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• Can nootropics aka smart drugs be combined with antidepressants like lexapro?
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I have always experimented with cognitive enhancers during the school year and this summer was prescribed antidepressant lexapro as well as a balancer seroquel. Wondering how drugs such as piracetam, Aniracetam, Pramiracetam, L-Huperzine, Alpha GPC, Vinpocetine, Theanine, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, HYDERGINE, PEMOLINE, PRL-8-53, etc drugs like these be combined with prescribed medication.
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•Voting Question: lexapro... gets worse before better?
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hi all, was wondering if anyone has had experience with the SSRI antidepressant drug "lexapro"
my wife (aged 27, together for 7 years, married for almost 4 of those years) was diagnosed with major depression about 2 and a half months ago, after getting in to see a psychiatrist she was prescribed 10mg dose of lexapro. (she has previously been on Effexor about 5 years ago but didnt like it cos it used to make her sick in the stomach)....... so anyway the timeline of events goes, the first 3 weeks she was doing ok coping with the depression, the 3 to 6 week period she slipped a bit but now after 6 weeks (currently in week 7) she has severly gone down hill.... moved back to her parents house for space and time (she is taking it out on some of my shortcomings.. eg being lazy and minor things like that).... also trying to shut me out, doesnt want to talk to me or see me
this feeling of not being able to see her to help her through this time in need is killing me, just want to see her smiling again...
we have been going to councelling (thats how we found out she had depression) i have backed right off to not pressure her but i want to maintain contact (in neutral surroundings) just so she knows im here for her and im waiting, if she ever needs to talk or anything i am here and she can count on me.
so i guess my question is to anyone who has used it or been around anyone someone who has used it.... did anything similar like this happen to you, and if so... did the drugs eventually pull them out of it??
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• will lexapro, an antidepressant hinder or help my spiritual growth?
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Some say that drugs like ritalin can hinder spiritual growth. i was wondering if its the same for an anti-depressant. I am taking am considering taking a low dose, where i can be in control, as it helps me have clearer thoughts.
do u think lexapro anti depressant will hinder or help my spiritual growth?
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• the antidepressant lexapro and it's benefits?
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Just was prescribe lexapro.. I'm hoping it will work for me. Can anyone give me some idea as to how they fared with this drug?
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• How can this happen: FDA approves psychiatric drug for children while govt. investigates corruption?
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see the Dept. of Justice press release
"United States Files Complaint Against Forest Laboratories for Allegedly Violating the False Claims Act, Pharmaceutical Company Allegedly Marketed Drugs for Unapproved Pediatric Use and Paid Kickbacks"
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/February/09-civ-163.html
to quote 1st paragraph:
"WASHINGTON – A Complaint was unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against a New York pharmaceutical company for alleged False Claims Act violations arising from the company’s marketing the drugs Celexa and Lexapro for unapproved pediatric use and for paying kickbacks to induce physicians to prescribe the drugs."
and the news of the FDA approval:
"The Corruption Continues: FDA Approves Antidepressants for Children, Even After Revelations of Bribery "
see dubya dubya dubya dot natural dot news dot com
To quote in part:
"(NaturalNews) The FDA has approved Forest Laboratories' antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) for use in children and adolescents, even as the federal government and 11 states have filed a lawsuit against the company for illegally pushing the drug on kids.
The federal government has accused Forest of bribing pediatricians to prescribe Lexapro and a related drug, Celexa (citalopram), to treat depression in children, even though such use had not been approved by the FDA at the time. The government also claims that Forest concealed the results of studies showing the drugs to be no more effective than a placebo."
"By knowingly and actively promoting these antidepressants for off-label pediatric use without disclosing the results of the negative pediatric study and by paying kickbacks, Forest caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act," said the federal complaint, issued on Feb. 25.
...
I'll quote the rest of the Natural News article because I cannot seem to get the link posted:
"Lexapro was introduced in 2001 as a successor to Forest's blockbuster Celexa, which lost patent protection and became available for generic replication in 2003. Both drugs are antidepressants in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class, and like other SSRIs have been shown to significantly increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, adolescents and young adults after even short-term use.
Lexapro is the 15th biggest selling drug in the United States."
....
"On March 20, the FDA approved Lexapro for the treatment of major depressive disorder in children between the ages of 12 and 17, based on the findings of ONLY ONE CLINICAL STUDY. Another study showed the drug to have NO MORE EFFECT THAN A PLACEBO."
[capitalization added for emphasis]
"....
"A lot of these kinds of trials are not successful because it's very difficult to do depression studies," said Forest spokesman Frank Murdolo. "But we have two studies that were successful."
