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Antidepressants don't work as well as reported, study says

ANNE MCILROY

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 8:58 PM EDT 16/01/08

New England Journal of Medicine reports that 88 per cent of clinical trials that found drugs did not work either were not published in medical journals or were presented as positive findings ...Read the full article

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  1. Ben Morris from Victoria, Canada writes: What. A. Surprise.

    A better antidepressant than Paxil? The GSK CEO's salary: between $6M and $10M yearly for at least the past five years.
  2. Pamphleteer . from Canada writes: My, what a shock. Drug companies mispresenting research to sell more of their products? No...
  3. Orest Zarowsky from TorontoToronto, Canada writes: We don't need no steenkin regulations and oversight. It's all a socialist plot and a union scam to steal money from those fine, upstanding and honest companies, shareholders and senior executives. Oh, wait.....
  4. harry carnie from Northern, B.C., Canada writes: My...how depressing.
  5. Kevin Desmoulin from TO, Canada writes: I like how they had to do research to prove it lol.
    Shame Such ethical behavior from a integral part of the health system
    I thought their was a code of ethical conduct to these professions and engineers.
  6. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Proof positive that the power of pharmaceutical companies reaches far and wide.

    Drug companies, like oil companies, are scum.

    Period.
  7. Robert MacDonald from Canada writes: Its called the placebo effect, it works :P
  8. J C from Canada writes: Can't wait to hear the spin from the drug companies if this story has legs (which I think it will). At least the drugs work better than the placebo. Perhaps this is a 'double placebo' effect?!?!

    They should research if the same thing is happening with other psych meds such as Ritalin. Seems like half the kids in school these days has ADHD and is popping pills for it. ADHD was unheard of in my school daze. Kids, they just don't make them like they used to...
  9. Mr. Justice from Canada writes: Right-wing morons: . . . May we please have your 'take' on all of this ? Thanks so much.
  10. Gardiner Westbound from Canada writes:

    Until the government throws dishonest CEO's who misrepresent products in jail they'll laugh all the way to the bank.
  11. D. Hall from Canada writes: Shocking! Next thing you know they will discover there is no Santa Claus.
  12. Nickstar One from Canada writes: Yet, Big Pharma and the Docs continue to point the finger at Big Tobacco. What was once Big Tobacco can be classed as mere amateurish pikers in comparison to the financially beneficial tag team of Big Pharma and the Docs pushing outrageously overpriced and now it seems -- shoddy drugs.
    You have more to fear from ingesting inadequately tested drugs than any tiny whiff of fraudulent, fear-mongering, SHS.
  13. Dr. Kenton Jerome McIver MD (Hons) from Upper Canada, Canada writes:

    Is every Globe Insider a flaming Liberal?
  14. Tweev D from Halifax, Canada writes: Stories like this are just depressing.....
  15. Dan L from Montreal, Canada writes: Nationalize the drug companies.
  16. David C from Canada writes: Yes, nationalize the drug companies. And we'll have a whopping total of 3 new drugs come out every year.
  17. Dan L from Montreal, Canada writes: 'David C from Canada writes: Yes, nationalize the drug companies. And we'll have a whopping total of 3 new drugs come out every year.'

    Sure, but at least they will work.
  18. Marley B from Vancouver, Canada writes: This doesn't bode well for Docs continuing to receive Pharma swag like attache cases and junkets to the Caribbean.

    Also, if this story doesn't play tonight or tomorrow on the big US network news programs then I know it will be buried and the good times will roll on.

    Actually watching the news now and not a word about this...
  19. Doris Wrench Eisler from St. Albert. AB, Canada writes: There is a quick-fix for everything. 'Are you a little shy? Did you forget a name this morning? We have just the pill for you'. This attitude is what constitutes encouragement of individual responsibility - as opposed, of course, to guaranteed incomes, smaller classrooms and individual attention - even school lunches and just plain respect for individuality. Stress people every-which way, then give 'em pills. Great for Big Pharma - in whom we trust.
  20. Anonymous Woman from Canada writes: I believe it. I was in a Canadian study regarding antidepressants in the post-partum period. I reported insominia in myself and in my baby (who'd been sleeping 7 hours in a row before then). I was told that couldn't be possible. However, they tested my breastmilk. And then lost the results! Not to worry -- they said that my bloodwork showed the drug had been metabolized. But, uh, that doesn't mean the drug has had no effect. Lots of things can be metabolized and affect a baby. I was not impressed by the attempt to fuzz info -- I'm not stupid. And the worst thing was that they lost my breastmilk. I took it to the lab myself. I'm sure they 'lost' it.

    Only one other post-partum trial had been done with the drug. 1/15 of the women noted insomnia in the baby. Hmmm.

