Antidepressants & Other Psychiatric Drugs
Ten percent of Americans will experience severe depression sometime during their lives. People who suffer from depression are often reluctant to admit their condition to friends and family. Additionally, these same friends and family members may not recognize the severity of the problem. For instance, your loved one may become angry with you for not "cheering up." He or she does not understand that your brain may function differently than normal and no matter how hard you try, you simply cannot "cheer up."
It is important to seek professional counseling and guidance from a medical doctor. There are many prescription medications for the treatment of depression and other emotional conditions. These drugs can turn your life around. Unfortunately, they can also have severe side effects, and some are more effective than others.
In December 2003, the U.K.'s Department of Health announced that all SSRI antidepressants, with the exception of Prozac, should not be prescribed to children under 18 because of their link to suicide. Medications facing a possible ban include Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro and Luvox.
In March 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory that provides further cautions to physicians, their patients, and families and caregivers of patients about the need to closely monitor both adults and children with depression, especially at the beginning of treatment, or when the doses are changed with either an increase or decrease in the dose.
FDA is asking manufacturers to change the labels of ten drugs to include stronger cautions and warnings about the need to monitor patients for the worsening of depression and the emergence of suicidal ideation, regardless of the cause of such worsening.
The drugs under review include bupropion, citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, nefazodone, paroxetine, sertraline, escitalopram and venlafaxine. It should be noted that the only drug that has received approval for use in children with major depressive disorder is fluoxetine (Prozac). Several of these drugs are approved for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in pediatric patients, i.e., sertraline (Zoloft), fluoxetine (Prozac), and fluvoxamine (Luvox). Luvox is not approved as an antidepressant in the United States.
Click below to learn more about some specific drugs used to treat emotional problems and some of the drugs' more serious adverse side effects.
- Abilify / Aripiprazole
- Ativan / Lorazepam
- Clozaril / Clozapine
- Cymbalta / Duloxetine
- Droleptan
- Effexor / Venlafaxine Hydrochloride
- Geodon / Ziprasidone
- Mellaril / Thioridazine Hydrochloride
- Paxil / Paroxetine Hydrochloride
- Prozac / Fluoxetine Hydrochloride
- Remeron / Mirtazapine
- Risperdal / Risperidone
- Ritalin / Methylphenidate
- Serentil / Mesoridazine
- Seroquel / Quetiapine Fumarate
- Serzone / Nefazodone Hydrochloride
- St. John's Wort / Hypericum Perforatum
- Trilafon / Perphenazine
- Wellbutrin / Bupropion Hydrochloride
- Zoloft / Sertraline
- Zyban / Bupropion Hydrochloride
- Zyprexa / Olanzapine
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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