Mental Health Issues

[Scrappydoo]

I have noticed a few people talking about bi-polar, depression and anxiety disorders on this forum. Someone I respect dearly has just been told they are probably Bi-polar and she has been started on medications for it. Many of my students are on medications for ADHD. I was on anti-depressants after my first husband passed away, hated them, they made me feel like a robot.

SO, here's my question. Do you think we are better at recognizing mental health issues and more open about talking about it? Or do you think doctors are too quick to write off a scrip than deal with a problem? It seems like anymore, almost everyone I know is on some sort of mood stabilizer, are we becoming the Prozac nation for real? Isn't it just easier to pop a pill and not feel anything?
I appreciate candor, just have lots of time to talk to people and think while on summer break!

[S3cretz]

This really Depends If you can trust the psychatrist .

If yes support her Bipolar is no joke and if someone trusts you enough to tell you Then you have an important role to fill.
Medication is important with bipolar its not necessarily about mood stabilizing its about preventing damage The description of bipolar as it stands.
Is that its an chemical imbalance in the brain Id love to say this is alot of bullshit and fight the power and all that crap but the reality is some studies
have proven that it can lead to Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases both are waay more heavy on medication than bipolar. The time will come when your friend wants off the medication
If she really wants to do this let her go slowly one dose lower per month under strict supervision. And remind her everyone at some stage of their life starts a CH medication.
Weather it be for Asama or Blood pressure.

If you dont trust the pshyc Get a second opinion there will be a 99% chance the meds will be different it if its still diagnosed as bipolar you can start to be shure.

Ok everyone is Entitled to their own opinion so if you want to see The other side of this argument see Scientology or psychiatry and industry of death both offer opinons

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='S3cretz' timestamp='1310217113' post='515265']
This really Depends If you can trust the psychatrist .

If yes support her Bipolar is no joke and if someone trusts you enough to tell you Then you have an important role to fill.
Medication is important with bipolar its not necessarily about mood stabilizing its about preventing damage The description of bipolar as it stands.
Is that its an chemical imbalance in the brain Id love to say this is alot of bullshit and fight the power and all that crap but the reality is some studies
have proven that it can lead to Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases both are waay more heavy on medication than bipolar. The time will come when your friend wants off the medication
If she really wants to do this let her go slowly one dose lower per month under strict supervision. And remind her everyone at some stage of their life starts a CH medication.
Weather it be for Asama or Blood pressure.

If you dont trust the pshyc Get a second opinion there will be a 99% chance the meds will be different it if its still diagnosed as bipolar you can start to be shure.

Ok everyone is Entitled to their own opinion so if you want to see The other side of this argument see Scientology or psychiatry and industry of death both offer opinons
[/quote]


I appreciate your input. I really do believe that she is bipolar and honestly, with everything else in my life, I kind of groaned, I feel like I am holding too many people up by myself right now! When she said that, I said, "ah ha,," a lot makes sense. I think she trusts her doc, it just seems like her threw her some pills and said "see you in a month" and she's up and down MORE on the pills. I keep trying to say just hang with it, give it time.

I was talking generally, as well. It seems like more and more people have MH issues and I am wondering. IS it more acceptable to talk about it openly OR are more people stricken by these issues OR are doctors more likely to give people pills to shut them up??

[vendetta_revived]

Medicines are needed sometimes.

One of my female friends went through a lot of crap in her life. Early marraige, being a mum at 16, not being allowed to study and a world of other crap. She had gone through intensive psychotherapy and all sorts of counselling but wasn't able to cope with everything in spite of getting a divorce and everything.

At one time, she was so bad...like she would be a normal person through out the day and being all funny and vibrant herself......but it used to last as long as she wasn't home. She couldn't stand being at home, and I am not even talking about wanting to go out because you've basically been trapped inside your home all your life, but she just couldn't deal with being home and had this need to be out ALL the time. She was neglecting her studies and her kids because she just used to cry and cry when at home.

She even tried moving but it didn't help. After an year or two of therapy, her doctors finally prescribed her some anti depressants and she has been doing quite well since then. She still goes out a lot but now doesn't go crazy with physical pain, or any pain for that matter when she is at home.

I don't know what she would have done had she not taken those meds.

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='vendetta_revived' timestamp='1310223720' post='515267']
Medicines are needed sometimes.

One of my female friends went through a lot of crap in her life. Early marraige, being a mum at 16, not being allowed to study and a world of other crap. She had gone through intensive psychotherapy and all sorts of counselling but wasn't able to cope with everything in spite of getting a divorce and everything.