    I went off the drugs and used other techniques to cope with the problems. I am now a bit suspicious of SSRI studies.
  21. Carl Hansen from Canada writes: Tom Cruise is right. Get off of drugs!
  22. Daniel Cunningham from Victoria, writes: Disgusting. To think I actually took an SSRI at one point - didn't do a damned thing to me except screw up my stomach and throw off my sleep cycles. Exercise and healthy food had a much more positive effect.
  23. Marley B from Vancouver, Canada writes: Tom Cruise is right. Get off of drugs!

    ...and join a cult, marry a very woman and keep her locked up and still keep that crazed detached psychopath look!

    All without the drugs! It's brilliant!
  24. john wardle from Canada writes: Profit over people.
  25. Kim Morton from Canada writes: Remember these are the same companies that sold Thalidimide. They are interested in profits for shareholders not curing what ails you. If a desease is cured no more profits. See a Naturopath if you want to get well.
  26. marge kelvin from Eli Lilly Mind-Smelters, Inc., Canada writes: 'Selective reporting'? Is that like 'Lying'? General Practitioners, if anyone has one, tend to try so-called anti-depressants of several classes of chemical structure until they perceive some improvement in mood. Then the patient checks in once a month or so, often to say that the drug is not working anymore. It takes less than a minute to write a prescription, and then the victim struggles with myriad unpleasant, often intolerable side-effects for a month or more, unless they got really lucky. Without concomitant psychotherapy, their odds crash nearly through the floor. And speaking of side-effects, did the Globe 'selectively report' on these, or is this another shoddy bit of 'science writing'? Check out the CPS (Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties) at your local library, and have a peek at the, ahem, study data. A first-year university student couldn't get away with submitting such laughable experimental design results. Then look at the side-effects: Big Pharma sure have a lot of sadists on the payroll ... Not to suggest that pharmaceuticals are not an option for severe depression, mind you, but reading “I don't have a comment on that specifically,” Peter Schram, a spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline Inc. (Canada), said yesterday sure smacks of weasel mouthpiece. Perhaps Pete would like to comment on the withdrawal syndrome associated with his puppet-masters' smash hit, Paxil, which is now labelled in the U.S. to warn the unwary. How do you sleep, Pete?
  27. Dr Demento from Canada writes:

    'Study suggests bad news on antidepressants held back'

    They didn't want to depress anyone . . .
  28. CatMan Due from Canada writes: Big Pharma owns the FDA and Health Canada.
  29. john shantz from Canada writes: Sometimes I have had to try 2 or 3 different drugs to find one that helped. Physicians know this and seldom suggest any as a panacea. Nevertheless life has been significantly better for most of us than if we'd been relying on the 'naturopaths', vitamin hucksters and the like for our recommendations.
  30. Iain's Opinion from Canada writes: Why would there be any surprise when the wolf is in charge of the henhouse?
    If a researcher does a study for 'Corp A' and has a total thumbs down on the product, why would 'Corp A' come back to the researcher for another study?
    Drug companies should be forced to pay the cost for a study, but it needsto be done through a blind. That way, there is no pressure on the studier to provide a benificial result to get more studies.
  31. Harvey TheBunny from Edmonton, Canada writes: Antidepressants, I think I will sum it up this way...of the 10 or so Psychiatrists I have seen in my life, and the perhaps 30 odd pills they have fed me in their manical way of trying to help, NOT ONE of the SOB's had ever done any of the drugs they so eagerly gave me. I am no longer a guinnea pig for our governments drug buisiness. You wanna know about antidepressents talk to the victims. These medications are evil, thats my experience. My advice try everything in the world, and anything before you resort to Antidepressents, once you take them there is no going back, your brain will never be the same. I know, and so do many other's but no one listens to us, were not the doctors, or fancy journal editors, or the corporate sharp dressed men, or the fancy politicians, were just desperate people looking for help, and we became guinnea pigs.
  32. Cyrus Of Persia from Canada writes: So we need some simple and inescapable legislation requiring all meaningful findings re. any presription drugs to be posted where no one can miss it.

    An obscure web site doesn't cut it.
  33. globefan EH from Canada writes: For centuries people smoked marijuana to feel good and then Big Pharma came along.

    There must be something to that stuff that they refuse to grant access to it.
  34. Boyd of the North from North of 60o, Canada writes: Dude... this has so harshed my mellow... oh, right... I forgot my meds today.

    It is things like this that made me in my youth want to tear the whole thing down. Maybe I shouldn't have mellowed?

    And to the Hons MD et al., no the Globe boards are usually host to a whole horde of neocons... however, they are all on the Lunn and Gates boards defending the Harper government.

    Oh well, it is a balmy 0c outside right now so I'm going for a stroll.

    ciao
  35. Lazarus Long from Canada writes: This is a hastiily-researched and poorly presented article. Tell us which ADs are most likely to fail. Tell us something we can use other than the sweeping statement.

