View on Antidpressants

[Ed Edwards]

from page 2:

Shell, like I said, I'm on Lexipro and Wellbutrin so if you have any questions about those, feel free to PM me.

Amen, Brother Mike Mck -- Preach it! :thumbs:

Thank you for your personal testimony.

 

[Ed Edwards]

From page 2:

Some depression is caused by events in life, but not all is, some is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. That is beyond a persons control, it is an illness. To say that these people do not need medications is irresponsible at best. Thats like telling a heart patient they don't need medication, what about high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, just eat right, diabetes same thing, no need for medications, because people who aren't doctors believe you don't need meds.
Giving out medical advise(like throw away your meds) without a license is illegal.

Amen, Siter donnA -- You are so RIGHT ON! :thumbs:

Thank you for your personal testimony.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

Lisa Bazler was a licensed Psychologist until the Lord saved her and revealed to her that her sending people to psychiatrists that push pills to cover that which is spiritual, not physical was wrong.

Get her book and read how psychiatrists are giving Zoloft, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Prozac, et. al. to people not knowing how they will react to them.

Read the many accounts of suicides because of these anti-depressants.

These drugs do one thing, they cover sin with chemicals. Causing man to not depend on God for the answer anymore.

Because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind... Romans 1

 

[Mexdeaf]

SFIC, you made me think of these verses referring to the 'friends' of Job in Job 12:1-3

And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you:...

Have you prayed for this sister? Instead of sitting up on your high horse and looking down those glasses you cannot see through at her, you might try that.

I am no fan of modern medicine or pill-popping, but your attitude STINKS! :tear:

 

[Ed Edwards]

from page 2:

Good post Donna. I agree. Some times medication is beneficial. Scientifically it has been proven that chemical imbalences do effect a person and can cause depression.

Amen, 4His_glory -- You are so RIGHT ON! :thumbs:

Thank you for your personal testimony.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

My attitude comes from relying on the Lord, not on pills.

Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

 

[Ed Edwards]

from page 2:

Depression can be a very serious and threatening condition. Taken something to give relief is no different than taking Penicillin for pneumonia and all things available as prescribed should be considered as from the Lord for our benefit. God bless!

Amen, 2BHizown -- You are so RIGHT ON! :thumbs:

Thank you for your personal testimony.

 

[Ed Edwards]

from page 2:

Shell, I give you this advice from the perspective of personal experience.

My husband also suffers from HBP, diabetes and extremely high cholesterol(we're talking numbers over 1000). With everything going wrong chemically in his body it was bound to affect moods. He thought he was handling it. I couldn't stand to be around him and the kids were afraid of him. It wasn't until he got to the point to where he didn't like himself that he decided he had a problem and added an antidepressant to the mix. The effect on all of us was amazing.

Personally, he went from complete couch potato after work to being able to hold a conversation and play with the kids (who quickly lost their fear of him yelling at them). The shift to a more positve mood led to greater physical activity which led to weight loss which dropped his blood pressure to the point to where he no longer takes medication for it (a low salt diet and exercise keeps it down). The weight loss also led to better control of his sugar.

All this didn't happen overnight, so don't expect it. It takes time for these types medications to get into your body and begin working. It takes more time for you to realize what effect a particular med will have on you (the first one might not be for you) and whether or not the side effects are worth the reward. But, if the first one doesn't seem to be addressing the problem you are taking it for or if the side effects are too great, there are others you can try. Don't take the failure of one as proof that they all will fail to help. Everyone's brain chemistry is just a little bit different and one formulation might help where other's have failed.

Amen, Sister menageriekeeper -- You are so RIGHT ON! :thumbs:

Thank you for your personal testimony.

Yes, the presonal testimonies of my friends on Baptst Board (BB)
is so much surer and refreshing than the babble of PROFESSIONAL doubters.