At one time, she was so bad...like she would be a normal person through out the day and being all funny and vibrant herself......but it used to last as long as she wasn't home. She couldn't stand being at home, and I am not even talking about wanting to go out because you've basically been trapped inside your home all your life, but she just couldn't deal with being home and had this need to be out ALL the time. She was neglecting her studies and her kids because she just used to cry and cry when at home.

She even tried moving but it didn't help. After an year or two of therapy, her doctors finally prescribed her some anti depressants and she has been doing quite well since then. She still goes out a lot but now doesn't go crazy with physical pain, or any pain for that matter when she is at home.

I don't know what she would have done had she not taken those meds.
[/quote]


GOD Bless her. How is she doing now? I hate to say this, I feel really mean but my husband still has some medical issues andhe is my priority. She sounds very much like this. She came home to find her husband having sex this this nasty maid, it just ruined her and she was unstable already. She leans on me SO hard and exhausts me.

[S3cretz]

It takes time to get the medicine right My dear scrappy.
It sometimes it takes up to 8 medication changes to get the right mix kinda like shisha .
My Input will be get her into a Mental hospital(Its really not s bad as people make it out to be) were she sees her doc everyday for a few weeks
so she can get on the best possible medication.

I know the drill Most of my family is bipolar I lost my step-brother to suicide because he wouldnt let his own be treated.
Just support her As much as you can for now. If it becomes too much for you there are many support groups for bipolar.
I Suggest you go to her with one of these and see what you can get from them.
Il see if i ant find you some links.
And one more thing tell her to stay away from bipolar forums their a mess of trouble. Edited July 9, 2011 by S3cretz

[TheyCallMeDave]

I was diagnosed with tourette's syndrome at a very early age. TS is especially irritating to have, due to the fact that there are only a handful of drugs to help with the problem, and even obtaining such medication is difficult, seeing as your tics have to be overwhelming to receive a prescription for it a majority of the time. I currently suffer from 7 motor tics, and one vocal tic. All of these occur from minute to minute. These tics vary in intensity and actions from year to year, but never go away. I have had this fro as long as I can remember, and wouldn't even begint o list all of the tics I've gone through in my life. Everything from eye twitching, to digging my fingernails into my palms, to summer saulting, to keeping my eyes shut tight for a few seconds. I am not on any medication.

Am I saying that TS is easier to bear than some other mental illnesses? No. It may be harder, it may be easier, I'm not sure. Whatever the case is, all I know is that it's not impossible to live a normal life having an overwhelming mental mental illness, and feel happy about it.

[Coleman]

I dont especially think its doctors. The whole reason prescriptions are written so often is because more people go to a psychatrist as opposed to a therapists. some disorders do need medicine to help but when it comes to stuff like ADHD, which I have and now can control on my own, doesnt NEED pills its just an easy way out for people who dont want to learn to control it. But this is not for all disorders just some. and this is just my opinion

[kajon]

I agree, some people do have serious illnesses where medication may be required, but at the same time I think many people abuse how easy it is to get a medical prescription. I knew a kid who wanted to get adderall to study during college and he told his mom he needed to see a doctor. He said the doctor asked him a handful of questions and was given the prescription. Every one nowadays apparently has ADD / ADHD and I don't think just giving them pills will make it better.

[r1v3th3ad]