    Doctors used to take out tonsils to make a buck now they prescribe these pills. Most MDs buy into what they read and are told by pharma reps. This report suggests they have been played for suckers.

    Why not tell us who is looking into the allegations and who is going to fix it?
  36. Loopka B. from Loopkaville, Canada writes: In my opion the results from all well designed studies (as determined by peer review) should be made publicly available. If the doctor is not familiar with these studies then at least the public can be.

    Another concern not mentioned in this article is that some doctors are paid by pharmaceutical companies to assess the side effects and acceptance of drugs already on the market. The payment is on a per head basis.
  37. Frank Further from Canada writes: pass the oxazipam. miam miam. slash my wrists. with a broken light bulb. in the bathroom. in montreal. true story.
  38. emilio D from Vancouver, Canada writes: Concealing the actual results of a medical study is unethical. My lawyer calls it 'fraud.' Auto-insurance companies in Canada are also
    actively paying doctors and other rehab workers to send you back to work even if your back or knees are still swollen like a water melon- to save money for the insurance companies. Medicine is so corrupt these days it makes you puke. They are worse than organize crime- MAFIA.
  39. ken muenchkins from Victoria, Albania writes: examples such as this abound - its not even worth bitterness - clearly the private sector is incompetent when faced with strong incentives to be incompetent.

    in a parallel universe people simply hire an agency of their governments to do the experimental vetting of drugs and other important things. Drug companies claim it costs a billion to bring a drug to market, that sets a reasonable fee for charging them to test their ideas.
  40. Robert Miller from Halifax, Canada writes: By the way, for all those posters who are now trashing physicians in these threads, permit me to point something out.

    These findings were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine who seem to have become increasingly critical of the FDA lately.

    Who edits and contributes to the New England Journal of Medicine?

    Physicians!

    Now, please carry on with your partisan insults... particularly the 'flaming liberals.'
  41. Robert Miller from Halifax, Canada writes: Nickstar One from Canada:

    Still on your pro-tobacco rant, I see.

    Cigarettes kill people, you know.
  42. Mark Brown from Toronto, Canada writes: That's pretty disheartening to hear when you've tried all the ssri's over the last few years just because you want to feel better about yourself and your life. Maybe I'm running around cirlces.

    Any suggestions so I don't have to give these pigs anymore money?
  43. lets think from Canada writes: I prescribe them. I hate prescribing them. I am not paid by the big pharma to do so and try not to listen to their selling pitch. However, I do have to rely on the info I have at hands of what is supposed to work from research papers and specialist opinion, and if that info is tainted because the negative findings are not published, that is criminal.
    Naturopath and vitamins have no more evidence to work than sugar pills.
    If often wish I could give some people a swift kick in the butt and to tell them to 'deal with it', but I'll have the College breathing down my neck. Sure, there are plenty of legits depressed patients. However many of us are raised to be in this comfy society and have no coping skills when difficulty arises. I usually don't see holocaust and war survivors needing antidepressants, they know how to cope.
  44. Andrew E from Canada writes: Downer, man.
  45. Robert Miller from Halifax, Canada writes: Not sure why my last post did not get posted, however.

    Exercise seems to be beneficial in treating/preventing depression.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043
  46. M. Brockington from Vancouver, Canada writes: I have to agree this article leaves out a lot. It says that the anti-depressants work, and work better than a sugar-pill, but they don't work as well as was claimed. You have to wonder why the drug companies would take the risk of doctoring their data if the results already show the drug works better than placebo.

    The answer is, it's not good enough to work better than placebo. They also needed to demonstrate that the SSRI's worked better than older classes of antidepressants, in order to convince people to take the new, much more expensive drugs.

    No information in the article about whether, in light of these unreported studies, the SSRI's can be claimed to work better than, say the tri-cyclic antidepressants. My guess is they don't.
  47. George S from Toronto, Canada writes: Think you can't make a blanket statement regarding all anti-depressants and their users. I think it should be looked at on a case by case study. My own experience with anti-depressants was eye opening. When I moved to Ontario from BC five years ago I went off anti-depressants and it almost killed me until I finally found a family doctor and he put me right back on Luvox. It slowly stabilized me and I am managing a lot better, learned not to take my health for granted anymore.
  48. Emma Hawthorne from Canada writes: More than effectiveness reporting, the public needs to be told about the long-term brain damage associated with many of these drugs.
  49. Esker Doon from Montreal, Canada writes: Stay away from drugs wherever possible..........

