Taken from one of the many transcripts of Power Surge's
Ask The Panic Disorder/Attacks/Anxiety/Depression Expert, Stuart Shipko, M.D., Psychatrist, Neurologist.
One of the things I most admire about Dr. Stuart Shipko is his honesty. He is
also one of the most highly regarded psychopharmacologists in the country. I
recommend to anyone experiencing panic attacks / severe anxiety / depression
to read all his transcripts in the Library.
This passage from Dr. Shipko's 11th visit to Power Surge.
Dearest: I'm going to start out with something we started
discussing FOUR years ago.
Dr. Stuart Shipko: What is that?
Dearest: Dr. S., four years ago, I asked you about the long-term
effects of SSRI's. You replied that "none have been formally studied for more
than three months... people are using them for years at a time and the long-
term side effects just haven't been disclosed yet.
I then asked, "If Prozac has been out, what.. over 20 years?.. why hasn't it
been studied for more than 3 months?" and you replied, " it has not been
required by the FDA. Also, it may have already been studied, but the drug
company has the right to withhold information if they so choose."
Have we learned anything more in the past four years -- now that SSRI's are
being used by millions of people -- TV commercials running rampant on the
benefits of SSRI's and many doctors prescribing them for menopausal
symptoms?
Dr. Stuart Shipko: Now drug studies have come out that look at these
drugs for up to 2 years. However, they still don't look at issues of side effects,
dependency or suicide over that time period. So the answer is efficacy (if you can
call it that) has been studied but not longer term side effects.
Dearest: But when you said... " it has not been required by the FDA.
Also, it may have already been studied, but the drug company has the right to
withhold information if they so choose." What gives the pharmaceutical
companies the right to withhold this information from the public? Look what just
happened with Vioxx.
Dr. Stuart Shipko: That is absolutely correct. It is the FDA giving this
right, but now some companies are offering to voluntarily disclose all studies
performed. Do I believe that they will even if it might hurt sales? No.
Dearest: Unbelievable
Dr. Stuart Shipko: In a sense, it doesn't really matter anymore. The
hearts and minds of the people have been won over by mass marketing and lack
of independent observation by physicians. The information is out there for people
to read, all over the Internet, but I think that the majority of people want to
believe that the drug companies are nice people who want to help humanity and
make a buck if possible.
Let's talk about suicide for a bit. The FDA has issued a major warning about the
antidepressants causing suicide in kids. But has anyone asked whether this is also
happening in adults? Why isn't that a focus of any discussion? The only reason that
the FDA made this warning was that the information had already been leaked and
they had no choice.
Read the rest of the transcript...
Dearest