My shrink was pill happy. My first episode(breakdown) was in Aug 2006...He put me on Zyprexa...I gained A LOT of weight on it, I complained and he switched me to Abilify. I eventually quit going to see him and quit the meds cold turkey because I felt I didn't need the stuff and that this was just a freak occurance(there were life stressors and past nht use to blame). Over the next few years, I was fine: I occasionally had panic attacks, but never heard of them before or knew anything about them, I thought I was just overreacting to life. Then back in Jan 2009 I had a relapse. This time I was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic. The doctor went pill happy and put me back on the Abilify, this time the stuff messed me up. I was stuttering real bad and I was a wreck, with constant panic attacks, also got diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. I also had to cope with at that time my ex-fiance leaving me, so things were really bad.
The meds really didn't do anything as far as I can tell except make me like a robot, easily programmable(to the point where my dad almost convinced me to sell all of my hookahs and swear them off). He switched me to Rispiridone, again, major weight gain...between Aug 2006-Jan 2010, I gained over 100 lbs that I couldn't shake no matter what, from the psych meds...I used to be a really really skinny kid, could see my ribs...now I've got moobs and a beer gut. I was also prescribed Klonopin, which I lived off of pretty much, until recently. I complained and complained and complained about the weight gain and he finally switched me to Geodone. I have been able to lose a little over 40 lbs since he switched me about a year ago.
Before he switched me, he experimented with pills on me, he tried this one that was usually used to treat seizures, he was using it to make me lose weight because that was a side effect. I found out from a med-student friend's book that the pill makes you lose weight because it makes you anorexic and I was too while on it. It also screwed up my head something bad for a little while. He tried anti-depressants too, some to help with depression, others at other times to help with my sleep problems. They screwed with my body and my sex drive(they were SSRIs). I will never forgive him though, recently at school, I couldn't sleep because of my anxiety and Klonopin wasn't helping, so I called and asked him what a good over-the-counter sleep aid would be, he prescribes me one...I start taking it and I start getting depressed. At first it worked for sleep, then it stopped. Then it made me suicidal(which is not me anymore, I value life too much even at the shittiest of times). I looked up the drug on a drug fact database and found that it was a heavy anti-depressant when he told me it was a sleep aid...it said in the drug facts "Warning to doctors: do not prescribe to any patient who has been suicidal before." ...jackass.
I'm getting off of the Klonopin on my own now, since I graduated college my panic and anxiety has settled down drastically to the point where I think the panic disorder is gone and the anxiety has calmed. I am going to eventually try to work with the shrink(maybe a new one) to get off of the Geodone, I already took myself down in dose and feel much better(it was at family advise and couldn't get ahold of shrink). But I am sick of this pill happy doctor and am trying to get a new one...its really hard because my mental health program is through Western Psych Institute and Clinic(world renown). I have tried some New Age medicine with the aid of a forum member and it did help me drastically, I'm heavily considering doing the ethnomedicine hand in hand with the biomedicine.
My experience, mental health doctors are eager to prescribe and don't really care about the side-effects. I hope I can get off the meds completely and live and healthy life, as well as hope that I never have a relapse and have to go through this again.
This forum means a lot to me with this topic. When it happened the last time, Canon, KathrynX, and Mushrat were all there for me and talked me through a lot on the phone. I made a post(hidden now) in the premium members section about it and everyone was very supportive and understanding and extended a hand to me.
I feel lucky to have made it through college(just graduated in May), it was very challenging dealing with the different aspects of my disabilities, especially when I let the disabilities define me. My shrink told me not to go back to school, that it was a horrible idea and that I wouldn't make it...I can't wait to see him end of the month and to smack him in the face with my fucking diploma


Right now I'm dealing with a semi-heavy depression over being single(was engaged a few years ago) and the whole loneliness with it, but I'm choosing not to tell the pill happy doc, or if I do, not accept any scripts... this one I'm dealing with on my own(and with the help of friends )

[Rani]

I dated someone for a while who had a history of clinical depression. Because I wanted to understand what he had been through I did a little research, but certainly never became an expert so I'm kind of speaking only through my own conclusions on the subject.

I think since we're basically a reasoning animal we normally have moods that fluctuate. If left alone the ups would more than balance the downs over time and we'd all be stable overall. But unfortunately, we now have this society thing going on where the first time you're down, nobody wants to hear about it. It isn't allowed to be openly emotional and face our feelings anymore. So a slight crack becomes a hidden crevasse. Add some more pressure, some more judgement, some more excuses in our judicial system, and you have what eventually becomes a Grand Canyon of emotion and problems. Our bodies, including our minds, are designed for one purpose. To survive. To carry on. Keep going. So you have your own mental pressure, outside pressure, media pressure, et al. Eventually you develop full blown neurosis, and even deep psychosis. We now know that we can actually change our brain chemistry by this whole cause and effect thing. And then you have doctors throwing pills at it. So now we have a whole bunch of people who are really quite normal being almost turned into the mentally ill by society itself.

If someone is normal brain wise sometimes medication can stop the spiral out of control Take the right anti-depressant for a couple months and your brain chemistry stabilizes. In some cases like schizophrenia the brain may be permanently hardwired as to need medication for life. So I don't throw out the need for medication. But I think it really, REALLY needs a much better handle or view or something on what we're doing to ourselves, who really needs medication for severe problems, etc. There are way too many doctors who simply throw out prescriptions, way too many families who are forcing conformity at the cost of mental stability, and not enough understanding of mental illness at all.

