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Prozac 'no better than placebo' for treating children with depression, experts

(www.theguardian.com)
206 points pseudolus | 1 comments | 21 Nov 25 00:02 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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shswkna ◴[21 Nov 25 00:33 UTC] No.45999858[source]▶
From the article:

> They can also increase suicidal ideation.

A very close family member committed suicide, after Prozac dosage adjustments made his brain chemistry go haywire.

This happened 30 years ago, and it has been known to us that Prozac can cause this, since then.

The Guardians headline is way, way understating the real situation here.

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carsoon ◴[21 Nov 25 00:39 UTC] No.45999887[source]▶
The problem with suicidal depression is that if someone has created the thought pattern that death is best, then removing the symptoms of depression (lethargy, lack of energy, no willpower) now gives the person the ability to actually follow through with the act.

Medications almost always target symptoms and never address root causes.

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fragrom ◴[21 Nov 25 01:01 UTC] No.46000022[source]▶
This is what my psychiatrist more or less warned me about when I went on medication; that a lot of people who are suicidal lack the energy and ability to plan their suicide, and medications can sometimes undo those particular symptoms and people manage to end themselves.

I'm not sure what kinds of studies have been done about it, but I've had a few therapists same similar ideas. If it's not a studied phenomenon, then it has folks that believe it exists.

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DANmode ◴[21 Nov 25 04:44 UTC] No.46001309[source]▶
Almost like depression is an acute toxicity caused by physiological variance (or infection related) detox inefficiency!
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DANmode ◴[21 Nov 25 04:46 UTC] No.46001321[source]▶
This gets even more interesting when you realize many SSRIs are antibacterials.
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JumpCrisscross ◴[21 Nov 25 20:09 UTC] No.46008403[source]▶
It gets less interesting when one notices that social animals are much more prone to depression.

Inflammation and depression are linked. Infection causes inflammation. It doesn’t follow that depression is caused by infection.

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1. Modified3019 ◴[21 Nov 25 21:27 UTC] No.46009179[source]▶
I’m not quite following the previous conversation here, but your comment brings to mind that one theory of a possible “function” of depression, is as a “sickness behavior” to help isolate a sick animal from others to protect the group. A sheep or cow getting sick and going off on its own is a common thing.

I’m not sure if it has a technical name or if it’s been rigorously studied, but it’s a common observation which even I’ve seen (and reported to growers I work for).

A casual mention here: http://www.sheep101.info/201/behavior.html