    Exercise can do wonders for depression.
  50. Ryan Hickman from Canada writes: May not be as effective as claimed but I bet a million times more addictive than they let on!
  51. edward prior from Montreal, Canada writes: Frank Further - true story? Possibly, but you must have taken a pretty hefty dose of Apo (and please note, the spelling is Oxazepam) and one might even guess at an underlying cause for which the stuff was originally prescribed. Nevertheless, a lot of you miss a salient point in the article which is that the drugs DO work; some perhaps not as lauded, but sometimes 50% improvement is better than none at all. And, yes, there are potential side-effects, but sometimes, the 'side' effects of not taking them are far far worse.
    And to those who seem to sneeringly insinuate that those who take this stuff are somehow weak individuals, eff right off until you have a clue as to what you are talking about. When your life gets pushed to the edge, then come back to this forum and talk to us. Til then, get lost.
  52. rural nurse from Small town, Canada writes: When a person is really, deeply depressed, there is no way they will be up exercising to help battle the depression...they can hardly get out of bed and function. So, your well meaning exercise regime won't help the person still in bed.
    The meds can help, for those who really need it. Like let's think said, some just need a swift kick in the arse, but others really do need medication, plus supportive families, drs, etc.
    And we all know that the drug companies are all about the money and maybe about helping people, if it benefits them =)
  53. Steve Tatone from Ottawa, Canada writes: Wow. It's time to demand legislation for full and fair reporting of drug study results. Canada will have to lead the way on this one, otherwise we're just begging, JUST BEGGING for a new Thalidomide scare. I don't think we need to nationalize big pharma just yet, but a better public/private partnership is certainly in order. It costs money now, but saves a TON later as drugs are the fastest growing cost of medical care. When a handful of companies control the market AND the marketplace, the word is 'cartel'. The same kinds of cartels that sell drugs in other continents. The same kind of cartels that artificially inflate the price of oil etc. There is nothing 'socialist' about shattering cartels and breaking up monopolies, there is nothing 'liberal' about demanding accurate reporting about potentially dangerous consumer products. We do it for our cars and toys? But not for something as potentially deadly as pharmaceuticals? Give me a break. To divide this issue on partisan lines would imply that small c conservatives would readily give thier children medicine that would hurt them. That's ridiculous. Instead of Harper attacking safety regulators, it would be nice to an extra layer of them here or there. Politically it would be a smooth move for Harper as well, governing from the right of his party will only win him the same votes that he got last time and NO MORE. Anyone who takes on big pharma here or in the States and succeeds will be rightly viewed as a hero.
  54. kerry wilbur from writes: Is Tom Cruise right after all?
  55. peter barss from Al Ain, United Arab Emirates writes: A certain degree of depression is part of life, a warning perhaps that something needs to be acted on or changed. Various types of psychological counselling, meditation and so forth can help people to find a long-term preventive solution by assisting them to recognise and manage major issues that should be dealt with in their personal or professional lives. Some colleagues once presented their research comparing the impact of antidepressants with psychological counselling. They claimed that during treatment people taking antidepressants did better than with counselling to sort out their problems. The researchers were indignant when I asked them which treatment had better long-term results for the subjects' lives after stopping it. They did admit however that the pharmaceutical company had refused to pay for long-term followup after both therapies had been stopped. Of course, the quality of counselling is always an issue that has to be considered, but it can be very helpful in finding a long-term solution to unresolved personal problems dating back to a difficult childhood and so forth.
  56. Robert Kraus from Ottawa, Canada writes: As an academic psychiatrist suspecializing in Mood Disorders for over 25 years (I work at the same institution a Dr. Blier), I fully agree with the conclusions of the New England Journal of Medicine report. A major flaw in the research for the first 'newer' antridepressant, Prozac (in the mid-1980's) was an invalid comparison against a set fairly low dose (150 mg, versus the accepted range of 150 - 300 mg) of the then-accepted older standard tricyclic antidepressant drug, Imipramine, and avoiding blood-level monitoring for Imipramine (a standard way of monitoring how adequate the dose is for imipramine; blood levels have not been found 'useful' for any newer antidepressant). In fact, 150 mg of Imipramine will only achieve a therapeutic blood level in 25% or fewer of adult patients. Once Prozac was reported ('trumpeted' is more accurate of the drug company's, Eli Lilly, pronouncements at the time) 'as effective as Imipramine' (failing to point out the dosing issue, and absence of blood level monitoring for Imipramine) regulatory agencies in the US and then Canada quickly approved it for treatment for depression. After that every other 'newer antidepressant' (e.g., Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Wellbutrin) has only been compared to Prozac, or one of the other newer agents, and never compared back to any of the older established drugs. This has simply compounded the error. Unfortunately drug companies (with a heavily vested interest) fund almost all drug-drug comparison studies, and most GP's and psychiatrists now have no idea how to even prescribe tricyclic antidepressants such as Imipramine, and have been indoctrinated by drug company talks that older drugs are 'poorly tolerated and often dangerous', which is actually only true in severe overdose situations. The NEJM report actually does not address this fundamental issue of biased sudy methods, but it does accurately point out further biasing of the medical literature by selectively publishing only 'positive studies'.
  57. s wall from Canada writes: I'm not surprised. The drug companies are in it to make a buck. Anyone who is surprised by this sort of thing hasn't been paying attention. But there's no need to make assumptions about people who suffer from depression (and yes, war suvivors and holocaust survivors do suffer from very high rates of depression). Antidepressants saved my life. I already excersized and ate healthy when I got depressed. In my case the right antidepressant (I had to try a few, and yes, there were side-effects) made a productive life possible. The fact that we rely on unethical corporations for our information about them is wrong. The drugs themselves can be a godsend.
  58. Zacarihia Smith from Canada writes: Robert Kraus from Ottawa,Thats a depressing post
  59. Ian St. John from Canada writes: 'Robert Kraus from Ottawa, Canada writes: The NEJM report actually does not address this fundamental issue of biased sudy methods, but it does accurately point out further biasing of the medical literature by selectively publishing only 'positive studies'. '

