reasons for depression: neurotransmitter imbalances, hormonal imbalances, acute chronic stress, food intolerances, physical and/or emotional abuse, to name just a few. Too many doctors and psychiatrists, however, without thoroughly testing their patients, seem to prefer simply trying one prescription after another: Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa, Effexor, and now Ketamine! And they ALL have side effects and potential adverse reactions: thoughts of suicide, for one! It seems to me that if someone is truly contemplating suicide, s/he is more than likely depressed. It causes one to ponder, what was the point of the medication in the first place?!
Unfortunately, many of us are indoctrinated to think that if a drug has FDA approval it must be all right, yet there have been over 200 FDA approved drugs that were later withdrawn after people became very sick or died (FDA approved drugs withdrawn). Here are a few you might recognize: Accutane, DES, Fen-Phen, Vioxx, Bextra, and Seldane. These caused serious problems ranging from birth defects, to tumors, to heart disease and increased risk of death. It is sadly evident that FDA approval does NOT necessarily mean a drug is safe, and the prevalence of unsafe medications in the marketplace stands in sharp contrast to the Hippocratic Oath: “First, do no harm.”
Lifestyle change, dietary changes, nutritional support, meditation, psychotherapy, chiropractic care, regular exercise, caring friendship, and love: these do no harm and, believe it or not, actually help. I have seen many a patient either completely eliminate or greatly reduce their use of anti-depressants and anxiolytics.
Prescription drugs are not the only choice, despite what Big Pharma and the FDA would have you believe!