The second study referenced by Murdolo was conducted on Celexa, which the FDA declined to approve for use in children. A second Celexa study found no evidence that the drug was effective.
..."
"....
The FDA also approved Lexapro as a way to maintain control of depression symptoms, even though Forest admits there is no clinical evidence for that benefit in children. The FDA argued that it was possible to extrapolate the effectiveness of the drug from adult studies.
Lexapro is only the second antidepressant to receive US approval for use in children.
According to a federal complaint however, Forest has been marketing Lexapro and Celexa to children illegally for at least nine years.
..."
"....
In 1999, the FDA asked the company to conduct two independent clinical trials into Celexa's effectiveness in children, offering as incentive a six-month patent extension. Forest commissioned two studies -- one by the Danish company Lundbeck, which initially developed the drug, and another by U.S. researcher Karen Dineen Wagner. While the Wagner study found "a statistically ... significant reduction in depressive symptoms in children and adolescents" and "no serious adverse events" from the drug's use, the Lundbeck study found that Celexa provided no benefits over the placebo. In addition, out of a total participant population of 244 in the Lundbeck study, nine more Celexa patients attempted or considered suicide compared with those taking a placebo.
For the next three years, however, Forest widely publicized the Wagner study but did not disclose the results of the Lundbeck study.
(end of article)
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• Are You Aware That Drug Companies Pay Doctors To Prescribe And Promote Their Drugs?
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"Document Details Plan To Promote Costly Drugs"
New York Times
Sept. 1, 2009
"... In February, federal prosecutors in Boston announced a civil lawsuit against Forest claiming that the company illegally marketed both Lexapro and a closely related antidepressant, Celexa, for use in children and paid kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe the medicines to children.
It is illegal to pay doctors to prescribe certain medicines to their patients. It is not illegal to pay doctors to educate their colleagues about a medicine. In recent years, federal prosecutors have accused many drug makers of deliberately crossing that line. ..."
..................................................
" ...It is impossible to unpack all of the reasons for these prescriptions, but some industry critics say one reason could be the money doctors make from Forest. Psychiatrists make more money from drug makers than any other medical specialty, according to analyses of payment data. And Forest gives more money and food to doctors than many of its far larger rivals. Vermont officials found that Forest’s payments to doctors in 2008 were surpassed only by those of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis and Merck — companies with annual sales that are five to 10 times larger than Forest’s.
Forest’s 2004 plan for marketing Lexapro offers detailed information about how the company planned to direct this money to doctors.
Under “Rep Promotional Programs,” the document said the company planned to spend $34.7 million to pay 2,000 psychiatrists and primary care doctors to deliver 15,000 marketing lectures to their peers in one year.
“These meetings may be large-scale dinner programs with a slide presentation, small roundtable discussions or one-on-one advocate lunches,” the document states.
Under “Lunch and Learns,” the company intended to spend $36 million providing lunch to doctors in their offices. “Providing lunch for a physician creates an extended amount of selling time for representatives,” the document states. ..."
- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/business/02drug.html
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• Does Cymbalta (antidepressant) interfere with Phentermine (diet drug)?
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I know some Dr.s were doing the Phentermine + Lexapro diet. I did not know how Cymbalta would effect the Phentermine's effectiveness as a diet suppressant..
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• What type of drug test does the army administer?
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My husband is actually an active duty Officer Candidate in the National Guard and, I am getting ready to join the National Guard soon and was curious to know what kind of drug screen is administered, blood or urine? My husband cant remeber. And does the test detect antidepressants such as wellbutrin or Lexapro? All serios answers will be appreciated.
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•Voting Question: How long will Lexapro withdraws last?
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I have been on antidepressants for 7 years and have tapered off Lexapro. I have been without the drug entirely for a full week since tapering off for a month. How long will the withdraws last? I have brain zaps, dizziness, nausea and diarrhea. Also, I gained 30 lbs while on this medications, will the weight come off?
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• Help with family stuff?
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I need suggestions on how to get my brother out of a horrible relationship. He is living with his gf who has been on so many antidepressant drugs (lexapro right now). She is on and off them. She takes pain drugs and everything else she can get a prescription for, drinks lots. She's not really crazy enough to need those drugs. She just sits on the couch during the day. She can function just fine but will not take care of her 4 kids (16,12,8,4). He has taken it upon himself to take care of them all (gf is 35 he is 30). She is always threatening to kill herself if he were "to leave", and has hit him before. When we talk to him about it he kinda breaks down maybe a tear or two. We want her out of his life because she is toxic.. she has ruined any self esteem that he did have and ruined any self-confidence that he had. Its just bad all around... How can we get him out forever.... They have been together for almost 4 yrs now. HELP US!
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