    As a patient with depression, I found that most CAMP (Conventionally Approved Medical Practices) drugs for the condition barely relieve the symptoms and do not have any appreciable effect on cause (leading to long term dependency and no hope of relief.

    After over a year with no impovement, I gave up on the medical institution and started taking St. Johns Wort as a 'hope shot'. Within a week, I found myself no longer depressed and drug free, though I had to use it St. Johns Wort on a few 'recurrences' for short periods (it was not a good time in my life). I no longer have any problems with depression, but I know where to go if I do and it isn't my CAMP doctor.

    One more example of good medicine ignored because it doesn't make enormous profits for the Pharmaceutical industry.
  60. L B from Canada writes: What's missing from this article is a quote from the medical journals saying WHY they selectively reported. As long as they are not held accountable, there's no reason for them to stop.
  61. Patrick M from Canada writes: There's a shocker!
  62. Vasili Yeremenko from Canada writes: Paging Tom Cruise!

    He was right.
  63. Encyclopedia Brown from Canada writes: Antidepressants... 60% of the time, they work every time.
  64. garlick toast from Canada writes: these days,given the state of the world,you'd have to be crazy to not be depressed.
  65. sean condon from Toronto, Canada writes: The problem with this whole issue is multifold, but one question needs to be put forward: Exactly how many people really need anti-depressant medication?

    Some of us do, along with a combination of other drugs, to treat severe, diagnosed psychiatric illnesses. But, from what I've seen of too many friends put through the anti-depressant grinder, a substantial number (if not a majority) of people on these drugs don't need them at all. What they really need is an ethical, ruthlessly honest therapist to help them see that making some hard and initially painful changes in their lives would do more to alleviate their situations than a haphazard diet of guess pills will.

    Of course, finding one of those professionals is even harder than coming up with a miracle drug.

    (By the way, to anyone advocating the Tom Cruise method of recovery and maintenance, please do us all a great service by either doing your homework or giving up facetiousness -- whichever applies.)
  66. Ms W from someplace, Canada writes: I know alot of people thumb their nose at antidepressants, and this is a startling revelation, but I have been on these types of drugs for years. Paxil was the only one that's helped me. I've been on it for 5 years. Maybe it is a placebo, but it and counciling has helped me lead a far better life. Not having to hear the incriminating voices urging me to kill myself because I'm a waste of skin every minute of the day is a relief to say the least. Prozac didn't help, neither did the other 4 drugs I tried.
  67. Mark Orr from Toronto, Canada writes: Send in the Lawyers!!!!
  68. Brian Fehst from Whitby, ON, writes: Down with Big Pharma? Up with naturopathy? Why don't we go back to the 1700s - early 1900s, when steam baths, exercise and proper nutrition were touted as remedies for syphilis? Nationalize drug companies? Do YOU want to pay for that? I'm hardly a strict capitalist myself, but seriously...leaving the health care system strictly at the tender mercies of government seems like a dubious suggestion at best. As far as antidepressants treating the symptoms but not the cause: if the cause of your 'depression' is the circumstances of your life, then perhaps you need to look at making some changes. There are situations where the 'cause' is biochemistry. When this happens, all the lifestyle changes, exercise (which I personally feel is essential to a happy lifestyle) and naturopathic twaddle in the world are not sufficient to promote a recovery to appropriate and adequate levels of function. To those who say 'let them be, what concern is it of yours if someone wants to be depressed and lie in bed all day', I humbly remind you that one possible outcome of severe, untreated depression is suicide. Another is the destructive impact these conditions have on families and lives. Saying that access to a specific treatment that has been proven effective (though perhaps to a lesser degree than previously suspected) seems cold-hearted. If you don't like the study results, or don't trust those who conduct the study, might I suggest independant investigations by unaffiliated family practitioners and psychiatrists?
  69. Jeff Pritchard from Canada writes: So we are to believe that scientists are producing data that is being selectively withheld by an multi-billion dollar industry that stands to profit by projecting a certain image of itself and the effectiveness of it's technology?