The best you can hope for your friend, is that she get real help from people who are really in it to help people and will care about her individual case and what she needs. Lumping her in as "bi-polar' and then just throwing pills her way, isn't the answer in my inexpert opinion. To find out what she really need, she needs real expert help.

\'Rani

[The Persian Hillbilly]

[b]I have PTSD and I stopped going to the psychiatrist. He keep putting me on weird meds that was turning me into a drooling idiot!
About 3 years ago I had hiccups for almost a week and a doctor prescribed "Thorazine". It cured my hiccups and helped my PTSD better than anything. The psychiatrist refused to give me a prescription saying "Lets try other stuff first!" and I basically told him to go f--k himself! I ordered 1000 tabs from India and after 2 years I'm now off all meds thanks to Thorazine and can now keep my PTSD under control myself! I still have good and bad days, but nothing like it once was![/b]

[Scrappydoo]

[size="4"][color="#4b0082"]YOU GUYS ARE GREAT[/color][/size]! I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of responses, [size="6"][color="#ff0000"]thank you!

[size="2"][color="#000000"]I know she's on seroquel and klonopin but I don't know if there is anything else. I paid for these two because she couldn't. She had tried to kill herself two times before, so that is my biggest worry. Her doctor has said NOTHING about talk therapy or group support or hospitalization, which I think she sorely needs. I feel bad because she really doesn't have anyone but me, her husband, her family, her friends have all left her because she has bitch attacks and drives normal people away. I am super forgiving, try to understand what she's been thru and you can tell there is a good person under all that fire. [/color][/size][/color][/size]

[Dr. B]

Maybe my story is relevant.

I had a near-fatal head injury in September of 2008. After I was back on my feet I was having tremendous anxiety and panic attacks, which the doctors attributed to PTSD. Further, the mindfuck of the whole incident engendered a deep depression, among other things. The doctors with whom I spoke expected that the symptoms were routine and would abate as my recovery progressed. However, contrary to the opinion that my anxiety and depression were products of trauma and not coincidental emergencies of preexisting tendencies (that's another story), I was prescribed Lexapro. Benzos were completely off the table as far as options go. To be fair, I was given it under the suggestion that it may help control the intensity of my recovery, but the same doctors were reluctant to prescribe hydrocodone or any narcotic painkiller for fear of disrupting my neurological recovery by exposing me to the risk of addiction. I'd never adhered to any SSRI regimen before nor have I felt the desire to since, to provide some reference. I tried the regimen as prescribed and stuck with it long enough to ensure that the vesting period was overcome. Long story short it worsened my anxiety and I gave it up after 4 weeks.

I'm still not sure why the neurologist who wouldn't prescribe me hydrocodone was so eager to suggest an SSRI.

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='Dr. B' timestamp='1310295669' post='515343']
Maybe my story is relevant.

I had a near-fatal head injury in September of 2008. After I was back on my feet I was having tremendous anxiety and panic attacks, which the doctors attributed to PTSD. Further, the mindfuck of the whole incident engendered a deep depression, among other things. The doctors with whom I spoke expected that the symptoms were routine and would abate as my recovery progressed. However, contrary to the opinion that my anxiety and depression were products of trauma and not coincidental emergencies of preexisting tendencies (that's another story), I was prescribed Lexapro. Benzos were completely off the table as far as options go. To be fair, I was given it under the suggestion that it may help control the intensity of my recovery, but the same doctors were reluctant to prescribe hydrocodone or any narcotic painkiller for fear of disrupting my neurological recovery by exposing me to the risk of addiction. I'd never adhered to any SSRI regimen before nor have I felt the desire to since, to provide some reference. I tried the regimen as prescribed and stuck with it long enough to ensure that the vesting period was overcome. Long story short it worsened my anxiety and I gave it up after 4 weeks.

I'm still not sure why the neurologist who wouldn't prescribe me hydrocodone was so eager to suggest an SSRI.
[/quote]

Thank you for your candor! How are you now? What is the long term solution?

[Dr. B]

I don't have full stereophonic hearing because I ruptured my left eardrum (luckily) as a result of the pressure. This disorients me in loud, unpredictable venues and contributes to the general anxiety I sometimes experience. I have it mostly under control but I don't binge on stimulants like nicotine or caffeine anymore and I can [mentally] tolerate very few drugs (lump 'em all together) , even in small doses. Hell, chlortrimeton freaks me out now. Recently I had a panic attack (the first in many months) and have laid off coffee and alcohol and have dwindled my nicotine consumption considerably. Also I seem to have trouble with articulating adjectives extemporaneously, which didn't used to be a problem. My stress tolerance is somewhat lower and thus I am more controlling in a proactive manner, but I don't know if I can attribute that to anything. I gotta say though, it's rough to normalize feeling wound up, in contrast to feeling neutral in the absence of stimuli. Thanks for asking.