 

[Ed Edwards]

More from page 2 (Bolding added by Ed):

I have been on 20mg or lexipro for about a year and a half. My doctor says that I have a chemical imbalance. I tried to go off them after I got straightened out . I had to go back on it.
I have accepted the fact that I will probably be on them the rest of my life. I was one of those people who would be critical of believers who took anti-depressants etc... Until I was brought to a point in my life that I had no choice. I was always a upbeat, extrovertic,people person. Yet for an assortment of health issues this depression or imbalance or whatever was brought to a head in my life.
I was always either real upbeat or pretty low. So whatever is in this medicine it has balanced me out. I do exercise daily.
During my dealing with this problem I was never out of fellowship with the Lord or nothing of the sort. It wasn't a "spiritual" problem. Grant it folk who do fall into sin such as adultery or some type of sin that has really messed up their lives and those around them yeah they can get depressed,strung out etc... and it is because of the double life they are leading. Yet there are those who suffer from bi-polar disorder and clinical depression etc... that for whatever reason are chemically imbalanced.
So like anythingelse in life you simply have to do what is best for you and your family and not give a rip what ignorant people say.
I have already experienced tremendous blessings by sharing my problem with selected individuals who I thought might be having the same struggles. Empathy will open alot of doors to share the Gospel.
I have also found that people who make light of others who have been prescribed anti-depressants are usually people that may have a problem themselves and putting others down is a form of denial for them.
Are there illegitimate reasons for taking anti-depressants? Sure I believe there is as I mentioned earlier. For some at the root of their depression, anxiety etc... there may lie a spiritual problem but for others it is simply a way to make up for a chemical imbalance.
I live in northeast Ohio. I have for six years. Other than Washington state ohio has more cloudy, rainy days than any other state in the union.
Hence no less sunshine less serotonin being produced in the brain. This is just one example of what can cause depression that is not remotely related to one's walk with God.
One thing is absolutely sure. If you have never experienced this kind of problem you have absolutely no idea whatsoever what you are talking about. Your judgment,critique whathever will be way off base. I know, I have been on both sides.
So for those of you who suffer with clinical depression, chemical imbalance etc... do what your doctor says and forget the critics.

Amen, Sister shannonL -- You are so RIGHT ON! :thumbs:

Thank you for your personal testimony.

Yes, the personal testimonies of my frieds on Baptist Board (BB)
are so much kinder and more refreshing than quotations of PROFESSIONAL doubters.

 

[Titus2:3-5]

I'm not a doctor, but I am a Christian, and I believe God is able to give to His children understanding that is beyond the most learned men.

In my studies on mental illness I have found that God has designed our brains (and bodies) to work on chemical responses. When the natural chemicals are not doing their jobs - for whatever reason - we are privileged to live in an age where we can take a pill. Praise the LORD!

Studies have shown that the brain releases "good-feeling" chemicals called endorphins when good things happen. Sometimes the brain is not working properly and the receptors don't pick up the chemicals, which causes feelings of depression rather than happiness. Personally, I do believe that there are spiritual ways to rejuvenate those receptors so that the brain begins to work properly again. However, for a short-term fix, anti-depressants are sometimes needed.

:thumbs:

 

[Brother Bob]

I am starting to get depressed and from all the posts on here Shell is in trouble!!

 

[Ed Edwards]

I'm still praying for Shell ... :saint:

 

[Brother Bob]

Hope everyone is?

 

[Titus2:3-5]

Shell, I said a prayer for you just now that God would flood your soul with peace and give you wisdom to make the right choice.

May God give you a doctor that will have the answers to all your questions.

My personal veiw on anti-depressants are that they are sometimes needed on a short-term basis.

My personal testimony is that my mother had eleven children, and of the thirteen people in my immediate family, I am the only one who has never taken anti-depressants. I say that to the glory of GOD!

I know a little about mental illness. I have begged God to open my understanding on why He allows it, and what His veiws are on anti-depressants. I don't claim to know the mind of God. I can only tell you what He has taught me. My previous post reveals what I have come to understand about mental illness and anti-depressants.

May the LORD comfort and guide you as you seek His face in this decision.

Amen

 

[Ed Edwards]

Said uptopic: //Read the many accounts of suicides because of these anti-depressants.//

The US rate for suicides is: 10.7/100,000

source: http://www.concernedcounseling.com/Communities/depression/related/suicide_8.asp

There are 8,000,000 USA users of anti-depressants.

that 8 Million is 80 hundred thousands.
10.7 x 80 = 856.
I.E. you have to show 856 suicides by users of anti-depressants
to BREAK EVEN. You have to show this each and every year, not
just the total so far. To show anti-depressants cause suicide, you
have to show like 3 or 4,000 anti-depressant users per year
off-ing themselves.
I don't think any source will be showing that, especially
not among the professional NAY sayers

 

[standingfirminChrist]

Forum Moderator

Papers indicate firm knew possible Prozac suicide risk
By Tom Watkins
CNN

Monday, January 3, 2005 Posted: 9:17 PM EST (0217 GMT)

RELATED
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(CNN) -- An internal document purportedly from Eli Lilly and Co. made public Monday appears to show that the drug maker had data more than 15 years ago showing that patients on its antidepressant Prozac were far more likely to attempt suicide and show hostility than were patients on other antidepressants and that the company attempted to minimize public awareness of the side effects.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/01/03/prozac.documents/

I believe Bill Maher hit the nail on the head when he said,

The problem is, the profits are so enormous for magic pills that drug companies invent the pill first and then conjure up something it can treat.