    Gosh, I wonder if there are any other industries in which this same dynamic holds sway?
  70. True Canadian from Hamilton, Canada writes: Maybe this is why lot of people are turning to Yoga and Meditation to feel better. Anti-Depressants have Opium products to keep you high, it doesn't fix the problem. The Psychiatric community is the dope dealer for the big Pharmas.

    23% of North Americans are depressed, compared to 11% in Europe.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7189947.stm
  71. Wayne Spitzer from Faywood, United States writes: If you read the article carefully you will note that all of the drug studies (both favorable and unfavorable) were reported to the FDA. It is only the studies that were submitted to medical journals that were selected for there favorable outcome; and there is nothing that suggests that the favorable studies submitted to the medical journals were not performed in a valid manner. Clearly there is hype on the part of the drug companies when they choose to publish only their best results. Clearly there is hype on the part of the media when they imply that this practice shows that the drug companies are committing fraud. Remember, - all of the studies are being reported to the FDA.
  72. edward prior from Montreal, Canada writes: True Canadian - no one said anything about "fixing" the problem. As with any drug, there can be problems of all sorts, but the point of anti-depressants is to get people to a stage of equilibrium where the insurmountable doesn`t seem so insurmountable and so be able to take other steps to actually deal with their situation. Yoga and meditation might be valuable exercises once that stage of equilibrium has been reached, but not before.
  73. carol c from Canada writes: This is a very good discussion with many interesting points and experiences.

    Severe depression is a very real illness, and I'm glad there are some meds that work for some people.

    My impression is that our society itself is ill. This leads to incresed rates of depression and all other illnesses. We no longer have a lot of ties to our communities (churches, breakdown of families, too busy to be involved with community organizations, etc.) and we need these desperately to be healthy. The prioritizing of material gain before anything else is also part of the problem. We need to get our priorities straightened out to be healthy.
  74. Banofee Pie from Toronto, Canada writes: So, here's what I don't understand. Apparently some anti-depressants can make people suicidal. What's up with that????? That to me is the single biggest reason why I don't trust big pharma. Even ads for the Pill have the entire back page full of possible side effects, in small print too so they can fit it all in. Truly frightening. I'm glad my doctor is not a sucker. She won't prescribe anything if I don't really need it, where other doctors, especially walk-in doctors are writing the bloody prescription for antibiotics before you've even finished telling them what's wrong!

  75. Banofee Pie from Toronto, Canada writes: You know what works for depression? Getting a good night's sleep, walking, surrounding yourself with positive people, exercising and eating well. No positive people around? Take a course, get out there and you will meet them. And if things aren't going well, sometimes you have to suck it up, deal with it and then move on like older generations did. Life isn't supposed to be all happiness all the time. Sometimes bad things happen, and sometimes we're supposed to feel sad. Nothing wrong with that, it's life. The problem in North Ameria is that people expect a quick fix for just about everything. Time is money. No one has time to reflect, make changes, or really connect with people. Everything has to be broken down into little compartments of time. We could take some cues from other parts of the world where people are close with their families and friends, and work isn't everything. If we adopted that mindset, I'm sure the number of people who feel they need antidepressants to get by would drop dramatically.
  76. emilio D from Vancouver, Canada writes: Unfortunately, depression almost always results when a person suffers from chronic pain. If you get hurt in a car accident or at work, the first line of the defense for insurance companies is to send you to a medical rehab. The strategy in medical rehabilitation is to document that there is nothing wrong with you and you are fit to work. You will be coerced, harrassed and lied to and the depression becomes worse because the family doctor cannot depend you. They even use a medical study (QTF study) implemented by BCMA in B.C. that nobody gets hurt from car accident even if the result of the study is the complete opposite. They will tell you that pain that you are experiencing is not real and only in your head. The people with minor injuries will survive this medical onslaught but people with real injuries will definitely suffer severe depression and some will commit suicide. There were 8 suicides in B.C. in the past years because the medical body that supposed to be helping them are ones pushing them to deep depression. There is no humanity in medicine, it's all money.
  77. george carlin from United States writes: You could write this same article about gobal warming. Evidence that doesn't toe the line is shunned.
  78. marge kelvin from Eli Lilly Mind-Smelters, Inc., Canada writes: Banofee Pie is a happy person. Anyone who thinks that "fine print" is used because there isn't otherwise room for all the information on side-effects probably thinks the "fine print" on credit card statements/offers is there for the same reason ... yet I get eight or twelve cheques and touching form letters -- on really nice paper (Ooohhh! Free money!) a month with more "fine print" I couldn't read with the Hubble Telescope. It's there so you won't read it. Are the credit card companies, banks, car leasing companies, etc., trying to save paper? Honestly? "Fine print" means, "We don't want you to know what you're getting into." It's so blatantly fraudulent, it should be banned outright. Think about it for a moment. Anti-depressants are prescribed because the best model we have for endogenous depression is the catecholamine hypothesis -- neurotransmitter imbalance. St. John's Wort is an MAO inhibitor, like some of the first, pre-tricyclic anti-d's produced. Exercise is unquestionably efficacious, but seriously depressed individuals simply can't do it. Naturopathy is a largely unregulated scam. In some stores, the staff wears lab coats. Maybe a prop stethoscope would help bolster their sales of shark cartilage to cancer patient ... No anti-d is risk-free, and many have been helped through seriously difficult times by one or another of these drugs. None of this lets Big Pharma off the hook in this area ... read their "studies" and judge for yourself, instead of judging desperate, depressed people who will do just about anything to escape from their private places in hell.
  79. Alex T from Toronto, Canada writes: Maybe a solution is to make it mandatory for drug companies to report clinical trials with more than 100 subjects, say. And if they don't, stiff fines or even jail to the people responsible.