The long term solution for me is to keep busy. "Busy" is a relative term though, so something as simple as personal interaction (I do better with small groups, anyway) is usually enough. Processes like cooking and routine exercising are good, as well as monotonous distractions like movies or video games. I do make time to relax, but I'm usually invested in something. I love to circumcognate (is that a word?) when I'm not in a rush, so I can hold my own when I'm alone. I can try to control the catalysts of my anxiety in a lot of ways, but the pain is that panic attacks are seldom the product of anything specific; though they've become less "random".

I did reply, but I failed to stress earlier that my disposition is much different from a condition of severe chemical imbalance. While I do have experience with clinical depression, it has not escalated to such a degree as to require medicine. I wish, for your friend's sake, that it was an easy task to determine exactly what prescription would restore her balance, but that's unfortunately not the case. Seeing my father struggle with and educate me about bi-polar disorder has taught me that pride shouldn't factor into medical consideration. Be prudent, but don't be foolish enough to think that mental fortitude is some kind of panacea, as is a seemingly popular belief nowadays - especially concerning AD(H)D. Sometimes it's just not within your limits.

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='Dr. B' timestamp='1310298983' post='515350']
I don't have full stereophonic hearing because I ruptured my left eardrum (luckily) as a result of the pressure. This disorients me in loud, unpredictable venues and contributes to the general anxiety I sometimes experience. I have it mostly under control but I don't binge on stimulants like nicotine or caffeine anymore and I can [mentally] tolerate very few drugs (lump 'em all together) , even in small doses. Hell, chlortrimeton freaks me out now. Recently I had a panic attack (the first in many months) and have laid off coffee and alcohol and have dwindled my nicotine consumption considerably. Also I seem to have trouble with articulating adjectives extemporaneously, which didn't used to be a problem. My stress tolerance is somewhat lower and thus I am more controlling in a proactive manner, but I don't know if I can attribute that to anything. I gotta say though, it's rough to normalize feeling wound up, in contrast to feeling neutral in the absence of stimuli. Thanks for asking.

The long term solution for me is to keep busy. "Busy" is a relative term though, so something as simple as personal interaction (I do better with small groups, anyway) is usually enough. Processes like cooking and routine exercising are good, as well as monotonous distractions like movies or video games. I do make time to relax, but I'm usually invested in something. I love to circumcognate (is that a word?) when I'm not in a rush, so I can hold my own when I'm alone. I can try to control the catalysts of my anxiety in a lot of ways, but the pain is that panic attacks are seldom the product of anything specific; though they've become less "random".

I did reply, but I failed to stress earlier that my disposition is much different from a condition of severe chemical imbalance. While I do have experience with clinical depression, it has not escalated to such a degree as to require medicine. I wish, for your friend's sake, that it was an easy task to determine exactly what prescription would restore her balance, but that's unfortunately not the case. Seeing my father struggle with and educate me about bi-polar disorder has taught me that pride shouldn't factor into medical consideration. Be prudent, but don't be foolish enough to think that mental fortitude is some kind of panacea, as is a seemingly popular belief nowadays - especially concerning AD(H)D. Sometimes it's just not within your limits.
[/quote]


Did I say anything about ADHD?

[Dr. B]

[quote name='Scrappydoo' timestamp='1310204356' post='515257']
...Many of my students are on medications for ADHD...

SO, here's my question. Do you think we are better at recognizing mental health issues and more open about talking about it? Or do you think doctors are too quick to write off a scrip than deal with a problem? It seems like anymore, almost everyone I know is on some sort of mood stabilizer, are we becoming the Prozac nation for real? Isn't it just easier to pop a pill and not feel anything?
I appreciate candor, just have lots of time to talk to people and think while on summer break!
[/quote]

As a matter of fact, you did.

I never said your friend had ADHD. I alluded to the shortcoming of the attitude contradicting over-prescribing .

[The Persian Hillbilly]

Hydrocodone(Vicodin) is the best pain killer! I have alot of it. I [i][b][u]do not[/u][/b][/i] use it all the time. Only when my injuries from the [b]incident [/b]give me alot of problems. I take extra strength Tylenol for pain and only go [b]hard[/b] on really bad days! I meditate alot and that helps greatly!

