Article for 10-2000
Prozac Vs Lifestyle Change
By Wendy W. Cheslak
I had the opportunity to hear an interview with Ann Tracy (author of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora?) and David Christopher, director of The School of Natural Healing. Ms Tracy talked about her research and why she wrote about mind controlling drugs, such as Prozac, which is currently being marketed for alleviation of depression.
Their entire interview is far beyond the scope of this article. Therefore I have chosen points from the interview that I felt were important for you in order to help you make an informed decision about antidepressant drugs. If you would like to read more about Prozac and other antidepressant drugs, I recommend Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? by Ann B. Tracy and Chase Shepard.
Ann Tracy researched Prozac for more than four years before writing her book. She interviewed over a thousand patients on Prozac. She took down their stories of how Prozac affected them, their families, and friends. She also interviewed physicians, researchers, and coroners who were involved in police investigations when Prozac was medically thought to have contributed to death.
Prozac is made by Eli Lilly Company and is a neurotransmitter anesthetic. Prozac produces the same affect on the body as amphetamines (Speed) because it increases the adrenalin level. How does it do this? Adrenalin and amphetamines are chemically almost identical. The difference between amphetamines and Prozac is that amphetamines mimic a body function if given in large enough doses and Prozac forces the body to increase its own production of adrenalin. With Prozac the body eventually burns out because it can’t keep up the production of such unnaturally high levels of adrenalin. Some of the burnout effects that have been documented are:
- inability to read
- inability to write
- inability to hold a thought long enough to keep a job
- loss of comprehension
Prozac affects the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is affected by the adrenalin levels in the body. Excess adrenalin causes depression. Prozac raises the adrenalin level so high that it has the opposite affect and works as an anesthesia on the brain. Just one thirtieth of a milligram of Prozac doubles the body’s adrenalin level. Prozac actually increases depression but the brain is so anesthetized with serotonin that the patient doesn’t notice it in the beginning stages.
Prozac leads to long-term use, dependence, and addiction with withdrawal effects. Physicians dispute that Prozac is addictive because there have been no clinical studies done on Prozac and withdrawal. Eli Lilly (the manufacturer) is not required by the FDA to test for withdrawal effects.
With Prozac you can expect a withdrawal called "rebound effect." This produces symptoms of depression that are more severe than before you started taking the drug. This can happen with most mind-controlling drugs. For instance, with sleeping pills you can have insomnia worse then your original insomnia. The same is true for anxiety medications like Xanax and Valium. Most patients are not informed about the rebound effects of these medications and their long-term ramifications.
You may be asking, "What happens if a patient doesn’t know about the rebound effect and complains to the doctor about feeling depressed. How does the doctor know which is the original condition and which is "rebound effect?" What may happen is the doctor increases the dose to get rid of the symptom. This can cause a vicious cycle, and it is against the manufacturer’s recommendations to go over 80 milligrams (4 pills) per day.
If you want to get off Prozac, Solof, Paxil, or any neurotransmitter drug, you should do it slowly - never go cold turkey. You should have your physician reduce your daily dose each day instead of skipping doses one day and taking them the next. If you don’t reduce your daily dose slowly, it can produce a system shock.
Prozac was put on the market in 1987. It is made from a base of fluoride. Fluoride is a toxin. Studies done on fluoride have been titled: "Fluorosis or Neurosis?" Why? You should know that fluoride can produce mental disorders to the extent of neurosis.
The FDA’s reports show that Prozac has generated ten times the number of reports in FDA history. Currently there are 575 side effects, which have been documented and reported by physicians. In these reports, children as young as five-years have committed suicide while on Prozac.
Side effects of Prozac:
- impaired vision or blindness
- suicide
- arson
- violent crimes
- depression
- alcohol abuse
- compulsive acts without concern for punishment
- reckless driving
- exhibitionism
- substance dependence
- bulimia
| - hostility
- argumentative behavior
- inability to hold a job
- obsessive / compulsive behavior
- increased offenses and arrests
- anxiety
- brain disease
- other mood disorders
- mental retardation
- diarrhea
- false memory syndrome
|
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter substance created by the body as a means to communicate between cells. Your body naturally balances these chemicals. Prozac and other neurotransmitter drugs are made to raise the level of serotonin. There are two types of serotonin. They are 5HT and 5HIAA. The 5HT serotonin is made throughout your body and not just in the brain. Therefore, Prozac affects your entire body. The makers of Prozac had hoped to raise the 5HIAA serotonin, which is a by-product of 5HT serotonin. However, Prozac actually raises the 5HT and lowers the 5HIAA serotonin. Raising the 5HT serotonin level will damage the brain. People with brain damage have high levels of 5HT serotonin. Prozac can produce Alzheimer’s disease and advanced old age. Low levels of 5HIAA serotonin produce the side effects of nightmares, dream-state reality (false memory syndrome), REM sleep behavior disorder, and excessive compulsions.