    Banofee Pie: Don't you think that is a little simplistic? There is a big difference between a real, clinical depression and having a down day.
  80. marge kelvin from Eli Lilly Mind-Smelters, Inc., Canada writes: Banofee Pie is a happy person. Anyone who thinks that "fine print" is used because there isn't otherwise room for all the information on side-effects probably thinks the "fine print" on credit card statements/offers is there for the same reason ... yet I get eight or twelve cheques and touching form letters -- on really nice paper (Ooohhh! Free money!) a month with more "fine print" I couldn't read with the Hubble Telescope. It's there so you won't read it. Are the credit card companies, banks, car leasing companies, etc., trying to save paper? Honestly? "Fine print" means, "We don't want you to know what you're getting into." It's so blatantly fraudulent, it should be banned outright. Think about it for a moment. Anti-depressants are prescribed because the best model we have for endogenous depression is the catecholamine hypothesis -- neurotransmitter imbalance. St. John's Wort is an MAO inhibitor, like some of the first, pre-tricyclic anti-d's produced. Exercise is unquestionably efficacious, but seriously depressed individuals simply can't do it. Naturopathy is a largely unregulated scam. In some stores, the staff wears lab coats. Maybe a prop stethoscope would help bolster their sales of shark cartilage to cancer patient ... No anti-d is risk-free, and many have been helped through seriously difficult times by one or another of these drugs. None of this lets Big Pharma off the hook in this area ... read their "studies" and judge for yourself, instead of judging desperate, depressed people who will do just about anything to escape from their private places in hell.
  81. marge kelvin from Eli Lilly Mind-Smelters, Inc., Canada writes: Just wanted to see if I'm being honoured in some strange way by The Globe, who seem to enjoy double-posting everything i submit.

    George Carlin is desperate, too: no global warming articles to attack ... say hi to Glynn.
  82. Banofee Pie from Toronto, Canada writes: Marge, I'm not discounting people who legitimately need pills to escape their private hells, but I also think Big Pharma has done an outstanding job of convincing people that they need drugs for everything, and I'm sorry if you think I'm a happy person. I'm a normal person who goes through periods of feeling depressed, but rather than take pills, I deal with what I'm going through, I go for a walk, let the feelings pass. Would be easy to take a pill but I'd rather not deal with the potential suicidal feelings thanks. I recognize that everyone has different coping mechanisms, but I also see a lot of people who think anti-depressants will solve all of their problems instead of summoning the courage to deal with life and its sometimes crappy side. And the fine print on a credit card statement is different than the fine print of The Pill. A credit card won't increase your chances of cancer or give you blood clots so the comparison is quite frankly ridiculous. There's a reason why two of my doctor's colleagues won't prescribe the pill for their patients. Those things are filled with hormones, and there's a reason why good doctors will try to exhaust all natural forms of therapy before resorting to drugs. My doctor actually recommended that my mom try acupuncture for arthritis in her knees than take painkillers. I have to take a certain pill for an ailment that has no other treatment options. Apart from that, I steer clear.
  83. Banofee Pie from Toronto, Canada writes: Alex T, I know about depression. I have gone through it, without drugs. I understand the difference between a down day and depression. I also understand that anti-depressants carry with them a host of serious side-effects. The fact that one of those side-effects is suicidal tendency is enough to scare me off.

    I also know some people are far worse off, and need medication. I get it, and I recognize that drugs are the only option. At the same time, I think there are a lot of people who think life should be easy and when it's not, they're happy to take pills that big Pharma says are good for them.

