Posts Tagged ‘ Antidepressants ’

Prescription Drugs as Birth Control

June 8th, 2010. By Hunter West

Can a medication designed to minimize epileptic seizures, serve as birth control? 

Can an antidepressant, also serve as birth control? 

Indirectly, yes—if women who depend on various drugs to stabilize their lives opt to shun having children rather than risk the possibility of birth defects. 

It’s an interesting conundrum—that a society that depends more and more on various drugs to treat our diseases and keep us living longer, might suffer a detrimental effect on birth rates and experience a shrinkage of the population. 

But while the long-term effect may be less dramatic, the short-term debate is no less real. 

There are various drugs that are designed to treat specific conditions, such as valproate for the treatment of bipolar disorder, or migraine headaches. While the drug, marketed as Depakote, is without doubt effective for the treatment for that for which it was intended, it can also have a devastating effect on a fetus if taken by an expectant mother. 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted in December of last year, “Valproate use during early pregnancy increases the risk of major malformations in the baby,” the FDA said. “The rates for neural tube defects in babies exposed to valproate during the first trimester are 30 to 80 times higher than the rate for neural tube defects in the general US population. In pregnant women with epilepsy, valproate monotherapy is associated with a four-fold higher rate of major malformations than other antiepileptic drug monotherapies. 

“Healthcare professionals should counsel women of childbearing potential taking valproate about the increased risk of major malformations…” 

A far more common drug is the SSRI antidepressant. Critics of antidepressants and the doctors who prescribe them, say that antidepressants are over-prescribed. While there is little doubt many individuals would not be able to get through the day without potentially doing harm to Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressants, depakote, SSRI, valproate
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Antidepressant Guide: the Brands, the Generics & Who Makes Them

May 6th, 2010. By Kristine B

These days, there are many drugs to keep track of. It’s not just the brand name drug anymore; patients could be taking a generic equivalent. So, this week, Pleading Ignorance looks at the SSRIs and SNRIs to give you the brand name, manufacturer, generic version and the generic’s manufacturer. Consider it your one-stop cheat sheet on some of the more commonly prescribed antidepressants.

Brand name	Ingredient	Made By	Generic	Made By
Celexa (SSRI)	citalopram hydrobromide	Forest Laboratories	citalopram	Eon Labs, Inc., Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Purepac Pharmaceutical Co., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, Corepharma LLC
Lexapro (SSRI)	escitalopram oxalate	Forest Laboratories	escitalopram	Alphrapharm
Paxil/Seroxat    (SSRI)	paroxetine hydrochloride	GlaxoSmithKline	paroxetine	Apotex, Alphapharm, Teva, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Pharms USA, Caraco
Prozac (SSRI)	fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	fluoxetine	ESI Lederle (tentative approval)
Symbyax (SSRI)	olanzapine and fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine/ fluoxetine	Teva Pharms (tentative approval, July 17, 2007)
Zoloft (SSRI)	sertraline hydrochloride	Pfizer Pharmaceuticals	sertraline	Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Teva, Genpharm, Aurobindo Pharma, Sandoz and many others
Zyprexa (atypical antipsychotic)	olanzapine	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine	All tentative approval: Dr. Reddy’s Labs Inc, Teva Pharms, Mylan PHarma, Sandoz, Barr Pharms, Roxane
Cymbalta (SNRI)	duloxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	duloxetine	No generic so far as I can tell
Effexor (SNRI)	venlafaxine	Wyeth	venlafaxine hydrochloride	Aurobindo, Mylan, Teva, Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Caraco and others

The information in the chart above was found at either drugs@fda, or on the individual drug manufacturer’s website. As far as I can tell, this information is correct as of the date it was written—and it is not intended to replace the information you might receive from your doctor or medical practitioner (hey, have to say it, we’re a legal site). Talk to your doctor or pharmicist for medical advice.

Tags: Antidepressants, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pleading Ignorance, Prozac, SSRI, Symbyax, Zoloft, Zyprexa
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

Jelly Belly French Vanilla – the New SSRI?

April 7th, 2010. By AbiK

I just took the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS or HAM-D) test. Yes, I administered it to myself, which is not really legit. And I was popping jelly beans (full disclosure: Jelly Belly original mix that wasn’t comped) in my mouth while clicking thru the answers. I scored a three. Which, apparently is within the “normal” range—or as I’m made aware of by my test source (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry) “in clinical remission” had I been previously and officially depressed. For comparison, a score of 8-13 is “mild depression”; 14-18 is “moderate depression”; 19-22 is “severe depression” and a score of 23 or more is “very severe depression”.

Did I mention I was popping jelly beans? aka mommy’s little sugar pills?

So who knows—maybe I was just on a sugar rush and otherwise would’ve scored a four. Be that as it may, it got me thinking.

See, I took the test—and popped the J-beans—while reading an article, “The Serotonin Skeptic” by Carlin Flora Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressants, Irving Kirsch, SSRI, SSRIs
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 1 Comment »