Violent behavior and crimes can happen to people on Prozac when their bodies are trying to correct for the overproduction of adrenaline (high 5HT serotonin and low 5HIAA serotonin). Their bodies are trying to compensate while the drug is forcing the body to make more adrenaline.
If you have a liver that has difficulty metabolizing, you may have problems when it comes to drugs like Prozac. The liver must produce enzymes to metabolize Prozac, and 10 to 25% of us don’t have adequate liver enzymes to metabolize this drug. If Prozac is not adequately metabolized, the drug can accumulate in the body to toxic levels. If a patient is taking other medications, this could be dangerous. If they haven’t already done so, Eli Lilly needs to disclose a study they did 2 ½ years ago showing that Prozac clearly increases the need for the liver to produce the enzyme P450 by ten times in order to metabolize Prozac. This enzyme is needed to metabolize most medications, air pollutants, and anesthesia. The latest drug, Paxil, (similar to Prozac) increases the demand of P450 by 40 times. When these drugs demand this kind of enzyme output by the liver, it can cause serous health problems for the liver. Physicians may not know that Prozac and Paxil are dangerous to the liver because of the lack of warnings on the product literature. Over time Prozac, Solfot, and Paxil all wear down the liver’s ability to produce enzymes and to metabolize the drug. System breakdown is the result.
Your liver under normal circumstances is designed to balance serotonin levels and to make sure that these levels don’t get too high. High levels of serotonin can produce over stimulation of the intestinal tract. Also, patients can experience a tightening of the bronchial tubes, and Asthma patients should be warned about these effects prior to taking Prozac.
How can you get off Prozac and still keep your sanity? You should know that all neurotransmitters used by the brain are produced by the foods you eat. Proper nutrition is key to correcting any imbalance of adrenaline and serotonin in the brain. In other words, a healthy lifestyle can help combat illnesses such as depression.
David Christopher made these suggestions (I have also added to them) to get the nutrition you need into your body. You may also look into having your physician reduce your daily dose of Prozac.
- Reduce your refined sugar intake (Replace it with natural sweeteners such as honey & molasses. No artificial sweeteners.)
- Reduce your caffeine intake, it increases 5HT serotonin. (Limit yourself to 1 cup in the morning if necessary and drink an extra 8 oz. of water to make up for the dehydrating effect of caffeine.)
- Drink 2 quarts of water daily. Neurotransmitters need water to carry an electrical charge.
- Use ½ tsp. of Celtic Sea salt. Water goes where there is an adequate amount of the right salt. Water won’t stay where there is no salt to assist the cell's integrity. Celtic Sea salt has all the natural minerals your cells need. (See my article archive report on salt.)
- Avoid processed/convenience foods, which are devoid of nutrition.
- Get at least 8 hours of rest each night. (See my article archive report on sleep.)
- Clean the bowel with a quality bowel cleanse (This will remove pharmaceutical toxins in the body and aid the liver in cleansing the blood and lightening its burden.)
- After a bowel cleanse, do a liver and gall bladder cleanse. Then do a urinary tract cleanse.
- Use herbs that help feed the body to make the proper amount of hormones and neurotransmitters. Herbs like sarsaparilla, black cohosh, and thistle can help.
If you need help in successfully changing your lifestyle, try this book: The Power Herbs: 13 Herbs Every Medicine Cabinet Should Have (Apothecary Herbs Press). Herbs, combination therapies, diet strategies, and drug interactions will help you take control of your health. (See our web site to order this title.)
Another title that contains helpful information is:
- Toxic Psychiatry by Dr. Peter Bregan (see amazon.com for title)
Wendy Cheslak is an herbalist for Apothecary Herbs, Inc.
Source: A Healthier You, Dr. David Christopher, The School of Natural Healing, 1994.
The information contained herein is not intended to diagnosis, treat, prevent or cure any disease. Please seek medical advice from a licensed medical physician before using any herbal products or natural therapies. The information contained herein is copyrighted by Apothecary Herbs, Inc.
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