So many things have been said about these drugs.
Being prescribed off-label, often for sleep

I've read, and seen some nasty side effects.

Here's a link from today's news you might find interesting.
Associated Press

http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D98A2IJ80.html


Pete
Asb

The family of atypical antipsychotics has many problems.

Including....QT issues. In fact we have a member of the Bipolar forum here whose son died from improper monitoring of his
drug causing-- cardiac arrest.

I recall reading on the Lilly board at Cafepharma.com that
one of the study doctors for Zyprexa actually shredded records of study subjects who died of cardiac arrest during the trials.
Lilly is currently paying out over a Billion in damages as a result of this and other abuses.

So not only do these drugs kill elderly, and cause diabetes, they have other nasty effects as well.

MRS D!
OMGoodness!

I was half afraid to post this. I thought I may be over stepping a bit...
But, that is Serious!

I've been reading and knew a friend who was taking it for "sleep".
This friend was acting out, (and having NO recall of it the next day), it obviously didn't help the sleep issue much. And the weight gain....
Grazing during the night.

I've read once in RS where a young teenage boy was put on it.
He gained over 100 lbs. and actually started lactating!

No wonder there are so many lawsuits.

You may want to google RS
(Rolling Stone) and look up the article which was on Zyprexa, another "Atypical".


Honestly, Rolling Stone doesn't do much for me, other than music and movie reviews, I can't stand their politics. But, this article gave me bug eyes!

pete

I was taught in my classes that the newer the antipsychotic, the fewer problems and side effects it had. But I'm finding that newer doesn't mean better. It just means that we aren't as aware of the side effects yet.

My brother might still be alive if he hadn't had the problems that he did with medications. He needed treatment for schizophrenia and depression, but Zyprexa was starting to cause hypertension and other health problems. Abilify had intolerable side effects for him (prolonged erection that he probably interpreted with a lot of shame and also contributed to an incident that landed him in jail). In jail, he didn't get adequate treatment, or sometimes any treatment at all. After holding him in jail for two years with no trial, they started to transition him and had him in a different placement. He had said that they were withholding about half of his meds. He committed suicide.

My brother needed meds that worked, and that didn't have health-threatening or otherwise intolerable side effects. But he also needed someone to show him and teach him that he could still live his life. He didn't think that he could, because anything he tried, someone told him he couldn't. He believed that he was worthless, and meds contributed to the problem. Sometimes he was overmedicated and couldn't do much of anything. I don't know what the answers are, but these meds are not the solution that we have been told that they are. They might have their place, but we can't just settle for a prescription and call it good.

The only problem with high blood sugar, diabetes etc is if one alllows himself to gain a lot of weight. By dieting and eliminating carbs and sweets one can coninue taking what many experience as a winder drug.

Hi all
My son, who is turning 12 next week has been taking Seroquel for quite some time now. He is autistic, and without antipsychotic meds he has self injurious, and aggressive tendencies. I can say without a doubt, that this medication (along with yrs of therapy and intervention) has allowed my son to function so well, that most people without spending alot of time with him don't even realize he is autistic. He's very verbal and highly intelligent. I am aware of the health concerns, and our doctor keeps close tabs on Tye's health. I know that these meds can cause terrible outcomes..even death. I also know that my son could be dead now if it weren't for them. I definitely would not take these for "sleep" though. These drugs are not tylenol pm. They are called antipsychotics for a reason.

The young man who died recently with his med...

His situation was that he was stable on it. A rather high dose.
But...he went off, when he moved away from his doctor. He was med free for a few short weeks, and when the new doctor restarted him on the high dose without titrating him back up....that is when he had the cardiac arrest.

It is not only taking it that is risky. It is how the drug is managed by the doctors that make it risky.

Please keep that in mind.