Hidden Dangers of SSRI Medications

Judging by all the spam I get in my InBox for on-line/off-shore sources for Prozac, Zoloft and the like, it's pretty clear that this is an important subject to address.  As you'll see in the article, The Hidden Dangers of SSRI Antidepressants, these SSRI antidepressant medications are a serious threat to your life.  If you, or anyone you know, is using one of these medications, please, please read this article, and find a way to get off the meds.

(See The Hidden Dangers of SSRI Antidepressants here.)

The wonderful world of Welbutrin: Personal experience convinces me of the dangers of SSRI medications

I have had a little personal experience with the SSRI medications — enough to convince me that these are dangerous medications.  Let me fill you in a little.

I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia.  Part of that symptom complex is depression.  Although it wasn't really anything like a significant depression and had little real impact on my life, my doctor passed out Welbutrin like candy, and so — naturally — he prescribed it for me.  It was supposed to be really safe, and my doctor thought it would give me more pep, among other things.  I was supposed to feel a lot better.

I didn't.

Instead, I experienced crushing fatigue; yet, I'd lay awake all night, and then be agitated all day.  And, just as my body had adjusted to the Welbutrin, and I was supposed to start noticing all of those wonderful benefits, I was hit with wave after wave of overwhelming depression — like I'd never know before.

I stopped the Welbutrin after about four or five weeks, and within a few months was back to normal.

Linda and the nightmare of Celexa

Then, there's my wife, Linda.  She was prescribed Celexa for mild depression.  Initially, it really seemed to help, and we were both very thankful.

But, even from early on, she mentioned to me that she didn't feel quite right on the medication.  Things that should have bothered her didn't.  It was like she couldn't quite connect to reality and respond in appropriate ways.  Coincidentally (we thought), when she started the Celexa:

• she started having some serious sinus infections.  At least once a year, she would have an attack that was so bad, she had to take some short-term disability to deal with it.
• She also started to have a lot of tooth decay.  We're talking like a 700% increase.
• Worse still, Linda suffered from inflamed nerves.  Her hip got so bad, she was nearly crippled.  And dental care became a nightmare.  Not only did she experience a dramatic increase in the number of teeth that needed filling, the drilling seemed to seriously inflame the nerves in her teeth.  As a result, otherwise good teeth needed root canals.

The list of problems just kept getting longer and longer; but it wasn't until she started getting really aggressive, then really depressed, then nearly psychotic that we realized that something was seriously wrong, and we needed some answers.

Linda got on-line and found some information on Celexa, and the side-effects listed sounded like her biography.  (I'll be adding a page to my site about this soon.)

With the help of high sesquiterpene essential oils (Linda used the therapeutic-grade essential oil blend the oil of plenty the most), while not cured, she was able to get off her medication within a few weeks without adverse effects.  This was much faster than anyone thought she could.  And, while some of the problems have not resolved themselves completely, but she is doing much, much better.

The man around the corner

Then there's one of our neighbors.  "Brad" was a cheerful, helpful, enthusiastic-about-life kind of guy, and had his own electrician business.  I'm not sure what the circumstances were, but in the spring of 2003, he had been placed on an SSRI medication.

About that time, Texas had some big storm with lots of people without power, and "Brad" took some time away from his business to go down to Texas to volunteer his services to help get everyone's power restored.  While in Texas, he started having attacks of mania, and when he returned home, he was admitted to a local hospital.  He escaped, sneaked back home and blew his head off with a shotgun.

A week or two later, I first heard the tape, "Essential Oils: A Better Choice" by Dr. Ann Blake Tracy (Training Tape #44; © 2002 Essential Science Publishing).  I wish I had known then what I know now.  But, at least you can know.  Inform yourself, and share that information with those you care about.

Let's take care of one another.

Not the whole story

One of my friends, after reading this post, contacted me about the apparent lack of balance to this article.  She pointed out that, in some circumstances, not taking an SSRI medication might be worse than taking it.  Yes, they present significant potential dangers; however, there are times when the very real, immediate dangers are greater than those that are merely potential.

Please note, however, that my friend wrote to me before she had read "Essential Oils: A Better Choice".

See what we've said on the bulletin board, and feel free to join the discussion.