Drugs like Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, Zoloft are given out like candy nowadays. Sometimes it seems as if every other patient I see is on an SSRI antidepressant.

A cautionary tale:

Almost 15 years ago, a  college buddy’s sister violently committed suicide with a gunshot to the head.

I went out to lunch with my friend shortly thereafter, and we talked about his sister’s death. To this day, I still remember how convinced he was that she would never have done something like this ordinarliy, and how he was sure it had something to do with the antidepressant (an SSRI) she was started on.

Since that time, many, many bereaved parents have voiced similar concerns, but the drug companies have been quick to deny blame [Please note that total revenue from these SSRI's exceeds $8 billion/year]. Common arguments include something along the lines of “they were suicidal to begin with, the drug just gave them the energy to do it”

In 2005, the veil of dishonesty was finally pierced when the FDA put a ‘black box’ warning on these medications saying they double the risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts in children under the age of 18.

Just last week, however, the FDA announced it will broaden the ‘black box’ warning to include young adults up to age 25. While the drug companies will probably try to spin this side effect as “rare” since it “only” affects 3-4% of patients, I think it becomes an outrageously serious problem when you have tens of millions of patients taking these drugs.

In addition to suicidal thoughts and tendencies, many experts also claim the medications heighten aggression and trigger violence. Eric Harris of the Columbine High School murders was prescribed an SSRI, as were many other teenager murderers.

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