Antidepressants viewed as a quick fix

Not long ago, a study was brought to my attention about the number of adolescents taking antidepressant medication was brought to my attention. I can’t say I was surprised. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data stating that one in 25 kids ages 12 to 17 in the U.S. are on antidepressants.

I believe this is a problem that has been growing and is being ignored. It’s a little hidden secret that nobody wants to talk about. There is an avalanche of patients that for one reason or another have been diagnosed with depression or alleged depression. And it is far too easy to go to any physician and get a prescription for any type of antidepressant. The old days when you had to go to a psychiatrist to evaluate your mental state if you were depressed—are long gone. Now you can go to your general practitioner and tell them “listen, I’m sad, I’m depressed” and in many situations patients will get a prescription for an antidepressant right away.

I think Americans are being aggressively over-diagnosed and have become too sensitive to minor health problems. We have started to believe that we shouldn’t have to live our lives with problems or depression, and picking up a pill is a quick fix to feel better. So we have set a mindset where folks don’t want to deal with any sort of issue – where you have aggressive campaigns by pharmaceutical companies to get everybody on the pill and that is a fact already in adults. But what is amazing and scary to me is that it is now an epidemic in kids. And that’s dangerous.

The biggest risk for taking antidepressants is that one size does not fit all. For example, let’s take bipolar disorder. If you have bipolar disorder, which is a very common condition, and you’re given the wrong type of antidepressant, your problem could get worse. So the first thing that we have to recognize is, a psychiatrist with proper training is the person you need in order to make the proper diagnosis. Is it bipolar disorder? Is it something else? They are the only ones that should be able to prescribe these medications.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/23/antidepressants-viewed-as-quick-fix/#ixzz1nK73H0TQ

Antidepressants have become some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the US, especially SSRIs (.

Antidepressants have become some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the US, especially SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).  These are prescribed not just by psychiatrists, but also by internists, neurologists, family practitioners, cardiologists and gastroenterologists for depression and anxiety.

Of course, no medication comes without side effects, and SSRIs have theirs as well.  The most common of these side effects are GI disturbances (nausea, soft stools or constipation), weight gain, sleepiness or insomnia - as well as sexual side effects, such as decreased sex drive, problems with erection, and delayed ability to reach orgasm/ejaculation.

Another recently discovered, little-known side effect of SSRIs is their significant impact on men’s fertility.  SSRIs have been found to cut a man's sperm count as well as the normal shape and motility of their sperm by 50 percent.  This effect can become evident by the first month after treatment and begins to have a major impact after just three months on an SSRI.

Specifically, scientists have found SSRIs cause the sperm to be abnormally shaped and unable to swim properly, which is believed to be a direct result of the medication on the sperm itself.  These changes in shape and function of sperm, added to the drop in overall sperm count, can push men into the "infertile" range while he is taking the SSRI.

As it is, chronic stress and depression can lower a man's level of testosterone, which in turn can decrease his sperm count.  Add to that any depression or anxiety treated with an SSRI, and he may unsuspectingly become infertile while he and his partner are trying to conceive.

The good news is that, because the negative side effect of SSRIs on semen values appears to be a local effect on the sperm itself, the situation is reversible and corrects itself once the medication is discontinued.  However, it takes 64 days for sperm to fully develop, and a man may not see his levels return to normal in less than three months.  If this is a concern for you and your partner, I do not recommend stopping medications prescribed to you, but instead consult the physician who prescribed them and devise an alternate plan for treating the depression or anxiety.

These side effects may also be a consideration for those men who have been prescribed an SSRI for the treatment of premature ejaculation, rather than depression.  It may be necessary to take a "holiday" from using the SSRIs in order to return to previous levels of fertility.  Men should consider the side effects and possibly stop the SSRI and choose to deal with premature ejaculation while they are trying to conceive, then resume taking the medication their partner becomes pregnant.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/06/antidepressants-may-cause-infertility-in-males/#ixzz1ldYKat00