 

[Phillip]

Anti-Depressants

There is a very small risk of suicide when first using Prozac, but it also indicates that Prozac is doing what it is supposed to do.

When a person is depressed to the point of suicide they often do not go through it simply because clinically depressed people would rather lay in bed all day than do anything, including having the energy to commit suicide.

When first taking ANY anti-depressant, the person starts gaining energy they did not have before. Until the anti-depression starts to get rid of the depression itself, the person can still be suicidal. Because of this reason the patients should be watched carefully specifically in the first week or two, especially if they are clinically-depressed and showing suicidal tendancies.

Once the anti-depressant kicks in fully, then the risk of suicide actually drops quite a bit, because that is what the anti-depressant is treating in the first place.

This is much like detoxing someone from illicit drugs or alcohol--the first week or so is the hardest and most dangerous (and potential of suicide).

I have worked in the medical industry, although I designed electronic equipment I knew lots of drug manufacturers and chemists. There is absolutely NO TRUTH to the fact that they make a drug and just find some ailment to use it on. Millions of dollars are spent by all of the drug companies to provide medications. It makes absolutely no sense from a business point of view to shoot in the dark and mix chemicals just to try to see what they do.

Chemists are VERY specific at what their drugs are designed to do. Take Pepcid for example. It is designed as an H2 blocker, when the chemists made it they knew it would block H2 so there was never any doubt of what it would be used for.

Now, let me also add that sometimes certain side-effects show things that were unexpected and often the drug can be used for other things, but this is the exception not the reason or method of design. (For instance, aspirin used to prevent blood clotting that cause heart attacks.)

 

[lgpruitt]

Again...your opinion...and a very negatively stated opinion I might add.

These drugs do one thing, they cover sin with chemicals. Causing man to not depend on God for the answer anymore.

 

[lgpruitt]

Soulman,
How is your sister? How long has she had this problem? And has she tried several different meds? The first med is not necessarily the right med. I tried many before I found the one that I felt like a real person....my old self. Some will cause you to be dazed or to loose your personality. That's not the right med for that person. She, or someone for her, needs to be persistently seeking the right med for her. I will be praying for you and your sister.
:Fish:

Very well said! My sister is battling chemical imbalances. Very depressed and even suicidal. No real reason though. She has a good life and job. Belongs to a good church.

The problem she is having now is finding a medication that doesn't knock her through a loop. She gets on an anti depressant and sleeps all the time. She can't even work. When she does, she goes to bed right after eating an early supper and sleeps 12-14 hours and gets up again only to take meds and be in a daze all day.

Mabey excercise is the key. Please pray for my sister??raying:

Soulman

 

[Phillip]

Again...your opinion...and a very negatively stated opinion I might add.

I agree (this is in response to SFIC's statement that drugs cover sin.)

Obviously, we need to quit giving any drugs.

Let's start with pain management. Someone comes in with third degree burns and is obviously in pain because he/she sinned. We should let them suffer so they can get in touch with their sin.

Second, we might as well get rid of antibiotics because all sickness in the human race is a result of sin; so why cure it with any other method.

Wow, aren't there denominations that don't believe in medicine or doctors and have had children die many times over something as stupid as not giving them a blood-transfusion?

SFIC, for some strange reason, I keep getting the impression that your definition of Baptist and ours is different.

For example:
A)A Christian will not go to heaven with unconfessed sin.
B)Medications are bad, so we shouldn't use them.

Just curious here. These seem like odd beliefs.

I feel very sorry for you if you some day come down with true clinical-depression and you will not tke anti-depressants. I have a sneaking feeling; however, that if that time ever comes, you will welcome the relief they give you.

As a very conservative doctor that I know says (I mean conservative--he will seldom prescribe pain medications period): His statement is anti-depressants are one of the best drugs we have in family medicine (his specialty) they don't make a person "feel good"----they make them "feel normal". By the way, he's a Christian.