    How did our parents and their parents deal with circumstances that were probably more trying? They probably relied on friends and family. We've lost touch with that in today's society and that's a shame.
  84. Rita D from Toronto, Canada writes: Something has to change here in Canada. These medications are being prescribed for just about everything. They should be used as a last resort. The side effects Dr. Blair mentions are hand picked, but that's not surprising. The fact is these medications are causing the very symptoms they were supposedly intended for. I have a beef with GlaxoSmithKline. They have witheld clinical data that showed paxil can cause severe side effects in children. I don't think, unless in an extreme case, any parent would give this medication to their child knowing the true facts. Health Canada has now issued warnings against paxil, but the medication is prescribed 'all the time' to our children. Why is that? The witholding of clinical data will not stop until all pharmasuitical companies are held responsible for their actions. When a pharmasuitical does pay damages to a family, the family should not be made to sign a gag order silencing them in letting others know the damage these type of medications can cause some people. GlaxoSmithKline manufactures and markets unsafe drugs in Canada. They chose to withold the clinical data to keep sales up, they get caught, yet they are still to this day making huge profits on paxil prescribed to our children. It won't change unless the Canadian public stands up and does something about it. It's just not acceptable. Here is my website: paxilharmschildren.com
  85. Edward Childe from Ottawa, Canada writes: Thank you for your article on the deceptive reporting of drug trials. I worked for almost 50 years in psychiatry and psychoanalysis and found that psychiatric drugs had a tendency to slow and even stop the progress of intensive psychotherapy.I presented my work to various groups, such as the Canadian Psychiatric Association,but was never invited back.
    Although psychiatric drugs,
  86. James Pearson from Hamilton, Canada writes: "It is not that antidepressants don't work, Dr. Turner says. His team's analysis showed that they all work better than sugar pills"... not very high standards of comparsion!

    I think capitalism is the most moral economic system ever created and generates the greatest possible benefit in our society, but we as individuals, must have the integrity to make it work. Watching an evening of TV makes one aware that our society has a problem: when we are bombarded with commercials pushing drug solutions in search of problems to solve. Although modern medicine has many miracles, I am not convinced that a lot of these drugs are making us any healthier. It is time for the drug companies and the CEO's that run them, to start showing greater integrity. Human lives are more important than short term market capitalization of their stocks.
  87. Mark OMeara from Vancouver, Canada writes: NOTE: My comments below DO NOT refer to Clinical Depression I believe there is a deeper health issue that needs to be recognized. Sometimes temporary support for challenging times is needed, just as one would use crutches and a cast to help mend a broken or injured leg. At various times in my life, I tried an antidepressant only to find that side effects were intolerable and when the medication was stopped, the troubling feelings returned. My personal growth and journey of self discovery came from hard work and facing painful emotions that eventually gave way to mental health and joy. Through the natural wisdom of mind, body, and spirit, my body did what it does naturally – heal! Many people don’t realize that tears and laughter are a natural part of the body’s healing system. There are more than 70 chemicals in an emotional tear. Life brings challenges that need to be worked through and healed, leading to lessons learned and life experience that we can pass on to friends, family and children. But what if the lessons are never learned - if the emotions are never healed? Have antidepressants become the new medically sanctioned form of denial, numbing and avoidance? Depression is a challenging time that no one would wish upon anyone else, but the journey through a depression can be an important life process of self-examination, pulling ideas and beliefs apart, and re-assembling them in a new manner giving way to new meaning as well as self and global understanding. Through tears, laughter, friendship, and healing arts such as art, music, singing, writing, journaling, and tending our garden, we can open ourselves to new perception. These are the natural antidepressants of the body – the expression of emotional energy through creativity. Author of The Feeling Soul
  88. can I vote again from around-Kingston, Canada writes: article state:
    It is not that antidepressants don't work, Dr. Turner says. His team's analysis showed that they all work better than sugar pills

    ...sugar is no good for you, neither!
  89. can I vote again from around-Kingston, Canada writes: this just in...

    "...and as was reported in the Nicotine Times, a study released findings that the number of people being prescribed happy-pills grew at the same rate as the number of people who gave up smoking"

    coincidence?
  90. Phil King from Ottawa, Canada writes: If you ever wondered why a profit motive can't be the prime motivator in healthcare, here it is.
  91. Phil King from Ottawa, Canada writes: can I vote again from around-Kingston, Canada writes: article state:
    It is not that antidepressants don't work, Dr. Turner says. His team's analysis showed that they all work better than sugar pills

    "...sugar is no good for you, neither!"

    Not to mention a natural downer. Quick high followed by fatigue as sugar is essentially quick burning or "empty" calories.
  92. Likes Cleavage from seinesville, Canada writes: Now I am depressed.
  93. Question Everything from Western, Canada writes: If Big Pharma is doing this with anti-depressant studies then it leads me to wonder what other studies are being suppressed. Ritalin? Vaccines? I guess there would be no limit to what rules and "data" they can bend and twist and silence. Maybe I'm jaded but my best guess is that NOTHING will co