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='Dr. B' timestamp='1310335747' post='515401']
[quote name='Scrappydoo' timestamp='1310204356' post='515257']
...Many of my students are on medications for ADHD...

SO, here's my question. Do you think we are better at recognizing mental health issues and more open about talking about it? Or do you think doctors are too quick to write off a scrip than deal with a problem? It seems like anymore, almost everyone I know is on some sort of mood stabilizer, are we becoming the Prozac nation for real? Isn't it just easier to pop a pill and not feel anything?
I appreciate candor, just have lots of time to talk to people and think while on summer break!
[/quote]

As a matter of fact, you did.

I never said your friend had ADHD. I alluded to the shortcoming of the attitude contradicting over-prescribing .
[/quote]

AH, ok, you're right! Yeah, I mentioned how many kids are on medication for ADHD at my school (which caters to the rich, most of those kids have nannies) and how I think more than anything these kids are the product of bad parenting and nannies who don't have the balls to discipline correctly.

[Kapten Kanel]

Tried my whole grown up life to live the happy illusion (am i hardcore bitter and cynical or what, im 21 wtf...) that everybody else seems to live in, cant say it works very well. SSRI and similar is a nono, my creativity is all i have, i rather be the mess i am now than be a robot/machine. I stand at the side looking at societys treadmill, try to jump on and immediately stumble and FACEPLANT, repeat. And tomorrow i might not feel like this at all, but the next day... Fuck

[Kapten Kanel]

Also smoking unacclimated tangiers orange soda, FML

[Kurt Kobain]

Smoking is very dangerous and injurious to health but sadly people never realize that. I like this post which is educating people about its harmful effects. I would like sharing a quote which is found at Quote Ocean:
"[color="#444444"][font="Georgia, Times, serif"][size="2"][i]Much smoking kills live men and cures dead swine.[/i][/size][/font][/color]"

[url="http://www.quoteocean.com"]Quote Ocean - FamousQuotations and Inspirational Quotes[/url]

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='Kapten Kanel' timestamp='1310491421' post='515669']
Tried my whole grown up life to live the happy illusion (am i hardcore bitter and cynical or what, im 21 wtf...) that everybody else seems to live in, cant say it works very well. SSRI and similar is a nono, my creativity is all i have, i rather be the mess i am now than be a robot/machine. I stand at the side looking at societys treadmill, try to jump on and immediately stumble and FACEPLANT, repeat. And tomorrow i might not feel like this at all, but the next day... Fuck
[/quote]

[font="Georgia"][size="3"][color="#000080"]I UNDERSTAND! [/color][/size][/font]

[mustafabey]

My take on this Scrappy, is that doctors are more interested in promoting the drugs of Big Pharma rather than dealing with our health. My entire night stand is filled with bottles, 4 heart meds,cholesteral med, vitiman B 12, sleep med, anxiety med,prosac type depression med,prostate med, st6ool softener cause all these meds clog me up and allergy med cause I never had allergies before I started taking all these meds. My doctors refuse holistic and herbal remedies ans since I get my health care at the VA, I'm stuck. Recently,my PTSD kicked up and I mentioned it to my primary care doctor, I was prescribed zoloft and immediately was unable to fall asleep and began to have have suicidal thoughts. I am not the suicidal type, but felt as if some demon was in possession of my body and on a mission to destroy it. I looked up zoloft on the web and sure enough these were the side effects, I went to the ER and they gave me antibiotics. That night was one of the scariest nights of my long life. I prayed,meditated and found myself loading my guns. I called my lady and she got me to the ER. I committed myself and spend 6 days in VA pajamas and slippers. All that time every doctor and psychologist I saw refused to acknowledge that this incident might be due to zoloft. More worried about malpractice suits than my health. Its all apart of the greed that is tearing this nation and much of world apart, Just look at the Congress who want to cut social programs and protect the wealthy from fair contribution to our deficit incurred by illegal wars. Enough politics Scrappy, I advise your friend,if he or she can afford it, to follow the doctors advice( anti depressants do work) in the short run,but seek out a holistic healer for the long run,otherwise that person will be tied to the drug forever, Also anti depressants of the seratonin inhibitor family ( Prozac type meds) tend to loose their effectiveness over time and you have to deal with the russian roulette of finding a new one. I am now in therapy at the VA witha psychologist who is teaching me ways to deal with my PTSD without drugs. Life can be a series of overcoming demons,one by one in aspiritual quest towards unity with the Creator,how ever you may may view him/her. I wish you friend prayers for recovery.